Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 13, No. 5, 2014

Vol.13, No.
5, 2014
ISSN 1648-3898
The International Journal of the Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 13, No. 5, 2014
Editorial Board
ISSN 1648–3898
Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas Siauliai University, Lithuania
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Andris Broks University of Latvia, Latvia
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Prof., Dr. Miia Rannikmäe University of Tartu, Estonia
Executive Secretary
Dr. Laima Railienė Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”, Lithuania
Editors:
Prof., Dr. Boris Aberšek University of Maribor, Slovenia
Prof., Dr. Agnaldo Arroio University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Prof., Dr. Martin Bilek University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Commission for the Publication of the National Edition of Federigo
Dr. Paolo Bussotti
Enriques’s Works, Italy
Dr. Bulent Cavas Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
Prof., Dr. Hana Čtrnáctová Charles University, Czech Republic
Dr. Peter Demkanin Comenius University, Slovakia
Dr. André du Plessis Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
Prof., Dr. Jānis Gedrovics
Academy, Latvia
Prof., Dr. Peter Heering University of Flensburg, Germany
Prof., Dr. Jack Holbrook University of Tartu, Estonia
Prof., Dr. Ryszard M. Janiuk Maria Curie Sklodowska University, Poland
Dr. Milan Kubiatko Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank,
Dr. Todar Lakhvich
Republic of Belarus
Prof., Dr. Jari Lavonen University of Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Lithuania
Prof., Dr. Aadu Ott Göteborg University, Sweden
Dr. Paul Pace Malta University, Malta
Prof., Dr. Valfrids Paškevičs Daugavpils University, Latvia
Prof., Dr. Jongwon Park Chonnam National University, Korea
Dr. Raffaele Pisano European Society for the History of Science, Italy
Dr. Pavol Prokop Institute of Zoology, Bratislava, Slovakia
Dr. Alona Rauckienė Klaipėda University, Lithuania
Prof., Dr. Heimo Saarikko Helsinki University, Finland
Dr. Uladzimir K. Slabin University of Oregon, USA
Prof., Dr. Valery P. Solomin Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Russia
Prof., Dr. Borislav V. Toshev Sofia University, Bulgaria
Dr. Georgios Tsaparlis University of Ioannina, Greece
Dr. Muhammet Usak Gazi University, Turkey
A scientific journal JBSE issued by the SMC Scientia Educologica in cooperation with Scientia Socialis, Lithuania, empha-
sizes theoretical, experimental and methodical studies in the field of science education. JBSE is an international academ-
ic journal. In order to maintain the high standards appropriate to such a journal, all contributions received are submitted
for anonymous review by two experts, additionally to review by the Editor. The decision of the Editor on the acceptance
of articles is final and no correspondence can be entered into on reasons for rejection of a submitted contribution.
Published since 2002 Address:

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ISSN 1648–3898 © Scientific Methodical Center „Scientia Educologica“, Lithuania,

The Associated Member of Lithuanian Scientific Society,
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The articles appearing in this journal are indexed/abstracted in British Education Index
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and SCOPUS (http://www.scopus.com)
ISSN 1648–3898 Contents
Contents
Editorial
SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION: HOW TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE?

Todar Lakhvich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592
Articles
SURVEY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF OXIDATION-REDUCTION

REACTION
Wen-Wei Chiang, Mei-Hung Chiu, Shiao-Lan Chung, Chun-Keng Liu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596
The effects of multimedia learning material on students’ academic

achievement and attitudes towards science courses
Orhan Ercan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATHEMATICS AND
PHYSICS LEARNING
Serkan Kapucu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON PRIMARY SCHOOL

CHILDREN’S SELF-CONCEPT, WELL-BEING AND EFFECTIVENESS
Mei-Lun Chen, Shi-Jer Lou, Wei-Fang Tsai, Chih-Cheng Tsai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
FOSTERING STUDENT’S CREATIVE AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS THROUGH A

HANDS-ON ACTIVITY
Ruey-Shyy Shieh, Wheijen Chang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650
USING CONCEPT MAPPING FOR ASSESSMENT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Katrin Soika, Priit Reiska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662
TEACHER EDUCATORS’ VIEWS OF “MODEL” CONCEPT AND THEIR MENTAL MODELS

Suat Unal, Gunay Palıc Sadoglu, Ummu Gulsum Durukan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
LEARNERS’ VIEWS ABOUT USING CASE STUDY TEACHING METHOD IN AN

UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY COURSE
Zehra Ozdilek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
CONCEPTS OF VEGETABLE AND FRUIT IN PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Hüseyin Eş .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S IDEAS OF MIXING AND OF HEAT AS EXPRESSED IN A

CLASSROOM SETTING
Jesper Haglund, Fredrik Jeppsson, Johanna Andersson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A COMPETENCE-BASED TEACHING PROCESS FOR

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY education
Dragica Pešaković, Andrej Flogie, Boris Aberšek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
Information
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756
Problems of psychology in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Quality Issues and insights in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758
BalticSTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
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SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION: HOW TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE?
Todar Lakhvich
Belarusian State Medical University, Republic of Belarus
There is no such thing as moral or immoral books.

Books are well written or badly written. That is all.
Oscar Wild
A couple of months ago I came back to the University after vacations: well rested, full of ideas and having
strong desire to tell the students everything I knew about my “beloved” organic chemistry. The counterpart was
even better (in all the cases they were younger: “cela se passe de commentaries”): a large majority of the students are
smart, attractive, and well put together. Just seemed to be the best time and place for effective teaching-learning
(as we like to say in articles) process. As usual, I had a joy during the first lecture (feeling happy of touching once
more I liked so much and engaging in my own understanding of the subject) and after the first seminar where stu-
dents followed generally the logics and the way of professor thinking. However, a few days later during the classes
followed by the romantic period of our acquaintance I faced the problem: the students barely understood some
very easy things. Not because they didn’t know, not because they were lazy, vs they could understand the more
difficult things (I work at Medical University with the highest students’ percentile). They couldn’t understand very
simple things because sometimes we were speaking in different languages. To some extent and in some cases, it’s
a problem of interlingual interference of the mother tongue (Chittima Kaweera, 2013): one third of my students
are overseas and we need to communicate in international languages like English or Russian. But misunderstand-
ing is taking place for communication even with native speakers: and the problems are basically the same we face
with foreigners. I thought about the phenomenon for years, tried to explore the problem empirically and now I’m
convinced – communication is a very complex process which consists of many subunits and some of them are
within the formal command of Lexis and Grammar, without taking into account, the Context.
A few weeks ago I visited Japan for the first time. I expected to see something mysterious and different from
what I used to see in Europe. I was afraid Japanese would be closed. Not at all. I liked Japan, but it’s the topic for the
other article. Japanese are very friendly and unexpectedly for me fond of western culture (it does not prevent them
to keep their own traditions!) and open for communication. In all the situations I needed the aid, they wanted to
help, to explain…. but…. Usually we faced the problem of communication. The average Japanese I met knew many
English words and tried to list them when answering to my questions. But it was a great “gap” between the “object
meaning”, they tried to represent. It was the meaning we usually associate with nouns. We lacked “communica-
tion”. I found no connection between the nouns they listed to visualize the objects. I saw no processes which were
associated with verbs and attributives. Finally, while I was staying, we found the other means for understanding:
gestures, signs and finally smiles))) and I had a nice time in Japan. But coming back to Minsk I thought once more
about the importance of “connections”, depicturing of the processes occurring between the objects. It’s much easier
to learn (by heart!) terms, definitions, but more important, to understand the process. In some sense it sounds like
an educational paradigm.
When teaching foreign students (even, when they are speaking fluently!) I found they can’t understand some
word combinations we used to say from school (sometimes from kindergarten). There are basically two main
reasons for such misunderstanding. The first one is connected with the specificity of the processes occurring with
Science objects (better to say with models depicting the real objects). For sure, we could find no tradition in folk
for visualization of chemical reaction. But people brewed beer, dyed fabrics, melted metals, kept in a pottery kiln…
Chemical reactions such as combustion in the fire, fermentation and the reduction of ores to metals were known
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since antiquity (Grinev-Griniewicz, 2004). Just the reason why scientists and teachers found some verbs and at-
tributives to visualize the behavior of Science objects. It’s a question of Psycholinguistics that is interdisciplinary
field having roots in Education and Philosophy (Levelt, 2013). It answers the question how people acquire process
and comprehend language. In our “Science Education” context, it’s interesting to compare how processes are
traditionally semantically expressed in different languages. The understanding of semantics can help us to explain
better the Science topics not only for foreign but native speaking students.
For example, we say the reaction proceeds or goes in English. In other languages we use the other verbs,
which in literal translation will be: unroll in French, run or go in Ukrainian and Slovak, take place in Belarusian, flow
in Russian and so on. Sometimes there are few accepted words; some of them are closer to other languages by
meaning. However, literal calque translation can lead to misunderstanding in other languages.
The other issue is connected with Pragmatics which is a subfield of linguistics and semiotics and studies
the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Just while saying “You have a red light” you are ambiguous. In
different contexts it could mean that:
•• you have red lighting in the garden;
•• your face is red because of heart attack;
•• your project was stopped and you failed to be granted;
•• you have a red light while driving your car…..
Without knowing the context, it is difficult to understand the meaning with confidence. When teaching foreign
students, we face with misunderstanding for classes accepted in our language. For example the word combina-
tion “distance between atoms” (very frequently used in chemistry and Physics) sounds in Russian (in literal calque
translation) “distance between nuclei”. In English we say (in terminology) about the “ends” of the Carbon chain and
in Russian we used to differentiate the “end” and the “beginning” of the chain. There are many other examples. One
can say it’s a problem of command of language. But for now I’m convinced a large majority of the native speaking
students learned the terms formally by heart and do not understand either object structure or processes occurring
with them. To make the understanding easier, we need to introduce in Education different types of visualization,
including formal techniques (model kits, computer programmes, graphic representation) and informal explanation
with the aid of image visualization of known objects (Lakhvich, 2010).
For example, structural isomers can be visualized as sequence of animal toys. Structure defines the sequence
of bonding and it looks like the toy animals are holding hands of each other.
The next example defines the difference (and the process of possible transformation when heating!) between
E-Z (cis-trans) isomers.
ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES
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ON THE SAME SIDES
And finally we tried to visualize the process of Addition reaction by means of image and geometric types of
representation followed by the final model presented by usual chemical graphical form.
IMAGE REPRESANTATION
GEOMETRIC REPRESANTATION
CHEMICAL REPRESANTATION
Thus, visualization with the aid of previously acquired models (known from life experience, or from the other
disciplines) helps to promote the understanding process both for foreign and native speaking students.
The same is important for writing materials: taking in account not only manuals, but scientific articles as well.
In this context, the formal knowledge of words and Grammar don’t mean the effective intralingual transfer. And
reviewing proposals in English from different countries, the members of an Editorial board face frequently the
misunderstanding problem. Subject context means we should use similar models, both in Science and Education,
operate with accepted language clichés related to definite field of knowledge and geographic area. When you are
not a native speaker, we can advise you to avoid the odd idioms, even if they are used in your mother tongue. The
shorter phrase means the better understanding. So don’t be afraid to put a few simple sentences instead of one
complex or even complex-compound sentence. Nobody challenges your knowledge about the usage of absolute
participle construction. But we want everybody when reading the article to clearly understand what the author
wanted to say.
And finally, we advise you to follow the rules for authors. We just want to repeat once again “All authors must
take care of the language revision on their own. The language must be clear and accurate. The work should be
written in an impersonal style. The editor reserves the right to send the manuscript to be reviewed. If English is a
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second language for the author, please consider having the manuscript proofread and edited before submitting”.
To comply with the requirements of scientific ethics, I give the citation to the page which regards our authors what
they need to do in order we understood what they wanted to say in their proposals.
(http://www.scientiasocialis.lt/pec/files/General_Requirements_PEC.2010.pdf ).
References
Grinev-Griniewicz, S. (2004). Evolution of terminology and culture: Establishing foundations for anthropological linguistics.
Language and culture: establishing foundations of anthropological linguistics / Edited be S. Grinev-Griniewicz, S. M. Raub,
P. Thomas. – Bialystok: Bialystok Series of Anthropolinguistics, 2004, Vol. 1, p. 27–42.
Kaweera, C. (2013). Writing error: A review of interlingual and intralingual interference EFL context. English Language Teaching,
6 (7), 9-18.
Lakhvich, T. (2010). Beautylity of chemistry visualization: Whether useful can be aesthetic science education: Search for harmony
and beauty. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 19, 46-50.
Levelt, W. J. M. (2013). A history of psycholinguistics: The pre-Chomskyan era. Part 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Received: September 30, 2014 Accepted: October 08, 2014
Todar Lakhvich PhD., Associate Professor, Belarusian State Medical University, Minsk,
Republic of Belarus.
E-mail: bntu71@gmail.com
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SURVEY OF HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING
OF OXIDATION-REDUCTION
REACTION
Abstract. This study investigated the Wen-Wei Chiang,

conceptions of 340 Taiwanese high Mei-Hung Chiu, Shiao-Lan Chung,
school students (grades 10 to 12) regard- Chun-Keng Liu
ing oxidation–reduction reactions. The
diagnostic tool used was a two-tier test
based on a concept map of redox reactions
as presented in high school curriculums.
The reliability of the two-tier test items
was 0.82. The results show that most 11th
graders performed equally well in questions Introduction
related to the concept of the gain and loss
Accurately measuring levels of student understanding is an important
of electrons during oxidation–reduction. In
element of science education. Numerous studies around the world have
terms of working with oxidation numbers, examined student conceptions of science (Chang et al., 2007; Chi & Roscoe,
scores increased with grade level. The 2002; Lin & Chiu, 2010). Novak, Gowin, and Johansen (1983) findings on
results of this study provide valuable refer- the function of concept maps in North American high school classrooms
show that learning outcomes in the school chemistry lab were significantly
ence for curriculum designers and science
improved with the assistance of concept maps. They further found that the
instructors. use of concept maps reduced the amount of formal instruction required by
Key words: concept map, oxidation– advanced chemistry students. McClary and Bretz (2012) suggested that chem-
reduction, redox, two-tier. istry teachers carefully examine the comprehensiveness of their instruction
to assist their students in further integrating the concepts learnt in the class
(Bratennikova & Vasilevskaya, 2002).
This study had two aims: 1) to study the conceptions that Taiwanese
students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 hold with regard to oxidation–reduction and
how they are able to apply what they have learnt; and 2) to propose a concept
map of redox reactions for the high school curriculum. We also compared the
learning achievements of students who have different conceptualizations of
chemistry-related subjects.
This study used the two-tier diagnostic tool developed by Treagust
(1988, 1995), which has been widely used to investigate student conceptions
in many areas of science education, including chemistry, biology, and physics
(Chiu, 2007; Odom & Barrow, 1995; Tan, Goh, Chia, & Treagust, 2002; Wang,
Wen-Wei Chiang
National Kaohsiung Normal University, Chiu, Lin, & Chou, 2013). The two-tier test is typically of a multiple-choice
Taiwan format, with the first tier containing a knowledge statement and the second
Mei-Hung Chiu, Shiao-Lan Chung presenting reasons for the choice made in the first tier. This method helps
National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
Chun-Keng Liu to promote higher order thinking and to identify misconceptions held by
Taipei Municipal ChengGong Senior High the students. The latter can help the researcher to understand their mental
School, Taiwan processes regarding chemistry and thereby construct an accurate concept
map which can be used to further learning.
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(P. 596-607)
Theoretical Background
Evaluating Conceptual Development via Two-tier Diagnostic Testing
Conceptual development can be evaluated using open-ended written tests, word association methods, group
tests of the demonstration type, demonstration observation, clinical interviews, case interviews, event interviews,
and two-tier tests (Ogan-Bekiroglu, 2007). These methods of evaluation each have their merits and drawbacks
(Bromley, Irwin-DeVitis, & Modlo, 1995; Moon, Hoffman, Novak, & Cañas, 2011). The questions for first and second
tiers for multiple respondents provide more options and the data they generate cannot be analysed which often
leads to an excessive number of correct answers. However, the same questions for a single respondent lead to
simpler analysis because there are more answers. In comparison, this type of two-tier question enables one to
judge whether the respondent has answered the question correctly.
To ensure that the diagnostic tool covers all the course topics under study and all the concepts in the relevant
concept map, it is necessary to review evaluations of the concepts, interview students, and formulate effective
questions (Treagust et al., 2011). The tool must be continually developed and improved by those applying it so
that it is tailored to suit the needs of the students.
Concept Maps in Chemistry Education
Novak et al. (1983) was the first to popularise the idea of concept maps. They are graphical learning tools built
on the principles of progressive differentiation and integration. Novak et al. (1983) defined a concept as a perceived
regularity in an event or object, which can be represented using words or symbols. A concept map then is a graphi-
cal representation of the sources and relationships among various concepts (Novak, 1977; Novak & Gowin, 1984).
Concept maps are a simple but effective teaching tool.
However, it can be difficult to follow an intuitive representation of ideas within a strict curriculum. The structure
of a concept map must communicate what is going on in teacher’s head with the mental workings of the students
in order to reduce confusion and misunderstanding. Novak and Gowin (1984) demonstrated how researchers can
successfully use concept maps at any level to investigate learning achievement, attitudes toward learning, and
concept change in relation to elementary science studies. Using these graphical representations of cognitive pro-
cesses, researchers and educators can easily identify and correct student misconceptions and misconstructions,
thereby helping students to improve their performance in learning (Novak, 2010).
Methodology of Research
The purpose of this study was to explore the conceptual development of high school students with regard
to oxidation–reduction reactions. We collected qualitative data through a two-tier diagnostic test that combined
qualitative and quantitative approaches. Students answered both multiple choice and open-ended questions. We
surveyed classes in which some of the students successfully demonstrated the proper process for oxidation-reduc-
tion. Collecting both qualitative and quantitative data not only helps the researcher to see whether the students
understand the concepts they have been taught but also their actual problem solving skills without the teacher’s
assistance. The process through which the two-tier test was developed will be explained in further detail below.
Pilot Study
The two-tier diagnostic test was a combination of qualitative and quantitative approach which contains a
semi-open ended pre-test for 122 student participants. Subsequently, the students’ common alternative concepts
of the oxidation–reduction relative concepts were analyzed. Analysis of the results showed that the discrimina-
tion index ranged from 0.35 to 0.88 and the difficulty index had an average of 0.45. Questions with discrimination
indexes of less than 0.30 were removed. The data obtained from the pre-test were analyzed and compared, and
were used to correct and develop the two-tier multiple-choice questions. In addition, a test was administered to
a selected sample of students to explore students’ preconceptions; this written test was used to select students
for further interviewing.
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Participants
This study selected 340 high school students from multiple grade levels to conduct formative assessments
related to oxidation–reduction. The participants were 96 students in Grade 10, 99 students in Grade 11, and 145
students in Grade 12.
Two-tier Test
Two-tier tests are easy to evaluate and score objectively but also offer some insight into higher level thinking.
In order to develop our two-tier test, course content was first clearly defined. A concept map representing this
content was then developed. Collecting information about students’ concepts via reviewing can help researchers
develop appropriate multiple-choice questions. We therefore conducted unstructured student interviews to gain
a wider perspective of their understanding. We then categorized and analysed the interview results to identify
answer patterns that corresponded to the students’ mental models. Two university chemistry professors developed
the two-tier assessment according to these answer patterns (please see the Appendix). A high school chemistry
instructor (who possesses a Ph.D. in chemistry) then verified the validity of the assessment and made modifications
as will be discussed in the following sections. In cases where the first part of the question was answered correctly
but the second was answered incorrectly, partial credit was given. This is in accordance with the suggestions of
(Odom & Barrow, 1995; Treagust, 1988, 1995).
Test Validity and Reliability
The test included 12 problems and 32 questions. The discrimination index ranged from 0.34 to 0.77, with an
average of 0.58. The difficulty index ranged from 0.28 to 0.66, with an average of 0.47. Reliability was high: Cron-
bach’s α value for internal consistency, based on SPSS 17.0 calculations, was 0.82.
Analysis supported the high construct validity of the two-tier diagnostic tool. The average difficulty and aver-
age index of discrimination of the two-tier diagnostic tool were 0.45 and 0.48, respectively.
Semi-structured Interviews
Students’ interviews were used to assist interpretation of the results of this study. According to Lin and Chiu
(2010), there are three performance groups (high, medium and low performance) suitable for two-tier analysis.
Therefore, following analysis of the test results, 12 students representing an even distribution among high-, me-
dium-, and low-learning achievement in the two-tier diagnostic test were selected to participate in a half-hour
formal interview. Random sampling was used. After students agreed to take part in the interview, consent was also
sought from their parents. The following questions formed the basis of the interview:
1. The following are a few common chemical reactions. Can you identify which is an oxidation reaction?
Which is a reduction reaction? Which is a redox reaction? Please explain your reasoning.
Magnesium ribbon combustion: 2Mg + O 2 → 2MgO
Copper wire in a silver nitrate solution: Cu (s) +2 Ag + (aq) → Cu 2+( aq) + 2Ag (s)
Photosynthesis: 6CO 2 + 6H 2O → C 6H 12O 6 + 6O 2 + Energy
Copper combustion in chlorine: Cu + Cl 2 → CuCl 2
Zinc-copper battery reaction mechanism: Zn → Zn 2+ + 2e -
Cu 2+ +2e - → Cu
Iron smelting: 2Fe 2O 3 + 3C → 4Fe + 3CO 2
2. Can oxidation reactions and reduction reactions occur independently? Please explain your reason-
ing.
3. Identify the oxidant and reductant of the reaction equation presented in the first question. How have
you determined this?
4. Can you explain the concept of an oxidation number?
5. Express the oxidation numbers of the elements in the following reaction equation:
Cu(s) + Ag +(aq) → Cu 2+(aq) + Ag (s)
(The reaction is not balanced)
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(P. 596-607)
These questions were arrived at after analysis of individual test results and discussions with experts and
scholars.
Results of Research
Overall Performance of Each Grade in Questions on Redox Reactions
Student performance differed with grade level. 10th graders on average answered 6.4 questions correctly,
11 graders 7.5 questions and 12th graders 9.2 questions. This trend indicates that the number of correct answers
th
increases in accordance with education level. Based on average scores, significant differences existed between 10 th
and 11th graders and 10th and 12th graders, but not between 11th and 12th graders.
Table 1 shows the performance of students in answering questions related to the redox concept. Students from
Grade 12 had the best scores, followed by the Grade 11 students, and lastly, the Grade 10 students. As shown in Table
2, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the grand average of the test results showed substantial differences among the
groups. Significant differences were found between results of students from Grades 10 and 11, and between students
from Grades 10 and 12. Table 3 presents the differences for the number of correct answers on redox test.
Table 1. Grand mean of the number of correct answers on the redox test (32 questions).
Numbers of students Average number of correct answers Standard deviation
10th grade 96 10.31 4.42

11th grade 99 17.21 6.56
12th grade 145 18.30 7.65
Table 2. ANOVA of redox test scores.
Source of variation SS df MS F p
Inter-group 3990.14 2 1995.07 46.34 0.000

Intra-group 14509.42 337 43.06
Total for all groups 18499.56 339
The p value was less than 0.05, indicating significant differences among the groups. The statistical package used reported a value of
p=0.000 when the p value was lower than the threshold.
Most of the students performed well in answering questions on the concept of gain and loss of oxygen in the
oxidation–reduction reaction, and their performance improved with grade level. The 11th grade school students
performed slightly better than the 12 th grade students, although the differences were not statistically significant.
The 12 th grade students obtained higher scores for the questions on the definition of the oxidation number and
its application, and these scores increased with grade level.
Table 3. Grand mean differences for the number of correct answers on redox test.
Difference for the mean Standard error p

Grade (I) Grade (J)
10 th grade 11th grade −6.90* 0.94 0.000**

12th grade −7.98* 0.86 0.000**
11 th grade 10th grade 6.90* 0.94 0.000**
12th grade −1.08 0.86 0.449
12 th grade 10th grade 7.98* 0.86 0.000**
11th grade 1.08 0.86 0.449
**p < 0.05 indicates a significant difference.
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The above table shows that 11th and 12th graders answered 63.4% of the questions correctly followed by the
11 graders. 30% of the students answered questions 1 and 2 incorrectly. It was rare for all three grades to answer
th
all of the questions wrong. We postulate that the 10th graders did not perform significantly worse than 11th and
12th graders because the basic theories and concepts of redox reaction are covered in Grade 10. Some 11th graders
outperformed the 12th graders and this might be because the 12th graders had since studied a unit on electro-
chemistry. It is very easy to confuse this theory with redox reaction theory.
This research analyzes the individual performances of three grades of students based on the two-tiered
examination tests. The research subjects include 10th graders, 11th graders and 12th graders. Considering it is very
rare for the 10th graders to come across electron transfer (an important knowledge in battery) and oxidation state,
the author reduces the number of oxidation state-relevant questions in order to obtain a balanced scoring. More-
over, 12th graders have learned about the electron transfer at the end of the second semester in their 12th grade.
Therefore, they have more experience in the relevant theories and concepts which is why the sample is chosen
from the 11th graders to investigate the understanding of electron transfer in redox reaction.
Therefore, it can be said that 12th graders have better understanding and performance in concept map related
questions than the 11th and 10th graders do. As for the questions 5-6 and 11-12 concerning the gain and loss of
electrons, 11th graders score the best (9.9 questions on average), followed by 12th graders (8.8 questions on aver-
age) and 10th graders (5.4 questions on average). The aforementioned results also contain testing of application
of concept map in two-tier questions with multiple choices which leads the author to speculate that 11th graders
have a more ingrained grasp of it. All in all, based on the scoring in question 5-6 and 11-12, it can be said that
there is a significant difference between 10th graders and 11th graders, 10th graders and 12th graders. In sum, 11th
graders have significantly better performance than the 10th graders while sharing no significant difference with
the 12th graders.
Student Performance on Concept Maps
This study examined the results of students at various learning levels to distinguish between the conceptual
differences of pre-existing knowledge and given knowledge. In Figure 1 we present a concept map which was
developed after compiling concept maps produced by students in the high achievement group. These students
possessed knowledge regarding oxygen atoms, electrons, and oxidation numbers, and successfully connected
these knowledge nodes by using connectives related to the oxygen atom (gain/discard), electrons (gain/loss), and
oxidation number (increase/decrease).
Figure 1: Concept map for the high-achievement group.
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As shown in Figures 1 & 2, students from the middle- and high-achievement groups were unable to answer the
questions regarding the gain and loss of electrons and the change in the oxidation number, indicating that they had
not formed knowledge connections in this area. The figure also shows that after concept maps were introduced, the
groups did not show explicit differences, however, the learning attitude improved in the low-achievement group.
The low-achievement group possesses little processional knowledge in chemistry classes. It shows that concept
map is more a mental tool rather than a practical one as different students hold distinctive ideas about whether it
can help them achieve higher scores in chemistry classes. The high-achievement group appears to have achieved
better performance on the tests their, because they used the concept maps more.
Figure 2: Concept map for the middle-achievement group.
11th graders tended to make mistakes in the questions involving concept maps. For example, in question 3-6,
the correct answer rate was 45% with the 12th graders scoring the highest followed by the 11th graders and 10th
graders. As the grade ascends the performance in questions of concept maps improves. Also, this shows that the
probability of answering the questions correctly will be increased as the grades of students increased (diSessa,
2002).
12th graders (the high-achievement group) score the highest as their curriculum covers working theories of
electrical batteries, but they still tend to make mistakes on questions 5-10, which were related to electrolysis and
electroplating. An important indication suggested by this analysis is that the concept of redox reaction is useful in
assessing students’ grasp of basic chemistry knowledge. For example, in the 36 questions designed to investigate
their understanding of general knowledge related to oxidation, students’ choices reflect their mental models. One
of their mental models is to rely on a certain vague memory to confirm their perception. Furthermore, Questions
7-12 contain advanced materials as well as some of the basic concepts. Questions 2-4 and 5-9 are especially effective
in examining 11th and 12th graders’ ability to apply basic oxidation knowledge to solve complicated problems. In
oxidation state questions, 12th graders reported finding it easy to apply the theory they have learnt. This indicates
that the scientific mental model, which involves rational thinking, is the most commonly used. By contrast, when
12th graders are solving oxidation state and basic knowledge application questions, the most common mental
model is combustion and decomposition models. The students claimed they could have performed better than
the 11th graders if each combination could be remembered.
As shown in Figure 3, the low-achievement group mostly used connectives to represent their knowledge of
oxidation-reduction. However, it turns out they had false associations regarding the oxidation–reduction reaction
when the number of oxygen atoms was miscalculated. This indicates among 11th graders there is a lack of basic
knowledge regarding electrons and oxidation numbers.
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Figure 3: Concept map for the low-achievement group.
Discussion
Based on our results, we divided the sample of students into high, medium and low levels of understanding
related to redox reactions. As far as the concept of redox reaction itself, the low-achievement group of students
responded poorly in questions regarding the working mechanisms of various redox phenomenon. For example,
some 11th graders mixed up the process of a redox reaction. Some 11th graders answered question 11 incorrectly
because they thought that the redox reaction is concerned with reaction and substances. Their mistakes can be
attributed to their insufficient ability to observe the essence of the micro world. While most low-achievement
students could memorize knowledge related to reactions, a large number of them were not able to apply the
necessary concepts in the test. This indicates that the composite mental model is not the most effective.
The medium-achievement group appeared to have memorized the different concepts related to redox and
applied their knowledge correctly to some degree. For example, they could correctly categorize the given ele-
ments. Moreover, their perception of chemical reactions is consistent with their understanding as represented
by their concept maps. Therefore, a scientific mental model could come into play while they were answering the
two-tiered test. In other words, the medium-achievement group of students could use scientific reasoning to solve
the problems. Most of the medium-achievement students would choose to consider the reaction between the
different factors on a micro level. In combustion questions, they tended to think that the reaction was irrelevant to
the change in oxidation state and this therefore did not represent a redox reaction. This mistake can be attributed
to misconceptions related to oxidation states based on incorrect substance categorization.
In the high-achievement group, the students could reproduce almost all the redox definitions and concepts and
use them in different types of questions. For example, they were able to recognize the consistency in the reactions
that involve particles and electrons. The three groups of students displayed different conceptual knowledge and,
in answering questions regarding redox reactions, they followed different paths to solve the problem at hand. The
high-achievement group typically applied a scientific model from the beginning to end of their problem-solving
process. In comparison, the medium-achievement group tended to follow a slightly varied pattern (scientific model
combined with oxidation state model or the electron model). The low-achievement group followed a distinctively
composite pattern that at times involved almost all of the concepts represented in the concept map.
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In terms of applying oxidation state rules to solve chemistry problems, the three groups also exhibited dif-
ferent approaches. The high-achievement group could recall small details which they successfully combined with
overarching theory. The medium-achievement group tended to hold on doggedly to the theory which at times
inhibited successful application of what they had learnt. The low-achievement group tended to be confused about
various basic concepts.
Conclusions
Effectiveness of Two-tiered Testing
In general, the students selected for this study performed well in questions related to oxygen-loss and
oxygen-gain redox reactions. As the grade level increased, students started to perform better in general knowl-
edge (although this difference was not statistically significant) and in particular on questions related to the loss
and gain of electrons and to application of theory. Although a third of the tenth graders believed that redox
reactions involved the loss of oxygen, they could not accurately explain the phenomenon using redox theory.
They tended to believe that oxidation involves the loss of oxygen, and reduction the gain of oxygen. In different
situations, their explanations regarding the gain or loss of oxygen contradicted each other. A very large number
of the 11th and 12th graders could correctly explain the gain and loss of electrons. Although the differences
between the grades were not significant, it is assumed that twelfth graders perform better in explaining the
dynamic process of redox reactions using the gain and loss of electrons than eleventh graders do. Most students
in all three grades believed that the processes of redox reactions occur simultaneously. Therefore, successful
learning of the correct sequence requires considerable improvement in the understanding of tenth graders.
Theories regarding the gain and loss of oxygen, electron transfer, and the gain and loss of redox states have been
proven to be extremely challenging to students in general. These abstract and hard-to-observe phenomena are
difficult both in conceptualization and application. More often than not, students resort to memorizing rigid rules
in order to get good grades (Kolomuç & Çalık, 2012). Although the textbooks are designed according to evaluations
of students’ interpretative ability and learning capacity, the selection of appropriate theories is still a challenging
task for textbook creators as they must necessarily contain highly abstract knowledge the students have never
encountered before (Lin & Chiu, 2010). This generally leads to students interpreting the micro concepts they see
in the books using macro phenomena (Suchocki, 2013).
Therefore, the presentation of the multiple theory model needs to be thoroughly explained by the teachers.
It is also necessary to introduce wide-range thinking to maintain consistency in theories and applications (McClary
& Talanquer, 2011). In this way, the textbook-based learning of redox reaction can be made more systematic and
effective for students.
Implications
Curriculum Design
Through in-depth interviews, we found evidence that students who were misinformed about basic concepts
or definitions tended to make incorrect inferences extending from these misconceptions. In accordance with
the suggestions of de Jong, Acampo, and Verdonk (1995), it is recommended that teachers seek to under-
stand students’ mental processes with regard to electron transfer and thereafter design a curriculum that
enables students to clarify previously-learnt concepts through experiment, discussion, creative thinking,
and situational adjustment. In this way, students should be able to successfully integrate new concepts into
their knowledge structures.
Certain limitations of two-tier diagnostic testing became apparent during the research. The first is that it
cannot be applied to solve practical problems in students’ learning, especially when the problems happen in a
specific context. The second is that it cannot be used to evaluate the integration rate of information and knowledge
learnt in class. As far as science teachers are concerned, although the two-tier tests can help to measure students’
understanding, they are not of great use when it comes to retaining knowledge as students advance into higher
grades.
Science teachers commonly teach redox reactions by introducing it through a verbal definition and assigning
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various concepts for the students to memorize, such as ‘loss of electrons is associated with oxidation’. Although this
kind of rote learning has its place, starting with memorization drills tends to reduce the students’ interest in going
further with the topic (Kurbanoglu, 2013). Teachers are encouraged to include the discussion of the two-tiered tests
concerning the loss and gain in electrons and redox states. Lawson and Renner (1975) suggested that for classes
of advanced students, more difficult concepts such as the balance of redox reactions and self-oxidation-reduction
reactions can be introduced. McClary and Bretz (2012) suggested that science teachers introduce redox reactions
by introducing a variety of redox reaction experiments using real-life materials such as hair and light bulbs. In this
way, the students will come to understand that there are many redox reactions happening all around them. This
will contribute to helping students cultivate the habit of scientific observation in their everyday lives.
Recommendations for Future Study
The participants for the interviews were selected based on the results of their performance in the two-tier
test and the sample therefore does not follow normal distribution. This restricts the reliability of the end results. If
future research conducted a study of a larger scale, wherein the sample was representative of a specific region or
nation, the results would be more representative of the current trends in this field.
The participants exhibited different levels of understanding regarding the facts and application of redox
reactions. While all had completed the basic curriculum related to redox reactions, they were in different phases
of the curriculum. For example, some students had already moved on to electrochemistry. This lead to gaps in the
collected data . Therefore, in order to avoid this inconsistency, further studies might design a study of increased
duration. If researchers could track changes in terms of mental models, concept maps and performance of the
students, the process of learning chemistry could be more comprehensively analysed.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST, formally called as National Science
Council) of Taiwan (R.O.C) for their financial support under contract NSC95-2511-S-003-025-MY2 and NSC99-2511
-S-003-024-MY3. Special thanks to the Editor and reviewers, all of whom contributed valuable feedback on an
earlier version of this research article.
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Appendix: Sample Questions from Two-tier Diagnostic Test
Bleach water is an effective household cleaner used to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. It was extensively used
when Taiwan experienced a SARS outbreak. It sterilizes through the following reaction:
ClO−(aq) (Hypochlorite) + 2I−(aq) (Iodide) + 2H+(aq) → I2(aq) (Iodine) + H2O(l) + Cl−(aq) (Chloride ion)
( ) Does this reaction equation involve the electron transfer process?
Yes (2) No
( ) Please state the reason for your answer.
Yes
(A) I− loses an electron and becomes I2, whereas chloride ion in ClO− gains an electron and becomes Cl−.
The electron transfers when the oxidation–reduction reaction occurs.
(B) ClO− combines with H+ to form H2O, which is electrically neutral. This step involves an electron transfer.
Therefore, this reaction is not an oxidation–reduction reaction.
(C) Before and after the reaction, the total charge number changes, which can only result from the gain
and loss of electrons.
(D) After ClO− removes the oxygen atom and loses an electron, it forms Cl−. Therefore, electron transfer
occurs in the reaction.
No
(E) ClO−(hypochlorite) first reacts with I−, slowly generating H2O which is electrically neutral.
(F) The reaction is a simple combination and dissociation of ionic compounds.
(G) After ClO− and I− generate I2 in an acidic environment, the reaction ends if there is no electron trans-
fer.
(H) Before and after the reaction, the oxygen numbers of the Cl and I atoms are the same, indicating no
electron transfer.
(I) Before and after the reaction, the atom number does not change and the electron number is con-
served.
(J) The sterilizing principles of the disinfectant fluid do not include combustion and heat, which are not
part of the oxidation–reduction reaction. Therefore, there is no electron transfer.
Edison invented the light bulb to enable us to see in the dark. A lamp is typically used in light bulbs, which
contain volatile gases at high temperatures. By adding iodine and gaseous tungsten to react with the iodine mol-
ecules, we cause the lamp to light up.
The reaction equation is as shown below:
W (tungsten) + I2 (Iodine) → WI2 (tungsten(II) iodide)
( ) What type of chemical reaction is this?
(1) Only an oxidation reaction (2) Only a reduction action
(3) Oxidation–reduction reaction (4) Not an oxidation–reduction reaction
( ) Please state the reason for your answer.
Only an oxidation reaction

(A) The light bulb has a high temperature, and the light and heat involves the participation of oxygen.
Therefore, it is an oxidation reaction.
(B) The oxygen in the air reacts with the metal W and gaseous iodine, thus it is an oxidation reaction.
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Only a reduction reaction

(C) WI2 restores and separates the W (tungsten). Therefore, it is a reduction reaction.
(D) In the process of the reaction, W in WI2 decomposes. The reaction ends immediately and only a simple
reduction reaction occurs.
Oxidation–reduction reaction
(E) The oxidation number of W increases as it becomes part of the compound WI2. At this point, the oxi-
dation number decreases when WI2 reacts to produce gaseous iodine. Therefore, this reaction is an
oxidation–reduction reaction.
(F) W gains an electron and I2 loses an electron because the reaction of I2 involves the gain and loss of an
electron. Therefore, it is an oxidation–reduction reaction.
(G) The oxygen in the air participates in the reaction, generating an oxidation product that loses oxygen.
Therefore, it is an oxidation–reduction reaction.
(H) The oxygen does not participate in the reaction. Therefore, it is not an oxidation–reduction reac-
tion.
(I) No material loses or gains electrons during the reaction. Therefore, it is not an oxidation–reduction
reaction.
(J) The reaction is only the combination of W and I2. Therefore, it is an oxidation–reduction reaction.
(K) The reaction does not involve a change of the oxidation number. Therefore, it is not an oxidation–
reduction reaction.
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Received: August 29, 2013 Accepted: March 10, 2014
Wen-Wei Chiang Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Institute of Science Education and

Environmental Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan
(R.O.C.).
Mei-Hung Chiu Professor, Graduate Institute of Science Education, National Taiwan
(Corresponding author) Normal University, No. 88, Sec. 4, TingChou Rd., Taipei, 11677, Taiwan
(R.O.C.).
E-mail: mhchiu@ntnu.edu.tw
Website: http://science.gise.ntnu.edu.tw/
Hsiao-Lan Chung Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Institute of Science
Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Chemistry Teacher, New Taipei Municipal New Taipei Senior High School,
Taiwan (R.O.C.).
Chun-Keng Liu Ph. D., Chemistry Teacher, Taipei Municipal ChengGong Senior High
School, Taiwan (R.O.C.).
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The effects of multimedia
learning material on
students’ academic
achievement and attitudes
towards science courses
Abstract. This study implemented multi-

Orhan Ercan
media learning material developed for the
5th grade science course topic “Food and
Healthy Nutrition” and examined its effect
on students’ academic achievement and
science attitudes. The study used a control
group, a pre-test-post-test quasi experi-
mental research design, and a convenience
sample consisting of 62 5th grade students.
The research instruments were an achieve-
ment test and a science attitude scale.
During the implementation process the Introduction
experiment group learned using multime-
dia learning material and the control group One of the teaching technologies included in the learning-teaching
learned with traditional methods. Data process is a series of multimedia applications developed due to advances in
were analyzed using an independent-sam- information technologies and cognitive theories. Considering the technol-
ples t test, a paired-samples t-test, and AN- ogy available today, it is imperative that the educational system implement
COVA statistics. According to the findings information technologies. The rapid growth of the internet highlights the
there is a statically significant difference importance of web-based learning environments and paves the way for
between post-test achievement scores of educators to more greatly benefit from multimedia applications. Yui, Liu & Wai
the experimental and control groups, with (2005) emphasize some of the most significant features of web-based learning
the experimental group scoring higher. Also environments, including less need for a multitude of devices; accessibility by
there is a statically significant difference anyone, anywhere, and anytime; independence of time and space limitations;
between students’ post-test scores in terms and worldwide support for communication and cooperation.
of gender, favoring females over males. In Multimedia teaching theory was developed on the basis of theories
terms of science attitude there is also a sig- such as dual coding, limited capacity, and active processing. According to
nificant difference between post-test scores this theory, learning is enhanced when words and pictures are used together
of the experimental and control groups. In (Mayer, 2005). The results obtained in studies which focus on the use of
conclusion it may be said that multimedia multimedia materials support this thesis. For instance, Taşçı & Soran (2008)
learning promotes more effective learning examined the effects of multimedia applications on learning at the level of
in science education. comprehension and implementation in cell division unit in science classes and
Key words: healthy nutrition, multimedia discovered that the experimental group taught with multimedia applications
learning, science achievement, science achieved more compared to the group taught with traditional methods. In
attitudes. the study, undertaken with university students, Su (2008) investigated the
effects of multimedia applications on science performance with the help
of educational software. The results revealed that the use of multimedia
applications contributed to student learning and positively affected their
Orhan Ercan attitudes towards science. In their study with 8th graders, Ardac & Akaygun
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University,
Turkey (2004) found that students who were taught science with multimedia ma-
terials were more successful compared to students who were taught with
traditional methods.
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ISSN 1648–3898 The effects of multimedia learning material on students’ academic achievement and
attitudes towards science courses
(P. 608-621)
Another study which implemented multimedia materials (Chang, Quintana & Krajcik, 2010) investigated
the effects of multimedia applications on 7th graders’ performance in science class. The study focused on three
different groups of students and concluded that learning was more effective in the group taught with multimedia
applications. In their study on learning physics, Günel, Hand & Gündüz (2006) stated, that the group presented
with multimedia applications was more successful than the groups taught with traditional methods. There are
various studies in literature regarding multimedia applications (Neo & Neo, 2001; Norhayati & Siew, 2004; Kim
& Gilman, 2008; Neo & Neo, 2009; Tsai, 2009; Chien & Chang, 2012). In addition to studies which stress the posi-
tive effects of multimedia applications on learning, there are also studies that state the opposite (Guan, 2009;
Montazemi, 2006; Rasch & Schnotz, 2009).
Healthy nutrition is now considered as a unit in science classes due to the rise of obesity in today’s youth.
Healthy nutrition is one of the conditions for a healthy life since malnutrition and an unbalanced diet are con-
sidered among the causes for many diseases, such as heart conditions, cancer, diabetes, and obesity (Hawkes,
2004). Health experts and health institutions regard healthy nutrition’s inclusion in basic health education in
Turkey as important in raising healthy individuals and a healthy society (Gökkoca, 2001; Turkish Ministry of Health,
2011; WHO, 2012b). In this context there are various implementations possible to raise awareness in society
for healthy nutrition. For instance, the World Health Organization has developed assessment tools to identify
nutrition and activity in countries, a global strategy for physical activity and health, and implementations for a
nutrition-friendly schools initiative (Hawkes, 2004; WHO, 2006; WHO, 2012a; WHO, 2012b). According to official
records, the rate of obesity in England is 30% for children between age 2 and 15 and 61.3% for adults (United
Kingdom Department of Health, 2013). To promote health in society, the Department of Health in the United
Kingdom government is implementing a series of projects that promote healthy nutrition, a healthy diet, and
regular physical activity. In addition to England, many countries such as Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada,
2013), Australia (Australia Department of Health, 2010), the United States of America (US National Institutes of
Health, 2011) and the European Union Countries (EU Directorate-General for Health & Consumers, 2010) have
implemented various programs to raise societal awareness of healthy nutrition (Domnariu, 2010).
Nutrition, a factor that affects development in the early childhood period, is emphasized as crucial for a
healthy future life (Domnariu, 2010). Diseases - including obesity - resulting from malnutrition or unbalanced
nutrition can be observed worldwide in the period of childhood (WHO, 2006).
Considering the importance of healthy nutrition on overall health, it is crucial to educate children early in
their development. The World Health Organization’s initiatives to promote nutrition-friendly schools include
providing nutrition education in schools (WHO, 2006). The World Health Organization also suggests school-
based implementation for educating adolescents (WHO, 2009). A series of projects implemented by the Turkish
Ministry of Health (2011) at schools to introduce students to the habits of healthy nutrition and regular physical
activities are examples of school-based implementations. In addition to these types of applications, 5th grade
Science and Technology classes in Turkey include units on healthy nutrition (Turkish Board of Education, 2012).
England includes healthy nutrition as a teaching unit beginning in 2nd grade. Students in England are taught
about eating the right amounts of different foods, the different food types, and the importance of exercise
(UK Department for Education, 2013). In Finland, healthy nutrition is taught in 5th grade science education and
there is an independent course called health education beginning in the 7th grade (Finnish National Board of
Education, 2013).
Information gleaned from literature shows that multimedia applications provide opportunities to facilitate
learning. Therefore, multimedia applications can be utilized to make learning more effective in important top-
ics such as healthy nutrition and to support implementation of this knowledge in real life. The lack of studies
regarding multimedia applications in nutritional education in the existing literature strengthens the importance
of the current study. As stated by Ausubel (1968), learning is meaningful when prior knowledge is associated
with new knowledge, and multimedia applications create opportunities to internalize these associations.
Many studies report that achievement, motivation and learning attitudes of students with different learn-
ing styles are changed positively when teaching designs are supported with technology, including web-based
designs (Lu, Yu, & Liu, 2003; Kettanurak, Ramamurthy & Haseman, 2001). In this context, the current study aims to
identify changes in 5th grade student achievement and attitudes towards science class due to the implementa-
tion of multimedia materials developed to teach healthy nutrition.
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Aim of the Study
Nowadays, because of the rapid spread of the internet usage, using internet effectively in learning environ-
ments has become a necessity. Considering children’s interest on computer and internet and the time they spend
on using them, it is clear that in science classes teachers should benefit more from these environments. Therefore,
the study mainly focuses on searching the effect of using multimedia assisted educational technology on students’
science learning. The study aims to investigate students’ academic achievement and their attitudes towards science
in learning environment by using web based software in the subject of foods and healthy nutrition. The current
study investigated academic achievement and attitudes towards science classes of students, who were taught
using web-based software with multimedia assisted educational animation in the “Foods and Healthy Nutrition”
1. Does the instructional material make significant differences in students’ academic achievement in “Food
and Healthy Nutrition” subject?
2. Does the instructional material make significant differences in students’ attitudes towards science?
Research Design
In the study, a non-equivalent control group design - a type of quasi-experimental design - was used, since
the educational system did not allow for randomly placing students in groups and because the groups were
pre-designed (Gall, Gall & Borg, 1996). One experimental and one control group were selected in a school in the
Kahramanmaraş Province during the 2011-2012 academic years. Groups containing 31 5th grade students each were
randomly selected. Experimental and control groups were taught by the same teacher who can use multimedia
material. Prior to the application, lecture plans for both groups were prepared and processing the same content
for both groups was taken into consideration.
The control group was taught following the activities included in the Science and Technology textbook (Turkish
Ministry of National Education, 2011) and the experimental group was taught with the software developed by the
researcher based on a multimedia-assisted educational animation web-based learning method. The experimental
group was taught in the computer laboratory under the guidance of the teacher and included individual student
work. Lesson plans were prepared and methods determined by the researcher were utilized during teaching and
no changes were undertaken during classes. The implementation lasted for eight weeks (32 class hours), including
the pre-test, post test, pilot implementation, and the actual implementation.
Software
Multi-media can be identified as an environment in which text, pictures, sound, animation, video or a combina-
tion of these media are used for students to access information. Using multimedia material as an option with texts,
pictures, animations and videos can make learning easier (Mayer, 2003). It is also situated in Paivio’s dual coding
theory (Paivio, 1991). Paivio explains that both hemispheres of the brain are used actively in learning environments
in which both visual and textual information items are used.
The multimedia software is developed according to the principles of cognitive theory of multimedia learn-
ing (CTML) (Yue et al., 2013). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning and cognitive load theory give information
about learning from words and visuals. According to these theories suggested, there are two distinct channels in
the human information processing system, one of them processes information presented in a visual format and
the other processes information presented in an auditory or verbal format (Issa et al., 2011). The capacity of these
channels is limited. While learning, different parts of human memory system work. Issa et al. (2011) explain the
cognitive learning process in their study as given below: Sensory memory can get unlimited information through
verbal and pictorial stimuli, but only limited amount of these stimuli can be processed at any given time. The
selected information is transferred to the working memory. There, the information is organised and this takes a
significant amount of time. The schema, prepared by Issa et al. (2011) that displays dual channel theory for multi-
media learning, is given below.
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Figure 1: Dual Channel Theory for Multimedia Learning (Issa et al., 2011).
The software contains “Foods and balanced diet, the necessity of nutrients, the content of them, their func-
tions, healthy nutrition” subject that is in science curriculum. The educational gains of the curriculum are given
below (Turkish Ministry of National Education, 2006);
Related to the necessity of foods and healthy nutrition students:

•• realize that living organisms need nutrition to sustain vital activities;
•• identify the primary duties of nutrition contents in our bodies;
•• test the amount of carbohydrates, protein and fat content in foods;
•• search for the vitamins and which of the foods have rich vitamin contents and present their research;
•• indicate that all the nutrients and minerals are found in water and they serve as regulator in our bod-
ies;
•• prepare an example of a balanced diet;
•• search for the freshness of the food, the cleanliness and the health effects of additives contained and
present their research;
•• know the importance of the expiration date on packaged foods;
•• explain that food varieties increased in parallel with the scientific-technological development.
In the Software, above-mentioned achievements of the curriculum are processed separately. In the introduc-
tion part of the Software, students ask for “why do we eat? What is ringing in your stomach and will you feel when
it is happening?” and photos of some animals while they are eating something are presented. By the way, students
discuss the idea that nutrients are needed for all life events. After this discussion, students investigate the priority
of nutrition contents for our body. Students are requested to guess which of the foods have rich content of carbo-
hydrates, protein, fat and take their duty in the body. After that they are requested to conduct the activity. In the
activity, students are requested to classify some foods such as bread, potato, egg, sugar and walnut according to
their characteristics. Then, by the help of educational agent they drop iodine solution on them and observe the
color changes. The blue-purple, brown color displays the carbohydrate content. By the help of educational agent
they drop nitric acid on them and the yellow color displays the protein content. For the third group, nutrition’s
rubbed on paper and the transparence on paper shows the presence of oil.
The prepared multimedia material contains animations that resemble the cartoons broadcasted in Turkish
television channels for the target group of 10-11 year old children. Dubbing was done by adults with voices re-
sembling those of children. Short animations depicting what will be watched precede the animation that will be
used in each class (Figure 1).
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Figure 2: General outlook of the software.
The user guide includes nutrition, foods/nutrients, nutritional elements, “let’s learn about foods”, healthy nu-
trition, and evaluation sections. An educational agent welcomes students at the beginning of each section, asks
students motivational focus questions, and directs the students by using visual and auditoria alerter (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Content.
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The “Back” button directs students to the main page and allows them to move on to the other topics. After
lesson presentations are completed, the students are asked to complete the activities to present what they have
learned.
In the software, it is examined that when healthy nutrition is not implemented, people face with health prob-
lems such as obesity, which is examined in the software. It is highlighted that, today, one of the most important health
problems the world faces is obesity. Examples of food menus for a healthy diet are prepared with the students.
As described in the examples above, lectures were conducted in an interactive learning environment which is
appropriate for multimedia learning. So learning environment was designed for students in which they can learn
by individual and whole-class discussions, along with the help of computers.
The Nutritional Education program was prepared by Microsoft Visual Studio C# 2008 software coding. The
design of the forms, buttons and other visual elements used in the program was performed with Adobe Photoshop
CS4 software. Adobe Flash CS4 Professional software was used in the animations presented inside the program. A
setup file was prepared so that attachments in the program could work accurately and completely.
Working Group
66 5th graders attending a primary school in the province of Kahramanmaraş participated in the study. Four
students in the control group were excluded from the study since they did not attend some of the lectures during
the implementation and also did not answer some of the questions in the scales. A pilot implementation on the
topic of “Necessity for Nutrients” was provided for two weeks to familiarize the experimental group students (N =
31) with the method. Pre-tests were given to both groups before the pilot implementation. Working group was
formed according to the simple probability sampling method. Simple probabilistic method is a selection process
in which selecting n items from N items and the item has equal chance of being selected from the N (Wales, Wales
& Borg, 1996).
Data Collection Tools
As a data collection tool, the study implemented an academic achievement test prepared in line with the goals
from the 5th grade Science and Technology class topic “Nutrients and Healthy Nutrition” in the unit “Let’s Solve the
Puzzle of Our Bodies”. To prepare the achievement test, 4-item multiple choice questions were generated on the
topics of healthy nutrition, varieties of nutrients, balanced nutrition, and the importance of exercise. An achieve-
ment test of 35 questions was prepared in this phase. Five of these questions were eliminated and the possible
answers of five questions were changed after assessing the views of science and biology teachers. The test was
then finalized for the pilot implementation. The developed achievement test was implemented on 164 students
who had previously taken the lesson and were now attending a state and private school in the provincial center
of Kahramanmaraş for reliability analysis.
After the trial, implementation item and test analyses were undertaken in order to identify the items for the
academic achievement test that would be used in the experimental implementation. Item difficulty indexes and
item discrimination indexes were calculated for each item in the item analysis. Items with item discrimination in-
dexes lower than 0.30 were eliminated from the test. The test was also examined via dependent group t-tests to
identify whether significant differences occurred between the lower and higher 30% segments. A p > 0.05 value
was obtained. Item difficulty indexes, item standard deviations, and t-test values for the items valid for the achieve-
ment test were obtained at the end of the analyses of the 30 items. The number of questions was reduced to 28
after performing the analyses. The highest score that can be obtained from the test is 28 and the lowest is zero.
The Kuder Richardson reliability coefficient of the test (KR-20) was 0.85. According to this value, the test can be
accepted as reliable. Examples of Academic Achievement Test are given App.-1.
Student attitudes towards science and technology were obtained by the “Science and Technology Attitude
Scale” developed by Nuhoğlu (2008). The scale is a three-point Likert type and contains a total of 20 statements;
ten positive and ten negative. Reverse coding was implemented on the negative statements during the analysis.
The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the original scale was calculated as 0.87 and that of the current study
was calculated to be 0.82.
Parametric analyses were used since the data showed normal distribution, were homogeneous, because
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the sample size was sufficient (Frankel & Wallen, 2006). Before analysis process, one Sample Kolmogorov Smirnov
analysis is conducted to clarify if the data has normal distribution [for academic achievement test: ppretest = 0,864,
0,392 (experimental group, control group); ppostest = 0,229, 0,377 (experimental group, control group); for attitude
test: ppretest = 0,498, 0,06 (experimental group, control group); ppostest = 0,380, 0,152 (experimental group, control
group)] and for all analysis p > 0,05. In one sample K-S analysis when p > 0,05 is, we can say that the data has normal
distribution (Field, 2009) The analyses included arithmetic means, total scores, standard deviations, frequency and
percentages. t-test and ANCOVA analyses were utilized in comparisons.
Results of Research
Achievement scores of the experimental and control groups were taken into consideration to evaluate the
effect of web-based software with multimedia assisted educational animation on learning. As an indicator of ef-
fectiveness, the study compared the achievement scores of the experimental and control groups to each other
and within themselves to determine the effect of the software. The differences between pre-tests, post-test, and
attitude scores of both groups were compared.
An independent samples t-test was undertaken to observe whether there were significant differences in
attitude scores between the experimental and control groups prior to the study. The results are presented in
Table 1.
Table 1. Relationship between groups’ pre-test attitude scores.
M SD
Experimental 1.57 0.17

Control 1.56 0.16
The results show that there existed no significant differences in “attitudes towards science and technology”
scores between the experimental and control groups prior to the study (t(60) = 0.307; p > 0.05). According to their
pre-test attitude scores, the experimental and control groups were at the same level prior to the study.
An independent samples t-test was undertaken to observe whether there existed significant differences in
academic achievement scores between the experimental and control groups prior to study. The results are pre-
sented in Table 2.
Table 2. Relationship between groups’ pre-test academic achievement scores.
M SD

Control 15.81 4.91
The results reveal that there existed no significant differences in academic achievement scores between the
experimental and control groups prior to the study (t(60) = 0.495; p > 0.05). According to their pre-test academic
achievement scores, the experimental and control groups were at the same level prior to study.
Having controlled both groups’ pre-test academic achievement and attitude scores, a covariance analysis (AN-
COVA) was implemented on the data to observe whether there were statistically significant differences in academic
achievement scores between experimental and control groups after the study. Results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3. Results of ANCOVA analysis after controlling pre-test academic achievement and attitude scores*.
Group M SD df F
Experimental 28.333 0.609 1-58 29.581

Control 19.070 0.609
*
R2= 0.528
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According to Table 3, the model used in ANCOVA analysis is meaningful (p = 0,000 for the model) and the
implemented model can explain 53% of the variance in cognitive achievement in the topic of healthy nutrition (R2
= 0.528). Examining Table 3 to observe whether post-test academic achievement scores of the groups statistically
differed shows a significant difference between groups (mean difference = 4.763; p < 0.05). Variances of the post
test scores of the groups were compared with the Levene test to decide which test to use in identifying the location
of the difference and it was found that group variations were equal. (Levene statistics = 0.589 and p = 0.446 > 0.05).
Since the variations of the groups’ academic achievement post-test scores were equal in the study, independent
samples t-test, a parametric analysis method, was used and the results are summarized in Table 4.
Table 4. Relationships between groups’ post-test academic achievement scores.
M SD

Control 19.35 5.05
Table 4 presents a significant difference in favor of experimental group between post-test academic achieve-
ment scores of experimental and control groups after the study (t(60) = 3.876; p < 0.05). The effect size of students’
post-test academic achievement scores is calculated as Cohen’s d. The effect size value is calculated
by given formula and the value is 0.98. The value displays that the effect size is large.
This result shows that implemented software had positive effects on student achievement. Independent
samples t-test was implemented to observe whether there were significant differences between experimental and
control groups according to arithmetic means of the attitude scores and the results are provided in Table 5.
Table 5. Relationships between groups’ post-test attitude scores.
M SD

Control 1.57 0.15
Table 5 presents a significant difference between post-test attitude scores of the experimental and control
groups after the study, favoring the experimental group (t(60) = 2.065; p < 0.05). The effect size of students’ post-test
attitude scores Cohen’s d is calculated as 0.52. According to this, it can be said, that the effect size of multimedia
material on experimental group students’ post-test scores is medium level. This result reveals that web-based
software with multimedia assisted educational animation positively increased students’ attitudes towards sci-
ence and technology. A dependent samples t-test was implemented to observe whether there were significant
differences in the experimental group’s academic achievement scores prior to and after the study. The results are
provided in Table 6.
Table 6. Comparison of the pre-test and post-test achievement scores of the experimental group.
M SD
Pre-test 15.29 3.10

Post-test 23.55 3.28
Table 6 reveals a significant difference between the experimental group’s pre-test and post-test academic
achievement scores, in favor of their post-test scores (t(30) = 12.853; p < 0.05). According to this, Cohen’s d is calcu-
lated as 3.26. It can be said, that the effect size of pre-test scores of experimental group on post-test scores is large.
This result suggests that the implemented software increased students’ academic achievement. An independent
samples t-test was implemented to observe whether there were significant differences among genders in the
experimental and control groups’ post-test academic achievement scores. The results are provided in Table 7.
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Table 7. Relationships between Achievement and Gender.
M SD
Female 22.56 3.67

Male 19.57 5.72
Table 7 shows a significant difference between female students’ academic achievement scores and male
students’ academic achievement scores, in favor of female students (t(60) = 2.518; p < 0.05). Cohen’s d value is
calculated as 0, 64. According to this, the effect size of gender on achievement is medium level. This finding may
suggest that the software developed and implemented in the framework of the study did not have the same ef-
fect across genders.
The study also examined possible statistically significant differences between genders in the academic
achievement scores of the experimental and control groups when pre-test achievement scores and attitude scores
are controlled. A covariance analysis (ANCOVA) was implemented on the data for this purpose and the findings
are presented in Table 8.
Table 8. Results of ANCOVA analysis when pre-test scores are controlled*.
Data Resource MS df F p
Model 751,193 5 13,789 0.000

Pre-Academic Achievement** 0,120 1 0,012 0.914
Attitude** 15,706 1 1,442 0.235
Gender 7,865 1 0,722 0.399
Group 309,381 1 28,395 0.000
Group*Gender 22,975 1 2,109 0.152
Error 610,162 56
Total 29892 62
* R2= 0,552 ** Controlled Variables
According to Table 8, the model used in the ANCOVA analysis is meaningful (p = 0.000 for the model) and the
implemented model can explain 55% of the variance in cognitive achievement in the topic of healthy nutrition
(R2 = 0.552). η2 value is calculated as 0.74. According to this, when the pre-test scores are taken under control, the
effect size of the gender and group on the academic achievement is large. Further, no significant differences exist
between the combined effects of groups, gender, and implemented method, and post-test academic achievement
scores (for combined effect of group and gender, F = 2.109; p > 0.05).
Discussion
The current study investigated the academic achievement and attitudes towards science classes of students,
who were taught with web-based software featuring multimedia assisted educational animation in the “Foods and
Healthy Nutrition” topic in Science and Technology class. Post-test academic achievement scores of students, who
were taught with web-based software with multimedia assisted educational animation, were found to be higher
than those of control group students and the difference was observed to be statistically significant [(t(60) = 3.876;
p = 0.000)]. This finding is supported by various studies in the literature. For instance, Sun, Lin & Yu (2008) identified
in their research that web-based virtual laboratory applications increased student academic achievement more
than traditional methods. Similarly, a study conducted by Hwang, Wu & Ke (2011) found that web-based teaching
methods enriched by concept maps positively affected student achievement and attitudes towards science. There
are additional studies which reveal similar conclusions (Traynor, 2003; Ardaç & Akaygün, 2004; Çepni, Taş & Köse,
2006; Liao, 2007; Hwang & Chang, 2011). The results of the current study illustrate that multimedia applications
used in the topic of healthy nutrition help raise students’ awareness of obesity, a common problem today.
This situation was identified during the development of the academic achievement test with the help of
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inquiry questions to detect whether students had acquired awareness of healthy nutrition. For instance, the test
included the following question: “When Faruk fell, his wounds healed late. A lack of which nutrients in his body
may have caused this situation?”. This question was answered correctly by 28 students in the experimental group
whereas only 21 students in the control group answered the question correctly. Similarly, the question “What
should we not do in order to have balanced and healthy nutrition?” was answered correctly by 26 students in the
experimental group, whereas only 15 students in the control group answered the question correctly. Therefore,
it can be argued that use of multimedia applications had a positive effect in raising student awareness of healthy
and balanced nutrition. Indeed, Wang’s (2004) study emphasized that multimedia software are effective in raising
students’ content awareness of the related subject.
The effect of multimedia applications on student achievement is due to the applications’ innately interactive
learning environments. With both visual and auditory presentation, multimedia applications can simultaneously
address students with different learning styles. In today’s information age, students can connect with the internet
beginning at an early age. Presenting science lessons in web environments in attractive formats suitable to their
cognitive developments will bring growth in academic achievement and positive attitudes towards the subject
matter. In their study, Dunsworth & Atkinson (2007) determined that multimedia learning environments used in
science education positively contributed to learning via their visual content and animated educational agents.
Another reason that multimedia applications positively affect student achievement may be because they
create correct mental models or images in learning complex and abstract science concepts. Although individu-
als express concepts in statements in the form of hypotheses, they actually think with mental models. Therefore,
whether we understand a concept or not is simply related to the formation of the correct mental model. Multimedia
applications contribute to the generation of correct mental models by students.
The study investigated the relationship between students’ post-test academic achievement scores and gen-
ders and a significant difference was detected in favor of the female students (t(60) = 2.518; p = 0.014). This find-
ing suggested that gender and group common effect should also be examined when pre-test achievement and
attitude scores were controlled. The resulting ANCOVA analysis showed no significant differences in this regard (F
= 2.109; p = 0.152). Therefore, it was concluded that the implemented software had the same effect rate on male
and female students.
The study shows that there existed significant differences between experimental and control group students
in attitudes towards science and technology (t(58) = 2.065; p = 0.043). Accordingly, web-based software with mul-
timedia assisted educational animation implemented on the experimental group was found to positively affect
not only student achievement, but also their attitudes towards science. Similar studies in literature show that mul-
timedia software affects the development of student attitudes towards science (Su, 2008; Hwang, Wu & Ke, 2011).
It is believed, that the effect of multimedia applications, used in the current study on attitudes towards science,
resulted from the use of animations that were attractive and age appropriate. The educational agents, visuals and
dubbing used in the software were designed in a way to attract student interest and students were highly interested
in the software. Student views related to the educational agents, visuals, and dubbing used in the software were
not obtained, however it was identified via informal observations that students liked the content.
In line with the findings from this research, it is important to be careful while designing learning activities to
develop students’ attitudes as well as students’ learning scientific concepts. Especially considering the age group of
students, this type of learning environment will be a guide for new multimedia creations and other experimental
methods. This finding is thought to make an important contribution to the literature.
The results of the study have displayed, that following to the application, there is a significant increase of
students in experimental group achievement and attitude scores in favor of the post test. Since attitudes are related
to our feelings, when a joyful learning environment is presented to students, it can be said that students’ positive
attitudes are developed and their achievement is increased. It is known, that many factors are affecting the success
(Germann , 1988; Simpson & Oliver , 1990; Singh , Granville, & Dika , 2002) . One of these is attitudes (Germann,
1988). In line with the findings from this research, while designing science classes, the teachers should be careful in
designing activities for developing positive attitudes as well as developing effective concept teaching activities.
Especially, considering the age group of students, this type of learning environment will be made thereafter
multimedia creation and other experimental methods should be considered in the design. This finding is thought
to make an important contribution to the literature.
In the light of the findings, obtained from the current study, it was examined to see whether the use of web-
based software with multimedia assisted educational animation or the use of activities based on text books, was
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more effective in developing mental models. The result shows that web-based software with multimedia assisted
educational animation was more effective in the development of mental models. The effect of web-based software
with multimedia assisted educational animation on student achievement can be observed via the students’ more
active participation in the web-based learning process. Students in the experimental group learned in the com-
puter laboratory and each one of them directly participated in the learning process. Direct and active participation
may have resulted from the fact, that web-based software with multimedia assisted educational animation, was
appropriate to students’ mental development levels, suitable to their interests and social experiences, and was
inherently motivational. As an implication of 5th graders’ ages, they were more attuned to animation-based com-
puter games and the TV programs they watched, which helped them to better understand the web-based software
with multimedia assisted educational animation. The fact that the implemented program included animations
may have contributed to the increase in positive attitudes towards science. Visual content and educational agent
animations in the software increased learning.
The results of the study imply that web-based software with multimedia assisted educational animation, is
more suitable to the mental processes of 5th grade students and is therefore more suitable to learning strategies,
and makes lessons more interesting, fun and pleasant. Especially in recent years, web-based teaching materials
have become important components of learning. The use of distance education applications in learning environ-
ments has increased the importance of web-based educational software to a greater extent (Tekerek, Ercan &
Tekerek, 2011; Tekerek & Ercan, 2012). Therefore, the study encourages the development of multimedia based
educational materials for different science units in 5th grade and other grade levels to contribute to the learning
and teaching processes. These materials can also be developed and implemented for different lessons at different
grade levels. It is crucial to replicate the current study with different samples to evaluate the generalized effects
of these materials.
Conclusions
In recent age, students are fond of using technology. They use them so willingly and have more positive at-
titudes towards technology compared to the previous generation before them. Therefore, web based materials
can be used in learning environments for an effective learning. Students’ positive attitudes towards learning mate-
rial effect their attitudes towards science and the learning subject positively. For this reason, using instructional
materials preferred by students is inevitable.
In the traditional approach, students sit passively and wait for the information. And this situation generally
decreases students’ motivation. They get bored easily. Therefore, teachers should find alternative teaching meth-
ods for learning. At this point, technology based instructional materials are very effective. Web based instructional
materials address students’ different senses. When teachers provide students’ learning environments enriched
by different senses, students learn more easily and effectively. Instructional materials can address students with
different characteristics and give them opportunity to learn in their own learning way and speed. The subject of
healthy nutrition is very important for children. When they learn this subject in early ages, they will be healthy
adults in future.
In the content of the study, a multimedia software related to the subject of “Food and healthy nutrition”
has been developed and applied to the students. Due to the rapid advancement of computer technology and
students’ positive attitudes towards computer technologies, many instructional multimedia tools, related to the
subjects which are difficult to be understood by students and their applications can be found in litrature. In this
study, the subject may seem to be easy to learn by students, but according to the WHO data, obesity is one of
the most serious health problems we struggle with. Therefore, the importance of struggling with obesity and
healthy nutrition subjects have been selected. The most important aspects of this study, apart from other studies,
is teaching a subject from the core of the life to the students by using a technology which students are fond of,
instead of teaching a difficult subject more easily. In this sense, the increase of students’ academic achievement
in experimental group and statistically significant increase in attitude scores display, that the student reaches its’
goal and develops awareness related to the subject. With this aspect of the research, the research is thought to be
original and contributes to the literature in this regard.
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APPENDIX
Examples of the test questions are given below.
Zeynep’s mum says that she should always eat natural foods. According to this, which of the foods given below
should not eat Zeynep?
A) Chocolate
B) Orange
C) Egg
D) Milk
“ meat –milk –egg –fish – sunflower”

When we group the foods given above according to their origins, which of them does stay out of the group?
A) Meat
B) Egg
C) Milk
D) Sunflower
What should we think about “balanced diet”?

A) Eating mostly vegetables and fruits
B) Eating each group of nutrition in sufficient amounts
C) Eating food with rich vitamin
D) Eating meat, milk and egg so often
What should we do for dental health?

A) Do not eat large amounts of sugary foods
B) Do not eat sugary foods before meals.
C) Should eat milk-yoghurt-cheese in sufficient amounts
D) Should brush our teeth per a week
Which of the foods given below do cause obesity when it eaten in large amounts?
A) Carbohydrate
B) Protein
C) Vitamin
D) Mineral
Received: April 30, 2014 Accepted: July 15, 2014
Orhan Ercan PhD., Assistant Professor, KSU Faculty of Education, Department of Primary Science
Education, Avsar Campus, 46100, Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
E-mail: orhanercan@gmail.com
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UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’
CONCEPTIONS OF THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS
AND THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN MATHEMATICS AND
PHYSICS LEARNING
Abstract. The present study identified Serkan Kapucu

university students’ conceptions of math-
ematics and physics as well as students’
conceptions of mathematics and physics
learning. Furthermore, the study elicited
university students’ conceptions of the rela-
tionship between mathematics and physics
and the relationship between mathematics
and physics learning. As a final, the study Introduction
compared university students’ concep-
tions of mathematics and physics as well Learner conceptions are important due to their far-reaching influence on
as students’ conceptions of mathematics thought and behaviour (Ponte, 1994). For example, learners’ conceptions – in
and physics learning. A purposeful sample
particular, their conceptions of learning – play a key role in their desire to learn
of university students (pre-service elemen-
mathematics (Andrews & Hatch, 1999) and science (Tsai, 2004). Thompson
tary science and mathematics teachers)
who had taken required mathematics and
(1992) defines conceptions as “conscious or subconscious beliefs, concepts,
physics courses participated in the study. meanings, rules, mental images and preferences” (p. 132), and conceptions
Open-ended questionnaires and interviews of learning are defined as “the ways in which the learners make sense of
were used to collect data. The analysis learning in general” (Bowden & Marton, 2003, p. 69).
found that most students believed that
mathematics was closely related to physics Theoretical Framework
and that it was difficult to succeed in phys-
ics without understanding mathematics. In Conceptions are cognitive in nature and part of knowledge (Ponte,
addition, more students exhibited coherent 1994). They reflect individuals’ belief systems (Ernest, 1989). Andrews and
conceptions of physics and higher-level
Hatch (1999) claim that individuals’ conceptions are framed by their beliefs.
conceptions of physics learning com-
There are some classifications for conceptions and conceptions of learning
pared to the number of the students with
coherent conceptions of mathematics and
in the literature. For example, Ernest (1989) classified mathematics teachers’
higher-level conceptions of mathematics philosophical conceptions of mathematics as instrumentalist (mathematics is
learning. How the nature of the disciplines a set of rules and skills acquired for a particular purpose), Platonist (mathemat-
of mathematics and physics affects the ics is a static, unified body of knowledge) and problem solving (mathematics
development of student conceptions is is continually in flux and evolving). Crawford, Gordon, Nicholas and Prosser
discussed. (1994) claimed that university students’ conceptions of mathematics could
Key words: conceptions, conceptions of be dichotomised as fragmented (mathematics involves numbers, rules and
learning, mathematics, physics, qualitative formulas) and cohesive (mathematics involves a complex logical system and
study. way of thinking). In addition, some university teachers viewed mathematics as
problem solving that involves a set of notations and symbols used to analyse
models abstracted from reality that serves as a tool for other sciences (Mura,
Serkan Kapucu
Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Turkey
1993, 1995). Wood, Petocz and Reid’s (2012) recent classification of mathemat-
ics conceptions extended the Crawford et al.’s (1994) classification and iden-
tified three conceptions of mathematics: mathematics is about components
(viewing mathematics as the study of numbers, calculation and disparate
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PHYSICS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS LEARNING
(P. 622-636)
mathematical activities), mathematics is about models (mathematics is related to models that represent real-life
situations), and mathematics is about life (mathematics is a way of thinking that is related to everyday life).
Conceptions of learning also exert considerable influence on approaches to learning. Purdie and Hattie
(2002) argued that the literature presented two prominent approaches to classifying conceptions of learning: a
surface understanding of learning that involves the attainment, reproduction and use of knowledge and a deep
understanding of learning that involves the construction of meaning and personal change. Similarly, Crawford et
al. (1994) presented two types of university students’ conceptions of mathematics learning: reproduction, which
involves learning to reproduce knowledge and procedures through memorisation, and understanding, which
involve learning by doing to acquire a relational understanding of theory and concepts.
In a prominent study of conceptions of learning conducted by Saljo in 1979 (cited in Tsai, 2004; Purdie & Hat-
tie, 2002), individuals exhibited five different conceptions of learning, conceiving of learning as: (1) an increase in
knowledge; (2) memorisation; (3) the acquisition of facts and procedures to be remembered and/or utilised in practice;
(4) the abstraction of meaning; and (5) an interpretative process aimed at understanding reality. Following Saljo’s
(1979) study, some researchers (e.g., Marshall, Summer, & Woolnough, 1999; Marton, Dall’Alba & Beaty, 1993; Tsai,
2004) also categorised conceptions of learning. For example, Marton et al.’s (1993) categorisation of conceptions of
learning included the novel concept of personal change. Marshall et al. (1999) categorised conceptions of learning
as: (1) memorising definitions, equations and procedures; (2) applying equations and procedures; (3) making sense of
physical concepts and procedures; (4) seeing phenomena in the world in a new way; and (5) personal change. Tsai (2004)
investigated high school students’ conceptions of learning in a specific scientific domain and identified seven di-
mensions of conceptions of scientific learning in Chinese culture that were consistent with the findings of previous
studies (e.g., Marshall et al., 1999; Marton et al., 1993; Saljo, 1979). Lee, Johanson and Tsai (2008) presented a new
categorisation of conceptions of science learning by developing a questionnaire that reduced the seven dimensions
of conceptions of learning science identified by Tsai (2004) to six dimensions. Tsai, Ho, Liang and Lin (2011) identi-
fied three of these six dimensions as lower-level conceptions of science learning, in which science learning involves
practicing problems and memorising facts and rules, and three dimensions identified as higher-level conceptions
of learning science, in which science learning involves an increase in knowledge and knowledge application.
Related Literature
The following review of the literature primarily focuses on conceptions of mathematics and science and
conceptions of mathematics and science learning and teaching.
Conceptions of Mathematics and Mathematics Learning and Teaching
Some researchers (e.g., Andrews & Hatch, 2000; Pehkonen & Tompa, 1994; Petocz et al., 2007) have compared
learner conceptions of mathematics or mathematics learning and teaching across different countries. For example,
Andrews and Hatch (2000) noted that Hungarian and English teachers’ conceptions of mathematics and mathematics
teaching were similar in certain respects. For example, both groups believed that mathematics teaching included
teaching mathematical skills, encouraging problem solving and explanation of the life. A study of elementary
school students revealed that Finnish students’ conceptions were more calculation-centred and emphasised teacher
control over student learning compared to Hungarian students’ conceptions (Pehkonen & Tompa, 1994). A more
recent study that compared conceptions of mathematics learning internationally (Petocz et al., 2007) focused on
undergraduate conceptions of mathematics. They found that there were significant differences in the mathematics
conceptions of students from different universities and that more senior students exhibited broader conceptions
of mathematics and viewed mathematics as an approach toward life and a way of thinking.
Some researchers (e.g., Gordon & Nicholas, 2013; Lloyd, 2013) have tested the effectiveness of pre-service
education programmes on the development of mathematics conceptions. Gordon and Nicholas (2013) investi-
gated university students’ conceptions of a mathematics bridging course designed to “provide students with a way
forward with their chosen degree programme, and to ameliorate students’ difficulties with mathematics” (p. 110).
They found that students perceived the course as helpful in improving their approach to learning mathematics
and extending their thinking skills. Lloyd (2013) found that many practices and mathematics conceptions of pre-
service mathematics teachers in pre-service education were observed in their in-service activities.
Another important research area related to conceptions of mathematics has focused on conceptions of
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mathematical proof. Basturk (2010) investigated mathematics student teachers’ conceptions of mathematical proof
and found that students considered mathematical proof necessary for identifying mathematics connections. Ko’s
(2010) study reviewed conceptions of mathematical proof and focused on the importance of proof in mathemat-
ics. She found that mathematics teachers with an inadequate understanding of proofs experienced difficulty in
teaching proofs.
Conceptions of Science and of Science Learning and Teaching
In the field of science, studies primarily have focused on conceptions of science learning and teaching, such
as the relation between conceptions of science learning and epistemological beliefs (Chan & Elliot, 2004). Chan and
Elliot (2004) found significant correlations between the epistemological beliefs of teacher education students and
the extent to which they exhibited traditional or constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning. For example,
beliefs in the simplicity, certainty and unchanging nature of knowledge were related to traditional conceptions of
teaching and learning, whereas beliefs that learning involved understanding how to learn rather than knowledge
acquisition were related to constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning (Chan & Elliot, 2004). Consistent
with the findings of Chan and Elliot (2004), Otting, Zwaal, Tempelaar and Gijselaers (2010) found that hard work and
valuing how to learn were positively related to constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning but negatively
related to traditional conceptions of teaching and learning.
Some researchers (e.g., Chiou, Liang & Tsai, 2012; Lee et al., 2008) have found that certain dimensions of
conceptions of learning are related to approaches to learning. Lee et al. (2008) found that lower-level conceptions
of science learning (e.g., viewing science as involving memorisation of definitions and success on exams) were
positively related to surface approaches to science learning (e.g., rote learning). In contrast, they found that higher-
level conceptions of science learning (e.g., learning how to apply science knowledge) were positively related to
deep approaches to science learning (e.g., being highly motivated to learn science). Chiou et al. (2012) found similar
results for conceptions of learning and approaches to biology.
Finally, learners’ conceptions of science learning exhibit cultural differences (Purdie & Hattie, 2002). For ex-
ample, Purdie and Hattie (2002) found that the mean scores for conceptions of science learning were significantly
different for high school students from different cultures.
Significance of the Study
Mathematics and physics are interrelated subjects (Basson, 2002; Martinez-Torregrosa, Lopez-Gay & Gras-Marti,
2006). Some researchers (e.g., Basson, 2002; Quale, 2011) claim that it is difficult to succeed in physics without
knowing basic mathematical operations. Thus, mathematics might be viewed as a prerequisite for learning physics
at first glance. However, McDermott (1991; 1993) claims that conceptual understanding is important, particularly
for learning physics, and Hewitt’s (2006) textbook “Conceptual Physics” exemplifies this claim. Believing that it is
difficult to learn physics without having the appropriate background in mathematics might lead students to have
negative attitudes towards physics and physics learning. This perceived dependence of physics on mathematics
might also prevent students from appropriately applying their cognitive and creative thinking skills to learning
physics. Therefore, exploring the relationships between students’ conceptions of mathematics and physics as
well as their conceptions of mathematics and physics learning might enable us to better understand how two
disciplines are related to each other.
In the literature presented above, researchers primarily focused on conceptions of learning or teaching in
a single domain (mathematics, biology, or science). The results of these studies indicated that learners exhibited
different types of conceptions. The above studies also discussed the reasons why learners held such conceptions
and primarily related them to learning and teaching processes. However, the nature of the discipline itself might
also influence student conceptions. Students might not exhibit identical or similar conceptions regarding different
disciplines. The present study investigating student conceptions of the relationships between the separate disci-
plines of mathematics and physics can enable researchers to better understand how the nature of the disciplines
can influence student conceptions. In this regard, researchers developing education programmes or curricula to
modify student conceptions should attend to the nature of these disciplines.
Finally, the results of the TIMMS and PISA exams (see Martin, Mullis & Foy, 2008; Mullis, Martin & Foy, 2008;
PISA 2012 Results in Focus, 2012), indicate that Turkish students generally exhibit low math and science scores. In
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the past decade, curriculum developers have become aware of this problem and have begun to modify elemen-
tary and secondary science and mathematics curricula in Turkey. One goal has been to facilitate student learning
by adopting a constructivist approach that focuses more on student skills and the relevance of mathematics and
physics to daily life (Turkish High School Mathematics Curriculum, 2011; Turkish High School Physics Curriculum,
2011). However, student understanding of mathematics, physics and mathematics and physics learning following
the implementation of the new curricula in Turkey has yet to be comprehensively examined. Exploring the extent
to which students adopt a constructivist perspective to mathematics, physics and mathematics and physics learn-
ing can determine the effectiveness of the new curricula.
The Purpose and Research Questions of the Study
The purpose of the current study was to compare university students’ (first and second year pre-service science
and mathematics teachers) conceptions of mathematics and physics as well as conceptions of mathematics and
physics learning by investigating the relationships among these conceptions. The following research questions
were addressed:
•• What are university students’ conceptions of mathematics?
•• What are university students’ conceptions of physics?
•• What are university students’ conceptions of the relationship between mathematics and physics?
•• What are university students’ conceptions of mathematics learning?
•• What are university students’ conceptions of physics learning?
•• What are university students’ conceptions of the relationship between mathematics learning and
physics learning?
Sample
The present study was conducted in a university in Turkey. A purposeful sample of pre-service elementary
science (N=79) and mathematics (N=108) teachers from the department of elementary education was selected.
There were 91 male and 96 female participants. All participants had been educated with high school curricula that
emphasised active student involvement in learning and skill development. In Turkey, the curricula incorporating
a constructivist perspective were first implemented during the 2008-2009 academic year. Therefore, only first
and second year pre-service elementary science and mathematics teachers who had been exposed to the new
curricula participated in the study. Because it was assumed that the new curricula would modify the belief that
“being successful in physics depends on mathematics achievement”, it was hypothesised that few of the study
participants would exhibit this belief. In addition, data from the sample were expected to provide reliable and in-
depth information because participating students had majored in mathematics and physics.
Data Collection
Data were obtained using qualitative data collection methods that involved both open-ended questionnaires
and interviews. Data primarily consisted of responses to an open-ended questionnaire that asked participants to (1)
define mathematics and physics; (2) explain the relationship between mathematics and physics; (3) describe how
mathematics and physics might be learned; and (4) explain the relationship between mathematics learning and
physics learning. To obtain in-depth information rather than simple lists of items without any details, participants
were instructed to restrict their responses to the single theme that best represented their ideas and were required
to explain their answers. This approach identified students’ strongest conceptions. Eleven of the study participants
were also interviewed; these students were chosen randomly from the larger sample based on the number as-
signed to each open-ended questionnaire. Interviews were conducted to confirm the analysis of the responses
to the open-ended questionnaire (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). Following Fraenkel and Wallen (2005), interviews were
semi-structured and included follow-up questions, such as “why do you think so?” and “could you give me a specific
example?” to probe participant responses.
To address ethical issues, guidelines provided by Fraenkel and Wallen (2005) were followed. The names of
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participants and the study location have not been identified to maintain confidentiality. All participants were in-
formed of the purpose of the study and participated voluntarily. Interviews were conducted during participants’
free time and were audio-recorded after obtaining their permission. Finally, study participants were informed of
the study results after completion of the data analysis.
Data Analysis
First, questionnaire responses were analysed. Categories and codes were constructed based on participant
responses (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998; Miles & Huberman, 1994) because identifying regularities and patterns in the
data in addition to the research topics is useful for generating research categories. Then, words and phrases (codes)
that represented these categories were identified (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998). Specifically, words and phrases related
to the research questions in the questionnaire responses were identified, and labels for relevant conceptualisations
such as “mathematics includes numbers, etc.” and “emphasis on real-life context” were chosen. The coded words
and phrases were then matched with the primary study categories that they were related to.
Merriam (1998) notes that category names can be taken from the literature or created by the researcher. Pre-
viously identified categories in the literature on conceptions and conceptions of learning were used to name the
categories in the present study. For example, participants’ conceptions of mathematics and physics were categorised
as fragmented or cohesive (Crawford et al., 1994) and their conceptions of mathematics and physics learning were
categorised as lower-level or higher-level conceptions of learning (Tsai et al., 2011). Although adopting a single clas-
sification scheme for the distinct disciplines of mathematics and physics might seem problematic, it enables us to
compare participant conceptions of the disciplines and conceptions of learning and provides us with an overview
of the relationships among these conceptions. Moreover, although Crawford et al.’s (1994) categorisation has been
elaborated by Wood et al. (2012), I used the Crawford et al.’s (1994) classification scheme because it more closely
corresponds to the findings of the current study. In addition, Tsai et al.’s (2011) categorisation of conceptions of
learning were chosen from among other classification schemes (e.g., Crawford et al., 1994; Purdie & Hattie, 2002;
Tsai, 2004) because it better represented the results of the current study. Table 1 presents the conceptualisation
of each category, and examples of participant conceptions of the disciplines of mathematics and physics and
conceptions of mathematics and physics learning.
Table 1. Conceptualisation of each category representing conceptions of mathematics and physics and of
mathematics and physics learning with examples of each.
Category Conceptualisation Specific examples from questionnaire responses
Fragmented conceptions Includes numbers, rules, formulas etc. Mathematics is a discipline that includes number and
Includes laws and theories to be memorised symbols
Includes problem solving I think that physics means laws and theories
Both mathematics and physics include numbers
Physics cannot exist without mathematics
Cohesive conceptions Is a part of life Physics explains life by considering cause-effect relation-
Includes logical thinking ships
Physics is life
Both mathematics and physics are based on logic
Lower-level conceptions of Learning by problem-solving Mathematics can be learned by practicing more problems
learning Learning by memorising Both mathematics and physics include memorising rules
and formulas
Higher-level conceptions of Learning through relation to daily life Physics can be learned better when it is related to daily life
learning Learning by relating subjects Using visual materials to learn mathematics helps us learn
Learning by observing and performing better
It is necessary to relate both physics and mathematics to
daily life
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Miles and Huberman (1994) argue that techniques such as “clustering”, “counting”, and “triangulation” are im-
portant for drawing conclusions and confirming results. Thus, the codes identified in questionnaire responses were
clustered into primary categories and then the frequency of occurrence of each code was tabulated. Finally, audio-
tapes of the interviews were transcribed and the data obtained from each participant’s interview were compared
to the participant’s questionnaire responses to confirm analysis results. In addition, considering the suggestions
of Silverman and Marvasti (2008) on reliability of findings in a qualitative study, agreement regarding the number
of categories and codes identified by one researcher having a PhD degree was obtained. We also examined the
extent to which questionnaire and interview responses were consistent with the proposed study categories and
codes. Disagreements were resolved through discussion.
Results of Research
The frequency of occurrence of each code in the questionnaire responses was tabulated. It is presented in
parentheses in the tables presenting study results. Excerpts from questionnaire and interview responses are used
to illustrate the conceptions found in the study. The source of the excerpt is indicated; for example, O18 refers
to an excerpt from Participant 18’s questionnaire responses and I173 refers to an excerpt from Participant 173’s
interview.
Conceptions of Mathematics and Physics and of the Relationship between Mathematics and Physics
In the questionnaire, students were instructed to define mathematics and physics and to explain the relation-
ship between the two disciplines. Table 2 presents the student conceptions identified by the analysis.
Table 2. Conceptions of mathematics and physics and of the relationship between the two disciplines.
Conceptions of the relationship between

Conceptions of mathematics Conceptions of physics
mathematics and physics
Fragmented conceptions Fragmented conceptions Fragmented conceptions

•• Set of numbers, rules and symbols (N=61) •• Set of formulas (N=25) •• Mathematics as a prerequisite for physics
•• Calculations (N=21) •• Set of laws and theories (N=9) (N=82)
•• Used by other disciplines such as physics, •• Calculations (N=25)
chemistry and geography (N=16) •• Abstractness (N=14)
Cohesive conceptions Cohesive Conceptions Cohesive Conceptions

•• Part of daily life (N=43) •• Explains life, matter, space and natural phe- •• Part of daily life (N=38)
•• Explanation of life and natural events through nomena (N=115) •• Helpful for understanding the world (N=14)
numbers and calculations (N=23) •• An aspect of daily life (N=23) •• Develop logical thinking skills (N=11)
•• Puzzles encourage thinking (N=14) •• Explain cause and effect relationships in
nature (N=12)
As Table 2 indicates, student conceptions of mathematics were more likely to be fragmented rather than co-
hesive. In contrast, student conceptions of physics were more likely to be cohesive rather than fragmented. When
student conceptions of relationship between mathematics and physics were compared with student conceptions
of physics, the number of fragmented conceptions increased dramatically.
Fragmented Conceptions of Mathematics
Most students described mathematics as a set of numbers, rules and symbols. They also viewed it as involving
calculations and reported that they always performed calculations while engaging in mathematics. Frequent use of
arithmetical operations might produce this conception. Moreover, some students reported that mathematics was
an instrument employed by other disciplines and thus formed the basis for the development of other disciplines.
For example, they thought that certain innovations in other disciplines required mathematical calculations. The
following excerpts from questionnaire and interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
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O7: A collection of numbers. Without numbers, mathematics cannot exist.

O165: It is a discipline of numbers and symbols. There are no verbal explanations in mathematics. It only
involves numbers.
O17: Mathematics is a discipline that involves only calculations. We always add or subtract something
from something else.
O25: It is the language of other disciplines. That is, if there were no mathematics, we could not calculate
the time differences between two meridians. Elements would have no atomic number.
O173: Mathematics is more important compared to other disciplines. I think other disciplines are based
on mathematics.
I173: All disciplines are based on mathematics. For example, we say that there are seven colours in the
rainbow. In addition, when the scientists do science, they combine ingredients based on certain measure-
ments. That is, they weigh something or measure the length of something. These activities are related
to numbers, that is, mathematics.
Cohesive Conceptions of Mathematics
Some students described mathematics as an aspect of life due to its frequent use in daily life. In particular,
they stated that numbers and basic calculations such as addition and subtraction made daily life easier. In addi-
tion, numbers and calculations were necessary to explain events such as ocean temperature or the rotation of the
earth and the moon. They reported that it would be difficult to understand and make sense of fundamental events
without mathematics. They also believed that it would be difficult to function in everyday life without mathemat-
ics. Finally, some students viewed mathematics as a thought-provoking instrument or puzzle that was useful for
developing individual thinking skills and that thinking about how to solve equations and problems could improve
their neural functioning and accelerate their thought processes. The following excerpts from questionnaire and
interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
O77: It is an aspect of life. Without it, people are unable to live. They could not buy anything at the market
without knowing it.
I77: Mathematics is part of living. It improves people’s lives in almost every area. Everyone needs to use
mathematics. [The interviewer asks why everyone needs to use mathematics.] For example, people use
it while shopping. People use mathematics in building apartments and architectural structures, which
enhance people’s lives. He/she finds a location more easily, for example, when describing which floor
someone lives on …
O5: If there is no water, life is impossible. The same is true for mathematics. For example, you cannot be
aware of time if you do not know mathematics.
O18: It explains nature and life. As a result, we can make sense of what happens. The rotation periods of
the earth and the moon cannot be understood without mathematics.
Fragmented Conceptions of Physics
Two fragmented conceptions of physics as a “set of formulas” and “set of laws and theories” were identified.
Some students viewed physics as merely involving a set of formulas that were needed to explain physical events
in the world, and reported that the formulas used in physics formed its core. In addition, based on their previous
learning experiences, a few students viewed physics as a collection of laws and theories and referred to Newton’s
Laws of Motion and Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity based on their prior learning. For these students, phys-
ics represented certain well-known laws and theories. The following excerpts from questionnaire and interview
responses illustrate these conceptions:
O24: Explaining complex events easily and quickly with the help of formulas and quantitative data.
I24: I think that physics explains some events that are difficult to understand with the help of numbers
and formulas. For example, we do not think of calculations when using an elevator. However, with certain
formulas we can understand the operation of an elevator better. If there were no formulas, we could not
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understand its operation. That is, it helps explain some complex events easily. [The interviewer asks what
“complex events” means]. Events that we cannot easily understand.
O41: Physics means formulas and formulas mean physics. Physics involves many formulas and they have
to be memorised if we want to learn physics.
O2: A collection of laws and theories.
O101: Newton’s and Einstein’s contributions to physics. E=mc2. Einstein changed the world.
Cohesive Conceptions of Physics
Most students perceived physics as essential for understanding nature. They reported that physics could
explain natural phenomena, such as rain and earthquakes, and natural events in life such as object motion and
the principles underlying technology. In addition, they stated that physics focused on aspects of space and matter
such as nuclear fusion, meteor impacts, and planetary rotation. Some also noted that physics was an aspect of life
due to its contribution to the development of everyday technology such as cell phones and computers. Students
with this conception thought that everything used in everyday life was a product of physics. Another conception
exhibited by students involved the explanation of natural phenomena in terms of cause-and-effect relationships.
For example, they reported that people were able to walk due to the force of friction and that vehicles were able
move due to the action of external forces, revealing the belief that causes produced effects. The following excerpts
from questionnaire and interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
O81: It is a discipline examining the actions of all the objects in the cosmos. It is involved even in chemistry
and biology. Physics definitely answers all of the questions people ask about the cosmos.
I81: Basically we can think of physics as a discipline examining all of the properties of objects. If you inves-
tigate the answers to these questions, you have to focus on physics. I guess you can find the answers to
all of your questions from physics … For example, if you are curious about how rain forms, you can learn
about it from physics. Or, you can examine why people do not fall off the world when it rotates.
O74: Physics tries to explain everything that we see in our lives. For example, meteor impacts and solar
and lunar eclipses occur following the principles of physics.
O56: If you want to move in the world, first you begin with physics. You can use physics to do everything
in the world … Thus, physics allows us to analyse the world and then to achieve results that are beneficial
to the human endeavour.
O124: It is a part of our lives because everything that we use - for example, cell phones and computers -
works based on the principles of physics.
O5: It is a discipline explaining natural events based on cause-effect relationships. For example, for a
vehicle to move, there must be a force. If one does not exist, the vehicle cannot move.
Fragmented Conceptions of the Relationship between Mathematics and Physics
The most frequent conception of the relationship between mathematics and physics was that physics
depended on mathematics. Over fifty percent of the students stated that it was difficult to achieve anything in
physics without mathematics. In this view, physics was primarily based on calculations, which made it difficult to
solve physics problems without mathematics. The students who perceived physics as a mathematics-dependent
discipline also viewed both mathematics and physics as primarily consisting of calculations. Like mathematics,
physics required calculations and the use of formulas. Students also regarded both mathematics and physics
as abstract in nature and based on abstract concepts. The following excerpts from questionnaire and interview
O7: Physics and mathematics are similar to each other due to numbers. You can see all of the operations
of mathematics in physics.
I7: Both are quantitative. For example, numbers. Both include equations. We use equations in both. If
mathematics were unknown, physics problems could not be solved. In fact, mathematics is a tool for solv-
ing physics problems. Let us imagine how to calculate the velocity of vehicles without mathematics.
O56: Without mathematics, there is no physics or it cannot be fully understood. How can we solve physics
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questions without mathematics?

O74: For example, in a linear equation system, assume that y = ax + b. If we compare it with x = v.t in
linear motion, y refers to x, a refers to v, x refers to t and b = 0. That is, equations in mathematics represent
physics formulas.
O140: Both of them examine abstract concepts. Everything is abstract in mathematics. You cannot feel
and touch numbers. Similarly, you cannot feel electric fields.
Cohesive Conceptions of the Relationship between Mathematics and Physics
For some students, the contribution of mathematics and physics to the development of technology enables
people to live more comfortably. The tools and devices that enhance their lives, such as photocopy machines
and cell phones were invented as a result of this contribution. Therefore, they believed that both mathematics
and physics improve people’s lives. In addition, both mathematics and physics help people to understand their
world. Knowledge of mathematics and physics allows people to make sense of object properties. For example,
mathematical knowledge enables people to understand the dimensions of objects and mentally represent them.
Similarly, knowledge of physics allows people to relate physical concepts such as velocity and temperature to
their world. Students also stated that both mathematics and physics encourage people to improve their mental
processes and help to develop logical thinking skills. The following excerpts from a questionnaire and interview
O88: We can describe something; however, we cannot explain it to someone without going into detail. For
example, when we talk about a table, we have to mention its dimensions to understand it better. Similarly,
people can understand what it means when we say that a turbo jet reached a speed of 900 km/h.
O65: Both physics and mathematics help us to understand our environment and world. Without them,
we cannot understand many events. Temperature is meaningless without mathematics and physics.
I65: Physics and mathematics are similar. They both explain the events in the world. For example, let
us consider temperature, which is a topic studied by physics. However, it [temperature] is meaningless
without mathematics … we say 300 C and -100 C. If we did not provide numbers in front of the centigrade
symbol, it would not mean anything.
O94: Both of them are based on mental processes. They can help us think more analytically.
I94: Mathematics and physics primarily focus on mental processes. To understand them, more effort is re-
quired. Because of this effort, people’s logical ability develops. As a result, they think more analytically.
Conceptions of Mathematics and Physics Learning and the Relationship between

Learning Mathematics and Learning Physics
Student questionnaire responses described how mathematics and physics might be learned and the rela-
tionship between learning mathematics and physics. Table 3 presents students’ conceptions of mathematics and
physics learning and the relationship between learning mathematics and learning physics.
Table 3. Conceptions of mathematics and physics learning and the relationship between learning mathemat-
ics and learning physics.

Conceptions of learning mathematics Conceptions of learning physics learning mathematics and learning
physics
Lower-level conceptions Lower-level conceptions Lower-level conceptions

•• Solving problems (N=69) •• Solving problems (N=12) •• Practicing more problems (N=64)
•• Learning proceeds from easier to more •• Using rules (N=26)
difficult (N=48) •• Using calculations (N=22)
•• Using proofs (N=5)
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Conceptions of learning mathematics Conceptions of learning physics learning mathematics and learning
physics
Higher-level conceptions Higher-level conceptions Higher-level conceptions

•• Using visual materials (N=33) •• Engaging in hands-on or laboratory activities •• Providing examples from daily life (N=44)
•• Providing examples from daily life (N=22) (N=74) •• Using visual materials (N=23)
•• Learning in depth (N=8) •• Providing examples from daily life (N=41)
•• Learning in depth (N=30)
•• Using visual materials (N=28)
As Table 3 indicates, students exhibited more lower-level conceptions of mathematics learning, but more,
higher-level conceptions of physics learning. Moreover, the number of students who exhibited lower-level concep-
tions of mathematics and physics learning was higher than the number of students who exhibited higher-level
conceptions of mathematics and physics learning.
Lower-level Conceptions of Learning Mathematics
The most frequently occurring conception of learning mathematics involved solving problems. In this view,
students could improve mathematics learning by engaging in more problem-solving. The problems would in-
crease their familiarity with certain types of questions and enable them to successfully solve similar problems. In
addition, some students thought that learning that progressed from easier to more difficult topics was critical to
learn mathematics and motivate students to learn mathematics. In this view, learners who had not mastered basic
mathematical operations find it more difficult to understand complex operations. A few students exhibited the
conception that it was important to use proofs in learning mathematics because using proofs developed the logical
thinking skills necessary for success in mathematics. The following excerpts from a questionnaire and interview
O54: Solving many problems. If you solve many problems, the probability of being successful increases.
I54: Mathematics should be learned by solving problems … [The interviewer asks “why do you think
so?”]. Mathematics can be learned by paying attention to the teacher because it is based on quantitative
calculations. I think that the courses based on the quantitative calculations cannot be learned without
the teacher’s instruction. If you practice [solving problems] more, you can learn better. For mathematics,
solving a large number of problems helps us understand it better. In fact, if necessary, homework can be
given so students solve more problems.
O85: Learning that progresses from the easy to the difficult. Mathematics always begins with easy opera-
tions and then progresses to more difficult ones.
O114: Mathematics learning should progress from the easy to the difficult. Everybody could successfully
complete easy mathematics operations. Because of this, they might be motivated to learn more difficult
subjects.
O45: Using proofs. This develops our thinking and we begin to think more analytically.
Higher-level Conceptions of Learning Mathematics
Some students believed that visual aids were necessary in learning mathematics because this enabled students
to learn mathematics concretely. In addition, the use of instructional materials might improve student motivation.
Some students also emphasised the importance of discussing everyday examples in mathematics learning because
this teaching style helps the students attend the lesson and appreciate the usefulness of mathematics. Another
conception involved identifying the connections among mathematical operations. In this view, understanding
how to use the information provided to solve a mathematical equation and being aware of what students do
while solving a problem is important. Addressing these issues would improve learning. The following excerpts
from questionnaire and interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
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O71: Mathematics is abstract. You have to make it concrete by using certain strategies. For example, you
can demonstrate certain concepts to students. So, students not only learn better, but also become more
willing to learn.
I71: It can be learned by visualising because mathematics is abstract. Computers can be used for this.
[The interviewer asks “Can you give an example?”]. For example, if you want to calculate the volume of a
cone, this is difficult to imagine mentally without being able to observe. Because of it [using a computer
to present a demonstration], it will be easy.
O97: Why do we learn mathematics? If it is not learned by relating it to daily life, learning it is a waste of
time.
O123: By giving examples from daily life. This increases students’ interest in the lesson because it attracts
students’ attention.
O87: To improve the learning of mathematics, we need to analyse the relations among given.
Lower-level Conceptions of Learning Physics
A few students reported that learning physics required solving problems. Students frequently expressed the
conception that physics involved memorisation of formulas and that a comprehensive understanding of physics
required solving a large number of physics problems so that students would not forget what they had learned.
The following excerpts illustrate this conception:
O49: Solving physics problems. Learning physics requires more practice solving problems so that students
do not forget [it].
I49: Learning should be reinforced by providing lots of examples. [The interviewer asks “What do you mean
by providing examples?”]. That is, after instruction in the subject, problems should be solved until students
understand [it]. If the number of the problems to be solved is increased, learning can be improved.
O78: Physics includes many formulas. Many physics problems are solved with the help of [these formulas].
More frequently engaging in physics problem-solving, means better learning.
Higher-level Conceptions of Learning Physics
Most students believed that performing hands-on activities was required to learn physics and that hands-on
activities improve learning because students are physically and mentally active while learning, which enables them
to remember what they had learned. In addition, this type of learning increases student curiosity and interest in
physics. Another conception involved the importance of relating physics to daily life to enable students to under-
stand why they were learning physics. Without knowledge of the role of physics in everyday life, the subject had
no meaning for students. In addition, using physics to understand everyday life provided learners with a deeper
understanding of physics. Some students also emphasised the importance of identifying connections among
subjects or concepts and relating newly learned knowledge to previous learning. In addition, students noted that
it was necessary to learn how physics formulas were related to physics content. Some students stated, that because
physics was abstract it was necessary to use visual materials to enable learners to imagine what physics actually
means. This method would facilitate learning physics and allow students to understand what they learned instead
of simply memorising. In addition, they could apply their acquired knowledge to life situations. The following
excerpts from a questionnaire and interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
O88: Learning by doing. Going to the laboratory or performing activities so that students can learn
through investigation.
I88: I think [it] is best learned in the laboratory. There, students investigate a topic. Therefore, they can
learn better. [The interviewer asks the interviewee to explain why he thinks so.] Students in the laboratory
observe the experiments and try to discover what is going on. Consequently, they do not forget what
they have experienced. Learning should be more in depth.
O67: I think physics is best learned through observations and experiments. These attract students’ at-
tention more.
O53: I think that if someone learns something, he/she has to use it in everyday life. Otherwise, it will be
meaningless.
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O34: Learning physics requires more in-depth analyses of a topic. That is, when something is learned only
superficially, it is impossible to succeed. For example, you cannot understand how to apply formulas.
O1: Physics includes many abstract concepts. It is difficult to learn them without using visual aids.
Lower-level Conceptions of the Relationship between Learning Mathematics and Physics
Some students perceived both mathematics and physics learning as primarily involving problem solving and
believed that learning required solving many problems and that increased problem-solving practice, improved
learning. In addition, some students stated, that it was necessary for learners to know how to apply formulas for
physics problems or apply rules to solve mathematics equations to succeed in mathematics and physics. Finally,
some students reported that mathematics and physics involved performing calculations and that learning was
primarily based on knowing how to use calculations to solve problems. If learners had not mastered the ability to
perform calculations, it was difficult to learn physics. The following excerpts from a questionnaire and interview
O49: Both of them include lots of problems. The more you solve, the better you learn.
I49: I think that learning these [subjects] is based on problem solving. When the number of problems
to solve is increased, student success is greater. It is difficult to learn [these subjects] without practicing
problems.
O37: Memorisation of certain rules is necessary for both. Without this, problems cannot be solved.
O51: Both of them are based on memorisation. If the rules or formulas are not memorised, you cannot
solve any problems.
O53: Both mathematics and physics include calculations. Without understanding them [calculations], it
is difficult to learn.
Higher-level Conceptions of the Relationship between learning Mathematics and Physics
Many students thought that mathematics and physics learning were similar because both could be related
to everyday life and that without discussing examples from daily life it was difficult to understand mathemat-
ics and physics in depth. Because students viewed mathematics and physics as part of life, they believed that it
was necessary to use everyday examples in mathematics and physics learning. Some students also thought that
mathematics and physics could be learned better using visual materials because of their abstract nature and that
using visual materials could convert abstract knowledge into concrete knowledge. The following excerpts from a
questionnaire and interview responses illustrate these conceptions:
O98: Both of them are closely related to daily life. There are many events in the environment that physics
and mathematics explain. If they [examples from daily life] were used, we could learn better.
O134: Both could be learned by discussing examples from daily life. They are closely related to life.
I134: Both disciplines are also related to daily life. Therefore, attracting students’ attention is easy. For
example, teachers can give examples from daily life when teaching.
O4: Using visual material. These [subjects] are abstract. In my opinion, the best way to make them concrete
is [using visual materials].
O26: Physics and mathematics are abstract. There is a need to make them concrete using materials that
can help students visualise concepts.
Discussion
The first important result of this study was the finding, that more students had fragmented conceptions of
mathematics, but more students had cohesive conceptions of physics. However, when we consider the nature of
these two disciplines, this result is not surprising. Due to the nature of physics, its development requires laboratory
activities integrated with the scientific processes of hypothesis-testing and experimentation (Hewitt, 2006). This is
not true for mathematics. Consequently, students might exhibit more cohesive conceptions of physics.
Moreover, when students described the relationship between mathematics and physics, the number of the
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students with fragmented conceptions was higher. This result suggests, that students’ fragmented conceptions of
mathematics might have contributed to their conceptions of the relationship between mathematics and physics.
One of the study findings supports this claim. The most frequently occurring student conception was that physics
was dependent on physics (“mathematics as a prerequisite for physics”). Many students with this conception as-
sociated success in physics with success in mathematics. This finding is consistent with Basson (2002), who found
that lecturers exhibited the conception, that mathematics was the language of physics and was required to explain
physical phenomena. The results of the current analysis also revealed that students exhibited the same conception.
This conception might have been transferred to students directly or indirectly by earlier instructors, who might
frequently mention the mathematics-dependent nature of physics in their lessons or might teach physics by em-
phasising problem-solving, that focused more on mathematics than on laboratory or hands-on activities.
The conception of “mathematics as a prerequisite for physics” might also create problems. For instance, students
with negative attitudes towards mathematics might also acquire negative attitudes towards physics because of this
conception. To overcome this problem, instructors who teach physics should reduce the focus on mathematics at
the elementary and high school levels and discuss the nature of physics more often in their lessons. Because the
current study sample included pre-service elementary science and mathematics teachers, the students with this
conception might transfer it to their students when they begin to teach. To address this problem, they should be
informed of the actual nature of mathematics and physics and how mathematics and physics knowledge emerged
and developed throughout the history of science.
Similarly, the number of the students with lower-level conceptions of the relationship between learning
mathematics and physics was higher than the number of students with lower-level conceptions of learning physics.
In addition, although more students exhibited higher-level conceptions of learning physics, more students exhib-
ited lower-level conceptions of learning mathematics. For example, relatively few students believed that learning
physics required solving problems; in contrast, more students believed that learning mathematics required solving
problems. This finding suggests that students’ lower-level conceptions of learning mathematics influenced their
conception of the relationship between learning mathematics and physics. In particular, student conceptions of the
relationship between learning mathematics and physics might reflect the conception that physics was dependent
on mathematics (i.e., calculations, equations). However, the conception that physics is based on mathematics might
lead students to adopt negative attitudes towards physics. Martinez-Torregrosa et al. (2006) claims that physics
courses that are integrated with a great deal of mathematics result in negative student attitudes towards physics.
As McDermott (1991, 1993) notes, conceptual understanding is more important than memorising problems in
physics, and conceptual understanding should be emphasised in teaching physics. This approach might encourage
students to adopt higher-level conceptions of the relationship between mathematics and physics.
In summary, the results of the present study indicate that more students exhibited traditional conceptions
of mathematics and mathematics learning, while more students exhibited constructivist conceptions of physics
and physics learning. Although the mathematics and physics curricula in Turkey incorporate constructivist views,
students were more likely to exhibit traditional conceptions of mathematics and mathematics learning. However,
students were more likely to exhibit constructivist conceptions of physics and physics learning. As noted above,
the distinct nature of these two disciplines and what they explain (numbers or natural events) might produce
these results. Therefore, what students perceive while they are learning might shape their conceptions. When
the subjects of high school mathematics and physics are examined, there are more concrete examples in physics
compared to mathematics. For example, individuals cannot apply the derivatives and integrals of mathematics
in their everyday life or ordinary events and thus cannot internalise mathematics as a part of their lives. However,
this is not true of physics. Many individuals confront problems related to electricity, lightening or temperature
in their daily lives and solve these problems based on the knowledge of physics (whether they are aware of it or
not). That is, everyday events can lead individuals to associate physics with their lives. However, apart from basic
mathematical operations such as addition and subtraction, they do not frequently use higher-order mathematics
that includes derivatives, integrals, and functions in daily life. For these reasons, individuals can exhibit distinct
conceptions of mathematics and physics despite the curricula that emphasise constructivist views. The everyday
experiences of students and the nature of mathematics and physics might be more influential than the curricula
in shaping student conceptions of mathematics and physics and mathematics and physics learning. Consequently,
taking the nature of the disciplines and students’ life experiences into account, might make it possible to develop
more effective curricula and educational programmes to modify these conceptions.
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Conclusions and Implications
The current study contributes to the literature because it explored the relationship between conceptions of
mathematics and physics and the relationship between mathematics and physics learning. One important study
result was the finding, that most of the students viewed mathematics as an indispensible aspect of physics. They
primarily associated their success or lack of success in physics with the extent to which they understood mathemat-
ics. In this view, it was difficult to succeed in learning physics without understanding mathematics.
In addition, students seemed to exhibit more constructivist conceptions of physics and physics learning
compared to their conceptions of mathematics and mathematics learning. As noted above, the nature of each
discipline might be more influential than the high school curricula in shaping student conceptions.
This study also reveals the need for additional research to increase our understanding of the extent to which
the nature of the discipline itself affects conceptions of the discipline. Because students’ epistemological beliefs
about science (i.e., beliefs about the nature of scientific knowledge) influence their conceptions of science learning
(Tsai et al., 2011), investigating domain-specific conceptions or conceptions of domain-specific learning for fields
such as natural science, physics, and mathematics should enable us to identify domain-specific epistemological
beliefs. To address this issue, the methods of the current study might be used to investigate other disciplines, and
new classifications of conceptions of scientific disciplines and conceptions of learning might emerge.
Limitations
One limitation of the present study was the self-report nature of the questionnaire data. However, interviews
with selected participants confirmed the results of the questionnaire data analysis. Another limitation was that
the frequency of occurrence of the codes representing the conceptions did not equal the number of the students
participating in the study, because some participants failed to respond to all questionnaire items. However, the
number of incomplete responses was very low.
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Received: June 05, 2014 Accepted: July 16, 2014
Serkan Kapucu PhD., Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary

Education, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, 04000, Ağrı, Turkey.
E-mail: serkankapucu@yahoo.com
636
A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF
HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON
PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S
SELF-CONCEPT, WELL-BEING
AND EFFECTIVENESS
Mei-Lun Chen, Abstract. This study adopts both quanti-

tative and qualitative methods. There are
Shi-Jer Lou,
23 subjects in the experimental group and
Wei-Fang Tsai, the control group. The experimental group
Chih-Cheng Tsai received the “Green Giant Growth Group”
test once a week for a total of 7 times. The
measurement tools were scale of self-con-
cept, Chinese well-being and horticultural
effectiveness. With respect to data analysis,
the researcher adopted descriptive statistics
Introduction
and analysis of covariance. Feedback and
interviews were included in the qualitative
Horticultural Activities
analysis. According to the findings of this
study, horticultural activities can enhance
Horticulture is defined by the “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary”
students’ self-concept, sense of control,
as “the study or practice of growing flowers, fruit and vegetables.” In the
self-satisfaction, sense of achievement
1980s, scholars proposed human issues in horticulture (HIH), which aimed
and social skills. Based on the results of
to examine the interaction between human beings and plants (Relf, 1992a;
interviews, by participating in horticultural
Relf & Lohr, 2003). Relf (1992b) defined the interaction as “human beings’
activities, students increase their interper-
physical, psychological or social reaction after active or passive interaction
sonal relationship skills. Their behaviors
with plants.”. The scope of HIH is extremely broad, and includes the effect of
match social norms, and they are more
plants on health, horticultural therapy and the therapeutic environment,
responsible, open-minded and peaceful.
environmental governance and environmental education. Subjects related
In line with previous research findings,
to HIH include psychology, environmental psychology, social science, medi-
this study proposes suggestions for future
cal science, etc. (Rappe, 2005). Regarding education, studies related to HIH
researchers to apply horticultural activities
have demonstrated that, in the natural environment, students learn to
in education or guidance.
promote themselves, solve conflicts, share, cooperate and negotiate with
each other (McCurdy, Winterbottom, Mehta & Roberts, 2010). The learning Keywords: horticultural activities, horti-
goals of horticultural activities usually refer to the promotion of health, cultural effectiveness, horticultural therapy,
the correction of negative behavior, the reinforcement of confidence, the self-concept, well-being.
improvement of social skills, etc. (Klemmer, C.D., Waliczek, M.T., & Zajicek,
M.J, 2005; Lohr & Pearson-Mims, 2005). The contribution of horticulture has
been demonstrated in education. In addition, the physical and psychological
effectiveness is prominent. Horticultural therapy fulfills specific therapeutic Mei-Lun Chen, Shi-Jer Lou,
goals set by professional horticultural therapists, focusing on cases and using Wei-Fang Tsai
plants and horticultural activities (Haubenhofer, D.K., Elings, M., Hassink, J., & National Pingtung University of Science
and Technology, Taiwan
Hine, R.E., 2010). Through the engagement in horticulture, users can actually Chih-Cheng Tsai
see, touch, smell and even eat the products. In doing so, the significance of Kaohsiung Municipal Jhong-Jheng
existence. An appropriate level of sweat and hard work is physically healthy. Industrial High School, Taiwan
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A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S SELF-
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ISSN 1648–3898
(P. 637-649)
After the activity, there are harvests, which can lead to a sense of achievement. It takes time from cultivation to the
maturity of young sprouts, and the passage of time creates expectations concerning the life of the plants. It is the
characteristic of horticultural therapy (Chen, Y.R., Xie, X.Q., Shi, F.L., & Lee, L.Y., 2010). American Horticultural Therapy
Association[AHTA] (2013) has suggested that horticultural therapy can reinforce memory, responsibility, physical
balance, problem-solving ability, etc. It can be practiced by people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
In this study, by horticultural practice, students experience nature, approach plants and cultivate quality to
develop a more positive attitude toward life.
Self-Concept, Well-Being and Horticultural Effectiveness
Self-concept means that, in the interaction with others, through self-awareness (e.g., personality, appear-
ance, capacity, interest and emotion) and various kinds of learning and experience in life and interaction, people
form the evaluation of and views on personal concept and behavior (Mead, 1962). Byrne (1984) suggested that
self-concept includes personal attributes, emotion, attitude and behavior. It has many dimensions, and it changes
with individuals’ growth, socialization and interaction with others. Byrne (1988) suggested that social comparison
is critical in self-concept development. Students tend to treat their classmates as control group to form their own
self-concept. Human beings are social animals, and they value relationships. When individuals have a high degree
of social interest, they will be psychologically healthier (Sweeney, 2009). Horticultural therapy is considered a suc-
cessful method. Horticultural activities create a non-threatening environment, and they emphasize relaxing work
content. Furthermore, they are practiced in a social community (Haubenhofer, et al., 2010).
Well-being is translated as happiness. In academia, the most commonly cited definition is proposed by Andrew
and Withey (1976), that is, well-being was the overall evaluation of satisfaction with life and the intensity of positive
and negative emotions perceived. The definition indicates a relationship between individuals’ subjective cognition
and well-being and the effect of emotion on well-being (Lu, 1997). Studies on well-being with respect to HIH mainly
refer to health factors, including the objective measurement of the effects on health or the subjective perception
of quality of life (Park, S., Mattson, R.H., & Kim, E., 2004). According to the World Health Organization[WHO] (2011),
“mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to
her or his community.”
Kuo (2010) classified the effectiveness of horticultural therapy into five categories: physical fitness (physically),
positive emotions (physiologically), clear mind and consciousness (cognitively), having “good friends” (socially)
and economically free (economically). Common advantages refer to physical rehabilitation, the release of pressure
and anxiety, the enhancement of confidence and self-esteem, responsibility, a sense of achievement, self-control,
social capacity, dementia and the cultivation of horticultural skills.
Studies Related to Horticultural Activities, Self-Concept, Well-Being and Horticultural Effectiveness
The researchers reorganize the studies on effectiveness of horticultural activities on self-concept. Kuo (2011)
used 30 grade 4 and grade 5 students as subjects and practiced horticultural activities on Wednesdays for 12
weeks. The content included growing cabbages, sunflowers, making salads and designing and potting. In each
unit, different questionnaires were adopted for pretest and posttest. Two weeks before the end of the activities,
questionnaires were sent to parents to examine the children’s behavioral changes. According to the findings, stu-
dents’ imagination, creativity, team work and confidence were considerably reinforced. A total of 64% of parents
suggested that the children made higher grades of in nature during the semester; 60% of parents found that their
children were happier; and 56% of parents suggested that their children became more confident.
Robinson and Zajicek (2005) studied the relation between horticulture and self-esteem and used 281 U.S.
students in Texas as subjects. After the experimental group (190 subjects) participated in 1 year of horticultural
activities, they had significant differences from the control group (91 subjects) and they made significant progress
in team cooperation and self-understanding.
Laaksoharju, Rappe, and Kaivola (2012) used 130 seven- to twelve year-old children in Helsinki, Finland, from
2008 to 2010 as subjects and recorded 37 four hour sessions of horticultural summer camp activities using a by
qualitative method. The researchers demonstrated that, through horticulture, children could learn social skills and
work ethic and establish friendship, affection and confidence.
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Gatto, Ventura, Cook, Gyllenhammer, and Davis (2012) used 104 grade 4 and grade 5 students as subjects (34
subjects in the experimental group and 70 subjects in the control group) for horticultural activities that were held
90 minutes each week for a total of 12 weeks. Before and after the activities, the researchers tested motivation for
healthy diet and self-efficacy and demonstrated that the two groups had a significant difference in motivation
for healthy diet. Although they did not have significant difference in self-efficacy, the experimental group made
progress in the posttest by 3.3 points, in comparison to pretest. The control group only increased by 0.4 points.
Chen, Lou, and Shih (2013) used 31 grade 3 students as subjects in a 15-week study. A horticultural course
was taught, last 80 minutes every week. In a 40-minute weekly computer course, a PowerPoint of the horticultural
activities was created. One week before and after the activities, the subjects were tested on a scale of attitude
toward life. The researchers found participants’ that participants’ relationships with themselves, with others, with
the environment and with nature were significantly reinforced. The participants recognized their advantages and
became more responsible. They had more harmonious interpersonal relationships and loved animals and plants
more.
Collins and O’Callaghan (2008) used 18 low-income elderly people with an average age as 85.17 as a study
involving subjects for horticultural activities that were held 2 hours a week for a total of 4 weeks. The researchers con-
ducted pretests and posttests measuring self-rated happiness, and the results showed a significant difference.
Kam and Siu (2010) randomly allocated 22 patients with mental illness to an experimental group and a con-
trol group. The experimental group (10 subjects) participated in 10 sessions of horticultural therapy activity over
2 weeks. The control group (12 subjects) received training in workshops traditionally performed in mental health
facilities. The pretest and posttest were conducted using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Personal
Wellbeing Index (PWI-C). The findings showed that the two groups had significant difference in DASS, meaning that
horticultural activity can effectively lower anxiety, depression and stress. Although the two groups did not show
significant differences on the PWI-C, in interviews, participants suggested that the activity helped them release
stress, improve social skills, be respected and enhance confidence.
According to the previous studies, participants have confidence in participating and enjoy horticultural
activities.
Research Focus
Based on the literature review, the purposes of the present study are as follows:
1. To examine the effect of horticultural activities on elementary school students’ self-concept;
2. To examine the effect of horticultural activities on elementary school students’ well-being;
3. To examine the effectiveness of horticultural activities on elementary school students;
4. To examine elementary school students’ motives, feelings and change of participation in the “Green
Giant Growth Group”.
Participants
For the “Green Giant Growth Group”, this study recruited Grade 3 to Grade 6 students in one primary school
of Pingtung. Applications included parental’ consent. After interviewing children to ascertain their motives for
participation and their expectations, the researcher selected 23 students for the experimental group, including
6 grade 5 (4 males and 2 females), 11 grade 4 (5 males and 6 females) and 6 grade 3 (4 males and 2 females) chil-
dren. The homeroom teachers for grades 3, 4 and 5 recommended 23 students as the control group, including 6
grade 5 (3 males and 3 females), 11 grade 4 (5 males and 6 females), 6 grade 3 (3 males and 3 females) children.
The group leader was the third researcher in this study and graduated from the department of horticulture. The
first researcher was responsible for participant recruitment, the distribution of horticultural materials, administra-
tion and undertook the roles of interviewer, observer and recorder. After the end of each group activity, he (she)
discussed with the group leader and provided feedback and suggestion. Two researchers trained as horticultural
therapists and are licensed.
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Research Design
This study adopted a pretest and posttest design, including the experimental group and the control group.
The experiment was conducted Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 12:00 from April to June 2013. This study adopted
self-concept, Chinese well-being and horticultural effectiveness scales as measurement tools. The pretest was
conducted with the two groups one week before the group activity. After the activity, the posttest was conducted.
After each activity, the experimental group completed a unit feedback form. After the last activity, the experimental
group also completed a total feedback form. Before and after the group activity, the researcher conducted individual
interviews with the experimental group to find the members’ motives, feelings and thoughts on participation and
changes as the qualitative data.
Activity
The “Green Giant Growth Group” aims to lead to a sense of achievement by developing creativity through
horticultural activities, enhance confidence and adaptation to life and allow the members to relax and enjoy
learning. It also encourages participants to engage in physical activity, purify thoughts and recognize horticultural
techniques and career options. The design of the activity is shown in Table 1. Activity content and works are shown
in Figures 1-12.
Table 1. Activity design of “Green Giant Growth Group”.
Week Names of units Activity content
1 Love of Taiwan 1. Introduction of the group; 2. Our agreement; 3. Bottle of five element energy; 4. Stage of seeds;
5. Sharing and feedback
2 Special Mothers’ Day activity 1. Creative plant dye; 2. Potting of mother flowers; 3. Sharing and feedback
3 Potting and flower design 1. Potting design; 2. Flower design; 3. Sharing and feedback
4 Food of plants 1. Washing and eating Jelly Fig; 2. Growing and eating houseleeks; 3. Mushroom planting; 4.
Sharing and feedback
5 Call from the green giant 1. Angels and Demons; 2. Green wind bells; 3. Sharing and feedback
6 Let’s go out 1. Introduction of plants on campus; 2. Beauty of aluminum steel; 3. Sharing and feedback
7 Memory of herbs 1. I am a little green man; 2. Herbal party; 3. Sharing and feedback
Figure 1. Bottle of five element Figure 2. Stage of seeds Figure 3. Creative plant dye
energy
Figure 4. Potting of mother flow- Figure 5. Potting design Figure 6. Flower design
ers
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Figure 7. Washing and eating Jelly Figure 8. Growing and eating Figure 9. Angels and Demons
Fig houseleeks
Figure 10. Green wind bells Figure 11. Beauty of .alumi- Figure 12. I am a little green
num steel man
Figures 1-12: Activity content and works.
Instrument
(1) Scale of self-concept. The “Scale of self-concept” by Yeh (2008) was adopted as the measurement tool
of self-concept. The scale includes 17 items, and it is classified into “psychological self” (4 items), “family self” (5
items), “school self” (4 items) and “moral self” (4 items). The researcher adopted a 4-point Likert scale. Regarding
reliability, Cronbach’s α of the factors of internal consistency are 0.71, 0.87, 0.87 and 0.66, and the α of the total
scale is 0.87.
(2) Scale of Chinese well-being (simplified version). The researcher adopted the “scale of Chinese well-being
(simplified version)” designed by Lu and Shih (1997). The scale includes 9 dimensions: optimism (4 items), social
commitment (1 item), positive affect (4 items), sense of control (2 items), physical fitness (1 item), satisfaction with
self (3 items), achievement at work (1 item), downward social comparisons (1 item) and peace of mind (3 items).
The scoring is based on a 4-point Likert scale. When the scores are higher, well-being is higher.
(3) Scale of horticultural effectiveness. The researcher adopted the “scale of horticultural effectiveness” de-
signed by Yan-yu Lu and Yu-Jen Kuo. There are 7 items in the questionnaire, and the scoring is based on a 5-point
Likert scale. When the scores are higher, the effectiveness of the horticultural therapy is higher. The Cronbach’s α
of the scale is 0.72 ~ 0.83.
(4) Feedback form for unit activities and total feedback form. The researcher designed a “feedback form of unit
activities” (10 items) that was filled in by group participants after finishing each activity. Items included: participants’
feelings toward and learning in the activity, evaluation of the group leader and participants, and investigation of
participants’ satisfaction with the two activities of the week. The “total feedback form” was the total feedback of
members toward activities for the last time. The two scales were based on a 4-point Likert scale.
(5) Interview outline of participants. The “interview outline of participants” designed by the researcher included
three parts. “Before participation” items aimed to recognize the members’ motives and expectation of group par-
ticipation. “In participation” intends to ascertain the participants’ performance, feelings and learning through the
participation. “After participation” focuses on participants’ changes after participating in the group.
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Data Analysis
Regarding quantitative methods, this study adopted a pretest and posttest experimental design. Using a
single-factor analysis of covariance of the independent sample, it tests the significant difference of scores of the
experimental group and the control group in pretest and posttest. Covariance is the score of the pretest. Cronbach’s
α is set as 0.05 for analysis. This study adopted a simple effect test of two-factor analysis of covariance of the inde-
pendent sample and analyzed the scores of the two groups in pretest and posttest with respect to the different
genders and grades. The unit feedback form was completed by the experimental group after each activity and
was treated by descriptive statistics. The total feedback form ascertains which activities were liked and disliked
by participants, and it was analyzed by multiple choices. All quantitative data were calculated using SPSS (version
19.0, SPSS Inc., IBM Company, 2010).
Regarding qualitative methods, the 23 participants were encoded as 1~23, the feedback forms were rep-
resented as F-1~F-7 to show the 7 times that the group feedback form was completed. F-8 is the content of the
total feedback form. It is the content of the interviews. For instance, 1F-3 means the content of the third group
feedback form completed by Member 1. 8I is the interview with Participant 8. The observer’s record of the 7 group
activities is shown by R-1~R-7.
Results of Research
Effectiveness Analysis of Horticultural Activities on Self-Concept
Before the analysis of covariance, the researcher conducted an in-group test of the homogeneity of regression
coefficient. The F value of “family self” is significant (F=8.278, p=0.006<0.05), and it does not match the assumption
of regression coefficient homogeneity. Hence, analysis of covariance was not adopted.
According to Table 2, after eliminating the effect of the pretest score, in posttest of “school self” and “moral
self”, the experimental group is significantly higher than the control group (F=4.556, p=0.039; F=4.538, p=0.039;
<0.05). However, in the posttest of total scale of “psychological self” and “self-concept”, the two groups are not
significantly different (F=3.860, p=0.056; F=3.699, p=0.061; >0.05). Thus, horticultural activities significantly change
students’ “school self” and “moral self”.
Table 2. Analysis of covariance of the two groups’ self-concept.
Pretest Posttest
Adjusted mean of
Items Group F
posttest
M SD M SD
Experimental group 3.36 0.50 3.54 0.43 3.51 3.860

Psychological self
Control group 3.18 0.64 3.27 0.40 3.31
Experimental group 3.23 0.49 3.47 0.45 3.42 4.556*
School self
Control group 3.02 0.59 3.10 0.53 3.15
Moral self
Control group 3.14 0.42 3.23 0.45 3.25
Total scale of self-concept
Control group 3.18 0.46 3.27 0.35 3.30
n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05
According to Table 3, for the male group, the results of the experiment on the different groups are signifi-
cantly different (F=5.098, p=0.035<0.05). Males in the experimental group (M=3.57) are significantly higher than
the control group (M=3.17). Regarding females, the experimental group and the control group do not show any
significant difference.
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Table 3. Simple main effect analysis of gender and group in self-concept post-test.
Source of variance SS df MS F Significance Post hoc Comparison
Group
Males 0.316 1 0.316 5.098* 0.035 experimental group >control group

Females 0.006 1 0.006 0.120 0.733 --
n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05

According to Table 4, in the experimental group, learning results for the different grades are significantly dif-
ferent (F=4.180, p=0.031<0.05). The learning result of grade 4 (M=3.63) is significantly higher than grade 3 (M=3.31)
and grade 5 (M=3.37); in the control group, the different grades do not show any significant difference.
Table 4. Simple main effect analysis in gender and group of self-concept post-test.
Source of variance SS Df MS F Significance Post hoc Comparison
Grade
Experimental group 0.485 2 0.242 4.180* 0.031 Grade 4>Grade 3

Grade 4>Grade 5
Control group 0.028 2 0.014 0.363 0.700 --
n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05
Analysis of Effectiveness of Horticultural Activities on Well-Being
Before analysis of covariance, the researcher conducted an in-group test of the homogeneity of regression
coefficient. The F values of the total scale of “social commitment”, “downward social comparisons” and “well-being”
are significant (F=6.474, p=0.015; F=4.315, p=0.044; F=4.703, p=0.036; <0.05). The results do not match the assump-
tion of regression coefficient homogeneity. Analysis of covariance was not conducted.
According to Table 5, after eliminating the effect of the pretest score, in “sense of control” and “satisfaction with
self” posttest, the experimental group is significantly higher than the control group (F=4.939, p=0.032; F=6.233,
p=0.016; <0.05). However, in posttest of “optimism”, “positive affect”, “physical fitness”, “learning achievement”
and “peace of mind”, the two groups do not show any significant difference (F=2.406, p=0.128; F=3.525, p=0.067;
F=0.039, p=0.844; F=0.002, p=0.967; F=0.456, p=0.503; >0.05). Thus, horticultural activities significantly change
students’ “sense of control” and “satisfaction with self”.
Table 5. Analysis of covariance of two groups in well-being.
Pretest Posttest
Adjusted mean of
Items Groups F
posttest
M SD M SD

Optimism
Control group 2.89 0.66 2.96 0.68 3.03
Positive affect
Control group 2.64 0.56 2.86 0.58 2.96
Sense of control
Control group 2.48 0.73 2.57 0.51 2.70
Experimental group 3.26 0.86 3.04 0.71 2.93 .039
Physical fitness
Control group 2.77 0.75 2.78 0.67 2.89
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Pretest Posttest
Adjusted mean of
Items Groups F
posttest
M SD M SD

Satisfaction with self
Control group 2.45 0.80 2.62 0.61 2.72
Learning achievement
Control group 2.65 1.15 3.04 0.77 3.04
Peace of mind
Control group 2.70 0.48 2.87 0.58 3.05
n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05
According to Table 6, in the experimental group, the experimental effectiveness on males and females is
significantly different (F=6.596, p=0.018<0.05). The learning result of males (M=3.48) is significantly higher than
females (M=3.05); in the control group, gender does not show significant difference. For males, the effectiveness of
horticultural activities is significantly different (F=7.815, p=0.011<0.05). In the experimental group, male (M=3.37)
participants are significantly higher than the control group (M=2.76). Regarding females, the experimental group
and the control group do not show significant difference.
Table 6. Simple main effect analysis of gender and gender in well-being post-test.
Source of variance SS Df MS F Significance Post hoc Comparison
Gender
Experimental group 1.072 1 1.072 6.596* 0.018 Males >females

Control group 0.010 1 0.010 0.101 0.754 --
Group
Males 1.277 1 1.277 7.815* 0.011 Experimental group >control

group
Females 0.054 1 0.054 0.465 0.503 --
•• n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05
Effectiveness Analysis of Horticultural Activities
Before analysis of covariance, the researcher conducted an in-group test of homogeneity of regression coef-
ficient. The F value of “physical exercise” is significant (F=7.594, p=0.009<0.05). It does not match the assumption
of regression coefficient homogeneity. Hence, analysis of covariance was not conducted.
According to Table 7, after eliminating the effect of the pretest score, in posttest of total scale of “sense of
achievement”, “social skills”, “horticultural technique” and “horticultural effectiveness”, the experimental group
is significantly higher than the control group (F=4.445, p=0.041; F=4.218, p=0.046; F=10.742, p=0.002; F=4.600,
p=0.038; <0.05). However, the two groups do not show any significant difference in posttest of “interest and hobby”,
“relaxing emotion” and “clear consciousness” (F=3.352, p=0.074; F=1.115, p=0.297; F=1.471, p=0.232; >0.05). Thus,
horticultural activities significantly change students’“sense of achievement”, “social skills”, “horticultural technique”
and “total effectiveness”.
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Table 7. Analysis of covariance of two groups in horticultural effectiveness.
Pretest Posttest
Adjusted mean of
Items Group F
posttest
M SD M SD

Interest and hobby
Control group 3.96 1.07 3.87 1.29 3.93

Relaxing emotion
Control group 3.74 1.05 3.83 0.94 3.93

Sense of achievement
Control group 3.78 1.09 3.70 0.77 3.71

Clear consciousness
Control group 3.30 0.77 3.43 0.84 3.56

Social skills
Control group 3.35 0.83 3.48 0.85 3.52
Experimental group 3.91 1.24 4.35 0.83 4.27 10.742**

Horticultural technique
Control group 2.87 1.01 3.22 1.00 3.30
Total scale of well-being Experimental group 3.92 0.49 4.25 0.60 4.11 4.600*
effectiveness Control group 3.49 0.56 3.60 0.68 3.74
n.s. p>0.05; *p<0.05; **p<01
According to Table 8, in the experimental group, the learning results of the different grades are significantly
different (F=4.235, p=0.030<0.05). Grade 4 (M=4.57) is significantly higher than grade 3 (M=3.92) and grade 5
(M=3.99); in the control group, the different grades do not show any significant difference. In grade 4, the experi-
mental process is significantly different (F=6.160, p<0.05). The experimental group (M=4.38) is significantly higher
than the control group (M=3.72). For grade 3 and grade 5, the experimental group and the control group do not
show any significant difference.
Table 8. Simple main effect analysis of grade and gender in horticultural effectiveness post-test.
Source of variance SS df MS F Significance Post hoc Comparison
Grade
Experimental group 2.192 2 1.096 4.235 0.030 Grade 4>Grade 3

Grade 4>Grade 5
Control group 0.417 2 0.209 0.914 0.418 --
Group
Grade 3 0.750 1 0.750 3.437 0.097 --

Experimental group >control
Grade 4 1.748 1 1.748 6.160 0.023
group
Grade 5 0.062 1 0.062 0.245 0.632 --
n.s. p>.05; *p<.05

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Result Analysis of Interviews with Participants, Feedback Forms of Unit Activities and Total Feedback Forms
(1) Participants’ motives and expectations of group participation. Participants’ motives for participating
can be generalized as the following: 1. curiosity; 2. interest; 3. knowledge learning; 4. making friends; 5. return
of materials. Participants’ expectations were the following: 1. to learn knowledge or skills related to horticul-
ture; 2. to understand the interesting things related plants; 3. to beautify the house; 4.to change emotion; 5. to
participate in team work. The researcher asked, “Will horticultural therapy improve your shortage? Why?” The
participants answered, “Yes”. Their expected therapeutic effectiveness was the following: 1. to enhance concen-
tration; 2. emotional control; 3. cultivation of responsibility.
(2) Participants’ performance, feelings and learning of group participation. Participants’ satisfaction with
their performance in the group was as follows: 1. good work; 2. I performed well in class; 3. I could grow plants.
Regarding dissatisfaction with performance: 1. I am talkative; 2. I do not follow the rules; 3. I do not concentrate
in class; 4. I do not finish the work properly; 5. I cannot hear clearly. As to feelings of participation, participants’
responses were the following: 1. enjoy; 2. warm; 3. happy. One student even said: “Too happy to describe it in
words.” No participants had negative feelings. The learning by participating in the group was the following: 1.
learn horticultural knowledge and skills; 2. I learned artistic skill (potting, cloth dye, flower arrangement……);
3. I made new friends; 4. My emotion was positive; 5. I learned team work; 6. My mathematics skills improved.
(3) Participants’ changes after participating in the group. According to the participants, their changes after
participating in the group can be generalized into interpersonal relationship, behavior and emotion. Regard-
ing changes in interpersonal relationship: 1. I made more friends; 2. I shared with others; 3. I learned to control
my emotions; 4. I learned to change ideas. Regarding behavioral change: 1. I treat plants properly; 2. I became
willing to be helpful; 3. I become more responsible; 4. My behavior matches the norms. Regarding changes in
emotion: 1. I am happier; 2. I have become tender and peaceful; 3. I have become more persistent and patient;
4. I have become more active and flexible; 5. My stress was reduced.
(4) Analysis of participants’ satisfaction with horticultural activities. Reasons for students’ enjoyment were
the following: 1. It is fun and interesting; 2. I learn a lot. One student said: “A lot of reasons: It brings good luck,
I can practice cloth dye, have beautiful flower arrangements, produce different forms and eat the food I have
made.” Reasons why they disliked the activities included: 1. It is boring and uninteresting; 2. It is difficult. Based
on the above, participants enjoyed creative activities and did not prefer difficult activities that require knowledge
because they are difficult and boring.
Discussion
Discussion of the Effectiveness of Horticultural Activities on Self-Concept
The present study suggests that horticultural activities significantly change students’“school self” and “moral
self” dimensions of self-concept. Indicators of “school self” are the following: I get along well with classmates, I
have good interpersonal relationships, I make friends with classmates and I have many good friends. According
to interviews, in horticultural activities, the participants not only made friends but also shared horticulture with
their classmates. They could also control and change emotions to improve interpersonal relationships. Apparently,
in comparison to the control group, experimental group was more likely to enhance the “school self”. Helping
others in need is one of the indicators of the “moral self”. According to the participants, after participating in
horticultural therapy, they actively helped classmates and even showed green plants to their families to release
anger. Thus, horticultural activities made participants actively help others and enhance the “moral self”. The
results support the content of interview.
Although the experimental group felt interested, enjoyed horticultural activities and experienced self-
satisfaction, the control group was able to have similar feelings from other channels. Thus, the “psychological
self” does not show any significant difference.
For males, the experimental group was significantly superior to control group. Thus, males in this study
significantly reinforced “self-concept” by participating in horticultural activities. Grade 4 of the experimental
group is significantly superior to grade 3 and grade 5. Based on observations, grade 4 actively participated in
the activities, and their performance is higher than the other grades. The self-report questionnaire matches the
observation results.
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Discussion of the Effectiveness of Horticultural Activities on Well-Being
The present study demonstrates that horticultural activities significantly change students’“sense of control”
and “satisfaction with self” dimensions of well-being. The indicators of “sense of control” are the following: it has a
positive effect on my life, and I can finish my work in the planned time. According to the interviews, participants
suggested that they were able to “construct the home for plants”, they “grew plants properly” and, furthermore,
helped others. They realize that their capacity in life is reinforced. By taking care of plants, they developed re-
sponsibility, they lower the amount of time they watch TV, completed assignments appropriately and arranged
time properly. Therefore, in comparison to the control group, the experimental group experienced enhanced
“sense of control”. The indicators of “satisfaction with self” are the following. I am satisfied with things in life,
I like myself and I find myself attractive. Based on the interviews, the researcher realized that, after joining in
horticultural activities, participants became happier, tender and peaceful. With these changes, they were more
satisfied with their current lives and with themselves. Regarding interpersonal relationships, they got along well
with classmates, made more friends and their self-evaluation changed. They think that they are attractive.
Based on the research results, the dimensions of “optimism”, “positive affect”, “physical fitness”, “learning
achievement” and “peace of mind” are insignificant. The indicators of “optimism”, “positive affect and “peace of
mind” are abstract and broad. They are not as concrete as sense of control and satisfaction with self. Although
many participants in the experimental group indicated that horticultural activities reinforced their positive
emotions, the control group might obtain different degrees of positive emotions in other situations because of
their characteristics. They did not have any significant difference due to the experimental manipulation. “Physical
fitness” and “learning achievement” are influenced by individual physical condition and intelligence, and they
are not significantly different due to the horticultural activities.
The learning results of males in the experimental group are significantly higher than females. Regarding
males, the experimental group is significantly superior to the control group. Based on observations of activity,
males learn actively. This might be due to sampling error. However, this observation demonstrates that males’
total “well-being” is significantly enhanced after joining in horticultural activities.
Discussion of the Effectiveness of Horticultural Activities
The present study demonstrates that horticultural activities significantly change students’“sense of achieve-
ment”, “social skills”, “horticultural technique” and total “horticultural effectiveness” dimensions. Regarding “sense
of achievement”, in the interview, students suggested that they learned horticulture knowledge and skills in
the group; they created horticultural works, made more friends and cooperated with others. Regarding the unit
feedback forms and total feedback form, most participants suggested that they performed well, and this supports
the quantitative results. Regarding “social skills”, some members intended to make new friends. By horticultural
activities, they learned to share, control their emotions and change ideas. Horticultural activities thus improve
their social skills and interpersonal relationships. Regarding “horticultural technique”, participants obtained hor-
ticultural knowledge and skills related to plants. They grew plants well and were moved by the experience.
According to the research findings, the “interest and hobby”, “relaxing emotion” and “clear consciousness”
dimensions are insignificant. The reason why might be that the control group has other channels of interest and
relaxation. Although the theory of green plants is fresh, in the questionnaires and interviews, “clear conscious-
ness” is not positive.
The learning result of grade 4 in the experimental group is significantly higher than grade 3 and grade 5;
in grade 4, the experimental group is significantly higher than control group. According to our observations,
grade 4, in comparison to grade 3 and grade 5, was more involved in the activity. The participants in grade 4 had
strong learning motives. Hence, in comparison to the other grades or the control group, they were significantly
different.
Conclusions

In the present study, curriculum planning regarding horticultural activity includes knowledge, skill and af-
fection. Based on the data analysis, this study proposes the following conclusions. First of all, after being engaged
in horticultural activities, elementary school students’ self-concept, sense of control, self-satisfaction, sense of
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achievement, social skills and horticultural skills were enhanced. Next, after participating in horticultural activities,
elementary school students’ enhanced self-concept demonstrated that green plants helped them control their
emotions. Green plants could be also the means by which the students shared their friendship with or helped
friends, and thus the students made more friends. In other words, their interpersonal relationships were improved
and they could get along well with classmates. Because the students were happy and peaceful with green plants
and they had more friends, they were satisfied with themselves and their current lives. In addition, through the
process of taking care of the plants, the students cultivated their sense of responsibility, altruistic capacity and
time management ability. These gains strongly presented horticultural activities as useful components in the
learning strategies of experiential education to improve students’ self-concept and well-beings.
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Received: May 21, 2014 Accepted: July 20, 2014
Mei-Lun Chen Doctoral Student, Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation,

National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 912
Taiwan.
E-mail: c2114433@yahoo.com.tw
Shi-Jer Lou PhD, Graduate Institute of Vocational and Technical Education, National
Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 912 Taiwan.
E-mail: lousj@ms22.hinet.net
Wei-Fang Tsai Graduate Student, Graduate Institute of Landscape Architecture and
Recreation Management, National Pingtung University of Science and
Technology, Pingtung, 912 Taiwan.
E-mail: eq98469846@yahoo.com.tw
Chih-Cheng Tsai High School Teacher, Kaohsiung Municipal Jhong-Jheng Industrial High
School, Kaohsiung, 802 Taiwan.
E-mail: yanannestkimo@yahoo.com.tw
649
FOSTERING STUDENT’S
CREATIVE AND PROBLEM-
SOLVING SKILLS THROUGH A
HANDS-ON ACTIVITY
Abstract. The purpose of this study is to Ruey-Shyy Shieh,

investigate how a group of junior-high
school pupils created a functional boat Wheijen Chang
from scratch and resolved the problems
encountered in a scientific project. The
study was conducted using a qualitatively
exploratory method. Data sources consist
of artefacts, interviews, observations, and
self-reflection reports. The study results
reveal that the hands-on, trial-and-error
experiential learning not only helped the
Introduction
pupils enhance their creative skills and
problem-solving abilities, but also helped
them realize the value of collaboration. Students nowadays are inclined to be an experiential, social, interactive,
Nevertheless, although they were able and activity-based generation (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). Experiential learn-
to make various shapes of boats using ing is regarded as an effective approach to assisting learning as it facilitates
different materials, only half of the boats learners to transform experiences into knowledge. Kolb (1984) viewed learn-
created were able to successfully complete ing as a continuous process grounded in experience involving constructing
the established course. It discloses that meaningful, applicable knowledge. The younger generation’s preference for
turning a model work into a functional active, hands-on, social, collaborative learning helps lead to deeper levels of
piece demands a certain extent of scientific process and learning as they generate stronger connections (McGlynn, 2005).
knowledge and skills associated with the
It is therefore important for educators to establish learning environments
tasks, in addition to creative skills. The
which are social, interactive, and learner-centred (Ramaley & Zia, 2005), and
students’ anticipation of the teacher’s
scaffolding to achieve the project goal
to provide more actively engaging experiential learning opportunities as
was found to vary greatly among teams, well, to effectively enhance learning (McGlynn, 2005).
indicating a dilemma of the teachers’ role Creative ability is considered an important component of developing
in an open-form scientific project. How the students’ cognitive and problem-solving abilities (Plucker, Beghetto, & Dow,
created products were ranked in the project 2004). Eckhoff and Urback (2008) asserted that the process of exposing
also raises concerns regarding setting up students to creative thinking, helps them confront problems yet to occur. A
criteria to assess scientific artefacts. Sug- report issued by the National Advisory Committee for Creative and Cultural
gestions for enhancing future implementa- Education (NACCCE) (1999) states, that developing young people’s creativity
tions are provided. not only helps them develop their capacity for original ideas and action, but
Key words: boat creation, collaborative
also prepares them to successfully cope with life in the twenty-first century.
learning, hands-on skills, problem solving
In Taiwan, because of the highly competitive entrance examinations, teach-
skills.
ing practices tend to focus on cramming content knowledge, rather than
establishing creative, active, social, and hands-on learning environments.
Ruey-Shyy Shieh Subsequently, students are prone to engage in rote learning. In the long
Kainan University, Taiwan run, this limits students’ creative, problem-solving abilities and subsequent
Wheijen Chang
National Changhua University of competitiveness. In order to promote students’ potential in this regard, a boat
Education, Taiwan creation project was implemented in a junior-high school, which allowed a
group of pupils to engage in a social, active, hands-on learning activity.
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Learning by Doing
The concept of learning by doing was initiated by John Dewey in his educational philosophy (1933, 1938).
Dewey (1938) argued that students should learn from the situated world through continuous interaction with one
another. In his view, a person’s reflective thinking could not be separated from action, and critical reflection is an at-
tempt to detach from the external world to construct meaning, but the validity of that meaning is always grounded
in experience. Following Dewey’s learning theory, Kolb (1984) defined learning as “the process whereby knowledge
is created through the transformation of experience” (p.38). The process of experiential learning is dialectic. Kolb
regarded learning as a continuous cycle of concrete experience, shifting to observation and reflection, developing
abstract concepts, and then engaging in active experimentation. The ultimate objective is to facilitate learners’
transfer of knowledge and skills, and use of new knowledge to make decisions and resolve problems. Hands-on
activity positively affects students’ understanding in learning science (Costu, Ünal, & Ayas, 2007) and also reinforces
science instruction more effectively than traditional instruction (Sadi & Cakiroglu, 2011). Similarly, De la Hozi Casas
and De Blas del Hoyo (2009) indicated that students learn more effectively by acting and observing the experimental
results of their own actions, rather than listening to others’ explanations about what they should learn.
Many educators urge that science has to be taught in a hands-on, inquiry-based way. Instead of textbook-
based, factual knowledge oriented and lecture-driven science, experiential learning emphasizes experiment-based,
idea-eliciting science learning through project teamwork (Payne, 2004). Encouraging investigative and hands-on
science-based activities is regarded as a way of promoting the public understanding of science (NACCCE, 1999).
For young learners, integrating imaginative and creative thinking into their existing knowledge can promote their
potential for solving problems (Eckhoff & Urback, 2008). It is thus anticipated that a hands-on boat-creating learning
activity will allow students to coordinate their current knowledge, creative skills, and problem-solving abilities.
Instruction and Pedagogical Strategies
Creative ability is intrinsically subject to the teaching of the academic disciplines, in addition to innovative
thoughts (Rowlands, 2011). A teacher with creative capacity must be active and innovative, challenging and facili-
tating, and also an expert in his/her disciplinary area and pedagogical practice (McWilliam, 2009). Understanding
students’ learning needs and learning styles, such as the elements that influence their conceptions of the learning
process, is critical (Cuthbert, 2005) when providing guidance and adopting instructional strategies to facilitate
students to transform experiences into knowledge. In Thoonen et al.’s (2011) study, while the teachers regarded
process-oriented instruction (e.g., focusing on knowledge building) and self-regulated learning as motivating for
students, the students perceived them adversely. Rather, the students viewed cooperative learning methods and
mastery goals as more motivating. Runco and Chand (1995) asserted, that it is more motivating and more meaningful
if learners can choose their own tasks for creative thinking, as the process of problem identification would facilitate
their intrinsic motivation. However, during the learning process, failure to provide sufficient learning support for
less proficient or less able students could lead to perceivable loss of learning (Clark, 1989). Amabile (1996) reported
that the outcome of an undertaken task can directly affect future engagement in tasks; those who fail are inclined
not to engage in the same task again without reasonable feedback. Contrarily, those who achieve success are more
likely to conduct the same task again if they are intrinsically motivated and the task itself is challenging. In other
words, providing timely feedback to assist students to achieve the attempted learning objectives successfully will
enhance their interest and future engagement. Likewise, Kirschenbaum (1998) contended that an assessment of
creativity must be able to provide useful and helpful feedback to students to facilitate their creative functioning.
Rook and Knippenberg (2011) found that participants were more likely to imitate when a creative exemplar was
presented than when none was presented. They also argued that imitation helps improve creative performance,
although it is at the expense of creativity.
New generation learners seem to appreciate structured activities that allow creativity (McGlynn, 2005). When
promoting students’ creativity, Simmons and Thompson (2008) contended that uniform lesson plans and stan-
dardized approaches restrain the development of creativity. When coping with new, novel information, it is better
to explicitly show learners what to do and how to do it (Kirschner et al., 2006). While too much structure, such as
providing a template for making an artefact, may restrain young learners’ creativity and self-determination, too
much freedom may engender confusion (Craft, 2007). Sagiv et al. (2009) examined creativity performance from
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the aspect of the relationship between personal cognitive style and structure of instruction, and found that those
who preferred structured instructions demonstrated higher creativity than those who preferred free conditions
when the scope of the task was limited, allowing them to concentrate on the key elements. Contrarily, those who
were more intuitive appeared to perform better than their counterparts in a relatively free situation. That is, to
enhance students’ performance, the structure of the pedagogical process needs to suit their cognitive and learning
styles. According to cognitive load theory, the free exploration of a highly complicated situation may bring about
a heavy working memory load that is not advantageous to learning, which is particularly applicable to novice
learners, who lack adequate schemas to integrate the new information into existing knowledge (Kirschner et al.,
2006). Based on the notion of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, adjusting instruction according to young
learners’ current level of ability helps stimulate their competence and conceptual understanding (Schmidt, 2011;
Thoonen et al., 2011).
Environments Conducive to Creative Learning
In recent years, the conception of creativity has shifted from creative individual to creative team (McWilliam,
2009). According to the concept of group creativity, creativity is socially constructed (Reid & Petocz, 2004; Swede,
1993). Amabile (1996) indicated that a social environment supporting autonomy, competence, or task involvement
helps promote learners’ creativity. Kim (2009) reported that a flexible environment and active group interactions
reinforce students’ creativity. Feldhusen and Treffinger (1980) proposed suggestions for establishing a classroom
environment favourable to creative thinking, including adapting to student interests and thoughts, giving time for
students to develop their creative ideas, establishing a friendly, supportive atmosphere, allowing students to have
choices, involving them in the decision-making process, and positively treating failure. The tips for teaching creativity
authored by Sternberg and Williams (n.d.) indicate that promoting learners’ self-regulation and encouraging cre-
ative collaboration can spur creativity. In short, a collaborative, flexible, social, thoughts-encouraging environment
appears to be conducive to creativity. Moreover, a suitable seating arrangement was found to reinforce students’
problem-solving skills in a collaborative setting (Heller & Hollabaugh, 1992). However, due to the preoccupations
of the traditional classroom setting, classrooms are generally not seen as creativity-cultivating places (Furman,
1998). Thus, it was the attempt of the boat creation project investigated in the present study to be implemented
in a collaborative, thought-provoking, active learning environment.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate how these pupils created the boat from scratch and how they re-
solved the problems encountered (the learning process), and what artefacts they produced (the learning products)
in the project. Three research questions are addressed in the study:
1. What and how had the pupils achieved from engaging in the project?
2. What were the challenges they encountered and how did they resolve them?
3. What was the teacher’s role in helping the pupils fulfil the project goal?
Research Context
The participating subjects of this study were a group of 7th grade pupils studying in a junior high school in
Taiwan, who joined the Innovative Club guided by a science teacher at the school. The major activity of the club
was to design and produce scientific works, such as movable balloon cars and walking robots. Those who produced
outstanding works would be encouraged to represent the school to participate in science related competitions
held by outside institutions. In the year in which the study took place (2012), there were a total of 24 students
from 14 different classes in the club, 11 of whom were female. The activity in the studied period was to construct
an amphibious boat functional on an established course. The students formed eight teams, of which one had four
members (Team 1), one had two (Team 2), and the remaining six had three each. The club members met weekly
for 50 minutes in a designated project room for a total of 16 weeks.
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Objectives of the Project
The domain knowledge associated with the project was related to the physics concepts of force and balance in
Newtonian mechanics and electricity regarding electric circuits and the function of the motors. The pupils involved
in the project were expected to be able to:
1. Create an amphibious boat through exerting imaginary potentials.
2. Resolve problems through connecting concepts associated with the boat construction to practice.
To allow the pupils more room for creativity, only basic materials were provided, consisting of 1 flat motor
(approximately 3 cm long), 2 axles, 2 gears, 2 AA batteries, and 1 battery holder. In other words, the pupils had
to decide on the remaining materials, including for the hull and wheels, and on the size and shape of the boat.
Resolving the problems denotes that the pupils must test, observe, modify, reflect on, and retest the boat through
trial-and-error experiments until it could complete the designated course. In addition, to suit the new generation’s
experiential learning preferences, more time was set aside for hands-on tasks, rather than listening to lectures.
Learning Activities
To facilitate student collaborative interaction, the teacher arranged the students to sit face-to-face, rather
than in traditional rows, following Heller and Hollabaugh’s (1992) assertion that face-to-face seating enhances
team performance. The learning cycle proposed by Kolb (1976, 1984) was adopted to design the project, including
concrete experience, observation and reflection, abstract concepts, and active experimentation.
1. Concrete experience: the students started with collaboratively designing a boat structure, assembling
the motor piece with the collected materials, making wheels and oars, constructing the hull, and then
connecting all the parts.
2. Observation and reflection: the students examined the created boat, observed any problems that oc-
curred, and figured out solutions to resolve the problems.
3. Abstract concepts: it was anticipated that the students would gradually grasp the scientific concepts
associated with making a boat. Specifically, they were expected to learn the concepts of force and bal-
ance embedded in the process of making the boat move forward (force) and straight (balance).
4. Active experimentation: it was also hoped that the students would be able to apply the learned con-
cepts to construct a functional amphibious boat by trial and error. They would repeat the experiments
until the boat could work as desired.
It is assumed, that through such learning activities, the students may better (1) connect theory to practice,
(2) foster their problem-solving abilities, (3) improve their hands-on skills, and (4) learn collaborative skills through
teamwork.
The Contest Rule
The teacher and pupils discussed and agreed upon a simple rule to rank the created boats in the contest:
whichever boat went from the start to the finish line, in the shortest time would win. In other words, the final ar-
tefacts were assessed merely on their functionality (their speed), not their creativity (the aesthetics). Two contests
two weeks apart were scheduled – a warm-up contest held in the 14th week and a final contest in the 16th week. A
course composed of three parts – a land area, a water area, and a slope connecting the two, was built for the con-
tests (see Figures 1 and 2). The land area was made of a 65x25cm piece of plastic board, the acrylic water tank was
80x25x20cm and was filled with 13 cm of water, and a 15x25cm metal board connected the two areas. Therefore,
the boats had to be amphibious.
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Figure 1: The course. Figure 2: The slope.
Data Collection and Analysis
Four sources of data were collected:

1. Artefacts: The boats made by the eight teams were collected.
2. Class observations: All class sessions, including the two contests, were videotaped to capture the stu-
dents’ dynamic interactions, particularly group interactions.
3. Interviews: A total of four group interviews with the students, two teams each, were administered after
the final contest to acquire (1) the students’ background, (2) team related information (e.g., the team
leader’s role, conceptions of the boat design, and team collaboration), (3) learning experiences (learning
interests and challenges encountered), and (4) self-reflection. All interviews were digitally recorded.
4. Reflection reports: The students’ end-of-project reports were collected to obtain their reflections on the
activities. Three questions were addressed in their reports: (1) what went wrong in the two contests and
why, (2) what could be improved and how, and (3) reflections from engaging in the activity.
All 24 students participated in the group interviews. The interview data were transcribed verbatim. Content
analysis was adopted to analyse the qualitative data. The three types of codes, descriptive, interpretive, and pattern
codes, addressed in Miles and Huberman (1994) were used to code and analyse the interview data. The transcrip-
tions were coded paragraph by paragraph first to describe the overall picture of the data, followed by interpretively
coding them, either statement by statement or paragraph by paragraph. General patterns or themes were then
sought while reviewing the coded statements. The fundamental principle guiding the data coding process was
that “it is not the words themselves, but their meaning that matters,” as emphasized by Miles and Huberman (1994,
56). To increase the coding reliability, a graduate assistant and the researcher conducted the coding separately.
The two sets of coding were compared and discussed until agreement was reached. The reflection reports were
analyzed in three aspects, including 1) reasons for failure, 2) solutions to fix the problems, and 3) overall reflections
on the entire learning process. All of the analysed data, including class observations, interviews, contest results,
and reflection reports, were triangulated to strengthen their reliability and validity.
Results of Research
Firstly, the role of the teacher in the open-form project is described, followed by the contest results, and then
the pupils’ learning experiences.
The Teacher’s Role
The class observation data show that the teacher adopted various pedagogical strategies to trigger the stu-
dents’ thoughts for creating the boat, including brainstorming, class-based discussions, mind-mapping activities,
and six-hat thinking activities. The mind mapping activity was used to facilitate the students’ conceptual mapping
of the structure of the boat. In the six-hat thinking activity, the students were assigned to wear different coloured
hats (representing different roles) to judge and assess the merits and drawbacks of the various designs proposed.
Brainstorming and class-based discussions were conducted to solicit students’ ideas and solutions for resolving
the problems encountered (or which they might encounter) during the construction process; for example, how
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to resolve problems of leaking, wheel tilting, parts loosening, and the motor moving forward. Besides class-based
discussions, the teacher also provided advice to individual teams to help them avoid possible problems she observed
while circulating the classroom. For example, she reminded the students about adding oars to effectively propel
the boat and connecting the battery to the motor correctly to ensure its movement. The class-based activities
occupied approximately one-third of the 16-week sessions; the remaining time was set aside for the students to
work in teams to collaboratively create their boats. According to the observation data, the structure mapping task
appeared to be the most difficult for the majority of the students as it required them to embody an imaginary craft
in graphic form with limited existing knowledge of force and balance prior to engaging in hands-on activities. After
the conceptual structure stage was completed, the students became more active in the following hands-on tasks.
In short, the teacher attempted to facilitate the students’ conceptual understanding of the required knowledge of
constructing a boat, rather than giving detailed, step-by-step instructions. It was the intention of the teacher to
give the students room to construct the boat via hands-on trial-and-error experiments.
The Contest Results
In the first contest, only the boat created by Team 3 completed the course, taking a total of 5 seconds; five of
the teams failed because the motor could not drive the boat forward, one did not fully complete their boat, and
one forgot to bring their boat to the contest. In the final contest, four teams (Teams 1, 3, 4 and 6) succeeded and
took 7, 5, 3, and 9 seconds to run through the course, respectively. Figures 3 to 6 display the four successful boats
ranked from 1st to 4th place. The other four teams failed mainly due to gear (mechanics) and motor (electricity)
problems (see Figures 7 to 10).
Figure 3: Team 4’s styrofoam Figure 4: Team 3’s styrofoam Figure 5: Team 1’s pearl board
boat (1st place). boat (2nd place). boat (3rd place).
Figure 6: Team 6’s styrofoam Figure 7: Team 2’s initial boat. Figure 8: Team 5’s milk carton
boat (4th place). boat.
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Figure 9: Team 7’s plastic bottle Figure 10: Team 8’s pearl board
boat. boat.
As shown in the figures, the boats made by each team differed in style and material. The materials used to
make the hull included styrofoam, pearl board, a milk carton and a plastic bottle. Pearl board was used by six of
the teams for making wheels; one team (Team 6) chose plastic milk bottle caps and another one used styrofoam.
The observation data indicate that all of the teams continuously modified their boat before and after the first
contest, including changes in material, shape, and/or size. According to the interview data, the considerations for
making the modifications consist of increasing thickness (e.g., replacing the foil hull with Styrofoam), easier cutting
(e.g., replacing the styrofoam with pearl board), and easier propulsion (e.g., halving a hull). All of the teams added
cross pieces as oars to either two or four of the wheels, reportedly to enhance the propelling force. Only one team
(Team 4) did not add sides to its boat. After testing their boats, the students were more focused on the functional
perspective of the modifications, rather than on its aesthetic appearance, when deciding on and changing the
boats’ materials and size. That is, the boat’s appearance was eventually sacrificed for functionality. In addition, the
content results reveal that turning a static artefact into a scientific functional work, appears to demand a certain
extent of science knowledge and hands-on skills, in addition to initial creativity.
The Students’ Learning Experiences
The interview data reveal that there were obvious differences among the teams regarding the time and effort
they spent constructing their boats outside the class. Some of the teams (Teams 3 and 4) reportedly took turns
working on the boat at home; the others (Teams 1, 2, and 6) modified and tested their boats in the project room,
using their lunch breaks. The remaining teams, however, reportedly only worked during the club sessions; one of
these teams did not actually test-run their boat in the course before the contests, but only tested it on the ground.
It appears that those who succeeded in the final contest were those, who put more effort into completing the
boat, with the exception of Team 2 (the group with two members). Consistently, the observation data reveal that
not every team attended to the project tasks equally seriously. Members of some teams looked absent-minded
while engaging in their tasks. The students’ learning experiences are more clearly described below, including the
process of their collaboration, the process of their problem-solving, and variations in learning needs.
The Process of Collaboration
In the interviews, the students were asked how they, as a team, initiated the boat design. Most of them stated
that they decided on the materials and the shape through team discussions. Consideration of choosing materials
consisted of their weight, feature, colour, and overall appearance. Most of the teams reportedly had their members
choose tasks, each preferred to work on, such as making the hull, preparing the wheels, etc. The leader of Team 6,
however, assigned members’ tasks based on her judgment of their strengths. In addition, two students in Team 3
(the only successful team in the first contest) reported that they had a “dominating leader” who mostly decided
everything for them. Regardless of choosing one’s own tasks or being assigned certain tasks, most of the students
reported that it took considerable negotiation among members for the project to progress. In the reflection reports,
the majority of students reported that the collaborative tasks helped them learn social and negotiation skills; they
also realized the importance of teamwork. One student in Team 4 (the winning team in the final contest) specifically
wrote in his report, “Cooperation was the only way for the project to succeed.”
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Although group collaboration was recognized by most of the students as a critical element for the success
of the teamwork, not all students had positive experiences with their team. For example, the two members in
Team 2 stated in the interview, that the poor coordination of their team led to the failure of their boat. The class
observation data also revealed that they twice forgot to bring their materials to the club due to misunderstandings
and so could not continue their work during the club sessions. Similarly, two of the members in Team 3 stated,
that although they were delighted to see their boat successfully complete the course in both contests, they did
not feel that they contributed as much as they initially intended. They both wished that they could have chosen
the tasks they preferred, rather than being assigned limited tasks by the leader. When this “dominating” student in
Team 3 was asked about his task assignments and design ideas, he confidently said that he just intuitively knew
what he wanted to do. He also stated that he did not have a habit of discussing his ideas, but preferred to think
and work alone.
The Process of Problem-Solving
During the boat modification, in addition to class-based discussions, some teams reportedly followed the
teacher’s suggestions to alter their boat, whereas others combined the teacher’s suggestions with their own
judgment. Trial and error was used by most teams. The leader of Team 4 reported, that after the first contest they
observed others’ boats prior to making modifications. In order to fix the leaking, they closely observed Team 3
boat and made necessary changes to their own, including changing the hull material and adding a front board.
When closely examining the boats made by Team 4 and Team 3 (see Figure 3 and Figure 4), the two boats do look
somewhat alike. The leading student in Team 3 was asked why he put that piece of board in the front; he explained
that it was meant to stabilize the boat when entering the water.
In their reflection reports, the students were able to identify what went wrong with their boats in the con-
tests, and what modifications they made accordingly. The reported reasons for failure in the two contests included
problems of gears sticking, uneven distances between the wheels, the motor and gears connection, wheel friction,
sealing, short circuiting, and cutting, with gears and wheels the most commonly mentioned. The students also
proposed solutions to fix the problems, such as placing the positive/negative battery connection correctly to ensure
movement, adding oars adequately to increase the propulsion of the boat, drilling holes more precisely to better
hold the wheels so as to enhance the balance of the boat while moving, choosing more appropriate materials
like bottle caps as wheels for a smoother surface, strengthening sealing to avoid leaking, and enlarging the wheel
size to increase the moving force. Although some of these details look rather trivial, resolving them appears to be
how the students gained hands-on skills and attained scientific knowledge/conceptions of boat construction. A
number of students emphasized that they felt a sense of accomplishment by being able to create a motored boat
from scratch, regardless of whether they were successful or not.
Variations in Learning Needs
Even though the teacher adopted various pedagogical strategies to increase the pupils’ knowledge and skills
of making an amphibious boat, quite a few pupils mentioned in the interviews that the instructions were not suf-
ficient to help them effectively construct a boat. They anticipated the shape of the boat, the size of the wheels,
and the position of the motor and axles to be specified. Several reported that because of unclear instructions they
were often puzzled about what to do and how to get some of the tasks done. One student in Team 2 commented
that work that was too complicated might have a negative impact on student engagement, especially on those
lacking good hands-on skills. On the other hand, most of the students who succeeded in getting their boats to
complete the course, such as those in Teams 1, 3 and 4, tended to appreciate the freestyle creative project. Minimal
instructions allowed them to engage in trial-and-error experiments and figure out various alternatives on their
own. They also expressed a strong desire to remake the boat should they have another opportunity to do so. It
is thus unsurprising that while some of the students suggested that more instruction had to be provided, others
contended that less instruction was more appreciated and interesting. Likewise, provision of materials raised the
same contention. While some students expressed that the materials used to construct the boat should be unified
to ensure the fairness of the competition, others thought that it was more fun and challenging to decide one’s
own materials. These contentions reflect a dilemma regarding the teacher’s role in terms of providing guidance
and setting up assessment in an open-form creative project.
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Discussion
The teacher used various pedagogical approaches to facilitate the students’ learning, including brainstorming,
mind-mapping activities, and six-hat thinking activities initiated by De Bono (1987). By following the learning cycle
addressed by Kolb (1984), the students were able to create, observe, modify, test, reflect on, and resolve problems
encountered in the boat creation project. They eventually made various shapes of boat using different materials.
The overall learning process appeared to have helped them cultivate creative, hands-on skills, and improve their
problem-solving abilities. They also realized the value of collaboration and negotiation during teamwork. However,
only half of the boats were able to successfully complete the course. Those who collaborated well were better
able to achieve the project goal and appreciated the creative style of the project. Contrarily, those who were less
able to meet the project requirements tended to desire more specific assistance. In other words, in addition to the
students’ own efforts spent on the project, whether the provided amount of instruction and guidance met their
anticipations and learning demands also affected their final learning outcomes, reflecting the concept addressed in
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. The teacher, thus, plays an important role in perceiving students’ learn-
ing needs and providing adequate assistance accordingly to help them accomplish the project goal, particularly
in an open-form project.
Although collaboration was reported as an influential element affecting the teams’ final learning outcomes,
not all of the teams completed their works in such a manner. For example, the fact that the team (Team 3) with a
“dominating” member successfully achieved the project goal seems to be highly associated with this particular
student’s intuition, personality and skills, rather than team collaboration, echoing Sagiv et al.’s (2009) argument
that more intuitive students perform better in a freer condition. It is hence not surprising that the learning needs
of more intuitive students are different from those who are more structure-oriented. Creative productivity involves
many other aspects, including a creative personality embodied in behaviour traits which involve aptitudes, inter-
est, attitudes, and temperament qualities (Guilford, 1950), independence of judgment, desire to take risks, and
persistence and resilience in situations of adversity and failure (NACCCE 1999), and cognitive style, knowledge of
heuristics, and work style (Amabile 1996). Although investigating students’ creative tendencies and qualities was
not the pursuit of the present study, future studies can delve into this area of research, particularly for helping
young learners exert their potential creativity in advancing their learning achievements. Nonetheless, the results
of this study verify that finding an appropriate balance between structure and freedom is not an easy matter and
may rely on judgment, trial, and reflection, as mentioned by Craft (2007).
The class’ decision to rank the created artefacts by speed raises the issue of setting up assessment standards.
Even though the project was associated with the pupils’ creative skills, the teacher and the students decided to
rank the final artefacts merely by their functionality (their speed). Although quantitative measurements are more
objective and less arguable, it may overlook many other values of the produced works, such as their aesthetics.
Science itself may not be perceived as creative (Schmidt 2011); creating a boat in this case was regarded as a sci-
entific activity, rather than a creative project in general. Such an assessment approach is not uncommon in Taiwan
mainly due to the requirement of clear ranking of students’ learning outcomes in the highly competitive exami-
nation systems. Consequently, student performance tends to be assessed based on objective criteria (e.g., exam
scores, speed), rather than on subjective judgement (e.g., artistry, creativity, or parsimony). Subjectively judging
and appreciating creative works, however, demands a certain extent of knowledge, insight, and an artistic mind,
which deserves future research.
Conclusions
This study discloses that a hands-on, scientific project can foster students’ creative and problem-solving
skills. Cultivating students’ skills in these regards, however, requires their conceptual understanding of the domain
knowledge associated with the learning activities. Because of the various learning needs of the different teams,
the varying degrees of effort exerted by each team, and the various work habits of the individual students, the
teacher’s role in the project becomes pivotal. More specifically, the teacher must be subtle and observatory with
regard to the students’ learning progress. How to help them reach their potential and maximize their learning
outcomes through providing adequate instructions and appropriate creative room demands the teacher’s subtle
scaffolding and adequate pedagogical strategies.
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Suggestions
To strengthen young students’ overall learning outcomes in future implementations of open-form projects,
the following suggestions are provided:
Providing more sophisticated instruction
As mentioned, in this study the students’ anticipation of receiving instructions varied significantly. Clark (1995)
contended that failing to provide adequate learning support for less proficient students could be detrimental to
their learning, which seems to reflect the situation of some of the students in the studied project. Some researchers
suggested that when the task is novel or when the learners are less experienced with the work, explicit guidance
must be provided to assist them in achieving the intended objectives (e.g., Clark, 1989; Kirschner et al., 2006). Con-
sidering the students in the present study were 7th graders and were inexperienced with the required tasks, having
them to prepare most of the parts and also cope with the problems with each part, was somewhat overwhelming
for them. Besides, considering that half of the teams failed to complete the course, more sophisticated instruction
and demonstrations, rather than minimal, conceptual guidance, is suggested. As Rowlands (2011) asserted, creative
ability is intrinsically affected by the teaching of the academic disciplines, in addition to creative thoughts. Although
more instruction may seem redundant to the more capable students, Clark (1982) contended that students may
not suffer by learning less afterward, compared to prior instruction. Encouraging more able students to pursue
advanced tasks, such as adding additional obstacles to the course, challenging their own records, and/or inviting
them to present some effective strategies to the class, may allow them to continuously excel themselves.
Nurturing cooperation through assigning roles
The majority of the students in the present study agreed that cooperation was the best way to accomplish
the project. Therefore, it is important to strengthen team cooperation. For young learners like 7th graders, more
structured teamwork, rather than loosely organized cooperation, may be necessary. It is suggested that team
members should be assigned specific roles to increase their sense of responsibility, as stated by Heller and Hol-
labaugh (1992). Runco and Chands (1995) asserted that it is more motivating to be able to choose one’s own tasks.
Most of the students in this project also appeared to prefer to choose their own work, rather than being assigned
limited tasks by the leader. Therefore, it is recommended that the students themselves negotiate the aspect each
of them is to be in charge of, such as the motor piece, axle and wheel parts, and hull and sides, and their related
functions. It is also suggested that each team should be formed of at least three students to both reinforce group
brainstorming and reduce each member’s workload, echoing Heller and Hollabaugh’s (1992) contention that the
most appropriate number of team members is three to four. For 7th graders, the teacher may also need to follow
up each team’s progress by requiring them to submit brief periodic group reports describing each member’s con-
tribution, not only to ensure involvement, but also to gain social and negotiation skills.
Enhancing active sharing
In addition to teacher-led class-based activities, it is suggested that sharing activities should be held regularly
allowing the students to actively share ideas and exchange thoughts about the ongoing tasks. The thoughts to be
shared can include why each team chose certain materials to make their boat, how the members came up with
their boat design, why they made certain modifications after the initial design, and how they resolved problems.
Encouraging feedback from students in other teams is also important as reasonable feedback helps motivate
students’ future engagement (Amabile, 1996). Observing others’ designs and even imitating the others’ works is
part of the process of creative thinking development (Rook & Knippenberg, 2011), particularly for young learners.
Positively treating failure favours creative thinking (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1980); therefore, it is also suggested
that time should be set aside after the final contest for students in the successful teams to assist others in com-
pleting their unsuccessful artefacts, as this can cultivate positive attitudes, improve problem-solving abilities and
enhance interaction skills.
Acknowledgement
The research was sponsored by the National Science Council, NSC 100-2511-S-424- 002-MY2.
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Received: June 14, 2014 Accepted: August 10, 2014
Ruey-Shyy Shieh PhD., Professor, Department of Information Management, Kainan

University, No.1 Kainan Road, Luzhu Shiang, Taoyuan 33857,
Taiwan.
Tel.: 1-886-3-3412500.
E-mail: rueys99@gmail.com
Wheijen Chang PhD., Professor, Department of Physics, National Changhua
(Corresponding author) University of Education, Jin-De Campus, No.1, Jin-De Road,
Changhua 500, Taiwan.
Tel.: 1-886-4-7232105.
E-mail: wjnchang@gmail.com
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USING CONCEPT MAPPING
FOR ASSESSMENT IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Abstract. Conceptual acquisition is an Katrin Soika,

important aspect of science education,
Priit Reiska
especially with regard to committing things
to long term memory. Three case studies
were carried out to examine approaches to
conceptual acquisition in science educa-
tion. The aim of these studies was to deter-
mine whether concept mapping method
is a valid research method. To answer the
question, studies were developed. Two of
them used animation to describe abstract
topics in chemistry. The aim of the third
study was to compare the differences in Introduction
higher taxonomy concept maps, created in
an allocated timeframe. Conceptual acquisition is an important component of science education,
The findings of the studies indicate that the yet many such concepts are abstract and difficult to acquire. Determining the
use of voiced interactive animation without level of science learning, however, is handicapped if the assessment tool is
too contingent on memorisation, especially short term memory. In this case,
teacher explanation does not lend itself to
concept acquisition is poorly assessed since the assessment tool is more likely
superior concept acquisition. As a result
to measure memorisation powers.
of the study it was concluded that con-
The aim of the research was to seek evidence as to whether the use of
cept mapping as an assessment method concept mapping as an assessment tool can be helpful in measuring mean-
provides a unique possibility to visualize the ingful concept acquisition.
structure of students’ conceptual achieve-
ments. Based on the outcomes it is recom- Concept Mapping
mended concept mapping should be used
more as an assessment or research method. Concept mapping as an assessment method was developed by Jo-
Key words: assessment, concept map- seph Novak and his research team in the early 1970s (Novak, 2010). The
ping, animation, paper-based instruction, method is based on the theory of Ausubel (1968)-also called meaningful
concepts. learning- and assumes that learners construct their knowledge, influenced
by the knowledge which they have already acquired previously. This influ-
ence thus suggests that connections can be established between the prior
learning and new learning and that these connections can be expressed by
means of a graphical display, usually called a concept map. A concept map
therefore links concepts, with prior concepts forming the base and the new
conceptual acquisition building on this base, not necessarily in a one-to-one
Katrin Soika, Priit Reiska linkage system.
Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia
In a concept map, concepts- which could be words, things, pictures,
formulas, symbols, etc- are linked with lines, labelled as proposition (Reiska,
Cañas, Novak & Miller, 2008; Ruiz-Primo, Schultz & Shavelson, 1997; Chang,
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Sung, Chang & Lin, 2005). As such, the concept map is a collection of propositions, which explain the connections
between the concepts. When constructed in a certain way, they can graphically express meaningful inter-relation-
ships, existing between one or more different concepts (Ruiz-Primo et al., 1997).
Concept maps can be widely used in the school learning process. Research shows that the method helps
to prevent rote learning, enables to summarize previously studied concepts or those evolving from class discus-
sions (Novak, 2010), can be helpful in creating presentations, etc. However, concept maps can also be used as an
assessment tool, being superior to other assessment tools in giving an overview of a student’s mental processes
and their structure (Gouli, Gogoulou & Grigoriadou, 2003).
Concept Mapping for Assessment
Novak pointed out that concept maps are perhaps best used as an assessment tool. Novak and Cañas (2006)
wrote in their online technical report (p. 27): „There is nothing written in stone that says multiple choice tests must
be used from grade school through university, and perhaps in time even national achievement exams will utilize
concept mapping as a powerful assessment tool...” Science studies have proved the necessity of concept maps in
assessing. For example: Walker and King (2003) concluded from two pilot studies investigating the use of concept
mapping for assessing students’ knowledge at a given point and over time that: a) concept mapping was a useful
tool for building a portrait of the process of knowledge transformation from novice to expert; b) concept mapping
was an appropriate tool for student assessment.
Some authors have pointed out weaknesses in the concept mapping method as an assessment tool. They
argue that creating an acceptable structure of concept maps could be difficult for a novice. Furthermore, it could
be challenging for instructors to evaluate the results (Chang et al., 2005), and the validity and reliability of concept
maps have been questioned (Ruiz-Primo & Shavelson, 1996; Ruiz-Primo, 2004).
Klassen (2006) found in his research (p. 842): “Even though concept maps, both in instruction and in assess-
ment, are able to demonstrate strong effects, it is not certain how to interpret the results. Also, because of a lack of
standardization of scoring methods, reliability is difficult to achieve. In order for concept map assessment to gain
legitimacy for large-scale usage, these issues must first be overcome.”
Using and Interpreting Concept Maps
Neither creating nor evaluating the use of concept maps has been an easy task. Initially, concept maps were
created mainly by pen and paper and results were calculated manually. The whole process was long and tedious.
Nowadays, it has become much easier because of the use of computers (Novak, 2010). There are several measures
for analysing concept maps ranging from the number and quality of propositions, to the size and hierarchy of the
concept map, or clusters of maps. To evaluate concept maps, specific dimensions for measuring are needed. Miller,
Cañas et al. (2006) have developed a topological taxonomy for evaluating concept maps. They considered five
criteria, through which topological levels were defined: 1) recognition and use of concepts; 2) presence of linking
phrases; 3) degree of ramification; 4) hierarchical depth, and 5) presence of cross-links (Reiska, Cañas, Novak, &
Miller, 2008). The taxonomy consists of 7 levels: identified as from 0 to 6. The maps which are classified as 5 and 6
meet all or almost all of the criteria.
Trumpower and Sarwar (2010) acclaimed that concept maps hold promise for being used effectively in forma-
tive assessment systems. Since formative assessment is used as an indicator of progress, it must identify a student’s
strengths and weaknesses, while also being easy to use. Fortunately, computers have made it easy to create and
assess such concept maps, allowing teachers and researchers to use this method in their everyday work.
The concept mapping method was also used as an assessing method in an extensive longitudinal study
Lotegüm, conducted in Estonia, where 1614 students were examined with exercises that involved concept map-
ping and PISA like three dimensional scenario-based exercises. Currently, the evaluation process is ongoing as
experts are marking the propositions. The preliminary results of students’ concept maps derived from general
data and answers to the question list are collected (the research examined the frequency of creating concept
maps and problems occurring during the study). It turned out that scores of the concept maps (taxonomy score
and proposition count) depend neither on the frequency of creating concept maps nor computer handling skills
(Soika, Reiska, 2013). The preliminary results were analysed by CmapAnalysis software which was created by Cañas,
Bunch and Reiska (2010).
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CmapAnalysis Program
This program allows analysis of various algorithms, rubrics and techniques used within concept maps. Pa-
rameters are defined by the researcher. The creators of the program propose that this software helps instructors,
researchers and teachers to automate routine analytical operations (Cañas, Bunch & Reiska, 2010).
The CmapAnalysis software supports: a) taking input Cmaps into the open CXL file format in addition to the
Cmap format, thus allowing the analysis of concept maps developed by concept mapping programs that utilize
CXL, b) enabling users to add other measures to the program.
CmapAnalysis gives an opportunity to measure different categories, for example:
a) size: describes how many concepts, linking words and propositions are included in a concept map;
b) quality: describes what kind of concepts, linking words and propositions are included in a concept
map,
c) structure of concept maps: describes how well the concepts are inter-connected; determines clusters,
identifies three most central concepts in each map, etc.
The usefulness of the program lies in the fact that it can handle large sets of concept maps and also the scores,
which lend themselves to further analysis, for example using MSExcel (Cañas, Bunch & Reiska, 2010).
In this study, the following parameters from the concept maps were calculated:
a) proposition count: the number of propositions (i.e. concept-linking phrase-concept) included in the
map,
b) proposition quality: expert evaluation of the appropriateness of a concept link and a numerical score
or „mark“ given to the proposition,
c) taxonomy score: calculated by different measures, including average words per concept, branch point
count, concept count, linking phrase count, separated concepts count, proposition count, count of
concepts with outgoing connections but no incoming connections (root child), sub map count. The
taxonomy score is expressed with a number between 0 and 6, with higher scores typically indicating
higher quality concept maps.
Animation
Animations, moving illustrated materials, are being used increasingly frequently in schools to depict dynamic
changes over time and space, and illustrate phenomena or concepts that might be otherwise difficult to visualise
(Nakhleh, 1992; Mayer & Moreno, 2002; Ruiz, Cook, & Levinson, 2009; Kozma & Russell, 2005). Studies from many
countries have demonstrated positive effects in the use of different and innovative methodologies and visualisation
technologies on students’ understanding of central scientific concepts (Wu & Shah, 2004; Kozma & Russel, 2005;
Nakhleh, 1992, Soika, 2007). Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the animation depends on the student’s personal-
ity- it involves memory, the cognitive load (Mayer & Moreno, 2002), the structure of the animation used and the
methodology of using the animation in the classroom (Ruiz et al., 2009; Wu & Shah, 2004; Mayer 2005).
The methodology, data collection, analyses and results of the case studies that used concept maps as an
assessment tool will be explained individually in detail. The three studies were carried out in years 2010 to 2011.
These studies had different research questions, but shared concept mapping as the method for collecting evidence.
A previous study (Soika, Reiska & Mikser, 2010) pointed out that the concept mapping method allows a much
better analysis of the structure of students’ knowledge than questionnaires. The data collection was structured as
indicated in Figure 1 below.
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Figure 1: Structure of data collection in three different case studies.
The animations used had a voice-over explanation; the paper-based text had identical information to the
animation conveyed in words and pictures.
The three studies had different aims. Studies A and B analysed how concept maps could be used as an as-
sessment tool for evaluating students’ knowledge. Both studies also featured ordinary open-ended questions and
multiply choice questions which allowed comparing the results. The most significant differing parameter of the
two studies was the time factor.
First Case Study- Using Concept Mapping for Analysing Different Learning Methods
Case 1
The general aim of this study was to investigate the kind of impact that animation has on students’ knowledge.
The research questions for this case were:
1. What kind of impact does animation have on the knowledge of students studying individually?
2. Are there any differences in students’ knowledge if the same animation is explained by a teacher?
3. Do different groups of students create similar concept maps?
4. Which students create higher valued propositions: those who study through animation, or those who
read paper-based texts?
These questions were based on the outcomes of a previous study (Soika, Reiska & Mikser 2010), where concept
maps analysis led to the conclusion that students from various groups had created dramatically different concept
maps, which seemed to depend on the studying method. It was predicted that students learning from animation
would create higher scored maps and knowledge tests.
Data Collecting and Analysing
In this study, 77 students were divided into three groups (the first group studied individually using animation
with voice explanation; the second group had the animation supported by teacher explanation; the third group
studied the same topic individually from a paper-based text). The topic of the study materials was identical and
new for students. The main data collecting method is summarized in Figure 1. Scheme A.
Students were asked to create two concept maps using 20 given concepts in an allocated timeframe. Both
pre- and post-concept maps were analysed using the CmapAnalysis software, although the content and correctness
of the sentences were assessed manually. Students also gave answers to pre- and post-learning questionnaires
(knowledge tests). The results were compared in MSExcel.
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Second Study- Using Concept Mapping for Assessing Long-Term Memory

Case 2
Derived from the outcome of the first study, a new study was planned. The research questions for the second
case were:
1. What kind of impact does a longer time period have on knowledge-based concept maps?
2. Are there any differences in knowledge of various groups of students?
3. What kind of similarities can be found in concept maps of various groups?
Data Collecting and Analysing
In this study 62 students were divided into two groups- one group studied individually from animation with
voice explanation and the other studied the same topic individually from a paper-based text. The study materi-
als were identical, including the same text and pictures. The main data collection method is shown in Figure 1.
Scheme B.
Students were asked to create three concept maps in the allocated time from 22 concepts, which were given
to them. Pre-concept maps (made before learning), post-concept maps (made on the same day after learning)
and control concept maps (created 2,5 months after learning), were analysed with CmapAnalysis software, the
content and correctness of the sentences were assessed manually. Students also answered to pre-, post- and
control- questionnaires (knowledge tests, with seven questions) and a “pleasantness” inquiry. The results were
compared in MSExcel.
Third Study- Assessment with Concept Mapping in Different Conditions

Case 3
The aim of the third study was to compare differences in concept maps created by students who have pre-
given concepts to work with and students whose task it is to find concepts on their own from the study material.
This time data was collected from students with the help of an exercise of natural science.
The research questions for the third case were:
1. What kind of concepts do students identify from a narrative science exercise? Are these concepts similar
to concepts identified for the same exercise by a teacher?
2. Do different conditions lead to similar learning outcomes? The conditions were:
a) students had to create a concept map in the allocated time from 20 pre-given exercise- based
concepts of various level of difficulty,
b) students had to find 20 concepts from the exercise and to create a concept map in the allocated
timeframe.
Data Collection and Analysis
For the third study, 54 students were divided into two groups. Both groups received the same science exercise.
Students had to read the text and find answers to multiple questions on various difficulty levels. Having done that,
they created a concept map, which had to describe natural science and everyday life, connected to the meaning
of the exercise (Figure 1. Scheme C).
The exercise described an industrial accident which happened on 4 October 2010 in Hungary, when toxic “red
mud” spill was released, eventually reaching the Danube, killing at least 9 and injuring 150 people. There were 4
science-based questions in the exercise representing different levels of difficulty.
Students had 20 minutes to read and solve the exercise and another 20 minutes to create a concept map
about the exercise. Maps were analysed manually as well as using CmapAnalysis and MSExcel software.
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Results of Research
Case 1
To give a better overview from the results of the first case, Figure 2 depicts the changes in a diagram.
Figure 2: Changes in different measures (first case study).
Results show that the highest quality concept maps were created by the group who studied using animation
with teacher explanations, although these explanations were identical to the voice explanation which appeared
in the animation. The group who studied from the animation with a teacher received similar results to the group
who studied individually from the paper based text. The group who studied individually from the animation had
different results.
The results of this study point out that the structure of created concept maps depends on the studying
method- although such difference is not indicated in a knowledge test.
1. The results of students learning individually from paper are better than the results of students learning
individually from animation. The average taxonomy score of the group who studied individually from
the animation was actually negative, since the scores dropped- students created more poorly structured
concept maps after the learning process than they had before.
2. On average, the concept maps of students learning individually from the animation had the lowest
number of propositions created after the learning process. Concept maps created before and after the
learning process did not differ much in terms of number of sentences.
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Case 2
The results were analysed in CMapAnalysis and MSExcel. The most important results of the study are shown
in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Average changes in measures per students (second case study).
After learning from the animation, concept maps of students were similar to each other and did not include
as many propositions as the maps made after learning from the paper. It was obvious that studying method had
impacted connections between concepts. Question-based knowledge test was conducted before and after the
learning process, but discovered no significant differences of changes between groups. After 2,5 months control
maps of both groups were similar again (Figure 3). There had been an influence in students’ knowledge right after
the learning process. Based on previous experience, the students, who had studied from the animation, were ex-
pected to remember more details about the abstract topic and would create extremely high-quality concept maps
and give good answers to knowledge tests. The results, however, did not support this premise. A question arose:
why did the students’ concept maps not differ after animation-based learning? How is it possible that students
who have learnt from paper-based instruction create topologically superior concept maps to those who have seen
the animation? Students were asked to answer open- ended questions, where they described their emotions and
advantages, connected with animations and paper-based instructions.
The aim of the open-ended questions, asked from students right after the learning process as well as 2,5
months later, was to find out how they liked the different types of instruction. All the students admitted that they
had liked the animation whereas only a few claimed to have enjoyed the paper-based instruction. The students
who had seen the animation 2,5 months earlier wrote that there were colours, they enjoyed the animation and
movements- but they couldn’t explain the idea of the abstract topic (a sample answer from the open-ended ques-
tionnaire: “I remember colours and moving particles, but actually I do not remember why they were hanging around…“).
Those who had studied from the paper-based instruction, recalled reading the text with some pictures in it, but
could not point out any main idea representing the topic, either.
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Case 3
The aim of the study was to examine the differences in scores of higher taxonomy concept maps created
in an allocated timeframe, by the students who find concepts by themselves from data provided in the exercise,
compared with the students who are given relevant concepts by an instructor.
Conclusion of the analysis points out that the students who had previously received concepts to work with,
created maps with higher taxonomy scores and more propositions than the other group: average taxonomy scores,
respectively, were 3,75/ 3,03; average number of propositions per student 18,5 /16,6; in addition, visual differences
emerge in the maps (Figure 5 and Figure 6). It occurred, that 14 of 16 most frequently represented self-determined
concepts were also given by the instructor to the other group. So it was realised that in a limited timeframe, students
create concept maps with higher taxonomy scores if concepts are given to them.
Calculating differences in the connections to three most central concepts provide us with the opportunity to
analyse the structure of the entire map. As observing, the concept maps created by students who were not given
concepts beforehand tend to take the shape of a “star” whereby a single concept lies in the middle while others
are connected to it mainly by one label. When 20 concepts were given to students, connections between concepts
created more of a network (illustrative diagram in Figure 4, illustrative concept maps in Figure 5 and Figure 6).
Figure 4: Differences in number of connections to three most central concepts presented by the two groups
of students.
When students had to find concepts on their own, the centrality of the first concept is especially dominant,
producing high average of propositions per concept in a “star”-like formation (Figure 5). However, since the concepts
do not generate integrated entirety, the taxonomy score remains low. The concept maps with more inter-linked
concepts provide higher taxonomy scores, but fewer connections with the most central concept (Figure 6).
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Figure 5: A concept map, constructed by a student who had solved the science exercise and was asked to find
concepts by herself from the exercise.
The first central concept is “red mud” and the second central concept is “physical quantity”, with the first
central concept being the clear dominant. There are 15 propositions and 16 concepts in the concept map and the
taxonomy score of the map was 2.
Figure 6: A concept map, constructed by a student who had solved the science exercise and received concepts
about the exercise from the instructor.
All of the concepts presented in Figure 6 were given to students. There are 20 concepts and 25 propositions
in the concept map and the taxonomy score of the map was 4. Figure 5 and Figure 6 have different structures. As
observing Figure 6, this is characteristic of the maps generated by the second group of students.
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Discussion
The first study manifested: 1) it is good to evaluate changes in students’ knowledge with concept maps
because ordinary knowledge tests do not reveal a similar process in students’ knowledge, 2) abstract animation
should be used in lectures if supported by teacher’s explanations. Based on previous experiences it could be
said that students do not properly focus on content if they are watching animation individually from a video.
Mayer (2005) and other researchers have emphasized that while learning from multimedia instruments, should
be remembered that cognitive channels must not be overloaded. Students should not receive too much different
information (voice, colours, flashing screen, movable particles etc) from the study material, because learning is a
very complicated process. The students who followed the animation with teacher explanations were guided and
did not forget the aim of their work.
The outcomes of the second case, that was derived from the outcome of the first case, indicate that abstract
animation had no significant effect on students’ long-term memory- the results of tests were almost equivalent.
Following the law of forgetting of Ebbinghaus that shows how people forget what they memorize, García and his
research team (2007, p. 622- 623) wrote: “The law marks that irremediably makes us forget content, also holds a
pleasant surprise: when the content is revised and a command of the subject is achieved for a second time, some
parts that have already been learnt will be lost again, but the gradient of the forgetting curve it is not as high this
time as it was after the ﬁrst study“. It is argued that students, who learnt the topic for the first time and had not
dealt with it for the past 2,5 months, essentially did not remember the topic. According to this theory, students
would have had to recall the previously studied topics in order to understand and remember. The abstract chem-
istry topic represented in current study was not reiterated in class for 2,5 months after it was studied first. Figure 3
pointed out, the changes in students’ knowledge before learning and after the 2,5-month period are almost equal
in concept maps and knowledge tests. It could be concluded that neither of the study methods had a competitive
advantage over the other in committing things to students’ long-term memory. The results were different right
after the learning process. The students who had studied from the animation, created propositions (sentences)
with higher scores, but made fewer propositions than those who studied from the paper-based text. Based on
previous study (Soika et al 2010), the students, who had learnt from the animation, expected to score higher for
the instruction-based propositions. Both the animation and the paper-based text presented a certain scheme from
abstract chemistry concepts. The previous study (Soika, 2010) demonstrated that the students, who had learnt
from the animation, repeated almost the same animation-based scheme in their concept maps and added a few
sentences on their own. By doing so, they received higher marks for abstract chemistry-based sentences, but cre-
ated fewer propositions than before the studying process. The same dilemma repeated itself in the second case
study of this research. However, the impact of the effect disappeared within 2,5 months.
Without the concept mapping method such a drastic change in students’ mind could not have been noticed.
Connections between the concepts visualised the fact that something had impacted the students, whereas after
time the impact had disappeared.
After the analysis of the second study a question arose: what kind of concept maps would the students have
created if they had had to find concepts on their own from the study material? Hence, the third study was con-
ducted, following the second one.
The third study revealed that while using concept mapping to assess students, the aim of the work should be
kept in mind, since this is what the result depends on. Teachers and researchers should always observe the need to
use valid and reliable methods in assessing their students. The current study demonstrated that scores of concept
maps also depend on the established conditions. A student, who read the exercise and found concepts from the
instruction would have created a different concept map, had the concepts been given to him beforehand. Based
on previous experience, it could be said that time is a limiting factor in generating concept maps. Students create
more highly structured concept maps if they have time to think. Searching for concepts requires time and effort,
so after the concepts have been found, students need additional time to create a high-quality concept map. Ad-
ditionally, the third study pointed out that instructor-given concepts saved time and effort and gave students the
opportunity to create concept maps that would generate higher scores.
Among the weaknesses of the concept mapping method that some authors (Ruiz-Primo & Shavelson, 1996;
Ruiz-Primo, 2004; Chang et al., 2005) have pointed out, one is the assertion that creating an acceptable structure
of concept maps can be difficult for a novice. Nevertheless, the method was used in case studies of the research.
Also, recent study (Soika & Reiska, 2013) pointed out that neither computer handling skills nor the frequency of
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creating concept maps affect the structure and quality of concept maps created. These outcomes lead us to the
conclusion that concept mapping is a valid method which should be used more regularly in research and assess-
ment activities.
Klassen (2006) pointed out that when concept mapping method is used for assessment, the interpretation
of the results is very important. Case studies of this research proved that in addition to the interpretation of the
results, it is also very important to consider, how concept mapping method is used for assessment, e.g. are the
concepts pre-given or not.
The three studies presented in this research, demonstrated that concept mapping method can be used as
an assessment tool, since it details the structure of students’ knowledge in a way that cannot be reproduced with
other instruments, such as questionnaires.
Conclusions
In 2011, a new national curriculum for basic and grammar schools was introduced in Estonia (Gümnaasiumi
riiklik õppekava, 2010). According to the curriculum, new aims and competences should be developed at school.
The curriculum also requires teachers to use new methods, activities and information technology tools in the class-
room. First two cases indicated that in order to improve the understanding and memorising of abstract processes,
which are visualised in animations, valid methodology should be used by teachers.
New methods are needed for developing students’ knowledge and directing them to create connections
between the previously learned and new facts and principles. These competences should not be assessed with
ordinary knowledge tests. Three cases revealed that concept mapping method is valid and reliable, provided the
instructors acknowledge the aim of their work, and as such could be used more extensively at schools in learning
and assessing processes. Scores of concept maps depend on several factors and instructors should factor them in
while planning their work. Concept mapping method as an assessment tool is indispensable and gives a unique
possibility to visualise the structure of students’ knowledge even in assessing large scale studies.
Acknowledgements
This study has been supported by European Social Fund programme Eduko grant Lotegüm.
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technology for illustrating the reaction mechanisms in high school organic chemistry classes and algorithm for nominat-
ing substances.] Tallinn: Tallinn University.
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Learning Meaningful, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Concept Mapping. Viña del Mar, Chile: Universidad
de Chile. Retrieved from: http://cmc.ihmc.us/cmc2010papers/cmc2010-b12.pdf
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Conference on Concept Mapping. Valletta, Malta: University of Malta. Retrieved from: http://cmc.ihmc.us/cmc2012papers/
cmc2012-p188.pdf
Soika, K., Reiska, P. (2013). Large Scale Studies with Concept Mapping. Journal for Educators, Teachers and Trainer, 4 (1), 142 –
153.
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Maps: Making Learning Meaningful, Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Concept Mapping. (pp. 132- 136)
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Received: April 29, 2014 Accepted: August 20, 2014
Katrin Soika PhD Student (MSc), Tallinn University, Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn,
Estonia.
E-mail: katrins@tlu.ee
Priit Reiska Dr. paed. habil., Professor for Science Education, Vice Rector, Tallinn
University, Narva mnt 25, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia.
E-mail: priit.reiska@tlu.ee
673
TEACHER EDUCATORS’ VIEWS
OF “MODEL” CONCEPT AND
THEIR MENTAL MODELS
Abstract. The aim of this study is to reveal Suat Unal,

teacher educators’ views of model and also
to determine their mental models about it.
Gunay Palıc Sadoglu,
Phenomenographic research design has Ummu Gulsum Durukan
been carried out in this study. The sample of
study consists of 14 teacher educators from
education faculties of different universi-
ties in Turkey. Semi-structured interviews
that consisted of 7 questions were used to
collect data. Besides, sample was asked
draw a concept map on “model” in the last
interview question. Results have shown
that teacher educators give similar re- Introduction
sponses including unqualified explanations
to the interview questions related to the Models play a significant role in the better development of real knowl-
definition of model, characteristics of them, edge and teaching of sciences during the developmental process of science.
and the objectives of using models. It can Due to the abstract nature of sciences and to make the concepts accessible
also be asserted, that teacher educators and comprehensible for students, models and modeling hold a significant
do not have scientific understanding on position in science learning/teaching. The models which assist in visualizing
the modeling process. The analyses of their complex ideas, processes and systems in learning/teaching science promote
responses to the interview questions and the emergence of questions that enables more intimacy with truth in order to
their concept maps have shown that most formulize hypotheses that can be analyzed experimentally. In the production,
of the teacher educators in the sample have spread and acceptance of scientific knowledge, models are necessary tools.
proximate or goal oriented mental models While they are building a bridge between scientific theory and real life expe-
of the “model”. Considering the results, it is riences, they also serve both as a simple demonstration of reality to obtain
suggested that teacher educators should scientific data and conduct observation as a source of scientific explanations
not only follow the new theories, methods, and estimations about a phenomenon. Functioning as visualizing abstract
or the applications in related literature things, providing a base to explain experimental results and simplifying or
theoretically, but also employ different describing a complex case, models are useful tools which enable individuals
theories, methods, or applications such as to foresee and explain the represented reality.
models and modeling in their courses. The use of models is quite widespread in science learning/teaching, so
Key words: model, modeling, teacher that a great number of model types we can be confronted in science. All these
educators, mental model. models present in the literature of science education have diversified classifi-
cations. For example, Harrison and Treagust (2000) have classified analogical
models in their research. Their classification includes: scale models, educational
analogical models, symbolic models, mathematical models, theoretical models,
Suat Unal
Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey maps, diagrams and tables, concept-process models, simulation, mental models
Gunay Palıc Sadoglu and synthesis models. A parallel classification has been done by Ünal and Ergin
Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Turkey (2006) and they attempted to categorize the abovementioned models under
Ummu Gulsum Durukan
Giresun University, Turkey two headings as open models (simulation models) and latent (internal/mental)
models. Open models cover scale models, instructional analogical models,
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(P. 674-694)
symbolic models, mathematical models, theoretical models, maps, diagrams and tables, concept-process models
and simulations. While they are analyzing latent models under a different heading, synthesis models have not been
mentioned. According to Örnek (2008a), the models in science education can be categorized under two headings:
mental models and conceptual models. Conceptual models which are external demonstrations have been classi-
fied as mathematical, computer, physical (visual) and physics models. As seen in the classifications above, mental
models always take place within the classifications in literature. They are internal representations having structural
similarities in the real life events or processes. By visualizing concepts and processes in the mind, mental models
are generated. Mental models are personal, internal and inconsistent with scientific explanations. They develop
parallel to the acquisition of new information. It is specific and functional for the person who is the owner of the
model. As stated by Norman (1983), mental models are mental presentations structured through interaction with
reality and different mental models can be formed for one single system. Mental model is an internal process that
is structurally similar to events or processes, and it plays the role of calculating personal thoughts for the estimation
and explanation of physical phenomenon. In this study, teacher educators’ views of “model” in terms of its defini-
tion, characteristics, types, objectives of use and modeling process were explored and discussed. By this means,
teacher educators’ mental models of the “model” concept were attend to explore and categorize.
Considering the fact that phenomenographic researches provide a chance to reveal qualitatively different
ways in which people conceptualise, perceive, and understand various phenomena (Marton, 1981, 1986), the
variations of teacher educators’ views about model concept have been attempted to be determined in the pres-
ent study. Although there have been many studies investigating students’, prospective science teachers’ or acting
science teachers’ views or knowledge about models and modeling (Aktan, 2013; Danusso, Testa, & Vicentini, 2010;
Henze, Van Driel, & Verloop, 2007; Justi & Van Driel, 2005; Justi & Gilbert, 2002, 2003; Van Driel & Verloop, 1999), the
number of studies investigating teacher educators’ views about them is restricted. Driven from this point onwards,
the aim of this study is to reveal teacher educators’ views of “model” concept and also to determine their mental
models about “model” concept.
General Background of Research
Phenomenography is one of the qualitative methodologies adapted for mapping the qualitatively different
ways in which people experience, conceptualize, perceive, and understand various aspects of, and phenomena in,
the world around them (Bowden et al., 1992; Marton, 1981, 1986). The methodology focuses on exploring the varia-
tion in the ways people experience a particular phenomenon (Yates, 2013). Phenomenographic research does not
judge accuracy of people’s ideas or how they are compatible with the facts. Its aim is not to find a singular essence,
but to portray the experiences of peoples and to search variation and the architecture of this variation by different
aspects that define the phenomena (Örnek, 2008b; Walker, 1998). In order to investigate teacher educators’ views
of “model” in terms of its definition, characteristics, types, objectives of use and modeling process and to explore
and categorize their mental models of the “model” concept, phenomenography was selected as the research ap-
proach in this study. Phenomenograpy provides discovering this variation, to determine differences among their
mental models of the “model” concept.
Sample
The sample of the study consists of 14 teacher educators from Karadeniz Technical University and Rize Uni-
versity. They are employed in the departments of Primary Science Education, Primary Mathematics Education
and Secondary Science and Mathematics Education. Teacher educators in Department of Secondary Science and
Mathematics Education have been studying on Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics Education. More-
over, the ones coded as M2 and B3 are the graduates from relevant departments in Faculty of Science and Letters,
however they have been teaching at Faculty of Education. Demographic features of participant teacher educators
are shown in Table 1.
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Table 1. Demographic characteristics of participant teacher educators.
Teacher educators Study field
C1 Chemistry education
M1 Mathematics education
M2 Mathematics
M3 Mathematics education
P1 Physics education
B1 Biology education
B2 Biology education
B3 Biology
S1 Science education
S2 Science education
Total 14
Data Collection Tools
Data was collected by using semi-structured interviews which consisted of seven questions per interview.
Semi-structured interviews allow for flexibility as answers can be further explored by means of probing, i.e. ask-
ing additional questions to clarify something or to expand upon something. Interview questions were designed
in order to investigate teacher educators’ views of the “model” concept in terms of its definition, characteristics,
types, objectives of use and modeling process and to explore their mental models of the “model” concept. The
main interview questions were as follows:
1. What does the concept of model mean to you?
2. What kind of characteristics do you believe must be available in a model?
3. Can you explain the modeling process?
4. What do you think is the objective of using models?
5. Which model types are you aware of?
6. Which models do you make use of in your courses?
7. Can you draw a concept map related to the “model” concept?
In the present study, teacher educators were intended to draw a concept map about “model” concept at the
end of the interview process. Thus, required data was collected to reveal teacher educators’ views of “model” concept
and their mental model. Concept map is a learning-teaching tool that is frequently encountered in science educa-
tion literature. This tool indicates how individuals understand different topics including various ideas or concepts.
With concept maps, it is determined how the concepts in minds of people are related to each other. Therefore,
mental models are thought to be closely related to concept maps. Williamson (1999) points out, that solo usage
of concept map may be insufficient in exploring an individual’s mental model. Therefore, the data about teacher
educators’ views of the “model” concept and their mental models were gathered by using their concept maps and
also their responses and expressions to the interview questions. During the interviews, they were able to express
their ideas and they were able to mention the relationships between some of their concepts more freely, although
they might have forgotten to put these ideas or relationships in their concept maps.
Each semi-structured interview was approximately 30 minutes in duration and the interview was recorded
by using a tape recorder. Subsequently, the interviews conducted with each teacher educators were transcript
verbatim and each protocol was converted into the written documents.
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Data Analysis
Content analysis was used in this study. Content analysis is a method of studying and analyzing communica-
tion in a systematic, objective, and quantitative manner for the purpose of measuring variables (Kerlinger, 1986).
The answers, given by the teacher educators for each interview question, were separately analyzed; common and
different views were encoded through forming themes. These themes were written out in the line with interview
questions and the teacher educators’ responses in different categories have been presented in this paper.
In the analysis of concept maps, the concept map related to “model” was firstly created by the researchers
considering the earlier related studies (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992; Harrison & Treagust, 2000; Greca & Moreira,
2001; Güneş, Gülçiçek & Bağcı, 2004). Then, it was reorganized and given its final form by regarding the sugges-
tions of the two teacher educators having research on models and modeling. The final form of the concept map,
created by the researchers, was shown in Figure 1 and employed as the criterion for the evaluation of participants’
concept maps.
Figure 1 1: Concept Map of Model Drawn by Experts.
After examining the studies related to evaluation of concept maps (Novak and Gowin, 1984; Ünlü, İngeç and
Taşar, 2006), 5 criteria were determined to evaluate both the concept map created by the researchers and those
of participants. These criteria and their scoring key are shown in Table 2.
1 This concept map was created by considering the earlier related studies (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992; Harrison & Treagust, 2000; Greca &
Moreira, 2001; Güneş, Gülçiçek & Bağcı, 2004)
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Table 2. Criteria used for scoring the concept maps.
Elements of the concept map Scoring
Concept 2 score
Proposition/connections 1 score
Hierarchies 5 score
Cross connections 10 score
Example 1 score
As shown in Table 2, in scoring the concept maps, the number of the correct concepts was multiplied with
2, that of the correct connections between the concepts with 1, that of the hierarchies with 5, that of the cross
connections with 10 and that of the sample with 1. False elements of the concept maps (concepts, connections,
examples, etc.) were scored 0. According to these evaluation criteria presented in Table 2, the concept map created
by the researchers was scored. The possible maximum total score was 168. In the analyses process of concept maps,
the participants’ concept maps were scored by each researcher independently according to the aforementioned
criteria. The consistency among the scores given by each researcher for the concept maps of each participant has
been calculated. The consistency value was determined as 91%. Afterwards, the scores of participants’ concept
maps were calculated on the scale of 100. The categories for the classification of the concept maps were deter-
mined according to the score intervals out of 100. Categories for the concept maps and the score intervals out of
100 are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Scoring intervals and categories of participants’ concept maps.
Score intervals out of 100 Categories
100-90 Sound understanding

89-65 Understanding
64-33 Partially understanding
32-1 Poor understanding
0 No understanding
Besides the scores from the concept maps, their responses to the interview questions about the definition
of model, the general characteristics of the models, their objectives of use, their types and modeling process were also
taken into account when determining teacher educators’ mental models about “model” concept. After examining
all participant teacher educators’ responses to interview questions and their concept maps, the categories used for
classifying their mental models of “model” concept were determined and entitled with “optimum mental model”,
“proximate mental model”, “goal oriented mental model” and “inconsistent mental model” by the researchers. The
categories designed for classifying teacher educators’ mental model of “model” concept and their descriptions are
summarized in the Table 4.
Table 4. Categories used for determining participants’ mental models of “model”.
Mental models Characteristics (Participants …)
Optimum mental model Give the definition of models, explain the modeling process (in 4 steps), their types, the characteristics of models,
and the objectives of using models. Their concepts maps are classified within the category of sound understanding.
Proximate mental model Give the definition of models, explain their types, the characteristics of models, and the objectives of using models,
but have some deficiencies in their explanations. Explain the modeling process in 3 or 4 steps. Their concepts
maps are classified within the category of understanding or partially understanding.
Goal oriented mental model Give incomplete or inaccurate explanations about the definition of models, the modeling process, the characteris-
tics of models, their types and the objectives of using models. Explain the modeling process simply in 2 steps.
Their concepts maps are classified within the category of partially or poor understanding.
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Mental models Characteristics (Participants …)
Inconsistent mental model Cannot give any explanations about the definition of models and the modeling process. Give inaccurate, incom-
plete or no explanations on the characteristics of models, their types and the objectives of using models.
Their concepts maps are classified within the category of poor or no understanding.
As seen in Table 4, the optimum mental model is similar to those given in related literature (such as Oğuz,
2007; Gilbert, 2004). The modeling process of this model consists of four steps namely context analysis, determining
the form of the model, creating the model, and determining the validity of the model. All types of models are listed.
The characteristics of models are such that “model does not reflect the reality represented one-to-one”, “model must
reflect the reality represented to the greatest extent”, “model must be scientifically accepted”, and “model must be
target-oriented”. The objectives of using models are expressed in terms of both instructional and scientific aspects.
Moreover, concept maps of this model are classified within the category of sound understanding.
The proximate mental model is in parallel to those given in related literature. The modeling process of this
model consists of four steps as mentioned above or in three steps namely description of the system to be modelled,
creating the model, and re-examining of the system to control. All types of models are not listed. The characteristics
of models are such that “model does not reflect the reality represented one-to-one”, “model must reflect the reality rep-
resented to the greatest extent”, and “model must be comprehensible”. The objectives of using models are expressed
in terms of both instructional aspects such as enabling materialization of abstract and complex situations, assisting
students to understand easier and better, enabling permanent and conceptual learning, visualization and simplification
and scientific aspects such as obtaining information on reality and making scientific explanations on reality. Besides,
concept maps of this model are classified within the category of understanding or partially understanding.
In goal-oriented mental model, model is described as “teaching materials used to explain facts”. The modeling
process of this model involves two steps consisting of description of the system to be modeled and creation of its
model. All types of models are not listed. In this mental model are described only some theoretic structures of
models when explaining the characteristics of models. The objectives of using models are expressed in terms of
instructional aspects and give incomplete explanations such as enabling materialization of abstract and complex
situations, assisting students to understand easier and better, enabling permanent and conceptual learning. In addition,
concept maps of this model are classified within the category of partially or poor understanding.
In inconsistent mental model, any explanation about the definition of model, characteristics of models, their
types and the objectives of using models are not given. If given explanations are inaccurate or incomplete, the
explanations are evaluated in this mental model. And also, their concept maps are classified within the category
of poor or no understanding.
Results of Research
In this part, data obtained from the interview questions have been presented under four main headings: (1)
Teacher Educators’ Views of Models, (2) Teacher Educators’ Views of Modeling, (3) Teacher Educators’ Concept Maps on
“Model” and (4) Teacher Educators’ Mental Models of “Model”.
(1) Teacher Educators’ Views of Models

In this heading, the data related to teacher educators’ views on models are presented regarding to their
responses to the interview questions related to the definition of model, its characteristics, its types, and the objec-
tives of using models.
Teacher Educators’ Definitions of Model

In this sub-heading, the data related to teacher educators’ definitions of model are presented regarding their
responses to the first interview question. The participants’ answers to the first interview question on the definition
of model have been classified into some categories and summarized in Table 5. Some definitions of several teacher
educators have been classified into more than one category for the first interview question related to definition
of model.
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Table 5. Teacher educators’ definitions of models.
Definitions f Teacher educators
Materializing abstract situations 11 P1, P2, P3, C2, C3, M1, M2, M3, B1, S1, S2
Teaching materials used to explain facts 7 B2, B3, P1, P3, C1, S2, M2
Simple representations of facts 6 M1, M2, M3, P3, C2, C3
Scientific models 1 S2
Mental schemas 1 S1
As shown in Table 5, most of the participants define model as materializing abstract situations. Some quota-
tions from the interviews with the participants giving this definition are as follows; “... simplifying a complex and
abstract thing through some mental processes (C2)” and “Model is the expressions we use in defining or explaining an
event, a situation or an object. It is rephrasing something. It is the manner of expressing something in a way more com-
prehensible to others (C3)”. These descriptions show that teacher educators define model by means of the objective
of using models.
It is found out, that 7 participants have perceived “model” only as a teaching material when defining them in
the interviews. The shared point in the expressions of these teacher educators is that they believe that anything
used in teaching can be a model. Some quotations from the interviews with the teacher educators giving this
definition are as follows; “They are three- or two-dimensional physical materials that we can use in explaining a subject
(B2)” and “...models are course materials to assist in teaching the subjects better (B3)”. These descriptions clearly show
that some teacher educators perceive “model” as something used in teaching process, since they have generally
used models in their courses such as ball-and-stick model for the structure of atom and human anatomy model
for the structure of some organs of human body.
Six teacher educators in the sample of the study, on the other hand, define model as simple presentations of
facts. This became evident from interview data when one of the teacher educators stated “...there are some abstract
concepts. For example; while introducing the concept of evolution, it is important to materialize the concepts and simplify
them, so that children can understand better... (B1)”.
As shown in Table 5, few teacher educators (S2 and S1) have particular definitions of models. One of them
(S2) described models only as scientific models, while the other (S1) described models only as mental schemas.
S2 stated that models were scientific models. And, he defined scientific models as “data-based explanations and
products which is made or presented by scientists”. This tendency of S1 and S2 who were defining models as scientific
models only may be due to their area of interest and research. This situation can be understood from the explana-
tions of S2; “…I am interested in nature of science so I have a different viewpoint on this matter”. Also, a quotation from
the interview with S1 defining models as mental schemas is as follows; “Models are mental schemas representing
the reality or representing the combination of people’s ideas and the reality”. Moreover, S1 gave the examples of atom
models in the interviews. These explanations show that he/she might be attributing the origination of all models
to the mental processes.
Teacher Educators’ Views of the Characteristics of Models
In this sub-heading, the data related to teacher educators’ views on the characteristics of models are presented
regarding their responses to the second interview question. The teacher educators’ responses to the second inter-
view question on the general characteristics of a model are summarized in Table 6.
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Table 6. Teacher educators’ views on the characteristics of models.
Characteristics of models (A model…) f Teacher educators
does not reflect the reality represented one-to-one 14 B1, B2, B3, P1, P2, P3, S1, S2, C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, M3
must reflect the reality represented to the greatest extent 9 B1, B2, B3, P1, P2, C1, C2, C3, M1
Theoretic structure
must be comprehensible 6 P2, P3, C1, M2, M3, S2

must be free of scientific errors 4 B2, P2, P3, C3
must be based on data 2 M3, S2
must be scientifically accepted 2 M3, S2
must be open for change and improvement 9 B1, M2, M3, C1, C2, C3, P2, P3, S2
can vary from person to person because each individual’s 7 B1, P3, C3, M2, M3, S1, S2
perception of reality is different
must have an objective / must be target-oriented 4 C3, M1, M2, S1
Functional structure
must be compatible with students’ levels 4 B3, P1, M1, S1

must attract attention or interest 3 B2, M1, M2
must appeal to many senses 2 P1, M1
must be economical 2 M1, M3
must be simple 2 M2, S2
must be evocative and familiar 1 M2
As seen in Table 6, the teacher educators have referred to both the theoretic structure and the functional
structure of models. All participant teacher educators have stated that models cannot reflect all aspects of the
reality represented. They agree that a model cannot reflect the reality represented one-to-one, because the reality
has a more complex and detailed structure. A quotation from the interview with one of these teacher educators
(C2) is as follows; “…a model cannot reflect the reality exactly. There are some similar and different aspects between a
model and the reality represented... Suppose that we are working in a company that builds sites. We should show the
site and the apartments on a compact scaled model for clients. This model is designed for the clients in order to reflect
its original form and make them imagine the final form of the site, but its size is not close to the reality…”.
Most of the sample (9 teacher educators) has claimed that a model is to reflect the reality represented as much
as possible, although they have asserted that it cannot reflect the reality represented one-to-one. A quotation from
the interview with one of these teacher educators (P2) is as follows; “... a model must explain the reality in the best
and accurate way. In other words, it must explain the reality with details and in a best realistic manner. It must be free
from scientific errors. People must perceive and visualize it easily...”.
When answering the second interview question related to the characteristics of models, teacher educators
have also mentioned the characteristics related to the functional structure of them. In this category, the most fre-
quent explanation given by teacher educators is that structures of models are open for change and improvement.
Teacher educators have also noted that the created model may change from person to person. A quotation from
the interview with one of these teacher educators (M3) is as follows; “...human beings always cannot reach absolute
truths. We can create models only through our personal experiences. Our experiences may be sufficient at this time
when we try to explain a fact or a reality, but may not be so in the future... Parallel to the changes in our experiences and
technological developments, our observations can change and improve, so that our models can also change...”. These
teacher educators’ explanation that models can be changed in line with newly obtained data indicates that they
do not see models as stable structures and are aware that they may change if required in the course of time.
Teachers Educators’ Awareness and Usages of Model Types
In this sub-heading, the data related to teacher educators’ awareness of the model types and their usage of
them are presented regarding their responses to the fifth and sixth interview questions.
The teacher educators have been asked to state the types of models both they know about and they use
in their classes. It has been found out, that some teacher educators fail to give the names of the types of models
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which they know about or they use in their classes, so they have tried to describe these types of models by giv-
ing examples or showing their in-class activities. During the analyses process, it has been assumed that teacher
educators know about or use the types of models which they have attempted to explain by giving examples or
presenting their in-class activities. The responses given by the teacher educators to the fifth and sixth interview
question on the types of models are summarized in Table 8.
As shown in Table 8, when the participant teacher educators were asked for the types of models which they
know about; scale models (13 teacher educators), pedagogical analogical models (11 teacher educators), simulations
(10 teacher educators), mathematical models (9 teacher educators), iconic and symbolic models (8 teacher educators),
theoretic models (8 teacher educators), mental models (8 teacher educators) and concept-process models (6 teacher
educators) were mentioned in their explanations. On the other hand, when they were asked for the types of models
which they used in their classes, they only mentioned about scale models (7 teacher educators), pedagogical ana-
logical models (7 teacher educators), simulations (6 teacher educators), mathematical models (3 teacher educators),
iconic and symbolic models (5 teacher educators), theoretical models (6 teacher educators), concept-process models
(3 teacher educators), and maps, diagrams, and tables (2 teacher educators). Some quotations from the interviews
with these teacher educators are as follows; “...Suppose that we will teach the subjects of solar and lunar eclipses, a
physical model can be designed and used in class. We have been teaching electric current using water flow analogy...
We use the formulae of “F=m.a” as a mathematical model in the teaching of force… (P2)” and “...pedagogic analogical
models, scale models, theoretic models, maps, diagrams, concept-process models, iconic-symbolic models... I’m giving
a course on teaching methods for chemistry. For example, there is subject on teaching chemistry through simulations.
In this course, after I explain the subject and give some examples about how simulations are used in chemistry teaching,
I ask my students to design a learning environment in which chemistry concepts are taught using simulations and ask
them to perform this lesson plan in our class. Prospective teachers employed simulations for teaching of different sub-
jects and put their teaching plans into practice in our practice hours of the class. They (these simulations) are generally
concept-process models... (C3)”.
Table 8. Types of models that participants know about and use in their classes.
Types of models which they use in their

Types of models which they know about
classes
Types of models F Teacher educators f Teacher educators

Scale model 13 B1, B2, B3, P1, P2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M1, 13 B1, B2, B3, P1, P2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M1,
M2, S1, S2 M2, S1, S2
Pedagogical/Analogical model 11 B1, B2, P1, P2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M1, 7 B1, P1, P2, P3, C1, C2, M1
M3, S2
Simulation 10 B1, B2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, M3, S2 6 B2, C1, C2, C3, M2, S2
Mathematical model 9 P2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, M3, S2 3 P2, C3, M3
Iconic/Symbolic model 8 B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, M1, M3, S2 5 B2, C2, C3, M3, S2
Scientific/Theoretic model 8 P2, P3, C1, C2, C3, M3, S1, S2 6 P3, C2, C3, M3, S1, S2
Mental model 8 P2, P3, C1, C3, M2, M3, S1, S2 - -
Concept-process models 6 B2, B3, P3, C2, C3, S2 3 B3, C3, S2
Maps, diagrams, and tables 5 B2, B3, P3, M3, S1 2 B3, S1
It has been determined, that some participants are actually familiar with certain types of models, although they
have presented conflicting statements regarding the classification of them. Moreover, some teacher educators failed
to give appropriate answers regarding what could be a model, their examples or the types of them, although they
could provide the definition of model. It was determined that only half of the teacher educators who mentioned
scale models, pedagogical analogical models and simulations in their explanations had been using these types of
models in their courses. Furthermore, it is also determined that theoretic models, mathematical models and iconic
and symbolic models were frequently mentioned by the teacher educators when they were asked for the types of
models which they had known about.
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Teacher Educators’ Views of the Objectives of Using Models
In this sub-heading, the data related to the views of teacher educators’ views on the objective of using mod-
els are presented regarding their responses to the fourth interview question. The views of the participant teacher
educators on the objectives of using models are summarized in Table 9.
Table 9. Teacher educators’ views on the objectives of using of models.
The Views on the Objectives of Using Models f Teacher educators
Enabling materialization of abstract and complex situations 12 B1, B2, B3, P1, P3, C1, C2, M1, M2, M3, S1, S2
Assisting students to understand easier and better 9 B1, B3, P1, P2, C1, C2, C3, M1, S2
Enabling permanent and conceptual learning 7 B1, B3, P1, P2, P3, C3, S1
Instructional
objectives Visualization 5 B3, P1, P3, C3, S2
Simplification 5 B1, B2, B3, C2, M1
Improving student success by making the student more active 2 P1, S1
Enabling teachers to teach better 1 C3
Obtaining information on reality 6 C3,M1,M3,P2,P3,S1
Scientific objectives Making scientific explanations on reality 5 M2,M3,P3, C2, S2
Providing support to the development of science 1 S2
To use a common language, to communicate 1 C2
To reveal what an individual thinks about reality 1 P3
is used to produce solutions to the real life problems 1 M3
The others
is used to configure ideas in the desired manner 1 P3
To make a person to be best known with his/her works on a 1 S2
discipline in the future.
When the participant teacher educators’ responses to the fourth interview question were analyzed, it has ap-
peared that their views on the objectives of using models are classified into three main categories; instructional,
scientific and the others (Table 9). It was determined that the teacher educators generally referred instructional
purposes for the objectives of using models. Most of the participants (11 teacher educators) have stated that the
objective of using models is to enable materialization of abstract situations. Half of the participants (7 teacher educa-
tors) have stated that the objective of using models is to assist student to understand easier and better, while half
of them have noted that the objective of using models is to enable permanent and conceptual learning. Moreover,
some participants (5 teacher educators) have reported the aim of using models is visualization, while some of them
referred that the aim of using models is simplification. Some quotations from the interviews with these teacher
educators are as follows; “We use models to determine students’ prior knowledge before teaching new subjects and to
explain scientific knowledge and facts. We use models in order to materialize realities and facts for students. We employ
models in our classes to improve conceptual understanding (P3)” and “We use models to materialize abstract situations
... to simplify complex processes, to teach students theoretical and abstract situations in a simple way and with simplified
propositions ...to visualize the processes which cannot be observed (C2)”. As discussed in the earlier paragraphs related
to the teacher educators’ definitions of “model”, the teacher educators’ responses to the objectives of using models
have also shown that most of them have considered models only as teaching materials.
Besides, 5 teacher educators stated that models can be used to obtain information on reality and 4 teacher
educators reported that models can be used to make scientific explanations on reality. A quotation from the in-
terview with one of these teacher educators is as follows; “Since we can not obtain absolute facts, we create models
that are closest to them. In order to reflect the absolute facts in the best possible way, we attempt to establish models
closest to reality. It is a tool that enables us to explain the reality we don’t know exactly... (M3)”. This finding that some
teacher educators mention that models can be used to make scientific explanations on reality indicates that some
teacher educators do not consider models only as teaching materials.
It is interesting that only one teacher educator (C2) has stated that the objective of using models is to com-
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municate and to provide a common language for people. A quotation from the interview with C2 is as follows;
“especially symbolic and mathematical models are used to provide a common language for scientist and other people”.
These statements demonstrate that C2 believes models are used in both scientific researches to make scientific
explanations on reality and in providing a common language for people to communicate.
(2) Teacher Educators’ Views on Modeling
In this heading, the data related to teacher educators’ views on modelling and the modelling process are
presented regarding their responses to the third interview question. Teacher educators’ responses to the third
interview question investigating their perceptions on modeling process have demonstrated that they have differ-
ent explanations about modeling process. Teacher educators’ views and explanations about the modeling process
have been presented in Table 7.
Table 7. Teacher educators’ views on modeling and modeling process.
f Teacher educators
Model formation process 4 C2, M1, M2, S2

The process of expressing the reality in different ways 3 C3, M3, P2
Definition of Modeling The act or process of materializing the thoughts 1 P3
Experimental process skills 1 S1
None 5 P1, B1, B2, B3, C1
2-steps model 5 P1, B1, B2, B3, C1
The steps of modeling
3-steps model 6 P2, P3, M1, M2, M3, C2
process
4-steps model 3 S1, S2, C3
As given in Table 7, the participant teacher educators’ views on modeling process can be summarized in two
categories; “definition of modeling” and “the steps of modeling process”. When defining the modeling process, four
teacher educators described modeling as the process of expressing the reality in different ways. A quotation from
the interview with one of these teacher educators (C3) is as follows; “Modelling is the process of expressing an exist-
ing situation, reality, event or an object in different ways...”. The definition of modelling as the process of expressing
reality in different ways indicates that these teacher educators are aware of the possibility of creating different
models for a single reality. As seen in Table 7, P1, C1, B1, B2 and B3 coded teacher educators did not present a clear
definition of modelling.
As regards to the steps of the modeling process, 7 teacher educators refer to a 2-step process, 4 teacher educa-
tors refer to a 3-step process and 3 teacher educators refer to a 4-step process. In related literature, the modeling
process is referred as the process consisting of three or four steps. It has been found out, those teacher educators
who describe modeling as a 2-step process cannot make enough explanations about the modeling process. These
teacher educators described the modeling process simply through the stages of “defining the fact to be modeled” and
“creating the model”. A quotation from the interview with one of these teacher educators (P1) is as follows: “Model
is the concrete form of reality. Modeling is that process, namely, the process of transforming the reality in a concrete
form. Firstly, the teacher determines the concepts which his/her student has difficulty in understanding... Thinking the
properties of these scientific concepts, required equipments and materials are provided, and then the model is created.
In fact, I don’t remember the details exactly what can take place in the stages of this process… ”. The teacher educa-
tors who describe modeling as a 3-step process have defined these steps as; “defining the concept to be modeled”,
“deciding the type of model” and “creating the model”. A quotation from the interview with one of these teacher
educators (M3) is as follows: “...First of all, the reality to be modeled should be examined. After that, related literature
should be examined, and the missing and incomplete aspects of the current models in the literature should be deter-
mined. By considering the collected data and by organizing them, the model should be created…”. When we examine
their explanations for modeling process, it is remarkable that the teacher educators suggesting 3-step model for
the process of modeling have not considered testing the validity of the created model as a step in the modeling
process. The teacher educators who describe modeling as a 4-step process have defined these steps as; “defining
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the concept to be modeled”, “deciding the type of model”, “creating the model” and “testing the validity of the model”.
A quotation from the interview with one of these teacher educators (C3) is as follows: “... We shall think about a
scientist who is trying to explain the structure of an atom. After he/she decide what kind of model would be appropriate
the structure of atom, he/she begin to create the model which can reflect the structure of atom in the best way taking
his/her experiences and the data gathered into consideration. After designing the model, he/she re-examine the model
considering the similarities and differences between the model and the reality represented.... (C3)”.
(3) Teacher Educators’ Concept Maps on “Model”
In this heading, the data related to the teacher educators’ concept maps on “models” are presented regarding
their responses to the seventh interview question. The results of the analyses of the teacher educators’ concept
maps on “models” are presented in Table 10.
As seen in Table 10, some teacher educators (C1, P1, B2, B3) could not draw an inclusive concept map related
to “model”. This case can be attributed to the fact that they were not experienced in preparation of a concept map,
and this may be due to the fact that they don’t use concept maps during their teaching classes.
Table 10. Information about teacher educators draws concept maps.
Elements of
concept maps Scores
Proposition/ Cross Total Categories of
Concepts Hierarchies Example out of
connections connections score concept maps
Teacher 100
Educators
C1 10*2 12*1 2*5 - 2*1 44 26 Poor Understanding
C2 22*2 22*1 2*5 4*10 5*1 121 72 Understanding
Partially Under-
C3 24*2 24*1 2*5 1*10 - 92 55
standing
Partially Under-
M1 12*2 17*1 2*5 - 7*1 58 35
standing
Partially understand-
M2 13*2 16*1 2*5 - 4*1 56 35
ing
Partially Under-
M3 13*2 13*1 2*5 4*10 - 89 53
standing
P1 12*2 12*1 2*5 - - 46 27 Poor Understanding
Partially Under-
P2 12*2 12*1 2*5 4*10 2*1 88 52
standing
Partially Under-
P3 11*2 15*1 2*5 3*10 2*1 79 47
standing
Partially Under-
B1 11*2 11*1 1*5 2*10 - 58 35
standing
B2 11*2 10*1 1*5 - - 37 22 Poor Understanding
B3 10*2 10*1 1*5 - - 35 21 Poor understanding

Partially Under-
S1 21*2 21*1 1*5 3*10 2*1 100 60
standing
Partially Under-
S2 12*2 10*1 2*5 1*10 5*1 59 35
standing
The Concept Map by
16*2 23*1 3*5 9*10 8*1 168 100 -
Researchers
As indicated in Table 10, a good number of teacher educators provided valid concepts and correct relation-
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ships in their concept maps related to models, but their concept maps generally consist of 1 or 2 hierarchies. It was
determined that C2, C3, M3, P2, P3, B1, S1 and S2 teacher educators have established cross connections among
the concepts in their concept maps. It shows the fact that they know and express clearly the relations among
the concepts related to models. Moreover, C3, M3, P1, B1, B2 and B3 teacher educators gave examples of related
concepts in their concept maps whereas the others did not present any examples. Besides, the concept maps
of C1, P1, B2 and B3 were classified into poor understanding, those of C3, M1, M2, M3, P2, P3, B1, S1 and S2 were
classified into partially understanding and C2 was classified into understanding category, when teacher educators’
concept map scores were analyzed. Four concept maps having different scores and created by the participants
are presented as examples in Figure 2.
Figure 22: Some concept maps on “model” created by participant teacher educators.
2 The concept maps created by academicians were translated verbatim from Turkish to English by the researchers.
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(4) Teacher Educators’ Mental Models of “Model”
In this heading, the data related to teacher educators’ mental models of “model” are presented regarding to
their responses through the interviews. In the determination of teacher educators’ mental models of “model”, their
views about the definition of model, the characteristics of models, the objectives of models, types of models, and
the modeling process were taken into account. Moreover, their concept map scores were also considered as another
criterion to determine their mental models of “model”. The categories designed for classifying teacher educators’
mental model of “model” concept and their descriptions was presented in the analyses part of the paper. After
the analyses of teacher educators’ responses to the interviews questions and their concept maps considering this
categories, their mental models of “model” was determined and presented in Table 11.
Table 11. Teacher educators’ mental models of “model”.

Characteristics
Objectives
Teacher Model Modeling Model
Concept map scores Mental model
educators definition process** types
C1 -  -   Poor Understanding Goal oriented

C2 +     Understanding Proximate
C3 +   +  Partially Understanding Proximate
M1 +     Partially Understanding Proximate
M2 +     Partially understanding Proximate
M3 +     Partially Understanding Proximate
P1   -   Poor Understanding Goal oriented
P2      Partially Understanding Proximate
P3 +     Partially Understanding Proximate
B1   -   Partially Understanding Goal oriented
B2 -  -   Poor Understanding Goal oriented
B3 -  -   Poor Understanding Goal oriented
S1    +  Partially Understanding Proximate
S2   + +  Partially Understanding Proximate
*
‘-’; Response including irrelevant, unclear or no information, ‘+’; Responses including all components of the validated response, ‘’;
Responses including some of the components of validated response, but not all the components
**
The modeling process is evaluated considering both aspects; definition of modeling and the steps of modeling process. For instance,
if an teacher educator cannot give the definition of modeling and he/she explained the modeling process in 2 steps as well, he/she is
marked as ‘-’.
As seen in Table 11, none of the teacher educators possesses optimum and inconsistent mental model of “model”.
While C2, C3, M1, M2, M3, P2, P3, S1 and S2 coded teacher educators have proximate mental model, C1, P1, B1, B2
and B3 coded teacher educators have goal oriented mental model.
Teacher educators, who gave correct definitions of model, explained the modeling processes (in 3 or 4
steps), listed the types of models, explained their characteristics and the objectives of using models; but had
some deficiencies in their explanations/statements were classified under the category of proximate mental model.
When defining the “model” concept, C2 coded teacher educators’ explanations in this category were as follows; “...
simplifying ... simplifying a complex and abstract thing through some mental processes. For instance, it is difficult for a
student to visualize an atom in his/her mind. The steps which are employed for materializing a complex case, theory or
a concept are the steps of modeling. These steps were named as modeling. The product revealed as the result of model-
ing process is called as model”. P2 coded teacher educator also explained the model as “the thing which explain the
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reality. It shows the relationships between a real situation and the model which reflect to it. It enables us to understand
how certain events in the world happen. It is used to materialize abstract situations…”. As seen from the quotations,
the teacher educators in this category generally defined model concept as “materializing abstract situations” and
“simple representations of facts” (see Table 5). Also, teacher educators having proximate mental model explained
the modeling process in 3 or 4 steps in parallel with those in related literature (see Table 7). C2 coded teacher
educators’ explanation about modeling process were as follows; “The steps which are employed for materializing
a complex case, theory or a concept are the steps of modeling. These steps were named as modeling. First of all, you
should describe the reality to be modelled within all aspects. Then, you should gather information about it and the earlier
models created by the others. Regarding the missing points or strengths of earlier models, you can create a model which
explains the reality better than the earlier…”. The teacher educators in this category also addressed the theoretic and
functional structure of models as characteristics of them. “A model does not reflect the reality represented one-to-one
(P2,P3,S1,S2,C2,C3,M1,M2,M3), reflect the reality represented to the greatest extent (P2,C2,C3,M1), be comprehensible
(P2,P3,M2,M3,S2) and be free of scientific errors (P2,P3,C3)” were related to the theoretic structure of models, while
“a model must be open for change and improvement (M2,M3,C2,C3,P2,P3,S2), be target-oriented (C3,M1,M2,S1), be
compatible with students’ levels (M1,S1) and may vary from person to person because each individual’s perception of
reality is different (P3,C3,M2,M3,S1,S2)” were related to the functional structure of them (see Table 6). They could
explain the relationship between a model and the reality represented. For instance, a quotation from the explana-
tions of P2 was as follows; “… The facts cannot be clearly represented on models. Models are constructions we create
in our mind in order to explain how an event or situation happens. However, the truth is that situations or events in real
world have fine details that we cannot see...” (see Table 6). With regards to the types of models, all teacher educators
having this mental model could list the most types of models beyond scale (M3), iconic/symbolic (M2,P2,P3,S1) and
mental (M1,C2) models (see Table 8). A quotation from P2 explanations about the model types was as follows; “...
Suppose that we will teach the subjects of solar and lunar eclipses, a physical model can be designed and used in class.
We have been teaching electric current using water flow analogy... We use the formulae of “F=m.a” as a mathematical
model in the teaching of force…”. Teacher educators in this category could not presented detailed information about
the objectives of using models. They generally preferred to mention about and emphasize on the instructional
objectives of using models such as enabling materialization of abstract situations (P3,C2,M1,M2,M3,S1,S2), making
students understand easier and better (S2,P2,C2,C3,M1) and achieving conceptual and permanent learning (P2,P3,C3,S1)
rather than the others such as obtaining information on reality (C3,M3,P2,P3,S1), making scientific explanations on
reality (M3,P3,S2,C2), and communicating (C2) (see Table 9). A quotation from P2 explanations was as follows; “…
We use them to help students understand the events or the relationships among the events in an easier, realistic and
perfect way. Using models in science classes provide more permanent learning. This is for teaching or learning. Of course
models are also used for general aims. For example, scientist create models to obtain more information about reality
being investigated...”.
Considering the concept maps drawn by the teacher educators who had proximate mental model, it was found
that they generally drew concept maps within the category of partially understanding (C3,M3,P2,P3,S1,S2) beyond
C2 whose concept map was in the category of understanding (see Table 11). For example, P3 drew a concept map
including some types of models such as iconic/symbolic, maps, diagrams, and tables. He drew a link between
“reality” and “model” concepts and wrote the correct relationship between them in his concept map. He put the
instructional objectives of using models into his concept map. Also, his concept map includes the properties of
a person who is to create a model such as “experience” and “scientific process skills” (see Figure 2). C3 also drew a
concept map including the types of models such as iconic/symbolic, mathematical, simulation, scale, scientific/
theoretic models, diagrams, tables and mental models. Similarly, he showed a link between “model” and “reality”
concepts and wrote the correct relationship between them in his concept map (see Figure 2).
As seen in Table 11, it was determined that C1, P1, B1, B2 and B3 coded teacher educators had goal oriented
mental model of “model”. Teacher educators, who could not provide an exact definition of “model”, could give
incomplete explanations on the characteristics of models, their types, the modeling process and the objectives of
using models were classified under the category of goal oriented mental model. It was observed that the teacher
educators in this group described the model only as materializing abstract situations (P1, B1) or/and teaching materi-
als used to explain facts (B2, B3, P1, C1) (see Table 5). B2 coded teacher educator described the model as a teaching
material; “Models are three dimensional or two dimensional physical materials that we can use to explain a subject...”
(see Table 5). They could not express the modeling process exactly, and could not give a clear definition for the
modeling process. Nevertheless, they mentioned about two steps for modeling process including the definition of
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the fact to be modeled and the creation of the model (see Table 7). When responding to the third interview question
related to the modeling process, B1 explained 2-steps for modeling process clearly and he described the abilities
of a person who would create a model. A quotation from his explanation was as follows; “...the person who will cre-
ate a model must be expert in the particular subject to be modeled. To illustrate a fact, different people can use different
models. It is not a rule that everyone has the same perspective on a matter...”. With regards to the types of models, P1
and B1 could not list or mention about concept-process models maps, diagrams, and tables, mathematical models,
iconic/symbolic models, scientific/theoretic models and mental models (see Table 8). A quotation from the interview
with B1 is as follows; “...for example while teaching the DNA, I make use of the coat zipper of the students. In this example,
the zipper is my model. Each chain in the zipper represents a chain in DNA... In the course of Environmental Science,
I use PowerPoint presentations. I rarely use animations and simulations, because I don’t know how to prepare them.
Teacher educators having this mental model also pointed out some characteristics of models. These were; “model
does not reflect the reality represented one-to-one”, “models must reflect the reality represented to the greatest extent,
“models can vary from person to person because each individual’s perception of reality is different” and “models must be
compatible with students’ levels” (see Table 6). The teacher educators having goal oriented mental model explained
the objectives of using models only in regards to instruction/teaching. They listed the objectives of using models
such as enabling materialization of abstract situations (C1, P1, B1, B2, B3) and achieving conceptual and permanent
learning (B1,B3,P1), and visualization (see Table 9). B1 mentioned the instructional objectives of using models but
also he claimed that models were used for simplification of facts as well. A quotation from his explanations was as
follows; “...there are some abstract concepts... For example, while introducing the concept of evolution it is important to
materialize these concepts and simplify them so that the child can comprehend better....” (see Table 9).
Considering the concept maps drawn by the teacher educators who had goal oriented mental model, it was
seen that most of them drew concept maps within the category of poor or no understanding (C1, P1, B2, B3) (see
Table 11). For example, B2 drew a concept map including only a few types of models such as animations, simula-
tions, analogies, and scale models. He did not include mathematical, scientific/theoretic model and mental model in
his concept map. He drew a link between “reality” and “model” concepts and wrote the correct relationship between
them in his concept map. He put only the instructional objectives of using models into his concept map. Also, he
did not include modeling process and the characteristics of models in his concept map (see Figure 2). Besides, P1
coded teacher educator put some characteristics of models into his concept map (to be economic). He indicated
that models appeal to the senses such as seeing, hearing, and touching. He indicated that the objective of using
or creating models was to materialize abstract concepts and to reflect complicated facts in a more apprehensible
way in his concept map. Also, his concept map includes the properties of a person who will create a model (to
be expert, to need time). However, he did not include the types of models in his concept map. He did not draw a
link between “reality” and “model” concepts and did not write the relationship between them in his concept map
(see Figure 2).
Discussion
Models are simplified representations of a system and they concentrate on the specific aspects of it (Oğuz,
2007). Moreover, Gilbert (2004) expresses the models as simplification of the observed real descriptions of the ap-
plied abstract theories to be developed for the specific purposes. As seen in Table 5, most of the participants define
model as materializing abstract situations. This situation shows that teacher educators define models by means
of the objective of using models. According to Norman (1983) and Harrison (2001), a model is the representation
or modeling of our experiences and is directly related to target systems or phenomena. Also, 7 participants have
defined model only as a teaching material. These definitions clearly show that some teacher educators perceive
“model” as something used in a teaching process, since they have generally used models in their courses such as
ball-and-stick model for the structure of atom and human anatomy model for the structure of some organs of
a human body. Similar findings were reported earlier by Farmer (1994), and Smit and Finegold (1995). Smit and
Finegold (1995) reported that prospective teachers considered models only as the scale models representing the
reality (human body, bugs, skeleton etc.). The definition of “model” as a teaching material used in objectifying
events or theories in science, given by the participant teacher educators shows parallelism with that of prospective
teachers as reported in the study of Smit and Finegold (1995). This case may be originated from that prospective
teachers’ views about models must have been gained from their experiences in their undergraduate courses, and
affected from their teachers’ (teacher educators’) views. 6 participants, on the other hand, defined models as simple
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presentations of facts. Their definitions are in accordance with those in related studies (Gilbert, Boulter and Elmer,
2000; Henze, van Driel and Verloop, 2008). Gilbert, Boulter and Elmer (2000) describe models as the representa-
tions of a thought, an object, a situation, a process or a system. Henze, van Driel and Verloop (2008) define models
as simplified representations of facts in order to explain and visualize different phenomena. In their research, Van
Driel and Verloop (1999) investigated experienced science teachers’ knowledge on models and modeling. They
have reported that most of the science teachers gave the same definition such as, that a model is a simplified
representation of a fact. Berber and Güzel (2009) have revealed that most prospective teachers perceive models
as the representations of facts but not the exact copies of them. Moreover, S1 described models only as mental
schemas. His explanation shows that he might be attributing the origination of all models to the mental processes.
Güneş et al. (2004) in their study have reported that most teacher educators are aware that new arrangements are
taking place in the mind in respect to the facts represented by models, and this enables people to evaluate the
facts from different perspectives.
A model has a structure that enables people to pre-estimate and explain the reality represented. Due to complex
structure of the systems in real life, a model is mostly related to a small part of the reality represented. Models reflect
only a few properties related to the target objects, ideas, or systems. A model can also be considered and used as a
research tool in order to obtain information about a target that cannot be observed or measured directly. Models
can change in the light of new information. These are the most common characteristics of models. The results of
the study show that participants agree with the failure of model to represent the reality one-to-one shows us that
they are all aware that events, objects, situations, theories etc. in real life are more complex and have fine details
unlike the simpler structure of models. Güneş et al. (2004) have reported that teacher educators are aware that
there might be unshared features between a model and the reality represented by it, although there may also be
common features as well. Berber and Güzel (2009) have also revealed that prospective teachers consider models not
as the exact copies of reality but as only representations of them. Contrary to these studies, Farmer (1994) asserted
that teachers failed to give clear explanations on the difference between a model and the reality represented. Also,
Barnea et al. (1995) stated that pre-service and in-service teachers failed to clearly explain the difference between
models describing a process or phenomenon and mental thoughts. Teacher educators stated that model must be
similar with reality represented as much as possible. Most participants in the sample claimed that a model is to
reflect the reality represented as much as possible, although they have asserted that it cannot reflect the reality
represented one-to-one. This result shows parallelism with Justi and Gilbert’s (2003) study. They found out that
teachers believe that the models must be similar with the reality represented as much as possible.
In parallel with related literature, participants of the study declared that the structures of models are open
for change and improvement. This result indicates that they do not see models as stable structures and are aware
that they may change if required in the course of time. This result shows parallelism with the studies of Grosslight
et al. (1991), Güneş et al. (2004), and Berber and Güzel (2009), but differs from Chittleborough et al. (2005). Gross-
light et al. (1991) have reported that students think that a model can change when it is disproved or when the fact
represented is changed. Güneş et al. (2004) and Berber and Güzel (2009) have reported that more than half of the
prospective teachers think that scientific models may change in the future. On the other hand, Chittleborough et
al. (2005) have claimed that prospective teachers do not have sound understanding about non-stable structure of
models because they have found out that half of them believe scientific models will not change in future. Justi and
Gilbert (2003) probed teachers’ views about the models and they reported that almost half of the primary school
teachers and biology teachers believed that scientific models are stable structures, while physics and chemistry
teachers believed that they can change in the course of time.
In related literature, types of models are presented as; scale models, pedagogical analogical models, simulations,
mathematical models, iconic and symbolic models, theoretical models, maps, diagrams and tables, concept-process
models, scientific models, mental models and synthetic models (Harrison and Treagust, 2000). It is found that some
of the participants did not mention the types of models which they knew when they were asked for the types of
models which they used in their classes. The inconsistency between model types stated by the teacher educators
and those used by them in their classes can be explained with respect to their course context and their disciplines,
because models types which can be employed in different disciplines can differ from each other. Since they did
not know exactly the nature of these types of models, they did not mention the names of the model types when
they were asked, even though they had employed these types of models in their lessons. This may be another
reason for the inconsistency between the model types known by the teacher educators and those used by them
in their classes. All in all, it can be deduced that some teacher educators have failed to give exact definitions and
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the examples of the types of models. This finding is parallel to the works of Grosslight et al., (1991), Güneş et al.,
(2004), and Berber and Güzel (2009). Similar to our study, Güneş et al. (2004) reported that although almost half of
the teacher educators defined tables, formulas, chemical symbols and diagrams as the examples of models, most
of them also defined mock-ups and toys as models. Furthermore, it was determined that the examples of models
given by teacher educators were restricted with scale models, pedagogical analogical models, mathematical
models, theoretic models and maps, diagrams, and tables. Berber and Güzel (2009) reported that a majority of
prospective teachers were not aware that pedagogical analogical models, simulations, mathematical equations,
theoretic models, iconic and symbolic models were some types of models. Grosslight et al. (1991) claimed that
most students mentioned the concrete models of physical objects (planes, buildings, etc.), mathematical models,
theoretical models, and two-dimensional-models such as drawings, diagrams, maps and simulations when they
were asked to give the examples of models.
The objectives of using models have been referred as making a system apparent or visible (Gilbert, 2004);
documenting a system (Gilbert et al., 2000); simplifying a complex system (Norman, 1983; Ingham and Gilbert
1991; Glynn and Duit 1995; Harrison, 2001); describing a system and its elements, its structure, and the actions and
the relations between the elements in it (Harrison, 2001; Treagust, 2002); assisting the construction of ideas and
knowledge, acting as a tool for communication amongst people (Özcan, 2005) and making scientific explanations
and estimations on a phenomena (Gilbert et al., 2000; Harrison, 2001). The results showed that most of the partici-
pants referred instructional purposes for the objectives of using models. Moreover, some of them referred “assisting
students to understand easier and better”, “enabling permanent and conceptual learning” and “visualization” as
the objectives of using models. These statements indicate that most participants have considered models only as
teaching materials, as discussed in the earlier paragraphs related to the teacher educators’ definitions of “model”. In
parallel with this perception, they have generally declared that models are used for instructional purposes. However,
there are different objectives of using models such as defining a system, establishing communication and making
explanation etc. (Gilbert, et al., 2000; Harrison, 2001; Özcan, 2005; Treagust, 2002). However, some of the teacher
educators mentioned, that models could be used to make scientific explanations on reality. This result indicates
that some teacher educators do not consider models only as teaching materials. Contrary to this result, Berber and
Güzel (2009) stated, that most prospective teachers gave no heeds to the instructional role of the models, yet they
reported that models were effective in learning scientific ideas and concepts. In the study, only C2 mentioned that
models were used in both making scientific explanations on reality and providing a common language for people
to communicate. Models play a crucial role in the communication among scientists (Van Driel and Verloop, 1999).
Why only one participant has mentioned this objective of using models that the others may neglect the fact that
models contribute to the development of science.
Modeling is a complex process covering multi-stage procedures, in which each detail takes place in what
way and where is determined (Güneş et al., 2004), to make an unknown target clear and understandable through
using current resources and information (Harrison, 2001; Treagust, 2002). All participants, except five presented a
clear definition of modelling process. Their definitions of modeling as the process of expressing reality in different
ways indicate that these teacher educators are aware of the possibility of creating different models for a single
reality. This finding is parallel with the result of the studies by Güneş et al., (2004), Chittleborough et al., (2005),
and Berber and Güzel (2009). Güneş et al. (2004) have reported that teacher educators agree that various models
can be employed when describing the features of a scientific event. Berber and Güzel (2009) have also noted that
almost all prospective teachers agree that a number of models can be created to explain one single fact.
In relevant literature, modeling is referred as a three- and four-step process. Three-step modeling process
consists of defining the system, creating the model, and returning back to the system to control; while four-step process
consists of context analysis, determining the form of the model, creating the model, and determining the validity of the
model (Boulter and Buckley, 2000). Justi and Gilbert (2003) conducted a study investigating the role of modeling
in teaching and learning science, and they suggested a five-step model for the modeling process by examining
the relevant literature. The steps of this model are; “learning the model”, “learning to use the model”, “learning how
to examine the model”, “learning to restructure the model” and “learning to restructure the model if it is rejected”. In
our study, teacher educators generally referred to 2 or 3 step process. Moreover, few of them referred to four-step
modeling process in harmony with the steps of the modeling process defined by Boulter and Buckley (2000).
The concept maps, drawn by the teacher educators, are generally in the categories of partially and poor
understanding. Unfortunately, no one could draw a concept map on “models” which can be classified as sound
understanding. It can be concluded, that teacher educators have superficial knowledge on models, since their
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concept maps include small number of concepts related to models. The most frequently expressed statements and
concepts referred by the teacher educators on their concept maps were: (1) types of models such as mathematical
models, simulations, mental models and scientific models, (2) the relationship between a model and the reality
represented, and (3) the modeling process, which was drawn roughly. It is seen, that the types of models referred
in teacher educators’ concept maps were those they stated, that they were using in their courses in the interviews.
Moreover, there has not been enough information about the characteristics and the objectives of models on their
concept maps. Chang (2007) has investigated students’ mental models through concept maps and also reported
similar finding, that students used their life experiences to explain a science subject in their concept maps, although
they did not have detailed knowledge about it.
The results showed that the teacher educators generally have two types of mental model of “model”; proximate
and goal oriented. When we examined the teacher educators’ mental models, it is seen, that the teacher educators
who have proximate mental model, generally have drawn concept maps within the category of understanding or
partially understanding. Besides, the other teacher educators who have goal oriented mental model generally have
drawn concept maps within the category of poor understanding. It can be deduced, that there is a parallelism be-
tween the mental models of teacher educators and their concept map scores. However, the deficiencies of their
concept maps may be stemmed from that the teacher educators have failed to reflect their knowledge exactly to
their drawings. Teacher educators’ knowledge on the nature of models, their characteristics, their types, and the
modeling process need to be improved, because learning of scientific knowledge requires a better comprehension
of the nature of models. Similar data obtained from earlier studies conducted with prospective teachers, teach-
ers, and students may be indicative of the fact that there is a parallelism among the views of teacher, prospective
teachers, students and the teacher educators’ who have trained them (Van Driel and Verloop, 1999, 2002).
Conclusion and Implications for Teaching
This study has focused on determining teacher educators’ views of “model” and their mental models. It was
conducted with the teacher educators studying on primary and secondary science (chemistry, physics and biol-
ogy) and mathematics education in different faculties of education. Regarding the obtained data, it can reason-
ably be argued that the explanations of the teacher educators on the nature of model and modeling have some
deficiencies and are not at the expected level. This is because most of the teacher educators describe model as
an instructional tool and fail to provide a scientific definition. Another supporting evident is that teacher educa-
tors give similar responses including unqualified explanations to the interview questions related to the general
characteristics of them, and the objectives of using models. It can also be asserted, that teacher educators are not
aware of the steps of the modeling process to set forth a model. It is also noted, that the teacher educators are
able to express most types of models. Moreover, there is a parallelism between the models, which they have stated
that they have been using in their lessons and those, which they have remarked their names in the interviews.
However, it can be concluded that the types of models they used in their lessons are quite restricted than those
they stated in their explanations.
It has been found out, that the teacher educators use quite small numbers of concepts in their concept maps
during the interviews and generally put the types of models in those as related concepts, although they presented
different views on models in their explanations during the interviews. It is also clear that their concept maps have
been prepared superficially without giving information on the definition of model, its general characteristics or
objectives, and the modeling process. On the other hand, their mental models of “model” which have been clas-
sified by taking their explanations and drawings in the interviews into consideration have dissimilar structures.
It is found that most of the teacher educators have proximate mental model, and a small number of them have
goal oriented mental model. However, there is only one teacher educator whose concept map is in the category of
understanding, and there is no one whose concept map is in the category of sound understanding. The failure of
teacher educators to set scientific correlations between the related concepts with “model” in their concept maps
supports this result.
The missing or insufficient knowledge of the teacher educators who are employed in teacher training faculties
on “model” shall regrettably affect prospective teachers, teachers, their teaching in their classes, and eventually
their students. For this point of view, teacher educators, especially those in teacher training programs, should
have enough information about the nature of models, their characteristics, their types, and the modeling process.
Moreover, they should employ different models appropriately in their undergraduate and graduate classes. They
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should also emphasize the similarities and the differences between a model and the reality represented. Teacher
educators should provide prospective teachers understand the fact that different models can be created for one
single reality. This is important for both teacher educators and teachers because creating or using more than one
model may be needed to explain the same fact, event, or theory to the students in science classes depending on
students’ different backgrounds and readiness level. A created model may not reflect all aspects of the reality rep-
resented, so teachers or teacher educators should be aware of that another model may be fruitful for explaining
the properties of the reality to be learned by students. Furthermore, better recognition of modeling process may
also assist teachers or teacher educators in using models appropriately in their classes. Hence, it is considered that
the knowledge of teacher educators or teachers who employ models in their classes should be improved.
Considering the results of this study, it is suggested that teacher educators should not only follow the new
trends, theories, methods, or the applications in science or mathematics education literature, but also employ
these methods or techniques in their classes. They should be encouraged to employ different kinds of methods,
different models, and the modeling process during their courses. Moreover, teacher educators should encourage
their students that are prospective teachers, both by giving information about models, modeling process, and how
they should use models in their classes, and also by using models properly in their undergraduate or graduate
courses and setting an example for them. Thus, prospective teachers will find a chance to observe how models
are used in teaching/learning environment, so that they may be more self-confident in using models and adopt
to use models in their classes.
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Secondary Science and Mathematics Education, Trabzon, Turkey.
Gunay Palıc Sadoglu Research Assistant, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Department of
Primary Science Education, Rize, Turkey.
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Ummu Gulsum Durukan Research Assistant, Giresun University, Department of Primary Science
Education, Giresun, Turkey.
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LEARNERS’ VIEWS ABOUT
USING CASE STUDY
TEACHING METHOD IN AN
UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
COURSE
Zehra Ozdilek Abstract. This study presents pre-service

science teachers’ views about implement-
ing a case study and which skills they
improved as a result of using the method.
Sixteen participants in a chemistry class
were the subjects in the 2013 summer
school term. In the teaching about the
properties of chromium, students watched
selected parts of the movie Erin Brockovich
Introduction in four sections. Each part of the movie was
followed with a question, and students
The case study method is a family of teaching strategies in which students
were then given about 15-20 minutes to
apply their knowledge to solve real-life problems (Gallego, Fortunato, Rossi,
find out the answer to the question by using
Korol, & Moretton, 2013). Although, case study methods have a long history
in business, law, and medical education, their use in science education is Internet-based resources in the classroom
relatively recent (Cameron,Trudel,Titah, & Léger, 2012). Case study methods environment. Qualitative data were col-
in science education were first used by James B. Conant of Harvard in 1949 lected by having participants respond
through scientific stories (Herreid, 2006). in writing to open-ended questions and
The cases created for discussion are derived from real-life practice and through semi-structured interviews. Over-
problems that require resolution through critical analysis of the situations, all, students’ reactions to the method were
including key qualities and the context in which ongoing decisions must be positive. The results showed that students
made. Through the case study process, multiple sources of data are provided found it to be an effective instructional
for analysis, allowing different interpretations. In case study instructional method, despite having some difficulties
methods, students are required to carefully review the case in advance of the
with the expectations of the method and
discussion session, to identify the essential issues and to research supplemen-
this method has provided many benefits for
tary knowledge as needed. The preparatory work is done independently or
pre-service teachers.
in study groups prior to the discussion session, which serves as the setting
in which students collaboratively apply learned principles and data analyses, Key words: case study teaching method,
and evaluate the usefulness of various strategies to achieve best resolution chemistry education, science education,
of the problems presented (Bowe, Voss, & Aretz, 2009). Discussions are fa- teacher education.
cilitated by the instructors in order to help students decide what issues are
most important to the analysis, how those come up within the problems,
and what conclusions can be made (Joroff & Moore, 1984).
The related academic literature indicates that implementing the case
study method has many benefits. Libby (1991) developed taxonomy of case Zehra Ozdilek
Uludag University, Turkey
study benefits in terms of cognitive benefits, skills development, and affective
benefits. Based on the taxonomy, provided by Ballantine and McCourt Larres
(2004), the cognitive benefits of the case study method include relating theory
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LEARNERS’ VIEWS ABOUT USING CASE STUDY TEACHING METHOD IN AN UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY COURSE
ISSN 1648–3898
(P. 695-708)
to practice, integrating major concepts, improving judgment and problem solving skills, thinking conceptually
and critically, and so on. They also refer to skills development as improving library skills, data organization, verbal
communication, and written skills as a result of using case studies. The researcher identifies the affective benefits of
the case study method as increasing students’ interest in the use of case studies, including factors such as motiva-
tion, enhanced interest in the subject, concern for their own learning, and confidence building. Although affective
benefits do not essentially improve the students’ basic skills, they might contribute to an increase in their overall
case study experience. While literature cites several benefits of case study methods in fields other than science
education, to the researchers’ knowledge no one, if few any, has studied this method in science education. In an
effort to address the gap in science education literature, this study explored the impact of case study method on
pre-service teachers’ cognitive and skills development, and attitudes towards learning.
The following research questions guided this study:
•• Which benefits of case study method were expressed by pre-service science teachers?
•• What kind of challenges did the pre-service science teachers face during case study instruction?
•• How did the benefits which pre-service science teachers gained from case study implementation, af-
fected their studies later?
•• What are pre-service science teachers’ suggestions for the better implementation of case studies?
Next, a discussion of the literature on the strengths and challenges of teaching through the case study method
is presented.
Theoretical Background
Benefits of Case Studies
Many researchers have found that case studies provide students cognitive benefits with opportunities to gain
content knowledge (Camill, 2006; Chaplin, 2009; Casotti, Beneski & Knabb, 2013; Jalgaonkar, Sarkate, & Tripathi,
2012), understand the contexts in which knowledge is relevant (Camill, 2006), apply science to their daily lives (Ca-
mill, 2006; Joroff &Moore, 1984; Yadav, Shaver, & Meckl, 2010), enhance clinical reasoning/critical thinking (Chaplin,
2009; Delpier, 2006; Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche, & Gijbels, 2003; Gallego et al., 2013; Harrison, 2012; Healy &
Mccutcheon, 2010; Iqbal & Rubab, 2012; Jones, 2003; Popil, 2011; Yadav, Lundeberg, DeSchryver, Dirkin, Schiller,
Maier, & Herreid, 2007; Yadav et al., 2010), improve analytical skills, decision making and independent thinking
(Cameron et al., 2012; Joroff & Moore, 1984), problem solving skills and discussion (Chaplin, 2009), relating theory
and practice (Yoon, Pedretti, Bencze, Hewitt, Perris, & Van Oostveen, 2006).
Some of the studies have focused on case studies’ affective benefits that enhance students’ attitudes and
interest (Ayyıldız & Tarhan, 2012; Casotti et al., 2013; Jalgaonkar et al., 2012), self-confidence (Cameron et al., 2012),
facilitate self-learning (Harrison, 2012), motivation (Yalçınkaya, Boz, & Erdur-Baker, 2012) and improve active in-
volvement in the learning process (Yadav et al., 2007; Yadav et al., 2010).
Although findings from Cameron et al. (2012) reveal that a discussion-based format helps to develop coop-
eration, synthesis, listening, presentation, and time management skills, these are not classified directly within the
skill development benefits identified by some researchers (Ballantine & McCourt Larres, 2004). Still, these effects
can be considered as being related to the skill-related benefits. Finally, the case method allows students many
benefits, specifically regarding how to learn by doing, which is believed to be one of the best ways to integrate
new knowledge.
Limitations of Case Study Method
However, while many beneficial outcomes are observed in student learning when using the case method,
there are also some limitations. Popil (2011) stated that although case studies are useful in presenting difficult
facts requiring problem solving, the method does not fit well in teaching concrete concepts. Moreover, developing
cases is difficult and time consuming, so that it requires instructors to have good reasoning and questioning skills
(Prince & Felder, 2007). Cameron et al. (2012) indicate that if the students do not pay serious attention to cases,
or feel that the cases lack realism, they may not participate in the case and may not prepare satisfactorily for the
class. As a result, students may not be well prepared for class discussion. Cassimjee (2007) found that the students,
who were engaged in case based learning, pointed out their concerns about the difficulty of working in a group
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and the amount of independent work involved. The other concern is that limited knowledge of the instructor’s
presentation of the case can impede the students’ participation in the class discussion. In addition, cases relating
to technological content are likely to lose their significance more rapidly than the other type of cases.
Studies on Perceptions of Learners on Case Study Method
It is also important to determine the perceptions of learners on using the case teaching methods in terms of
increasing the benefits discussed in previous section. This is especially important that there is a great deal of atten-
tion given in higher education in terms of participant-centered beliefs and practices (Pierce & Kalkman, 2003).
In fact, several studies have already reported on learners’ views on the case study instructional method.
However, most of the studies that have focused to learners views are conducted in the other fields such as medi-
cal education and business. For example, Cassimjee (2007) investigated the students’ perceptions about a case
based teaching and group work in a first year nursing program. The researcher reported that the students found a
case-based learning interesting in class and in the practical area. The participants mentioned that they improved
their communication skills and their preparation for class. They also thought that it facilitated open discussion,
increased interaction and the sharing of information among classmates. Another finding was that the participants
thought the group discussions made learning easier.
Scott (2007) addressed the introduction of the case method of teaching on student perceptions of teaching
effectiveness in a Tourism Strategic Planning Course taught at the third year undergraduate level. He found that
students considered a case study method contributed to their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Shieh,
Lyu and Cheng (2012) explored how the participants perceived the case based instructional approach teaching in
management. Their findings indicated that the students were overall satisﬁed with the instructional process of the
course. The students stated that they learned to be more logical in their approach in terms of solving the problems,
engaged in ‘deeper thinking’, were able to connect theory with practice, and stimulated their thinking skills.
The studies discussed below have specifically focused on learners’ perceptions of the case study based teaching
in science and teacher education settings. Yadav (2008) explored pre-service elementary teachers’ perceptions of
the influence of video cases on their learning. The researcher found that learners had a positive learning experience
from the video cases and thought that video cases were beneficial to them in terms of the impact the videos had
on their own ideas of literacy instruction and their ability to observe teaching, connecting theory and practice,
analyzing, discussion of ideas, and practice.
Murray-Nseula (2011) studied the impact of a case based teaching on students’ perception and performance
in an undergraduate genetics course. The researcher found that all of the students indicated a positive perception
of the course and they improved their grades compared to previous years. The student evaluations also showed
that the course increased students’ analytical, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. According to the findings
of the study, case studies can promote intellectual and practical skills, and integrative learning.
Çelik, Çevik and Haşlaman (2012) inquired about the perceptions of prospective Computer Education and
Instructional Technology teachers toward case-based learning in a teaching methods course. They found that
prospective teachers perceived cases gave them opportunities to think as real teachers and apply their theoretical
knowledge to practical situations, as well as improving their understanding and conceptions of teaching profes-
sion. The results of the study also revealed that prospective teachers found cases to be effective in improving their
problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Hernandez- Serrano and Jonassen (2003) stated that the most important advantage of this teaching method
is that the learners have to find the opportunity to cope with complex problems, similar to those they will come
across in their future professions. In this respect, the potential effects of the method fit well with the goals of
teacher education programs (Colburn and Tillotson, 1998). Although such methods are used in some graduate-
level courses in science education, limited research has examined whether or how these case-based teaching
methods are being used (Yadav et al. (2007). Thus, more research is needed as to what science faculty think are
the benefits of case-based instruction on student outcomes, or what challenges faculty face when implementing
cases in their own teaching, and the possible effects on the teacher education. The present study is an effort to
contribute to the pre-service teacher education programs through examining the benefits and challenges of case
study teaching methods on pre-service teachers’ perspectives. Implications for effective implementation of the
method are also discussed.
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An exploratory study was undertaken to investigate the views of pre-service science teachers on the case study
teaching method, a thematic content analysis was conducted of responses to an open-ended survey and semi-
structure interviews. The study was conducted at the 5-weeks summer school term in 2013 in an undergraduate
level analytical chemistry class, which is a four-credit compulsory course for pre-service science teachers. Analytical
chemistry is the division of chemistry which includes qualitative (identification) and quantitative (how much) analysis
techniques in a mixture. Theoretical sessions cover an introduction into measurements in analytical chemistry, the
analysis of measurement errors, accuracy and sensitivity of the chemical analysis methods, gravimetric and volumetric
methods, the analysis of the chemical interactions in equilibrium systems, basic instrumental methods of chemical
analysis, spectrophotometer and atomic absorption, and basic separation techniques, such as chromatography.
Practical sessions include the calculations and practice with the experiments about the methods indicated above.
The course instruction consists of six 45-minute weekly lectures and six 45-minute laboratory application, totaling
12 class hours per week in the summer school term. During the first four weeks, all of the topics mentioned above
are presented to the students through lectures and labs according to the lesson plan. In the last week, the case study
was implemented to the participants.
Participants
Sixteen pre-service science teachers (eight females and eight males), who had failed at taking an undergraduate-
level analytical chemistry course for the first time and had to re-take the course for the second time in summer term,
were all enrolled in this study. The participants were sophomores and the average ages were 20.5 years (females)
and 21.28 years (males). The selection of students who had failed the course was not particularly aimed and was a
coincidence, thus convenient sampling.
Implementation
This case study presents students with a real-life story describing a scientific study of hexavalent chromium using
and its effects on human health. The case was conducted using a mix of individual and interrupted methods. Herreid
(2005) described the Interrupted Case Format as the format in which the teacher works with a small group where the
instructor gives the students a problem faced by real researchers. Then, the students work in small groups for bout
15 minutes and after that time they report their thoughts on the approaches to solving the problems. Information
is given in sessions, followed by the questions after each segment. In the study, the students worked individually,
since, a very small number of students were enrolled in the course. All the students had individual computers and
Internet connection in the classroom.
In the instruction about the properties of chromium with a case study teaching method, the students watched
selected parts of the movie Erin Brockovich (DeVito et al., 2000) in four sections. Each part of the movie was followed
with a question, and the students were then given about 15-20 minutes to find the answer to the question by using
Internet-based resources in the classroom environment. At the end of the time provided for finding information, the
students discussed their answers with peers and the instructor. In brief, during the instruction the students took on
the role of Erin (the heroine of the movie) with respect to learning about the chemistry of chromium, and they tried
to solve problems similar to those she faced in the movie. At the end of the instruction, additional videos were shown
and the answers to the questions were discussed again by the instructor. The case study implementation as below:
- In the first session, the students’ attention was drawn to the Chromium by having them watch the first part
of the movie. They saw local people having problems related from chromium uptake in the movie. The movie was
stopped here and a series of questions were asked for the learners to think about. Then, they were asked to start to
investigate the properties of chromium by using Internet and computers in the classroom. At the end of the 15-20
minutes of research time, the students started to present their findings. After a short discussion the students watched
the related parts of the movie. So, the students learned that chromium could have two different oxidation states, Cr
(III) and Cr (VI) that have different toxicities, mobility and bioavailability.
- In the second session, they watched the other selected/related parts of the movie, about the heroine who
wonders how she can find out if there are any traces of chromium in tap water. Then, the students were asked to
explore and study the qualitative and quantitative analysis methods used with chromium compounds taking the
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position of the heroine in the movie. Finally, they discussed their findings.
- In the third session, the students investigated the effects of chromium compounds on human health. First,
they watched several illnesses experienced by the people who lived around the chromium processing company.
They were given questions that asked them to calculate the chromium amount in a waste-water sample. Then, they
were asked to conduct gravimetric, volumetric, and spectrophotometric analysis. They tried to decide whether the
amount of chromium, caused the observed prevalent illness within community in the movie. In addition they tried
to decide which analysis method was most reliable and which result they should take into account for making their
decisions.
- In the last session, the students investigated which chemical techniques could be used to remove hexavalent
chromium from the waste water. After the discussion, the last part of the movie where the heroine finds that the
company did not take the necessary removal techniques, and where the law firm, which heroine works at, succeeds
at getting a multi-billion dollar corporation to reveal the truth was shown to the participant.
Data Collection
Qualitative data were collected by having participants respond in writing to two open-ended questions:
•• Which skills do you think specifically improved as a result of implementing the method?
•• What kind of challenges have you faced during the case study method?
Semi structure interviews were conducted with four of the participants 8 months after the implementation.
Two male students were chosen intentionally for the interviews. They were the only students who mentioned
some challenges and had negative comments on the open-ended questions about the case-based teaching. In
addition, two female participants with positive comments on the open-ended questions were randomly selected
for the interview to ensure equality of gender and opinion. All participants volunteered for the interviews. The
focus questions asked to students in the interview during the 15-30 minutes duration were:
1. Do you remember our last class in analytical chemistry course in the past summer term? Would you
please briefly explain the implementation we used?
2. What is your general opinion regarding the case study teaching method used in the course?
3. Please give a score according to 10-point grading scale to the items on the list to what extent you
have developed the skills through case study method?
Satisfactory enough
Good enough
Items
Satisfactory
Very good
Excellent
Very bad
Failure
Good
Weak
Bad
Case study implementation enabled me to … 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
understand the phenomena studied.

relate theory to practice.
develop my problem solving skills.
improve my judgment skills.
integrate major concepts of the course.
be more aware about multiple solutions.
have increased interest in the subject.
be actively involved in learning process.
be more motivated.
be more aware about self-learning.
develop my research skills.
develop my verbal communication skills.
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4. Did you use the skills and knowledge you gained as a result of the case study implementation in your
other studies or practices later?
5. Do you plan to use the case study method in your instruction when you become a science teacher?
6. What are your suggestions for improving or better implementation of the case study method?
Data Analysis
A thematic content analysis method was used to determine learners’ views regarding which skills most de-
veloped as a result of using case method in instruction for the open-ended and interview questions. Participant’s
responses were read and relevant statements separated, that were thematically related to the categories being
used. A total of 60 relevant statements were coded with respect to the categories and sub-categories identified
by Ballantine and McCourt Larres (2004, p.180), as can be seen in the results section. The data were independently
coded by two raters using the identified categories to increase inter-coder reliability. The Cohen Kappa inter-rater
coefficient calculation showed that experts had an agreement rate of 0.92, which is accepted as “good agreement”.
The interview responses were evaluated for the third and fourth research questions.
Results of Research
Findings of Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended responses are organized according to categories, corresponding to the benefits of case stud-
ies that were mentioned earlier; cognitive, ‘affective’, and skills development. The categories, sub-categories, and
frequencies are also presented in Table 1. Challenges of the method were also evaluated within the findings.
1. Cognitive Benefits
All of the participants reported several important benefits with regard to this category. In addition, within the
category, 11 statements related to Enhance understanding of phenomena studied, 8 statements related to theory to
practice, 6 statements related to problem solving skills, 4 statements related to improve judgment skills, 3 statements
related to integrate major concepts of science, and 1 statement related to awareness of multiple solutions. The fol-
lowing comments are typical of the participants (acronym P) that fit into these categories respectively.
-Enhance understanding of phenomena studied: If we write the properties of chromium only on the blackboard we have
forgotten all the knowledge one week later. Case method supported the movie and videos have been very effective
on understanding the topic. I think I will remember the entire subject even after years of….(P 8).
-Relate Theory to Practice: We have implemented the several analytical chemistry topics such as qualitative and qualita-
tive analysis methods on the same real world problem. This was done so that we could find an opportunity to apply
the theoretical knowledge to a daily life situation (P 3).
…The movie we watched in the course was adapted from real life. The movie ensures a correlation between course
knowledge and its practical application. Thus, we did not limit our knowledge with just a book (P 5).
-Problem Solving Skills: …I believe I mostly developed my problem solving skills as we used several analysis methods
on determination of chromium element (P 1).
-Improve judgment skills: We discussed the benefits and harmful effects of hexavalent chromium. This has been effective
at developing my judgment skills regarding the question of whether should we use Cr (VI) or not?...(P 11).
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-Integrate major concepts of science: Applying various methods to determine the amount of chromium of a waste
water sample helped me to compare to reliability of the methods and judgment, finding the sample’s effects on the
environment and human health (P 9).
- Awareness of multiple solutions: I learned that Cr (VI) can be eliminated from waste water by using several different
techniques. This indicates that there would be several different solutions to the problems we face in life. I am aware
that deciding the best solution needs to consider many different factors at the same time…..(P 14).
2. Affective Benefits
Eleven students mentioned that case study method lessons enhanced their interest in the subject, 9 of them
stated that they are involved in the learning process more actively compared the other methods, and 2 of the students
mentioned that their motivation has increased. In addition, 2 of them stated that they got more responsibility for
their own learning. Some of the learners’ responses can be seen below:
-Interest in subject: Teaching the lesson with case method was very interesting, attractive, and fun as well. It was a
different type lesson that I have not seen before. This increased my attention to the chemistry course. It was a very
creative idea to teach the topics by watching a movie. I liked that very much. Thank you…. (P 3).
-Involvement in learning process: I like the instruction with case method. It was a well-designed lesson. It provides a
feeling as if we are in the laboratory even when we were not there and encouraged active participation to the les-
son….(P 13).
-Motivation: It was so different. It attracted my attention and increased my motivation. I liked solving problems as
the heroine of the movie….(P 6).
-More responsibility for own learning:…..also to do research on the topic ensures me literature skills and judgment
skills. Thus I got more responsibility for my own learning (P 13).
3. Skill Development
Three of the students discussed the skill development benefits as follows:
-Research skills: It raises curiosity, interest, and motivation to do research by using case method. Students find the
knowledge by doing Internet searches themselves….Doing search caused me to both use research skills and apply
judgment skills in a limited time (P 10).
-Verbal communication skills: We both watched and discussed about the topic deeply. It increased the quality of our
discussion skills with our friends (P 2).
Table 1. Categories, sub-categories, and frequencies about the benefits of case studies.
Categories of Benefits F Sub-Categories f
Enhance understanding of phenomena

11
studied
Relate theory to practice 8
Cognitive benefits to students 33 Problem solving skills 6

Improve judgment skills 4
Integrate major concepts of course 3
Awareness of multiple solutions 1
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Categories of Benefits F Sub-Categories f
Interest in subject 11
Involvement in learning process 9
‘Affective’ benefits to students 24
Student motivation 2
More responsibility for own learning 2
Research skills 2
Skills development of students 3
Verbal communication skills 1
4. Challenges of the Method Faced by Learners
Three of them among 16 students expressed some challenges as well as indicated below. These limitations
were about the nature of videos presented in the study, finding the answers in a given period and time consum-
ing feature of the case study teaching method.
-…..The lesson was good but watching videos was not interesting (P 5).
-Answering the questions after watching the parts of movie was a little bit harmful. I have learned that elaborat-
ing the chromium from waste water needs a very complex process. I do not think negatively about applying case
method for instruction. I just have been compelled to find answers in a limited time. That’s all…On the other hand
I have learned to do time management….(P 7).
-…….I think positively about the method. My only concern is that we have wasted too much time…(P 6).
Findings of Interviews
The interview data are organized into three categories: overall perceptions, permanence of the benefits they
gained through case based instruction, and suggestions for better implementation of the case study method.
1. Participants’ Overall Perceptions of Case Based Teaching
The first, the second and the fifth interview questions were evaluated for determining the overall thoughts
of students on a case based instruction. The results show, that all of the participants remember the lesson well
even 8 months after its implementation. This shows that the case study method helps with the retention of
information. They stated that they were satisfied with the method as they found it interesting. They stated that
they gained several benefits as similar their previous responses for open-ended questions. One of the partici-
pants said;
I have been wondering whether there are any other harmful elements in our tap water after the lesson.
I believe that it is definitely a teaching method that increases students’ curiosity (P 10).
Four of the participants stated, that they might use the method after they became a science teacher.
However, they mentioned that they would use the method when they could find appropriate cases in science
textbooks or when they gained necessary skills and knowledge for development of their own case studies. Some
illustrative comments speaking to this assertion are below:
Yes I would definitely think about using case studies in almost all of my lessons. I would specifically
use case studies that will require children to combine all of the knowledge that they’ve gained in
each science unit. This is a wonderful approach. I would use it at the end of the unit so they can see
the relationships between theory and practice. I usually think deeply about how I may be able to find
interesting videos or stories on a specific science topic so I can use it with my students in the future. I
can use this method especially when teaching chemistry and biology units. I do not think about using
case studies in physics topics as I am not good at physics (P 3).
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Yes, I would like to use the method in my teaching, but I do not see myself having necessary knowledge
and skills to develop meaningful cases. If the case studies were provided in our textbook, then I would
definitely use the method (P 10).
I would if they were present in our textbooks. If not, I will try to develop my own cases. However I am
not sure if I have the knowledge and skills to develop good cases (P 7).
If I was trained on how to develop such cases, I would use it… However, I am not sure if I will, because
I know that they are not used in our textbooks (P 5).
2. Participants’ Thoughts on Permanence of Their Skills
The third and the fourth interview questions were used to evaluate the impact of the case study method
on students’ performance skills. When they were asked to rate items in Table 2 on a scale ranging from 0 to 10,
the participants rated the effects of the method on their performance skills very high. P3 and P10 were com-
pletely positive and P5 and P7 had some challenges on case study implementation. As shown in Table 2 all of
the participants gave high scores on all items.
Table 2. Summary of learning outcomes related to performance skills.
Categories of Benefits Sub-Categories P3 P10 P5 P7
Enhance understanding of phenomena studied 10 10 10 9
Relate theory to practice 10 10 9 9
Problem solving skills 8 9 8 10

Cognitive benefits to students
Improve judgment skills 9 10 8 9
Integrate major concepts of course 10 10 8 10
Awareness of multiple solutions 10 10 9 9
Interest in subject 10 10 10 10
Involvement in learning process 10 10 8 8

‘Affective’ benefits to students
Student motivation 10 10 8 7
More responsibility for own learning 8 10 7 8
Research skills 10 10 8 8
Skills development of students
Verbal communication skills 10 10 8 8
When asked which skill on the listed they improved most, the participant 3 stated, that the mostly benefit
she gained taking attention to the course as she watched a movie in class for the first time and then she was
able to gain thinking skill, to connect theory and practice on her other subjects and studies. Participant 10
mentioned that she developed her research skill more than the other skills as she started doing research, just
she was curious herself not to request somebody else. Participant 5 said, he understands well the topic by using
the case method. Participant 7 mentioned that he gained the problem solving skill mostly, as he did the project
assignment relating the chromium after the implementation.
Students gave comments, indicated their willingness to continue to use some of the skills they gained
in class in their current/future practices. For example, the first comment shows that the participant uses her
knowledge, relating the theory and practice skill, the second participant uses his integrate major concepts of
science and research skill, the third participant uses her research skills.
Yes I have used the method for preparation a lesson on the Special Instructional Methods Course. As I
said before the method has been effective in helping me to connect theoretical knowledge and practi-
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cal skill. I tried to present a lesson with a real life problem similar to the one you used in your methods
course. Of course mine is not very professional…(P 3).
I have been doing more research on the properties and effects of chromium since the implementation.
Then, I presented my paper at the Special Issues in Chemistry course. I am not aware of the problem
(P 10).
I developed a project on determination of the effects of hexavalent chromium on plants for the science
laboratory course in the last fall semester. I found that waste-water with chromium was more hazardous
than the other types of waste waters (P 7).
3. Suggestions of Pre-Service Science Teachers for Teaching Science through Case Study Method
The pre-service teachers stated several important suggestions for the effective implementation of case
studies. The results indicated that students perceived that the teacher lost instructional time when teaching
through the case study method and offered several suggestions to address the issue. One of them preferred to do
practice experiments in the laboratory. Another one of them indicated her willingness to develop the cases.
I would like to practice the experiments in the laboratory myself in order to find answers to the ques-
tions as the heroine did in the story or the movie, instead of just watching the videos of experiments
being presented to us. I think this approach would make case studies more effective than the traditional
approach (P 3).
I will definitely use the case method when I become an in-service teacher in the future. However, we
do not have any class in my program that can teach us how to develop and implement cases. I would
like to take an elective course about the method offered by you. Specifically, I wonder, how can I adopt
this method to the elementary level? (P 10)
The implementation would have been more effective, if more research time, extended into few days,
was built in to the activity, instead of just trying to find the answers in a limited amount of time given
to us in the classroom environment (P 7).
We wasted too much time trying to find the answers of the questions. If you had answered the case
questions right after watching the videos, instead of us trying to find the answers, it would have been
less time consuming. We could have spent our time more wisely that way. We could have benefited
more from the activities if you had answered the questions (P 5).
Discussion
In this study, the learners’ views about the use of a case study method lesson in class and how their skills
were affected as a result of using the method were investigated. The conclusions of this study will be discussed
around the research questions, (i) benefits of the method, (ii) challenges and limitations of the method, and (iii)
pre-service science teachers’ suggestions to make case study teaching method more effective.
(i)Benefits of the Method
Benefits of the method will be discussed in terms of the first and the third research questions. All of the
participants stated that they gained several benefits in terms of cognitive, affective and skills development as
a result of using this method.
The responses indicate that cognitive benefits were paid more attention than the others, since all of the
learners discussed the benefits they gained within the cognitive category. Much more attention is given to en-
hancing understanding of phenomena studied than to other benefits by learners, while relating theory to practice
was also considered to a high degree within the cognitive benefits. This result is consistent with the benefits of
case method instruction identified by other researchers, including gains in content knowledge (Camill, 2006;
Chaplin, 2009; Casotti, Beneski & Knabb, 2013; Jalgaonkar, Sarkate,& Tripathi, 2012), and students’ ability to
apply science to their daily lives (Camill, 2006; Joroff &Moore, 1984; Yadav, Shaver, & Meckl, 2010). Bowe et al.,
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(2009) suggest that case based teaching is a practical instructional method to encourage understanding and
practice of basic science concepts. Similarly, Cameron et al., (2012) stated, that although numerous pedagogi-
cal approaches have been used to understand the bridge between theory and practice, a case based teaching
method is one of the best ways to accomplish this goal. The other important finding of the study is that all of
the participants indicated in the interview, continued to use some of the skills that they had gained with the
method, such as relating theory and practice and research skills. One of the participants specifically stated, that
because of her early exposure to this method, she was able to make connections between theory and practice
in all subjects. This result is consistent with the findings of Yadav’s (2008), who reported that video cases were
beneficial in helping pre-service teachers to connect theory and practice.
Regarding the affective benefits almost all of the students stated, that they enjoyed the lessons and that the
presentation was an interesting, not monotone, creative, different, and well-designed instructional approach.
They appreciated being placed in the role of the heroine as a way of learning the topic. The results showed that
the students not only were satisfied about learning with a case study method, but that they also found it an ef-
fective instructional method. This result parallels with Murray-Nscula’s (2011) findings. Çelik, Çevik and Haşlaman
(2012) stated that pre-service teachers perceive case studies as an important motivating factor for their own
learning. This result also indicates that, as expressed Libby (1991), while affective benefits do not essentially
improve students’ cognitive skills, they are worthwhile with respect to improving students’ attitudes towards
learning. One of the interesting results is that, although, students previously failed the course and all of them
had taken the course for the second time, they felt positive about learning chemistry through the method. This
result is similar to the results reported in the study conducted by Shieh, Lyu and Cheng (2012) on students’
satisfaction with the instructional process of the course. They also indicated that they are willing to use the
case method for their own teaching when they become in-service science teachers, if necessary instructional
resources could be found in their curriculum. This result is an indicator that the method influenced the students’
learning experiences in a positive way and thus helped them to develop positive attitudes towards the method.
Moreover, even with limited exposure to the method, they felt that they could implement the skills they had
gained through case based instruction in their future professional lives.
It is obvious that the skills development category was a relatively low consideration for these pre-service
science teachers as 2 sub-categories were related to the research skills and only one of those was related to com-
munication skills. This is not surprising given the fact that they were exposed to and experienced the method
only for a short period of time. Of course, only one implementation is not enough for the students to develop
such skills. Cassimjee (2007) found that a case based teaching improved students’ skills on accessing academic
literature and helped them to feel free and comfortable in group discussions. It follows, that in order for students
to develop research, discussion, communication, and writing skills, they will need to be exposed to the case
study method for a sustained period of time.
(ii) Challenges and Limitations of the Method
The results showed that the main challenge with the implementation of the method was that the students
perceived it being time consuming. This concern was also reported by (Popil, 2011). I must note, however, this
concern was raised only by one participant. Even then, this concern must be addressed to ensure the best
subsequent implementations of the method. While case method is time consuming, it ensures many benefits
to the learners as mentioned in Casotti et al., (2013). Similarly, learners felt there were some difficulties, such as
finding true answers during the class sessions and that it was time consuming, they stated that the case study
method was worthwhile with respect to benefits of cognitive, affective, and skill development as sharing their
knowledge and experiences with each other, developing abilities to do research and apply problem solving skills,
and that it enhanced their content knowledge specific to the chemistry topic. However, the implementing of the
case method was not a simple intervention as Scott (2007) indicated. For instance, the integration of the case
method with a movie into the analytical chemistry class required a complete curriculum revision. Moreover, it
took a lot of time both to develop the case and implement it in my classroom. However, when considering the
advantages and benefits of the method in terms of teacher education, the method should be integrated into
methods courses so the students have a positive learning experience with content and develop pedagogical
skills to teach science through their teaching once employed in a school.
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(iii) Suggestions of better Implementation of the Case Study Teaching Method
The suggestions of the participants were about implementation type of the method in the classroom. These
statements can be also considering as the suggestions for further research. One of the participants mentioned
that it would be better if they were given more time to find the answers to the questions raised in the movie.
The other said, they wasted too much time to find the answers in the classroom. They also found it challenging
to find the answers in a limited amount of time. These concerns suggest that the implementation of the method
should extend into a few days rather than being limited to a classroom period. Also one participant stated that
she would like to practice the experiments, such as determination of the chromium amount in a waste water
sample, in the laboratory instead of just solving mathematical problems. If the same study was to be implemented
with these concerns in mind, the students would have had a better experience with the case study.
The other suggestion had an important application for teacher education. The students are willing to take
an elective course on methods of case studies. Faculties could take this suggestion into account and start to
offer an elective course in which students could develop and implement case studies. Offering such a course
could have a positive impact and offer many benefits for teacher education programs (Colburn and Tillotson,
1998). In fact, some teacher education programs have offered such a course. Heitzmann (2008) stated that the
case study method should be a central component of teacher education programs. However, we caution that
the case study should not be used just to facilitate student learning of content. Pre-service teachers should be
taught about the implementation strategies as well as methods to develop well-written cases when they do not
have pre-designed resources. It is clear that pre-service teachers’ professional development in teaching through
the case studies would greatly benefit their student learning.
Conclusions
This study presents pre-service science teachers’ views about implementing a case study method lesson on
the properties of chromium compounds in an analytical chemistry course. This study showed that pre-service
science teachers improved their cognitive i.e., enhance content knowledge, bridging between the theory and
practice, problem solving; affective skills i.e., enhance their interests and motivation to the subject; and develop-
mental skills i.e., research and verbal communication as a result of using a case study teaching. It also presents
the learners’ views about the use of a case study method lesson in the class for better implementation. These
results demonstrate that, if the necessary suggestions are considered on the implementation of the method, it
would be more effective in terms of gaining the benefits of pre-service science teachers as a result of using the
case study teaching method in instruction.
Research indicated that, teachers need to have both scientific knowledge and scientific methods for effective
science instruction. Benefits of the case based teaching for pre-service teachers’ professional development have
been largely accepted in the literature. In teacher education, the case method instruction can be provided as
both a method that can be learned and used in professional settings, and also as a method for problem solving
with respect to specific classroom situations. That is, the cases used can be intended to model a way to teach
science, but they can also be developed to address professional situations that the pre-service teachers might
encounter. This could add a category of professional knowledge development to the potential benefits of a case
method teaching, but research would be needed to investigate the quality of this effect.
Acknowledgements: This paper was revised and extended after being presented at 34th ISfTE (International
Society for Teacher Education) Annual Conference, Antalya, Turkey, 22-25 April 2014.
The author would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Kara for helping and sharing me his analytical chemistry
laboratory for taking the experiment videos. I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Edward C. Robeck and Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aydeniz for critical reading of the manuscript.
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Received: June 08, 2014 Accepted: August 30, 2014
Zehra Özdilek PhD., Assistant Professor, Uludag University, Faculty of Education,

Department of Science Education, 16059, Bursa, Turkey.
E-mail: zozdilek@uludag.edu.tr
708
CONCEPTS OF VEGETABLE AND
FRUIT IN PRESCHOOL AND
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Hüseyin Eş Abstract. The purpose of this study was

to investigate the way the concepts of fruit
and vegetable are presented in teaching
materials, used in pre-school education and
in the textbooks of life sciences and science
and technology courses in elementary
education, in addition to the students and
teachers’ knowledge and opinions related
to these concepts. Qualitative research
techniques were used in this study. The
Introduction sample of the study comprises the students
receiving education in pre-school and
Science is defined as “trying to discover the nature while searching, elementary education and the teachers
forming an organized information group that has an effect and applicabil- serving at these levels. 258 students and 83
ity on society” (Ministry of National Education (MEB) 2012f ). The student, teachers took part in this study. A survey,
trying to give meaning to the nature, meets the concepts (Schoenfeld, which was developed by the researcher,
1992). The concept is the common name of numerous events, objects, including two forms, was administered.
ideas that have similar properties or phenomena, that have widespread Teaching materials in pre-school education
special attitude (Çepni, 2011). Concepts, especially for science teaching, and course books in elementary education
have a great importance. And learning without conceptual understanding were also used as data sources. When the
will not be more than memorization (Singler and Saam, 2006; Snowman research findings are considered, it stands
and Biehler, 2003). Notwithstanding, the concepts learned out of school out that these concepts have different
may be far from scientific facts, this case may be quite dangerous for sci- definitions in different fields and thus, they
ence teaching (Ausubel, Novak and Hanesian, 1978; Driver, 1989). In some have no common definitions. This situation
cases the opinions of the authors and/or teachers may, vaguely, affect seems to have been reflected in the teach-
students’ concept learning and may cause misconception (Barras, 1984; ing materials used both in pre-school and
Gilbert, Osborne and Fensham, 1982; Mintzes, 1984, 1989; Osborne, Bell elementary education. Also, it is seen that
and Gilbert, 1983; Pines and West, 1986). Related to this, Yip (1998) states, there are important differences between
that the reasons that may be the source of misconception, due to because teachers’ opinions about these concepts.
of students’ wrong opinions caused by their daily experience, language
Key words: concept learning, concepts
usage style of the students, the misconception that the students learn at
of fruit and vegetable, science education,
learning environment, course books and teachers. Misconception frequently
teaching materials.
appears the factor that blocks semantic learning, since it blocks restruc-
turing that new learned knowledge and disjoins the meaning among the
conceptions (Bahar, 2003).
Misconceptions are seen very often in science fields that are wide and
expansive. Some of them are not related to students’ personal experience Hüseyin Eş
Sinop University, Turkey
or learning, (Barrass, 1984; Cho, Kahle and Nordland, 1985; Sanders, 1993;
Storey, 1989, 1990; Veiga, Costa Pereira and Maskill, 1989) and some consist
of the misconceptions that the students get in their daily life experience
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(Driver, Squires, Rushworth and Wood-Robinson, 1994). These misconceptions, that the students get in their
daily life experience, without taking science education at school atmosphere, should be certainly be taken into
account during the formulation of teaching process by the teachers (Yip, 1998). Especially, many studies related
to misconception have been done in the biology field. But it is seen, that those are the studies major in the
subjects such as cell, plant respiration, photosynthesis, osmosis and diffusion, genetics and ecology (Bacanak,
Küçük and Çepni, 2004; Çokadar, 2012; Köse, Ayas and Taş, 2003; Özay and Öztaş, 2003; Şensoy, Aydoğdu, Yıldırım,
Uşak and Hançer, 2005; Temelli, 2006; Yıldırım, Nakiboğlu and Sinan, 2004). Additionally, there are studies re-
lated to plants, especially the concept “plant” (Barman, Stein, McNair and Barman, 2006; Türkmen, Dikmenli and
Çardak, 2003; Uşak, 2005) vitality of plants (Kwon, 2003; Stavy and Wax, 1989; Tamir, 1997) and floral plants and
the studies, analyzing the misconceptions of plant growth as well (Biddulph, 1984; Christdiou and Hatzinikita,
2005; Lin, 2004; Mutlu and Özel, 2008; Yangin, Sidekli and Gokbulut, 2014). But, even if some misconceptions
related to fruit concept are mentioned in a part of these studies, a study researching the concepts of fruit and
vegetable, especially in the context of their relationship, and the opinions of teachers and students about them,
hasn’t been seen in the science field.
Nonetheless, in the cognitive psychology and child development fields there are significant studies, espe-
cially related to which category people include the concepts in (Estes, 2004; Hampton, 1988; Hampton, 2012;
Machery, 2011; Nguyen and Murphy, 2003; Storms, De Boeck, and Ruts, 2001). In the mentioned studies, related
to people’s conceptual understanding, it is seen that people can include a concept into more than one category
(such as vegetable and fruit) and they see misconception during this process. Related studies show, that while
people decide in which category will a concept be, it is effective how much it (tomato, for example) carries the
specialties of that category (for example, is it a vegetable or fruit) which means it is a good sample or not. Also,
it can be said that people’s perception of the related concept is directly determining while they are classing the
concepts. So, it should be considered that the concepts can be described either individually or in some cases
differently among the fields. For instance, fruit is accepted as one of the generative organs of herbal organs in
life science and it is described as ovary diversified after the impregnation and a group consists of seeds it wraps
(Çakır, 2001). But there is not any plant description that accepts the concept vegetable as a part of plant in botany
(Çakır, 2001; Güneş, 2006; Kesercioğlu, 2004; Vardar and Seçmen, 1993). Also, Özyurt (1992) described vegetable
as a general name that is given to the plant organ, that is eaten sometimes cooked and rarely uncooked, and he
divided fruit morphologically into six parts such as the fruits that benefit from their roots, trunks, leaves, flowers,
fruits and seeds. When the biology concept dictionary (Karol, Suludere and Ayvalı, 2000) is analyzed it is seen,
that vegetable is described as a general name given to the plant organs such as root, trunk, leaf, flower and fruit
that make fungus if they are left to be rotten, generally green, eaten cooked or uncooked.
In the nutrition science, the vegetable is assembled into groups according to the parts produced from the
plants such as tubers (potato), root (carrot, celeriac, beet, radish), onions (leek, onion, garlic), shoots (aspara-
gus, dill, parsley) leaf (cabbage, spinach, lettuce), flowers (artichoke, cauliflower, okra), fruits (tomato, eggplant,
marrow) fruit and seeds together (bean, horse bean, green peas) (Bayrak, 2011). Moreover, the vegetables are
divided into groups according to their colors such as green, red, yellow and orange, white and purple (Bayrak,
2011). Bayrak (2011) states, that the practical discrimination of fruit and vegetables is done so, that the ones,
eaten as food and salad, are vegetables, the ones, eaten as sweet, are fruit. Ketenoğlu, Obalı, Güney and Güven
(2003) stated, that the limit between vegetable and fruit is not certain, even if some writers want to separate fruit
as a ligneous plant, the one year plants melon and watermelon should also be included in fruits. Yet, there are
sources that accept melon and watermelon as a vegetable, the fruit of which is eaten (MEB, 2007). This classifica-
tion difference may be sensed as a problem at first sight and it may be felt to do a common classification. But
the different criteria should be taken for granted while any classification is done. But, there should be prepared
learning environments with planned strategy and gradually, that the students can understand this difference.
Fruit is a very important organ in the concepts of life circle of floral plants. Also, the concepts fruit and
vegetable have an undeniable importance in concepts of nutrition. No matter which side is, (botany or nutri-
tion) both sides are important subjects that are in the context of pre-school and basic training. That’s why these
concepts should be learned properly.
As seen above, in the literature, there are many studies on misconceptions. In this study, however, there
are several differences from the previous ones. First of all, this study differing from basic misconceptions (such
as mass and weight) reveals that different disciplines have different approaches about the concept developing
process and the potential effects to the educational environment. Secondly, the concepts focused in this study
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are analyzed in their change during the process from preschool to the end of basic education. Third, the study
investigates these concepts in teaching materials and their potential effects on concept learning. Lastly, differ-
ent classifications done by teachers of different branches analyzed these concepts and their potential effects
on concept learning. With all these, this study is aimed at researching the teachers’ and students’ opinions and
knowledge about the concepts of fruit and vegetable as presented in teaching materials used in pre-school
education and in science and technology books (student workbook, course book and teacher’s guide). In ac-
cordance with this aim the following questions were tried to be answered:
1. How are the concepts of fruit and vegetable presented in teaching materials used in preschool and
elementary education?
2. How do the teachers and students classify the plant parts that they can often see in their daily life
and teaching materials as part of fruit and vegetable class?
3. How do the teachers define the concepts of fruit and vegetable and what are the opinions about the
curriculum related to these concepts?
In accordance with the answers got from the research, the question how the concepts fruit and vegetable
are perceived in preschool and elementary education, has comprehensively been analyzed. In the light of derived
discoveries, it has been recommended to correct the misconceptions, if there are, and how the concepts fruit
and vegetable should take part in the curriculum.
In this study, the qualitative research paradigm is applied. A sample of the study, data sources and data analysis
is mentioned in detail below.
Sample
This research focused on concepts fruit and vegetable in preschool and elementary education. That’s why the
sample of this study consists of the students and the teachers of preschool and elementary education. In Turkey,
elementary education consists of two levels, which are called primary schools and middle schools. Both primary
and middle school education is taken in four-year periods. The data in this study were collected in the period of
2013 and the 2014 academic year. There are 258 students and 83 teachers in the sample. See the class level of the
students in “Table 1”
Table 1. Range of the students according to their study level.
Preschool Primary School Middle School
Preschool 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Student Number 12 31 27 24 19 34 46 32 33
The students in sample are the ones in Sinop Central point public school. That public school was preferred
because of its satisfactory facilities to be able to carry out the study, representation of middle class in socioeco-
nomic level of the region it is in, and because it is available to collect data with the numbers of the students in the
classroom. For these reasons purposive sampling was used. Purposive sampling based on previous knowledge
of a population and the specific purpose of the research, investigators use personal judgment to select a sample
(Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006).
See the distribution of teachers participating in research in “Table 2”.
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Table 2. Distribution of teachers participating in research.
Gender Graduation Department Professional Experience
Female Male Preschool Grade Science Other 0-5 6-10 11-15 16+
Preschool 9 3 12 8 4
Department
Grade 34 24 57 1 11 19 14 14
Science 9 4 13 7 4 1 1
The sample consists of the teachers working in village schools of Sinop Province central point and city center
and the ones accepted to answer the survey voluntarily. The total number of the schools that the teachers work is
11. These schools are considered according to accessibility criterion during data collection. To increase the sample
representativeness, both the teachers working in central or rural schools have been reached.
Research Tool
The research tools are explained in the following two subchapters.
Teaching Materials
In the research, preferably, teaching materials involving the concepts fruit and vegetable in four preschool
training institutions and the course books, workbooks and teacher guide books of science and technology classes
and life science classes of elementary education were used as data source. See the teaching materials analyzed
within the context of the research.
Table 3. Teaching materials analyzed within the context of the research.
Material
Level Kind Class Prepared by
Presentation Preschool Teacher

Preschool Poster Preschool Private Publisher
Book Preschool MEB
Teacher guide book 1, 2 and 3 MEB
Lesson life sciences Student course book 1, 2 and 3 MEB
Student workbook 1, 2 and 3 MEB
Primary School
Teacher guide book 4 MEB
Lesson Science & Technology Student course book 4 MEB
Student workbook 4 MEB
Teacher guide book 5, 6, 7 and 8 MEB

Middle School Lesson Science &Technology Student course book 5, 6, 7 and 8 MEB
Student workbook 5, 6, 7 and 8 MEB
As a part of the research, four schools, training preschool were visited and the teachers were asked the teach-
ing materials that they use related to the concepts fruit and vegetable. Also, the materials of science boards were
analyzed. The books used in elementary education are published by the Ministry of Education. These books are
preferred because they are used all around Turkey. The reason of choosing the classes named Life Sciences and
Science Technology in these classes include many concepts of nutrition and biology.
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Survey
In the research two sheets developed by the researcher and shaped after taking 3 experts of science educa-
tion opinions were used, one of them is visual; the other one consists of open-ended questions. The visual sheet
was applied to 258 students studying there and 83 teachers. Open-ended question sheets applied to 83 teachers.
In visual sheet used in the research there are sample pictures printed colorfully and four options related to these
pictures. Those options, are respectively, “fruit”, “vegetable”, “other” and “I don’t know”. The option “other” is put into
the sheet in order not to limit the participants just with option “vegetable” and “fruit”. The participants were asked
to mark the fruit cartridge if they think that the visual related to a plant part in the pictures is the fruit, or if they
think it is vegetable they were asked to mark vegetable cartridge, to mark I don’t know cartridge if they don’t know,
and if they think that it is another concept they were asked to write what it is down into another cartridge.
In the process of determining the items formatting the visual sheet, preferably, the class materials used in
preschool and elementary education were analyzed. In these materials, fruit and vegetable visuals, frequently used,
were determined. After that with these visuals the other visuals, that the students can see most likely in their daily
life, were determined according to their degree of development and the region they live in. Nonetheless, it is cared
to put the parts of plant, root, stump, leaf, and fruit among the items. The plant parts, that took part in the visuals
are respectively like this; strawberry (fruit), marrow (fruit), watermelon (fruit), eggplant (fruit), cucumber (fruit),
grape (fruit), tomato (fruit), pepper (fruit), carrot (root), lemon (fruit), lettuce (leaf ), onion (stump), green onion
(leaf ), orange (fruit), spinach (leaf ), potato (stump). The sheet was evaluated with 3 experts in science education.
In accordance with the evaluation, it is approved to print the sheet colorful and with the names under the visuals,
in order to increase the intelligibility of the visuals. The visuals were presented as a single page, beginning from
2nd class, written their names and classified randomly. Visual sheet applied to the teachers, as well. Preschool and
1st grade students are among the students that the sheet was applied to. Those students’ literacy status was taken
into account. That’s why those students were asked their opinions by showing the visuals one by one, each in one
page. The answers were recorded by the researcher and transferred to the sheet. Also, teachers were asked two
open-ended questions.
1. What is the definition of the vegetable and fruit concepts?
2. Do you think that the context of the curriculum, course books, workbooks and teacher guide books in
teaching vegetable and fruit are enough? Why?
Data Analysis
During the data analysis process, the following methods were applied. In the teaching materials, taken as a
first data source in the research, since the presentation style of the concepts fruit and vegetable was the object of
this study, a content analysis, focused on these concepts, has been done. In this context, some kinds of documents
such as, course books, newspapers, novels and pictures, can be analyzed with content analysis. There are two ways
of content analysis. While the researcher determines the category he wants to analyze beforehand, in the second
one he can determine these categories during the content analysis process (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006). In the
research, because the concepts fruit and vegetable were determined as research topic, teaching materials were
analyzed with the first way. In this process all the words, sentences, phrases and visuals include fruit and vegetable
concepts. Content analysis was preferred for the aim of getting descriptive information about the concepts fruit
and vegetable. The data about these concepts that are a research topic, were taken from teaching materials used
in preschool education and course books, workbooks and teacher guide books of Life Sciences and Science-
Technology Classes used in basic education.
The analysis of the answers given to the visual form in the survey, that is, the second data source of the re-
search was done quantitatively and the frequency of how participants classify the visuals (fruit–vegetable, etc.) was
determined. These frequency distributions were pictured according to the study degrees of students (preschool,
primary school and middle school students) and according to the branches of the teachers. The reason, why the
students were not considered separately according to their classes in their degrees, is because the teaching of
fruit and vegetable concepts is in preschool period and related acquisition that let them learn the concept fruit is
in the level of middle school, 5th and 6th grade.
The analysis of the answers that teachers gave to open-ended questions in the survey was done qualitatively
with the open coding method. Open coding is described as the process of determining and categorizing of the
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phenomena that data indicate (Struass and Corbin, 1998). Analysis process was started with the aim of establishing
an available coding system by revising the answers as a whole. In a related process, after each teacher’s answering
papers were numbered with abbreviations to represent their branch (for instance PS1 for a preschool teacher),
they were evaluated one by one and all the conceptual phrases explained with words, sentences or paragraphs
were coded shortly. In this stage of the analysis the first code list was revised to be made more meaningful and it
was restructured more reasonably (Bogden and Biklen, 2007; Gay, Mills and Airasian, 2006). By this way, the codes
that have so close meanings were unified under definite subjects, so repetitions were avoided, and new and
shorter subject wholes that will simplify the data classification were being made. In the last stage of the analysis
these subjects were grouped under more abstract phrases (categories) (Creswell, 2005; Maxwell 2005; Strauss and
Cobin, 1998) related perceptions, questioned by the way of open-ended questions were being tried to be stated
obviously.
In the process of analysis, one of the categories reached and the subjects under this category are shown in
“Table 4” as a sample.
Table 4. Sample of categories and subjects.
Category Subject
Consumption Style
Nutrition Consumed Part
Nutritive Speciality
In table 4, it is illustrated how the subjects, reached by the analysis of the answers teachers gave to open-
ended questions, were formed.
Sample subject: Consumption Style.
Teacher expression: “… are the ingredients used as salad ingredients. (PS2).
(Code: salad ingredients)
Teacher expression: “cannot be cooked, eaten uncooked … (GT1)
(Code: can’t be cooked)
Teacher expression: “the plants generally eaten cooked (GT10)”
(Code: can be cooked)
Since they explain a similar situation with their consumption style, code 1, code 2 and code 3 were unified
under “Consumption Style” subject. Similarly, the codes with close meanings in the first code list unified under
subjects. The subjects reached similarly “Consumption Style”, “Consumed Part” and “Nutritive Specialty” were
grouped under “Nutrition” category and presented in the diagnostic part of the research.
Results of Research
The Concepts of Fruit and Vegetable in Teaching Materials
Class materials, used in the context of research topic in the four preschool education institutes that were visited.
Some of these materials are the ones made by teachers, the others are the ones prepared by Ministry of National
Education (2011). When these materials were analyzed, it was seen, that all the visuals given as an example for
fruit, are convenient for the description of the fruit given in literature related to biology. But the fruit part visuals
of some vegetables are given as an example of a vegetable. These examples are shown in Table 5.
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Table 5. Fruits given as an example of a vegetable.
PowerPoint Poster Book
Fruit of tomato Fruit of tomato Fruit of tomato

Fruit of pepper Fruit of pepper Fruit of pepper
Fruit of cucumber Fruit of cucumber
Fruit of eggplant Fruit of eggplant
Fruit of green peas Fruit of green peas
Fruit of marrow
Fruit of lemon
When Table 5 is analyzed, it has been seen, that the fruit part of tomato and pepper plants in three materials,
fruit part of cucumber plant in poster and book, fruit part of eggplant and green pea plants in PowerPoint presenta-
tion and poster, fruit part of lemon plant in a PowerPoint presentation, have been given as vegetable example.
The frequency of vegetable and fruit concepts in course books, workbooks and teacher books used in basic
education has been shown in Table 6.
Table 6. The frequency of vegetable and fruit concepts in books.
Course book Workbook Teacher guide book
Life Sciences
Science and Life Science and Life Science and
technology Science and
technology Sciences technology Sciences technology
technology
Concept 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Vegetable 0 4 2 5 22 1 4 5 1 0 1 0 15 0 1 0 13 2 11 1 22 7 12 3
Fruit 1 7 6 20 30 36 25 16 1 0 1 0 20 6 2 7 16 4 11 9 25 28 18 3
(MEB, 2012a; 2012b; 2012c; 2012d; 2012e; 2012f; 2012g; 2012h)
When Table 6 is analyzed it is seen, that vegetable and fruit concepts are frequently used in both course books,
workbooks and teacher’s guide books. Whereas, the vegetable concept is mostly seen in the 5th grade course
book, workbook and students’ book, the fruit concept is mostly seen in the 6th grade course book and teacher
guide book, and in the 5th grade workbook. Nonetheless, teaching of fruit and vegetable concepts don’t take
place in the Life Sciences Curriculum. Fruit concept has been described accordingly to fruit description in botany
in accordance with some acquisitions, such as: “it explains the function of the parts of the floral plant” acquisition
in the 6th unit called “Let’s see and know Live world” of the 5th grade in Science and Technology curriculum, and “
it explains the function of flower by showing its parts in the sample, disk, scheme” and “it shows with the examples
that many fruits and seeds are food source for animals and human beings” acquisition in the1st unit called “propaga-
tion, growth and development of livings.” of the 6th grade science and technology curriculum (MEB, 2012e; 2012f ).
However, students haven’t been given any description or explanation about the vegetable concept in preschool
and basic education curriculums.
Here are some examples of fruit and vegetable concepts approached in books: (i) the students are asked to
paint the fruits and vegetables in pictures in their own colors in nature in an activity of Life Science Lesson 1st grade
student workbook (MEB, 2012a). There are fruits of eggplant, lemon, apple and pepper plant and root of the carrot
plant in the pictures. (ii) In Science and Technology Lesson, the 4th grade course book, there is an explanation “such
as, vegetables as eggplant, pepper dried to be eaten in winter gets rotten because of sun heat (MEB, 2012d), and
there is a fresh fruit of pepper and a dried one’s picture on the left of the related page. The dried part is the fruit
part of the plant. (iii) In Science and Technology Lesson , in the 5th grade course book, while it is explained which
vitamins are in which commodities, the vegetable concept is used frequently, but it is conspicuous that the fruits of
the plants are pictured while the pictures of vegetable concept are shown (MEB, 2012e). (iv) In Science and Technol-
ogy Lesson, in the 5th grade teacher guide book there is an explanation saying “such fruit as carrot, apple should
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be eaten by biting.” (v) Although in Science and Technology Lesson, in the 6th grade teacher guide book, there is an
explanation as “students should be reminded that tomato, cucumber, pepper, etc., are the fruits of the plant (MEB,
2012f ) in Science and Technology Lesson, in the 7th grade course book unit called Light, tomato is described as
vegetable in an activity called “Let’s search and get ready” (MEB, 2012g). As we see in the examples of the books,
one of the most important organs of education period includes expressions that may cause misconceptions about
vegetable and fruit concepts for the students.
Classification the Concepts of Fruit and Vegetable
The results of visual sheet applied to students are shown in Table 7. In the table, vegetable is “V”, fruit is “F”,
other is “O” and I don’t know is “DK”.
Table 7. Student Visual Sheet Data.
Preschool Primary School Middle School

Visual
V (f) F(f) O(f) DK(f) V (f) F (f) O (f) DK (f) V (f) F (f) O (f) DK (f)
Strawberry 3 8 0 1 5 94 0 2 4 141 0 0
Marrow 7 3 0 2 85 6 0 10 136 8 1 0
Watermelon 4 7 0 1 13 87 0 1 4 141 0 0
Eggplant 10 0 0 2 92 4 0 5 137 6 0 2
Cucumber 9 2 0 1 87 11 0 3 121 22 0 2
Grape 2 9 0 1 9 91 0 1 3 142 0 0
Tomato 9 2 0 1 80 18 0 3 109 33 0 3
Pepper 12 0 0 0 89 9 0 3 138 5 1 1
Carrot 9 3 0 0 82 19 0 0 133 9 1 2
Lemon 8 1 0 3 76 15 0 10 78 52 2 13
Lettuce 10 1 0 1 89 5 0 7 141 3 0 1
Onion 10 2 0 0 89 11 0 7 139 2 1 3
Green onion 7 3 0 2 86 5 0 10 144 1 0 0
Orange 5 7 0 0 13 87 0 1 7 136 1 1
Spinach 6 0 0 6 80 2 0 19 142 2 0 1
Potato 11 1 0 0 81 14 0 6 130 6 1 8
When the Table 7 is analyzed it is seen, that the fruit parts of strawberry, watermelon and grape plants are
accepted as fruit by most of the students. Also, the fruit parts of marrow, eggplant, cucumber, tomato and pepper
plants are accepted as vegetable by most of the students. Lettuce, onion, green onion, spinach and potato are ac-
cepted as vegetable by most of the students. Lemon is characterized as vegetable in a high rate in the preschool
and primary level. This rate is 53.79% in middle school, students marked “other” choice for carrot, onion and potato
and said they were roots of the plant and marrow and pepper were leguminous seeds. About lemon 2 and about
orange 1 students indicated that they were citrus. Visual Sheet Data of Teachers are shown in Table 8.
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Table 8. Teachers Visual Sheet Data.
Preschool Grade Science

Visual
V (f) F (f) O (f) DK (f) V (f) F (f) O (f) DK (f) V (f) F (f) O (f) DK (f)
Strawberry 0 12 0 0 2 55 1 0 0 13 0 0
Marrow 9 1 0 2 49 7 0 2 5 8 0 0
Watermelon 0 12 0 0 1 56 1 0 0 13 0 0
Eggplant 12 0 0 0 53 3 0 2 7 6 0 0
Cucumber 10 0 1 1 43 11 3 1 3 10 0 0
Grape 0 12 0 0 0 58 0 0 0 13 0 0
Tomato 11 0 1 0 42 13 3 0 2 11 0 0
Pepper 12 0 0 0 53 5 0 0 5 8 0 0
Carrot 11 0 0 1 52 4 1 1 10 3 0 0
Lemon 5 7 0 0 12 45 0 1 2 11 0 0
Lettuce 12 0 0 0 57 1 0 0 13 0 0 0
Onion 10 0 0 2 55 3 0 0 13 0 0 0
Green Onion 12 0 0 0 57 1 0 0 13 0 0 0
Orange 0 12 0 0 1 57 0 0 0 13 0 0
Spinach 12 0 0 0 57 1 0 0 13 0 0 0
Potato 11 0 0 1 56 1 0 1 13 0 0 0
When the Table 8 is analyzed it is seen, that the plant strawberry, watermelon, grape and orange are accepted
as fruit by all the teachers, no matter what their departments are. About strawberry and watermelon, just one grade
teacher, who marked the option “other”, wrote that “it is a vegetable of which fruit is eaten”. Also, carrot, lettuce,
onion, green onion, spinach and potato are classified as vegetable by most of the teachers of all departments. But
most of preschool teachers and grade teachers classify the marrow, cucumber, tomato and pepper plants’ fruit part
as vegetables, while most of science and technology teachers classify them as fruit. While the fruit of eggplant if
classified as a vegetable by almost all of the preschool and grade teachers, half of science and technology teachers
classify it as a vegetable, the other half does it as fruit. While the fruit of the lemon is classified as fruit by nearly half
of preschool teachers, other half classifies it as a vegetable; it is accepted as fruit by most of the grade teachers and
science and technology teachers. Moreover, for cucumber 2 grade teachers, for tomato 3 grade teachers and, for
carrot 1 grade teacher uses the expression “both vegetable and fruit”. And, 1 preschool teacher, and 1 grade teacher
for cucumber, 1 preschool teacher for tomato uses the expression “the vegetable of which fruit is eaten”.
Defining the Concepts of Fruit and Vegetable
In the open-ended sheet applied to teachers, the question “describe the vegetable and fruit concepts” was
described by 10 preschool teachers out of 12, 54 grade teachers out of 58, all of 13 science and technology teach-
ers. 2 preschool and 4 grade teachers said they did not know the descriptions.
In Table 9, see the subjects and categories formed by open coding of 77 teachers.
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Table 9. Descriptions of teachers about vegetable and fruit concepts.
Preschool Grade Science
Category Subject Fruit Vegetable Vegetable Fruit Vegetable Fruit
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Consume way 7 70 6 60 45 83.33 32 59.26 5 38.46 3 23.08

Nutrition Consumed part 0 0 0 0 7 12.96 3 5.56 4 30.77 0 0
Nutritious facility 3 30 5 50 4 7.41 13 24.07 3 23.08 6 46.15
Formal features 3 30 1 10 4 7.41 0 0 1 7.69 0 0
Growth from flower 0 0 0 0 1 1.85 10 18.52 2 15.38 8 61.54
Liveliness
Grass-ligneous stump 3 30 3 30 11 20.37 15 27.78 3 23.08 3 23.08
Seeds 2 20 2 20 2 3.70 12 22.22 4 30.77 6 46.15
The descriptions made by teachers are categorized as nutrition and liveliness. Nutrition category consists of
the subjects consume way, consumed part and nutritious facility. Liveliness category consists of formal features,
growth from flower, grass-ligneous stump and seed subjects.
When the Table 9 is analyzed it is seen that the most used subject of vegetable description is consume way,
that takes place in nutrition category. While 7 of vegetable descriptions, 70% made by 10 preschool teachers, con-
sidering consume way, this rate is 83.33% for grade teachers and 38.46%, for science teachers. Here is an example
of vegetable description made by a preschool teacher:
“Vegetable is part of the plant can be eaten, cooked. However, some vegetables can be eaten without being
cooked (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, green onion etc.) (PS5).”
As we see in this description teachers describe vegetables as the parts of the plants eaten after cooked.
Nonetheless, teachers express that this description does not include any plant parts they know as a vegetable.
In fruit description of preschool and grade teachers the most common subject is, again, consume way while in
description of science teachers’ most common subject is the growth from the flower. Here is a description of a
science teacher:
“The thing consists of plant’s flower is called fruit (ST6).”
The subject growth from flower is never used by preschool teachers’ descriptions, but in 18.52% of grade
teacher descriptions. Just like the following example. Some descriptions focus on plant’s consuming parts:
“… If the plant’s leaves or roots, or itself is eaten it is a vegetable. If the plant’s fruit, not itself, is eaten then it
is fruit (GT21).”
The commonality of these descriptions is plant parts out of the pieces called fruit in botany, described as a
vegetable. This subject is not seen in preschool teachers’ vegetable descriptions, but it is seen in 12.96% of grade
teachers’ descriptions, 30.77% of science teachers’ descriptions.
In fruit concept descriptions this subject is seen just in 5.56% of grade teacher descriptions. In the descriptions,
another prominent subject, under nutrition category, is nutritious facility.
Here are two sample description of this.
“… Sugar rate of vegetables is less (GT20).”

“The ovary of floral plants grows; they become hydrous and succulent and make the fruit. It is full of vitamins
(ST3).”
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As it is seen in these descriptions an important part of teachers take sugar and vitamin rate into consideration
while describing the concepts of fruit and vegetable.
Another category that descriptions held is liveliness category. One of the subjects that take place under
liveliness category is formal features. While a grade teacher used the colors in vegetable description, a preschool
teacher mentioned about fruits being crusty.
“Vegetable is generally green, orange and red (GT32).”

“Fruits are crusty, … foods (PS3).”
Another important subject to describe fruit and vegetable concepts is grass-ligneous stump subject. The
following two descriptions can be made for this:
“Vegetables are generally one year grass plants (GT27).”

“The products grow up on trees called fruit (ST9).”
Another subject specially used by science teachers in the description is seed subject. The following descrip-
tion can be given as an example of it:
“They are the things, including plant seeds inside (ST10).”
A case draws attention in these descriptions is concern pip. Just like following description, this concept was
used in the meaning of seed by some other teachers. Also, the description of a grade teacher is important thanks
to the point it draws attention.
“I think that it is a concept settled down in an unconscious, according to the descriptions majority use in daily
life. For instance, vegetables are used for making salad. There are generally vegetable meals, etc. (GT5).”
That teacher draws attention that the concepts vegetable and fruit are acquired by social learning cultural
activities.
The answers to open-ended question asked to teachers “Do you think that the contents of teaching programs,
course books, workbooks and teacher guide books are enough? Why? Analyzed three categories such as “not
enough”, “partly” and “enough” occurred as well.
This question was answered by 10 of 12 preschool teachers, 52 of 58 grade teachers and 12 of 13 science
teachers. Within this context, the answers of teachers are listed in Table 10.
Table 10. Opinions about teaching programs, course books, workbooks and teacher guide books.
Not enough Partly Enough Total
f % f % f % f %
Preschool 8 72.73 1 9.09 2 18.18 11 100.00

Grade 39 75.00 1 1.92 12 23.08 52 100.00
Science 8 66.67 0 0 4 33.33 12 100.00
Total 55 73.33 2 2.67 18 24.00 75 100.00
When the Table 10 is analyzed, it is seen that 73.33% of teachers, no matter what their departments are, find the
curriculums, course books, workbooks and teacher guide books not enough about vegetables and fruit concepts.
This rate for preschool teachers is 72.73%, grade teachers’ 75.00%, and science teachers’ 66.67%.
To this open-ended question 5 preschool, 29 grade teachers and 4 science teachers answered shortly such as
“enough”, “not enough”“yes” or “no”.The other 47 teachers justified their answers. The subjects occurred with open
coding of these teachers’ descriptions. The analysis results are shown in Table 11.
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Table 11. Explanations about teaching programs, course books, workbooks and teacher guide books.
Category Subject Preschool (f) Grade (f) Science (f)
Hard to learn 1 2
Enough Social learning is enough 1
Simplicity 1
Partly Classification lack 1 1
Explanations not enough 1 5 6
No classification 9 3
Teacher’s proficiency 7 1
There is a misconception 1 3
Not enough No related topic 1 2
Visuals not enough 1 1
Proposed activities are not enough 1 1
No description 1
Examples are wrong 1
When the Table 11 is analyzed, it is seen that the teachers, who think that curriculums, course books, workbooks
and teacher guide books are satisfactory, mostly use the subject “hard to learn”. Here is an example explanation
of this subject.
“… In primary school programs the context is little, but I don’t think that it needs to be much. It has to be in
high school or bachelor, master programmes (GT11).”
As it is seen in this explanation, teachers used this subject in their expressions. They think that teaching of
fruit and vegetable concepts in preschool and primary school levels is satisfactory, and they should be discussed
in higher levels. Also, another grade teacher thinks the topic is easy, so curriculums, course books, workbooks and
teacher guide books are satisfactory. A preschool teacher thinking that the context is satisfactory, says that it is
enough to learn the topic in social life, not at school. A preschool and a grade teacher said, that the descriptions
of fruit and vegetable concepts were made but they were missing. So, it could be added in the explanations of
teachers, who said the curriculums, course books, workbooks and teacher guide books are not satisfactory, the
most repeated reason is the explanations of concepts are missing and they are superficial. The following explana-
tions can be given as an example for this:
“I think it is generally superficial. The context should be improved (GT28).”
Another prominent reason is, that there is not any classification in order to separate the concepts fruit and
vegetable. The following explanation for this:
“There is not mentioned about the classification of plants and fruits in the context of Science lesson teaching
program (ST12).”
One of the reasons used mostly in the explanations is teacher proficiency. Following an explanation, there is
an example of this.
“As my knowledge is limited I cannot comment. If I write this as a teacher it means the knowledge is not enough
(GT38).”
Another reason taken into consideration by teachers is concept confusion.
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“Not enough. Pictures are limited. No enough information below the pictures. Especially in the 1st degree, the
subjects such as fruit and vegetable discrimination are not given importance. Our curriculum talks about fruit
and vegetable discrimination in the 6th class. Note: I have just learnt what fruit and vegetable are thanks to
you. I noticed that the things we learned in daily life were wrong (GT37).”
With this explanation the teacher indicates that, especially, the things we learn in our daily life affect our
educational life. It is among teachers’ explanations that concept confusion reacts our educational life as wrong
examples:
“Not enough. We noticed it with this survey. Vide: 1st Class Turkish book, page 68 (GT36).”
When the book that the teacher pointed is analyzed, there seems an activity called “kid and game” on page
68 (MEB, 2012i). In this activity, the fruit of the tomato plant is mentioned as a vegetable.
Discussion
When the research results thought it is seen, that the fruit and vegetable concepts are mostly used in preschool
and elementary education. However, it is seen that the teaching programs handled as a part of the research don’t
include the vegetable concept in preschool and elementary education, teaching of fruit concept is done, according
to biology, in the 5th and the 6th grades. Eliason and Jenkins (2003) indicated that “science” is a part of our daily life
and so science teaching should be associated with daily life and united with the programme. It can be counted as
an important deficiency that concepts such as fruit and vegetable, which we use both in daily life and as a reflec-
tion of daily life to the teaching materials, are not used in the contents of our curriculum. Some teachers take into
consideration, that learnings of these concepts occur by the effect of daily life. This would cause concepts that are
not based on scientific information to occur. Also, it is indicated, that teaching without understanding the concepts
completely cannot achieve significant learning (Sigler and Saam, 2006; Snowman and Biehler, 2003). According
to this result, it can be concluded, that our students mostly see vegetable and fruit concepts, but they don’t have
enough scientific information about what they are.
Also, in the literature search done in the beginning of the research it is greeted, that these concept descrip-
tions in different fields are different and they don’t have a common description. This is seen in course book used
both in preschool and basic education. For instance, even if published by the same publishing house, it is seen
that a visual given as fruit in a material can be given as vegetable in another one. Many researchers compel that
writers and/or teachers vaguely, can affect students learning the concepts in the wrong way (Barras 1984; Gilbert,
Osborne, and Fensham, 1982; Mintzes, 1984, 1989; Osborne, Bell, and Gilbert, 1983; Pines and West, 1986). Accord-
ing to these results we see, that it is necessary to be more careful about preparing the teaching materials and the
materials should be analyzed by a common approach of all lessons.
Context confusion may be the result of different reasons (Yip, 1998). Storms, De Boeck and Ruts (2001) indicate
that some concepts such as fruit, bird, vehicle and sports are explained by daily language, I mean by the dominant
language in the place that is lived. Researchers show that children learn good examples of categories better than
weak ones (Heider, 1971; Mervis, 1987; Murphy, 2002; Rosch, 1973). For instance, for fruit category “apple” can be
given as a good, “strawberry” middle, and “fig” weak example. In daily language, it does not sound to say “tomato
is a fruit” as well as saying “apple is a fruit” (Rosch, 2011). Hampton (1991), similarly, indicates that “apple” is a very
good example of fruit, but it is not possible to say the same thing for “olive” and, he asks this question: “If all the
things in a category have the same quality, why olive cannot be given as example for fruit”. Roch and Mervis (1975),
indicate that the qualities of examples in a category may be similar to the quality of examples in another category.
If we want to sample this, marrow is an available example of fruit category in botany, but as it is cooked it has the
same qualities as the examples of vegetable category (for example, spinach), that’s why it is not a good example
for fruit category and people cannot classify it as fruit.
In the research Hampton (1991) did, it clearly appears that there is concept confusion about examples,
whether they are fruit or vegetable category. A participant, looking at the example, said “I really don’t think that
it is fruit, and I don’t think that it is vegetable either; but it should be one of these.” Similarly, in this research, as
we see in Table 8, some teachers used the explanation “both vegetable and fruit” for the carrot. A similar research,
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Nguyen and Murphy (2003) did, show that preschool children could count the vegetable and fruit examples they
are given to the different categories and they don’t focus on just one category. In departmental literature search
it is seen, that the similar confusion occurs about vegetable and fruit concept descriptions in different countries,
as well. They are differently described or sampled in different lessons. It was even a court case if tomato was a fruit
or vegetable (Findlaw, n.d.). Classifying the plants as a fruit or vegetable, it is certainly not a decision we instruc-
tors can take. However, it is not a good attitude to avoid teaching of these concepts because of this confusion.
In this case, explaining these concepts according to student levels can be accepted as the most logical solution
so learning so, learning environment can be established to help students understand that these concepts can be
perceived differently in different lessons.
When the results of visual form are analyzed it is seen, that fruit parts of strawberry, watermelon, grape and
orange plants are accepted as fruit by most of the students and teachers, whereas, the fruits of marrow, cucumber,
tomato and pepper plants are accepted as vegetable by most of preschool and grade teachers, and fruit by most of
science and technology teachers. In this case, it can be inferred, that preschool and grade teachers’ perception of
fruit and vegetable concepts in closer to nutrition science, sciences and technology teachers’ perception is closer
to biology. It is also seen, that students’ perception of these concepts in preschool and primary levels does not
change in middle school age. However, floral plants take place in science and technology curriculum accordingly
biology in the 5th and the 6th level of middle school and students are expected at least to know fruit concept in life
science. But, the results of the survey point that students couldn’t learn this. In parallel with research results Kete
(2006) indicates, that the students of the 7th grade characterize the ones picked up from the tree as fruit, the ones
picked up from the soil as a vegetable.
When we think it is hard to intervene the daily experience of the students. It is seen, that teachers and course
books have an important role to remove concept confusion about vegetable and fruit concepts. Some researchers
point, that teachers also learn from course books (Ball and Cohen, 1996; Remillard, 2000). From research results it is
clear, that teachers also see themselves not enough certain about vegetable and fruit concepts. For instance, after
indicating that he does not know the concepts sufficiently, a teacher said about the information in books:
“If as a teacher, I write, it means the information is not sufficient.”
This may be understood like this, as well “If it was in curriculums or books I would already know.” In context,
it is conspicuous that both curriculum and course materials are supportive factors for teachers during in-service
process.
When teachers’ vegetable and fruit descriptions are analyzed it is seen, that the descriptions of preschool and
grade teachers are closer to nutrition science. Descriptions of science and technology teachers, especially of fruit,
are closer to life science. This meshes with the results of visual sheet. Fruit concept is very important, especially in
the life cycle of plants and if it is not understood what fruit is, it means the life cycle of a plant cannot be understood
completely, either. Mutlu and Özel (2008) indicate that candidates of grade teacher have insufficiency about floral
plants growth and development topics. Uşak (2005) indicates the same thing for candidates of science teacher. It
is an undeniable reality that teachers’, who are one of the most important factors of the education system, achieve-
ment or failure affects the system directly. For these reasons, both candidates of teachers and teacher training
during both prevocational and professional life are quite important.
Conclusions
When the results of the study are considered, it is seen that the concepts of fruit and vegetable are often used
in teaching materials. However, it is clear that the teaching of these concepts is not enough. Just for meaningful
learning, the concepts used in learning process must be used appropriately. Thus, the teaching of these concepts,
plays a crucial role in science curriculum.
Different science fields may have different approaches in the process of producing, developing and using
scientific concepts. That is, various disciplines may present concepts differently. The concepts of fruit and vegetable
can be given as a clear example for this, since these concepts are described differently in nutrition science and
botany. By using these concepts, the process of concept development can be better understood.
When the results of the study are analyzed, it is seen that teachers of different branches describe the concepts
of fruit and vegetable differently. However, education must be considered as a holistic approach. In different educa-
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tion periods, different and opposite knowledge is one of the most important handicaps of meaningful learning.
Hence, the training and assessment activities for pre-service and in-service teachers are vital issues that must be
taken into account. In doing so, it can help teachers to be in coordination while they teach.
Moreover, it is important to consider an interdisciplinary approach during the process of teaching material
preparation. By this way, students can be provided with consistent teaching materials during the period of pre-
school, primary school, middle school and the rest.
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Received: May 24, 2014 Accepted: September 12, 2014
Hüseyin Eş PhD., Assistant Professor, Sinop University, Faculty of Education, Sinop,

Turkey.
Fax: +90 0 368 271 55 30.
E-mail: esfen55@gmail.com, huseyines@sinop.edu.tr
Website: http://sinop.edu.tr/akademikbirimler/fakulteler/egitim/personel/
huseyin_es.asp
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primary school children’s
ideas of mixing and of
heat as expressed in a
classroom setting
Abstract. This study investigates primary Jesper Haglund,

school children’s (7-8 year-old, N = 25) ideas Fredrik Jeppsson,
of mixing of marbles and of heat, expressed Johanna Andersson
in small-group predict-observe-explain ex-
ercises, and drawings representing the chil-
dren’s own analogies in a classroom setting.
The children were typically found to predict
that marbles of two different colours would
mix when rocked back and forth on a board.
This idea of mixing is slightly more advanced
Introduction
than previously reported in the literature.
The children’s ideas of heat included refer- Foundational studies in science education research on children’s un-
ence to warm objects, their own bodies when derstanding of thermal phenomena have been conducted by means of
interviews, with or without the use of educational equipment (e.g. Albert,
exercising, and the process of one warm
1978; Piaget & Garcia, 1977; Piaget & Inhelder, 1975). Since the 1970s, a large
solid object heating another object in direct number of studies on students’ developing understanding of thermal science
contact. In addition, through scaffolding, have been conducted, but such studies primarily relate to ages from 10 years
and above. In addition, in the last decades, the social dimension of learning
some of the children expressed a substance
has been increasingly recognised in science education research, not least with
view of heat. Finally, the potential and chal- the upsurge of sociocultural perspectives. Against this background, there is
lenges in probing children’s ideas through a a glaring void of studies of young children’s ideas of thermal phenomena
as expressed in social settings, which are ecologically valid with regards to
combination of data collection techniques in
the school practice. Building on previous analysis of 7-8-year-olds’ analogies
a classroom setting are reflected upon. (Haglund, Jeppsson, & Andersson, 2012), the aim in the present study is to
Key words: heat, mixing, children’s ideas, provide a reanalysis of the collected data with a focus on the children’s ideas
regarding two key concepts in the thermal domain – heat and mixing – in
primary school, classroom setting.
a classroom setting. The children’s ideas were expressed in group exercises
with POE (predict-observe-explain) experiments (White & Gunstone, 1992),
drawings representing their own analogies for the phenomena, and their
oral explanations of the drawings.
Jesper Haglund Investigating Children’s Ideas in a Classroom Setting

Linköping University & Uppsala University,
Sweden
Fredrik Jeppsson, Johanna Andersson There are several lines of research that take a direct interest in the school
Linköping University, Sweden practice. For instance, in a case study the researcher investigates an environ-
ment for a longer period of time, either as a participant or a bystander, but
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typically in a way that does not interrupt the practice (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2011). Design studies in the
classroom, in contrast, involve explicit intervention in the teaching practice, in the form of iterative development,
testing and assessment of teaching sequences, targeting domain-specific learning processes (Cobb, Confrey, diSessa,
Lehrer, & Schauble, 2003). The present study involved intervention in the school practice in the domain-specific area
of science education, but not with a dedicated goal to study or induce learning through iterated teaching activi-
ties. The intention was rather to broaden the set of approaches to investigating children’s ideas or understanding
of the involved phenomena. The study thereby adheres closely to the research and teaching program initiated
with White and Gunstone’s (1992) Probing understanding, where they suggest more imaginative ways of assessing
students’ ideas beyond traditional written tests.
The school classroom is a very dense social environment, designed to be conducive to learning, where the
children interact with their peers and teachers in carrying out tasks in constant communication. This is captured in
the notions of a zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978) and scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976),
focusing on the difference between what a child may achieve by him- or herself and when assisted by somebody
with more experience and an advantageous environment at large. In particular, the benefits of peer collaboration
in learning have been motivated on the basis of the individual students’ confrontation and reconciliation of the
differing conceptions among the peers (Piaget, 1932), or converging, mutual construction of knowledge (e.g.
Lemke, 1990).
Then again, it has been questioned within sociocultural traditions whether it is worthwhile theorising about
individuals’ knowledge, overall. Knowledge – it is claimed – is simply not something that an individual has or has
not, but something that develops gradually in participation in social practices (Ivarsson, Schoultz, & Säljö, 2002).
However, an exclusive sociocultural focus on the activities in the classroom in terms of participation comes along
with the risk of ignoring the children’s conceptual understanding or learning of a particular content (Sfard, 1998).
The present study combines recognition and taking advantage of the social environment in class with an interest
in children’s ideas in relation to science content, in the midst of the full complexity of the school practice.
One of the techniques that White and Gunstone (1992) propose for probing students’ understanding is
‘predict-observe-explain’ (POE). The approach can be adapted for different settings, but typically involves a teacher
exposing students in class to a series of ‘specific events’, such as experiments. The students are first asked to predict
what will happen in the event, and write down their predictions individually. Next, the students observe and report
what actually happens when the experiment is performed. Finally, they are encouraged to explain what happened
and reconcile any inconsistences, compared to their predictions. Another potential technique for investigating
students’ ideas and how they develop is to ask them to come up with their own analogies for encountered phe-
nomena (Haglund & Jeppsson, 2012; Mason & Sorzio, 1996; Mozzer & Justi, 2012). Student-generated analogies
have been found to be particularly productive in encouraging students to ‘talk science’ (Lemke, 1990) and take
ownership for their own learning (Haglund & Jeppsson, 2012). Even young children have been found to be capable
of generating analogies in relation to science content in a classroom setting (Haglund et al., 2012; May, Hammer, &
Roy, 2006). It has been recognised that analogies are ‘double-edged swords’, in that they may be used to reinforce
student ideas that are not in line with sanctioned science (Glynn, 1989), but in probing students’ ideas, this may
be turned to an advantage. Also when the particularities of students’ analogies are different from the current sci-
ence position, they nevertheless offer some insight into the students’ ideas, and from where the learning process
will have to start in class.
Analysis of children’s drawings provides an additional approach to the matter. Adopting a Vygotskian framework,
Brooks (2009) argues that a teacher or researcher can rarely interpret children’s ideas of phenomena by merely
looking at their drawings of the phenomena. It is only when researchers talk to the children about their drawings
that they can get insight into the children’s ideas. Similarly, Ivarsson et al. (2002) see students’ drawings as resources
or tools for their process of reasoning, rather than straightforward mirrors of their ideas, in their socio-cultural ac-
count of student’s understanding of the Earth, gravity, etc. From this perspective, the drawings may also serve as
a shared object of attention, a point of departure for dialogue (Schoultz, Säljö, & Wyndhamn, 2001).
Young Children’s Ideas of Heat and of Mixing in Science Education Research
As argued above, a large number of studies have been performed in educational psychology and science educa-
tion research regarding students’ ideas of heat, but only a minority of them have included children as young as 7-8
years of age, and most of those, in turn, have been performed in a Piagetian psychology laboratory setting. Overall,
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Piaget and Garcia (1977) argue that children’s understanding of heat and light is delayed by one developmental
stage compared to their understanding of mechanical phenomena, due to the abstract character of the phenomena
and that children cannot coordinate physical manipulation with seeing the effects of their actions. In particular, in
heat conduction experiments, Piaget and Garcia found that children in stage I, typically up to the age of six years,
did not conceptualise heat as something that passes from a warm object to a cold object through conduction, but
rather in terms of ‘contagious action’, influence by proximity. In conclusion, such knowledge develops as children
approach 11 years of age: “Only in stage III is conduction understood” (Piaget & Garcia, 1977, p. 112).
Albert (1978) studied conceptions of heat among children of age 4-9 years by use of individual interviews
with probes such as “Give me examples of heat” or “What is the hottest thing in the world?” without a physical,
experimental set-up. Based on these interviews, she categorise conceptions in age-dependent stages in the tradi-
tion of Piaget. Albert found that before the age of six years, children have developed the idea that objects can be
hot and that such hot objects make them warm. She also found that by age seven or eight years, children become
aware that hot objects are hot only under certain conditions, such as when switching on a plate, and that hotness
is not an inherent characteristic of the object. By this age, in parallel, the children also start to see heat in terms of
a process, for example that something may be warmed up by the sun, and begin to associate heat to their body
getting warm when they exercise. After this stage, around the age of eight years, children start to differentiate
between heat and an object in which the heat resides, a view of heat as spatially located, extended, and moving
from one object to another, characterised by Albert as a view of heat as a substance.
The question of at what age children typically embrace a substance view of heat, and its potential usefulness in
teaching, has remained a particular focus in science education research, with inconsistent results. In their literature
review of conceptions of heat and temperature, Erickson and Tiberghien (1985) claim that the substance notion of
heat is used extensively by children to account for heat transfer by means of conduction, from personal experience
of having touched warm objects, such as stoves and light bulbs. They give the example of an interview with a 12-
year-old who conceptualises the heating of a metal rod by holding one of its ends under a flame in terms of heat
that moves from this end throughout the entire rod. Howe (1998) interviewed children of ages 6-15 years regard-
ing their conceptions of different physical phenomena, including heat transfer. Assisted by photographs of the
scene, she asked the children to argue for which pan of a selection of four is best for heating water on a cooker, and
which fork out of four would keep a cook from being burnt when cooking. In contrast to Erickson and Tiberghien,
Howe concludes that before the age of 12 years, very few of the children described the mechanism of heat transfer
through the pan as ‘transmission’, i.e. a flow of heat through the pan, but in other ways, closer to Piaget and Garcia’s
(1977) description of ‘contagious action’. Lautrey and Mazens (2004) studied the conception of sound and heat
among French 8-year-olds. By means of interaction with the phenomena through experimental set-ups together
with the children in individual interviews, they investigated whether the children attributed sound and heat in a
stable way to properties of objects (substantiality, having weight and permanence) or properties of processes (e.g.
transmission by adjacency), following the approach of ontological categorisation (Chi, 2005). Their conclusion is
that the children at this age gradually abandon a conception of heat as an object and develop the view of heat as
a process, largely reversing the development found by Albert (1978) among children in the age group.
Paik, Cho and Go (2007) have studied conceptions of heat and temperature among Korean 4-11-year-olds.
Interestingly, 4-year-olds had more correct responses to some of the items than the older children, which may be
due to their common sense answers and misconceptions formed in school among the older students. For instance,
when asked about the temperature of the result when mixing water at 40° C with water at 70° C, the 4-year-olds had
more correct answers than the 5-8-year-olds. This may be due to the 5-8-year-olds having formed the misconception
of temperature as an additive quantity, but alternatively that they have adopted the approach from mathematics
teaching that when given two numbers, they add them without considering the phenomenon, supporting similar
findings reported by Erickson and Tiberghien (1985).
Children’s interaction with heat-related phenomena has also been studied in collaborative settings, although
typically not involving children as young as in the present study. Howe et al. (1995) let children of age 8-12 years
collaborate in groups of four in investigating experimentally the cooling of hot water in containers, varying in dif-
ferent respects, such as material and thickness. From pretests to posttests, the children referred significantly more
to the thickness and surface area of the containers. In addition, the condition of using critical tests, i.e. comparing
pairs of containers that differed only in one variable, in combination with rule generation, i.e. writing down factors
that are relevant to how quickly hot water cools down, were found to give better explanations of the processes
of heating and cooling. Rosebery, Ogonowski, DiSchino and Warren (2010) present a design experiment with a
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combined class of third- and fourth-graders, regarding thermal phenomena. After a series of activities, including
experiments with melting ice cubes, a pivotal event occurred when the children evacuated the classroom due to
a winter fire drill, without their coats. When they came back, a dialogue started where the children related this
experience of freezing to the taught subject in terms of a temperature difference and that normally “the coat traps
all your body heat” (p. 334), but now it went out from the body to the cold air. In other words, the children came
to conceptualise ‘heat’ as an independent object or substance as part of the teaching effort.
In turn, the phenomenon of mixing relates both to the area of thermal science and the notion of chance, since
the second law of thermodynamics deals with the directedness of natural processes, and objects are typically more
likely or tend to spontaneously mix, rather than to remain separated or ‘unmix’. In their investigation of children’s
conceptions of mixing, Piaget and Inhelder (1975) conducted individual interviews by interacting with a seesaw-
suspended board containing marbles of two different colours that were initially separated but then mixed as the
board was rocked back and forth, and asking the children to predict and make drawings of what would happen. In
the preoperational stage I (typically children up to age 7), the children predicted that marbles of different colours
would not mix, but simply swap places or follow another structured pattern. In stage IIA (early concrete operational
stage; children about 7 to 9 years old), the children acknowledged that the marbles might become mixed as an
unstable unnatural state, but argued that the marbles would eventually end up in the natural, original separated
state. In stage IIB (late concrete operational stage; about 8 to 11 years old), the children realised that the marbles
would collide and become increasingly mixed, but had difficulties coordinating trajectories of individual marbles
and their final positions in drawings. Finally, by stage III (formal operational stage; 11 to 12 years old), the children
could coordinate trajectories with final positions and, most importantly, had grasped the law of large numbers: that
it is possible, although very unlikely, that the marbles would return to their original separated state. With a similar
approach, Shultz and Coddington (1981) found that approximately 40% of six-year-olds predicted that coloured
marbles would mix in a randomized manner, compared to about 75% among 9-year-olds.
Friedman (2001) studied children’s grasp of spontaneous processes to follow their development of an intuitive
understanding of entropy. By using pictures of an initial state and an end state of an event, children were found
to be sensitive to an asymmetry of natural causes from the age of four years. Events that involved change from
an ordered state to a disordered state were regarded by the children as possible by natural causes significantly
more often than events in the other direction. Events from disordered to ordered states – such as mixed-up paper
cups or beads becoming ordered – were seen as having to be caused by means of human agency or by ‘magic’.
Similarly, in eye tracking experiments with infants looking at computer animated movies, Newman, Keil, Kuhlmeier
and Wynn (2010) found that 12-month-olds were sensitive to the difference between a rolling ball creating order
among a disordered set of blocks, compared to the reversed disordering event. However, the effect disappeared
when spots were added to the ball to form a face and the ball moved towards the blocks with the eyes facing the
direction of motion, indicating sensitivity to the difference between conscious agents and inanimate objects in
inducing order.
Purpose of the Research
The present study relies both on cognitive and social traditions of educational psychology and science education
research. On one hand, the overall goal was to understand the ideas or views of science content related to heat and
to mixing among the participating children, assuming a cognitive perspective (e.g. Piaget & Garcia, 1977; Piaget &
Inhelder, 1975). In particular, two objectives were to investigate how POE and the children’s representations of their
own analogies in drawings, respectively, might be used as approaches to probe their understanding of the involved
phenomena and concepts. On the other hand, the research design and data collection approaches have evolved in
social traditions, taking advantage of richer social practices (e.g. Rosebery et al., 2010) than what is typically achieved
through, for example, individual clinical interviews. Although still in a research setting, a set-up was adopted that is
similar to regular classroom practices, trying to come close to an authentic school setting in the sense of what might
happen in school. Due to the explicit focus on children’s ideas of heat and of mixing, the data have been analysed
in relation to existing categorisations of children’s ideas reported in the literature typically in terms of Piagetian
conceptions. In particular, attention has focused on how these ideas are expressed in different contexts.
Accordingly, the research was guided by the following research question: What ideas of mixing and of heat
do first-grade children express as they interact with physical experiments and generate their own analogies for related
phenomena through drawings in a classroom setting?
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General Background of Research
The present research was conducted as an intervention in a primary science classroom. The participating
children were introduced to the idea of analogies, interacted with two physical experiments relating to the con-
cepts of heat and mixing, respectively, and asked to come up with their own analogies for the phenomena and
represent them in drawings.
Sample Selection
The participants in the present study were one class (N = 25) of Swedish first-grade pupils (aged 7-8 years).
The children were used to collaborate with each other and to partake in group discussions and had experience of
thematic science teaching, but had not encountered thermal phenomena or been explicitly introduced to analo-
gies in previous teaching. Informed consent was received from the parents of all participants. The analysis focuses
on the dialogue between five of the children, due to their dynamic interaction and expression of a broad range of
ideas with regards to the experienced phenomena. The small sample of participants in focus is motivated primarily
by the qualitative approach to describing what ideas the children express in different contexts.
Instrument and Procedures
First, the children were introduced to the notion of ‘analogy’ in a full-class lecture setting, by comparing
pictures of a car, a bicycle, and a walking girl, representing a more distant category. The children contributed to
pointing out in what respects the pictures are similar, such as all of them being related to propagation forward,
and where they differ.
Second, the children were divided into smaller groups where they experimented with either mixing of marbles
or heat transfer together with one of the researchers. In this phase, the POE approach was used, where the children
in the small groups were asked to tell the researcher their predictions and explanations of the phenomena and
compare their answers (White & Gunstone, 1992). The POE approach was altered in that we did not ask the children
to write down their predictions or explanations, due to their young age.
The mixing of marbles was introduced to the children by one of the researchers (JH) through use of a flipping
board, suspended like a seesaw, containing seven dark and seven light marbles, which were separated by a plastic
devise. The approach followed that of Piaget and Inhelder (1975), but in a group setting and without giving the
children fixed alternatives of what may occur to choose from. The children were asked to predict what would hap-
pen if the board was flipped back and forth once, and observe and explain the outcome of the experiment. The
exercise was repeated with two and ten flips and an imagined one thousand flips. In the heat transfer POE exercise,
in turn, FJ asked the children to interact with a hot-plate and a frying pan in different conditions: the plate switched
off, the knob switched to 1 and to maximum. They were asked to touch the metal part of the frying pan (or feel
the ‘heat’ of the air close to it when warmed up by the plate) and its plastic handle. They also observed how water
rapidly boiled off when it was poured into the hot pan.
Third, the children were placed around tables in groups of 5-6, and asked to make their own analogies to
the experienced phenomena, expressed in terms of ‘other things that work in the same way’. The children were
encouraged to represent their analogies in the form of drawings and explain the connections between their draw-
ings and the phenomena.
In a follow-up data collection exercise, two weeks after the first data collection, the groups were swapped,
so that the ones that had dealt with the heat transfer exercise now experienced the mixing of marbles and vice
versa. The data collection approach was altered slightly, as the children were asked to make drawings of the marble
trajectories in templates of the flipping board following Piaget and Inhelder (1975), and the flowing heat in tem-
plates of the stove and the frying pan.
All sessions of the study were video and audio recorded, and some of the episodes were selected for transcrip-
tion and further analysis, and eventually, translation into English. A full verbatim transcription was not feasible,
due to low audio quality in some of the analogy-generation episodes. In addition, the children’s drawings were
collected.
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Data Analysis
The children’s ability to interpret and generate analogies has been reported previously (Haglund et al., 2012).
In the present study, the analysis focused on probing the children’s ideas of the experienced phenomena. The
ideas expressed by the children were matched with categories that have been described in previous research. In
particular, the following ideas of mixing were used, following Piaget and Inhelder’s (1975) descriptions of children’s
reasoning at different developmental stages:
•• Structured pattern. Marbles will not mix, but arrange in a structured pattern (Stage I).
•• Mixing and return to original position. Marbles will mix, but tend to return to their original, natural posi-
tions (Stage IIA).
•• Emerging probabilistic view of mixing. Recognition of collisions and mixing of marbles, but difficulty in
coordinating trajectories and end positions (Stage IIB).
•• Probabilistic view of mixing. In addition to conditions of stage IIB, coordination of trajectories and end
positions and grasp of low probability of marbles to return to the original configuration (Stage III).
••
•• The following classification scheme was used for ideas of heat:
•• Hot bodies. There are hot objects, which may warm us. This idea has developed before the age of 6
years (Albert, 1978).
•• Conditional nature of hot objects. Hot objects are hot under certain conditions (such as when a plate is
switched on), an idea that develops by 7-8 years (Albert, 1978).
•• Process view of heat. Thermal phenomena are conceptualised as a process of an object getting warmer
or heating another object. For instance, objects may get warmed up by the sun or children get warm
when they exercise. Such ideas also develop by the age of 7-8 years (Albert, 1978). A particular way
of characterising heating processes is in terms of contagious action across adjacent bodies (Piaget &
Garcia, 1977).
•• Heat as dependent on the material. Different materials insulate or conduct heat (Howe, 1998).
•• Substance view of heat. Heat is a substance in warm objects that may flow to colder objects. There are
different findings as to at what age a substance view is adopted (Albert, 1978; Erickson & Tiberghien,
1985; Lautrey & Mazens, 2004).
•• Heat as an independent entity. Heat is seen as differentiated from objects in which it resides, and localised
and extended in space. This ideas develops by the age of 8 years, and is, according to Albert (1978),
part of the substance view of heat.
Results of Research
Ideas of Mixing of Marbles Expressed in a POE Group Exercise
Stefan, Hanna and Maria participated together with five other children sitting around a table, as one of the
researchers (JH) guided them through the POE exercise with the marble board. In the exercise of generating analogies
for the phenomenon and representing them in drawings, the children were separated into two groups, where Maria
and Stefan sat next to each other in one group. The following dialogue takes place initially when the eight gathered
children are asked to guess or hypothesise what will happen if the board is flipped back and forth once:
JH: What do you think happens to the marbles?

Stefan: All these ones will go there and those will go there [gestures that all dark and light marbles will swap places]
/…/
Maria: I think that it will mix… different colours in different places… /…/
JH: So what do you think it will look like on this side? [Points to one side of the divider]
Maria: That there will be some dark ones and some light ones and the same on the other side. /…/
Hanna: It will mix. /.../ Some of the dark ones will be on the side where there are light ones, and some light ones are
among the dark ones.
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In this excerpt, Stefan first expresses his hypothesis that all marbles will swap places across the divider, thereby
adhering to the structured pattern way of reasoning. Maria, on the other hand, expresses that she thinks that the
marbles will mix. JH asks all children in the group in turn to guess what would happen, and the remainder of them
support Maria’s hypothesis that the marbles will mix, typically phrased in terms of some of the light ones changing
sides and the same for the dark ones. At this initial stage, there is not sufficient data to reveal whether they adopt
a probabilistic view of the phenomenon, or if they think that the marbles eventually will tend to return to their
original positions. What can be noted, however, is that in this social setting, the children can hear each other’s ideas
of what will happen, and are thereby given the chance to reflect upon their own ideas.
After asking the children to make predictions, JH flips the board back and forth, and asks the children to de-
scribe what they observe. The experimental result is that the marbles mixed in all POE sessions, albeit with some
variation in how many marbles of each kind end up on each side. Next, JH asks what will happen if the board is
flipped back and forth again, and the children respond:
Stefan: It gets mixed. They will go so and then they will go so [shows the path of the marbles with his finger as they
bounce on the other side of the board and cross the divider].
Alfred: I think that it mixes.
Hanna: I think so, too [looks at Maria].
Maria: Yes.
JH: So what will be the result? What will be on this side [points to one side of the divider] and what will be on this side
[points to the other side of the divider]?
Stefan: There will be more on this side [points to one side of the divider]
After some of the marbles switched sides in the first flipping, there is now a consensus that the marbles will mix
when the board is flipped again. Now also Stefan adopts the view that the marbles will mix, given the experience
of the first round and the social scaffolding provided by his peers. It may be worth noting that none of the children
expresses that the situation of the marbles getting mixed is unnatural in any way, so there is no indication of them
adopting the idea of mixing and return to original position. Instead, in this situation, all adhere to a probabilistic view
of mixing, arguably of the emergent kind, since they do not express that the marbles might return to the original
position, although unlikely. Apart from the mixing pattern, the children also focus on where there would be more
marbles, on which side of the divider, regardless of the colour, as exemplified by Stefan’s last utterance.
The children largely keep the idea of the marbles getting mixed also when predicting what happens as the
board is rocked back and forth ten or an imagined one thousand times:
JH: If I would flip the board back and forth one thousand times, what do you think would happen then? We will not
do that, but just guess.
Stefan: We will not have time, ‘cause we will die…
JH: No, I think it would take about five minutes… so it would be boring, but we would be able to make it…
Alfred: It would mix…
Stefan: No it won’t…
JH: It won’t mix?
Stefan: No.
JH: What’s the opposite of mixing then, would you say?
Stefan: Well, how would I know? I’m just guessing. [the children laugh] /…/
JH: …if we flip one thousand times, could it be that they separate, so that all white ones will be on this side [points
to one side of the divider] and all dark ones on that side [pointing to the other side]?
Stefan: No. /…/
Maria: No, I think it will be very mixed.
Hanna: I think so, too.
JH: What do the rest of you think?
Children: Mixed!
This excerpt, however, also shows one of the challenges in inferring about children’s ideas from things they
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say. Here, Stefan has possibly started to grow tired of the exercise, and in imagining a one-thousand-flip, he says:
“we will die”. This is likely an exaggerated expression for that he would get bored, rather than his genuine belief of
what would happen. Next, Stefan hypothesises that the marbles will not mix. Even though we think that also this
assertion reflects his boredom, more than his underlying ideas of mixing, it is used productively in the dialogue as
a position against which the other children may provide opposing views. Eventually, the consensus position is that
the marbles would be mixed if the board was rocked back and forth one thousand times, and the children take a
stance against the alternative of the marbles separating. There is still no evidence of a genuinely probabilistic line
of reasoning, so the group expresses an emerging probabilistic view of mixing. Even now when the marbles were as
mixed up as possible, the children still predicted that the marbles would mix. This may be an indication that they
had generalised the idea of increasing mixing but took the idea too far in this case. An alternative interpretation
is that they identified mixing with the process of rocking the marbles back and forth, rather than focusing on the
resulting final configuration of the marbles.
Ideas of Heat Expressed in a POE Group Exercise and in Analogy Drawings
At the second day of data collection, FJ worked with the same group on the heat exercises. Stefan did not
take part in the exercise, but Karolina and Annika, who had been absent the first day, joined the group. In all, they
were five children. FJ starts by asking what happens if he turns the knob of the plate to one, and Karolina raises
her hand and says: “It gets a bit warm”. At this initial stage, she expresses a process view of heat, with a focus on
the plate getting warm. In addition, her realisation that the plate is not always warm, but that it depends on our
actions reveals an understanding of the conditional nature of hot objects.
After the plate has started to warm up, FJ places a frying pan on the plate and asks where the heat in the plate
goes. Hanna answers: “It goes there”, and points to the part of the frying pan in contact with the plate. Next, FJ asks
the children to touch the part of the pan in contact with the plate briefly and the children comment that it feels
tepid and nice. However, when he asks them to touch the handle, they find it to be cold:
FJ: Why is the handle cold, then?

Tomas: ‘Cause this [points to the cold plate beneath the handle] is not warm.
FJ: ‘Cause this one [touches the cold plate] is cold?
Tomas: Yes.
FJ: What if I turn it this way [turns the handle so that it sticks out outside the stove]?
Karolina: Then it is ‘cause it doesn’t get up here [gestures movement from the metal part of the pan to the handle]
FJ: Doesn’t the heat get here [points to the handle]?
Karolina: No. Otherwise, you’d burn yourself.
At the beginning of this episode, FJ introduces a substance view of heat when he asks where the heat in the plate
will go. Hanna’s adequate reply “it goes there” in reference to the heat shows that she adopts this view. Similarly,
Karolina uses a substance view when she explains why the handle is not warm. Since the studied phenomenon
involves heat conduction through solid matter, these instances of the substance view of heat encompass the
idea of heat as an independent entity, as something that flows in metal. Tomas, however, expresses a view that is
reminiscent of heat as contagious action, that the handle is cold due to its proximity to a cold plate. In addition,
throughout the episode and sometimes encouraged by FJ, the children use their sense of touch in determining
whether objects feel cold or warm, corresponding to the hot bodies idea of heat. Finally, Karolina expresses a pro-
cess view of heat in arguing logically that since you do not burn yourself when you touch the handle, you can tell
that the heat has not got there.
After the plate has been warmed up for some time, Karolina explains why the handle is cold but not the rest
of the frying pan by referring to a difference in materials: I know! ‘Cause it isn’t the same. This [points to the metal
part of the pan] is maybe metal, I don’t know… /…/ And this [points to the handle] maybe is some other thing…
”Here, Karolina expresses a view of heat as dependent on the material in a productive way.
Next, FJ leaves the plate on for some time, and suddenly shuts it off:
FJ: Now that we have so much heat in the plate, we shut off the stove. Where does the heat go then?
Maria: [Raises her hand and gets the word] It goes back.
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FJ: Does it go back? [Sounds sceptical. Gestures movement down to the plate]
Tomas: No, it disappears. /…/
FJ: OK. Where does it disappear?
Karolina: Out [gestures outwards movement]
FJ: Out? [outwards gesture]
Karolina: Yes, out here… [gestures outwards] so it becomes air, maybe... No! Into the radiator, maybe… [points to a
radiator under a window]
In this dialogue, FJ again applies a substance view of heat in asking where the heat goes. The children catch
onto FJ’s way of talking in imagining where the heat goes. Intriguingly, Maria and Karolina think that the heat will
go to objects they associate with hotness, the plate and the radiator, in a way that goes against the second law of
thermodynamics, according to which heat flows spontaneously from objects of higher temperature to objects of
lower temperature. Tomas, in contrast, expresses that heat will “disappear”, to which Karolina adds that it will go out
into the room and become air. Karolina’s suggestion that the heat becomes air reveals that she does not consistently
embrace the idea of heat as an independent entity, but here identifies heat with the warm air itself. Similarly, across
the groups, when FJ asked where the heat would go when the plate was shut off, the children said that “the smoke
goes up” into the air “so that we cannot see it”, that “it just floats around, like the air”, and “it becomes air”. Here, the
heat is not contained in the smoke or the warm air; heat is the warm gaseous substance.
Next, the children were asked to draw and make comparisons to ‘other things that work in the same way’, our
way of introducing analogies. Overall, it was difficult for the children to come up with comparisons, possibly due
to the invisible character of thermal phenomena, and many of the drawings simply involved representing cold and
warm objects, reflecting the hot bodies category of ideas of heat. The children also brought up that you get warm
when you exercise, and drew images of themselves, adhering to the process view of heat.
Hanna and Karolina jointly develop an analogy between the stove and a balloon, which expresses the sub-
stance view of heat. The development of the analogy is initiated by Hanna:
Hanna: Could I draw a balloon…?

FJ: You can draw whatever you want, Hanna.
Hanna: Yes, I can draw a balloon. ‘Cause if you blow in warm air into the balloon…
FJ: Yes.
Hanna: …then the balloon explodes… and it [the air] gets out again.
FJ: Quite right! [after not having engaged with the exercise for a while, Karolina shines up and starts to draw again,
and Hanna laughs] Very good, Hanna!
Hanna and Karolina sit next to each other and discuss how to make their drawings of balloons. Karolina com-
ments: “I will make one balloon. And then I will make another balloon that explodes.” She ends up making a time
series of a balloon (Figure 1, left):
Karolina: Someone blows up a balloon with her warm air [breath]… /…/ warm air into the balloon. /…/ And then
she pricks the balloon with a needle. /…/ So, the balloon… what’s it called… explodes… then the warm air gets out
[gestures dispersion].
FJ: What would you say that this is the same as?
Karolina: As… what’s it called… when you turn off that [the stove], then the warm [stuff ] will come [gestures disper-
sion].
FJ: /…/ Very good Karolina! Super smart!
Hanna: I do almost the same thing. But I was the one who came up with the idea. /…/ Good that I got that idea!
FJ: Very good. It’s never wrong to cooperate.
Hanna: No, ‘cause I helped her.
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Figure 1: Karolina’s time series of an exploding balloon, to be read from right to left (left); Maria’s drawing of
a bird, with lines connecting its parts to parts of the frying pan (right).
Here, Hanna and Karolina focus on warm air that disperses from a central object, the stove and the balloon,
respectively. It may be seen as two different cases of heat transfer by convection, through the dispersion of warm
gas. However, they still do not disambiguate between the heat and the warm gas and do not make use of the view
of heat as an independent entity. Another thing to note is the social dynamics in this situation. Hanna gets the idea
to compare the heat experiment to a balloon, and Karolina elaborates on it by her time series representation and
making the analogy explicit. Eventually, when FJ praises Karolina, Hanna is somewhat jealous. In all, they prob-
ably come further jointly in accounting for the analogy and revealing their underlying thoughts of heat, than they
would have done individually.
After the exercise, FJ asks the children to explain their drawings in turn. Maria shows her drawing of a bird
(Figure 1, right) and tells:
Maria: I have made a little bird.

FJ: OK, that’s a very nice bird, Maria. Can you tell what about the bird that is similar to the stove and the frying pan?
Maria: Yes, under all fur [points to the drawing] it’s really warm… [touches her own body] just like the frying pan…
/…/ And the beak… it’s like that [points to the kitchen area and makes grabbing gesture].
FJ: Like the handle?
Maria: Uhum [nods]
Now, FJ asks Maria to draw lines connecting what on the stove corresponds to what on the bird, and she con-
nects the hot plate to the bird’s body and the handle to the beak.
FJ: So, is it inside the fur that is like the stove?

Maria: Yes, because the fur gets warm… [touches her own body]
FJ: Yes…
Maria: And that keeps the heat inside here [points to her own body]
FJ: OK.
Maria: …so that it doesn’t feel cold.
Maria’s analogy focuses on heat being kept in one part of an object (the hot plate and the bird’s body, re-
spectively), so that it does not come to another part (the pan handle and the bird’s beak). Here, she uses an idea
of heat as an independent entity, residing in solid objects. In addition, the fact that she relates the bird’s “fur” – her
expression for the feathers, which keep the heat inside the body – to the frying pan, reveals awareness that some
objects may confine heat so that it does not leave, pointing to an emerging idea of insulating materials, i.e. heat
as dependent on the material.
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Discussion
Results Discussion
Against the background of the findings of the study in relation to previous literature, we now revisit the research
question: What ideas of mixing and of heat do first-grade children express as they interact with physical experiments
and generate their own analogies for related phenomena through drawings in a classroom setting?
As for the mixing of marbles, the children in the present study expressed many of the ideas in the analysing
framework, described by Piaget and Inhelder (1975), throughout their dialogue. For instance, Stefan predicted
that the marbles would form a structured pattern. However, overall, their ideas in this study were slightly more
advanced than those of children in the same age group in the study by Piaget and Inhelder and more in line with
the 9-year-olds reported by Shultz and Coddington (1981). The dominating prediction among the children was that
the marbles would mix and not spontaneously separate by colour again, even if you rock the board back and forth
1000 times, reflecting an emerging probabilistic view of mixing. This idea was reinforced throughout the experiment
that involved observing the board with marbles being rocked back and forth. Piaget and Inhelder (1975) found that
this stable idea of an increased mixing was established in Piaget’s stage IIB, which typically starts at the age of 8.
Apart from the children in focus in the Results of Research section, other children in the class came even further
in their lines of reasoning regarding the mixing of marbles. For instance, in relation to the thought experiment of
what would be the situation after 1000 flips, Lisa expressed that “if you have luck” and you “do it a bit carefully” the
marbles “can get into order”. Similarly, Krister said that it “could happen” that the marbles would end up separated
after 1000 flips, but that the “risk” is small. In addition, as reported previously (Haglund et al., 2012), Lisa also came
up with the analogy between the mixed marbles and what happens when you drop groceries on the ground and
“it gets like really messy”. We see these as instances of a probabilistic view of mixing, otherwise characteristic of
children in Piaget’s Stage III, typically reached by the age of 11-12 years.
When it comes to the children’s ideas of heat, the findings in this study are similar to those reported by
Albert (1978) and Piaget and Garcia (1977). Generally, it was difficult for the children to talk about and draw the
phenomenon of heat transfer, which supports the view of Piaget and Garcia (1977) that conceptualisation of heat,
which is not directly visible and accessible to direct manipulation, is delayed from a developmental perspective,
in comparison to, for instance, mechanical phenomena.
The children in the present study often focused on objects being warm or cold, in adopting the hot bodies
idea, which is typically available already before the age of 6 years (Albert, 1978). In line with children of the same
age studied by Albert, the children in the present study also recognised the contingent character of heat in that
objects are not inherently hot, but may be dependent on some kind of action, such as the plate being hot only if
you have switched it on, reflecting the conditional nature of hot objects. In addition, they adopted a process view
of heat, in referring to objects getting warmer or objects heating other objects. As we have seen, as part of the
process view, the children expressed their ideas of heat conduction between solid objects as ‘contagious action’
(Piaget & Garcia, 1977). Furthermore, in response to why the metal part of the frying pan was warm, but not the
handle, Karolina made productive use of a view of heat as dependent on the material. These ideas were expressed
concurrently in the dialogue, sometimes by the same child.
Against the background of FJ’s scaffolding, the children also expressed different kinds of a substance view of
heat. At times, heat was not seen as independent from the hot bodies or matter in which it resides, as expressed
by Karolina in saying that the heat becomes air as the water boils off the frying pan, but there are also examples
of the view of heat as an independent entity. For instance, Karolina spontaneously talked about the heat not going
to the handle and Maria drew a bird that keeps the heat with its “fur”. However, seeing heat as an independent
entity on occasion also led to odd conclusions, such as Maria and Karolina suggesting that heat might go back
to the plate or to a radiator, i.e. different hot objects. In all, in line with Albert (1978), our interpretation is that at
least some of the children were on the verge of appropriating a substance view of heat, as it was within their ZPD
(Vygotsky, 1978).
The results of the present research with regard to the idea of heat as a substance are different from those of
Lautrey and Mazens (2004), who found that the majority of children in the same age group attributed heat to an
object ontology, but were in the process of abandoning it for an arguably more adequate process view. However, we
suggest that Lautrey and Mazens’ data may be given an alternative, complementary interpretation. First, a process
view of heat is readily available among the children in our study, resonating with the findings of Albert (1978), but
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expression of objects getting warmer or heating other objects reflect the idea of heat as a direct process in Chi’s
(2005) ontological categorisation. Further, Lautrey and Mazens (2004, p. 410) provide the following quote as an
example of a child having a substance view on heat, in response to whether heat can pass through different solid
materials: “Yes because cardboard is softer. The smoke can go outside here because the box is soft and everything
can go out”. Here, the interviewed child expresses a view of heat as identical to the smoke, i.e. not independent
from the object in which it resides. Such warm substances cannot penetrate a wall, by means of convection, un-
less it has holes in it, like a porous, “soft” cardboard wall. However, the child may not yet have adopted the idea of
heat as an independent entity, which is required for grasping heat conduction through solid matter. In addition,
as acknowledged by Lautrey and Mazens (2004), an understanding of heat as energy transfer, a kind of emergent
process in Chi’s (2005) terminology, lies several years ahead.
Method Discussion
There are many attractive dimensions to conducting conception research in the classroom environment. For
instance, there is a value of children hearing each other’s ideas of the encountered phenomena. Nonetheless, this
approach to probing children’s ideas also brings along challenges. In particular, in the complexity of the social set-
ting, it is admittedly difficult to pinpoint ideas to individual children. In this study, the initiative to draw a particular
motif often happened in the midst of the classroom chaos, and it was not possible to isolate the contributions from
individual children in the process. Still, by means of triangulation across the different situations and approaches
to data collection, it is possible to discern some patterns in the ways the individual children reasoned about these
phenomena. For example, the way that Karolina came back to the view of heat as an independent entity in differ-
ent situations stood out in comparison to her peers.
Regarding the influence of the social setting, there is ample evidence of the children being influenced by
the researchers and their peers, i.e. making use of their ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978). For instance, we saw how Karolina
and Hanna interacted in developing the analogy between the pan on the stove and a balloon. Similarly, in the
marble experiment, the children were given the opportunity to hear each other’s predictions and explanations of
the phenomena. The richer social environment in relation to the marble experiment is the main alteration in our
study to Piaget and Inhelder’s (1975) design, and it is thereby a main contender for explaining the slightly more
advanced lines of reasoning among the children in our study. In contrast, the children expressed a broad range of
ideas in their dialogues in relation to heat, covering most of the categories developed primarily by Albert (1978),
but came to apply a substance view of heat only under the influence of considerable scaffolding provided by FJ.
Why is that? First, as pointed out by Piaget and Garcia (1977), it is challenging for children to conceptualise heat,
since it is invisible and difficult to manipulate. In a Piagetian interpretation, it may well be that the children are
not yet developmentally prepared to enter the next stage in their reasoning. However, from a Vygotskian point of
view, we still had hoped that the interaction with the artefacts, the exercises and the other children would have
had a larger effect on their expression of ideas. An alternative interpretation is that the children had more prior
experiences of stoves than of the marble game, so that the interaction with the stove in this particular exercise did
not add much to their understanding. In addition, the interaction with the stove involved more complexity than
the marble board, including more senses and interaction of several objects of different material and shape, which
might have required more discussion for the children to fully understand the situation.
Further, during the second day of data collection, the children found it challenging to draw the phenomena
of heat and the predicted or observed paths of the marbles in templates of the stove and the marble board. Some
of the drawings of the paths of the marbles reflect a structured pattern or look like a chaotic ‘spaghetti Bolognese’.
Piaget and Inhelder (1975) interpret the situation that children make drawings of the paths that seemingly reflect
a less advanced understanding than what they say as an indication of inconsistent ideas. In contrast, we would
side with Brooks (2009) in that it is difficult to infer children’s underlying ideas from drawings alone; for an in-depth
analysis we have to talk to the children about what the drawings are meant to represent. It is difficult to draw the
event of marbles being flipped back and forth, with their trajectories depending on collisions with the walls and
each other; but this is a matter of representational skills, rather than a straightforward reflection of underlying
ideas. The drawings and the experiences of the experimental equipment serve as shared objects of attention when
probing the children’s ideas (Schoultz et al., 2001).
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Conclusions and Implications
Primary school children’s ideas of mixing of marbles and of heat, respectively, were studied in a social classroom
setting, through interaction with physical experiments, and creation of self-generated analogies and drawings of
the phenomena. In this social setting, the children were found to express more advanced ideas of mixing than
reported in previous research relying on individual interviews with children of the same age, revealing a developing
understanding of probability. In turn, in dialogue the children expressed a broad range of ideas of heat, previously
typically ascribed to children in the same age group and younger. However, the children had challenges adopting
the idea of heat as an independent entity that resides in warm objects.
For future science education research, it remains to establish what kinds of phenomena, learning contexts,
and types and degrees of scaffolding are conducive for primary children to grasp the idea of heat as an indepen-
dent entity. In particular, how would children at this young age respond to deliberate introduction of a heat-flow
model, previously used in the teaching of older children? In addition, further investigation is required to assess
whether the approach to probe primary children’s understanding by means of a combination of POE experiments
and self-generated analogies may be extended to other subjects or phenomena, beyond heat and mixing. For
instance, how would primary children represent other abstract concepts in the natural sciences, such as light or
photosynthesis?
References
Albert, E. (1978). Development of the concept of heat in children. Science Education, 62 (3), 389-399.
Brooks, M. (2009). Drawing, visualisation and young children’s exploration of “big ideas”. International Journal of Science Educa-
tion, 31 (3), 319-341.
Chi, M. T. H. (2005). Commonsense conceptions of emergent processes: Why some misconceptions are robust. Journal of the
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Received: June 12, 2014 Accepted: September 18, 2014
Jesper Haglund Ph.D., Post Doc, Linköping University, Department of Social and
(Corresponding author) Welfare Studies (ISV), Campus Norrköping, SE-60174 Norrköping,
Sweden.
Uppsala University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Box
516, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden.
E-mail: jesper.haglund@physics.uu.se
Website: http://www.physics.uu.se/en/page/didaktik
Fredrik Jeppsson Ph.D., Post Doc, Linköping University, Department of Social and
Welfare Studies (ISV), Campus Norrköping, SE-60174 Norrköping,
Sweden.
E-mail: fredrik.jeppsson@liu.se
Website: http://www.isv.liu.se/teknad?l=sv
Johanna Andersson Ph.D. Student, Linköping University, Department of Social and
Welfare Studies (ISV), Campus Norrköping, SE-60174 Norrköping,
Sweden.
E-mail: johanna.andersson@liu.se
Website: http://www.isv.liu.se/teknad?l=sv
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DEVELOPMENT AND
EVALUATION OF A
COMPETENCE-BASED TEACHING
PROCESS FOR SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY education
Abstract. The quality of education is Dragica Pešaković,

increasingly being measured less by the Andrej Flogie,
knowledge gained during schooling and Boris Aberšek
more by the level of competence pos-
sessed by students at doing a particular job
after completing their education. Target
and process-planned curricula are being
replaced more and more by competence-
oriented curricula, especially in science and Introduction
technology education, where competences,
More and more countries are focusing on measuring and monitoring the
generally defined as the capability or the
quality of education. This holds true for Slovenia as well, where the Ministry
ability of an individual doing a job properly, of Education started reviewing and upgrading its educational policy between
are placed at the forefront. 2012 and 2013. It is clear that small corrections alone will not suffice, and
that the entire education paradigm must be changed; it is also important
If competence is the desired criterion
to recognise that this cannot be done in one, simple step, but rather in the
for educational quality, it can be easily form of a long-term process.
established that suitable instruments and One of the certain consequences of a non-competitive education system
is high unemployment among the young, and the lowering of the general
methods of measurement are needed
standard of living (Dumont, Istance, Benavides, 2010). These parameters are
for this kind of quality evaluation, which, included in the regular reports made by international organisations such as
however, are not yet available. Suitable in- UNESCO and OECD. Also, the Education for All (EFA) report “Regional over-
view: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia” emphasises the urgency
strumentation was developed in this study.
in raising the competences needed for jobs in the 21st Century. Education
Its use was demonstrated in the example of and the method of schooling and studying do not provide the young with
elementary education in Slovenia. a competitive advantage, i.e. employability. Therefore, in todays society the
young must be equipped with fundamental competences that are general
Key words: generic competences, stu-
in character (e.g. learning how to learn) and, thus, transferable between
dents’ skills, methods of teaching, triangu- different areas. Skills and technical-vocational knowledge must be added
lation. to this (UNESCO, 2007). The results of the Progress in International Reading
Literacy Study (PIRLS) suggest that the model of quality teaching is composed
of three fundamental dimensions, with each of them being composed of 6
Dragica Pešaković
elements:
Primary School Destrnik-Trnovska vas,
Slovenia •• Intellectual dimension (Elements: deep knowledge, deep un-
Andrej Flogie
Institute Anton Martin Slomšek, Slovenia
derstanding, problematic knowledge, higher-order thinking,
Boris Aberšek metalanguage, substantive communication)
University of Maribor, Slovenia •• Learning environment (Elements: explicit quality criteria, commit-
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ment, high expectations, mutual support, students’ self-control, student-teacher joint decisions), and
•• Making learning meaningful (Elements: prior knowledge, cultural sophistication, knowledge integra-
tion, inclusion, narration).
In analysing and comparing different international studies, it is important to consider the fact that the differ-
ences in student performance across OECD member countries are explained by the following factors (UNESCO,
2008):
•• 55% by student characteristics,

•• 34% by environmental factors influence,
•• 11% by differences between countries.
To analyse the current state of the educational system in Slovenia it makes sense to take into account, in ad-
dition to UNESCO’s reports, some of the key international studies such as the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA), International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), OECD’s Teaching and Learning
International Survey (TALIS), and the international survey Health Behaviour In School-Aged Children, conducted
under the auspices of the OECD (HBSC).
Competency for 21st Century
The term “competency” first appeared in an article written by R.W. White (1959) in 1959 as a concept for
performance motivation. Later, in 1970, Craig C. Lundberg (1970) defined the concept in “Planning the Executive
Development Program”. As it is quite a popular concept, there are many definitions about what competency could
be. Generally, a competency is defined as the capability or the ability of an individual to do a job properly. It is a
set of related but different sets of behaviour organised around an underlying construct, which we call the “intent”.
Competency includes the following elements:
Figure 1: Elements of competency.
In accordance with this concept competence could also be called procedural and strategic skills. Thus, the
authors Romainville, Coolahan, Weinert and Day defined competencies as the general capacity to act and the
ability to perform tasks and activities based on knowledge, experience and values (Key Competencies, 2002).
From numerous analyses and definitions of competencies it can be summarized that competencies are the skills,
abilities, knowledge and experience of an individual to perform certain tasks and are a result of their personal
development, mainly as a result of learning.
There is also great diversity regarding naming different competencies. Thus, the most frequent concepts
are: key competencies, generic and subject-specific competencies. Generic competencies are those which an
individual develops through typical approaches, procedures and strategies of educational work rather than with
specific learning of a certain matter. The basis for the creation of a set of generic competencies was the Report of
Mayer’s Committee (1991). Generic competencies in the field of science, including technical science, are defined
as competencies that the individual develops through the method of work rather than with the specific learning
of a certain matter (Key Competencies Supplementary Statement for Engineering Technology, 2001).
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Competency Development
Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1980) introduced a nomenclature for the levels of competence in competency develop-
ment. The process of competency development is a lifelong series of doing and reflecting. As competencies apply
to careers as well as jobs, lifelong competency development is linked with personal development as a management
concept. The four general areas of competency are:
1. Meaning Competency: The person assessed must be able to identify with the purpose of the organisa-
tion or community and act from the preferred future in accordance with the values of the organisation
or community.
2. Relation Competency: The ability to create and nurture connections with the stakeholders of the primary
tasks must be shown.
3. Learning Competency: The person assessed must be able to create and look for situations that make it
possible to experiment with the set of solutions that make it possible to complete the primary tasks
and reflect on the experience.
4. Change Competency: The person assessed must be able to act in new ways when it will promote the
purpose of the organisation or community and make the preferred future come to life.
The first two areas are particularly important in real working situations; therefore the focus will be on two
competencies which are very important in schools, the learning and the change competency, with a special
emphasis on skills from Figure 1. This entails the need for the following skills in today’s schools, shown in Table 1
(Anderson, 2010).
Table 1. Competencies for the 21st century.
Competencies for the 21st Century
Information Ability of changing/

Analytical skills Interpersonal skills The ability of realizing
processing learning
Communication/ Initiative, Creativity/

Critical thinking Information literacy
Messaging self-regulation innovation
Problem solving Collaborating Productivity, efficiency Media literacy Adaptability/ learning to learn
Decision-making Leading and responsibility Digital citizenship Flexibility
Research and develop- ICT procedure and
ment concepts
Every 21st Century skills implementation requires the development of core subject knowledge and understand-
ing among all students. Those who can think critically and communicate effectively must build on a base of core
academic subject knowledge. Within the context of core knowledge instruction, students must also learn the es-
sential skills for success in today’s world, such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration.
In the research presented, the development and evaluation of life and learning and innovation skills will be the
subject of research attention.
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Figure 2: Students’ outcome and support system.
Generic Competency
Generic competency is also known as object-independent and transversal or transferable competency, respec-
tively. The creation of generic competencies depends on the specific area. When designing generic competencies
in the field of science education, conceptual (content) and technical (design) aspects were considered; those were
provided by the working group in order to identify basic concepts common to all natural science disciplines.
Skills as a part of generic competencies need to be developed throughout life, not just because of personal
fulfilment and in order to actively engage with the society in which we live, but also so that we can be successful
in a working world that is constantly changing. These are the most important factors in innovation, productivity
and competitiveness (Figel, 2007).
In an educational process based on a competence-based curriculum, life and learning and innovation skills that
influence the development of an individual generic competence are at the forefront. Students should therefore be
able to use tools for the production, presentation and understanding of complex information, and have the ability
to access, search and use internet-based services. They should also be able to use information and communications
technology (ICT) to support critical thinking, creativity and innovation.
The generic competencies were the starting point for the observation and evaluation of students’ skills in
this study.
Teaching Methods to Support Competence-Based Teaching Process
Three types of learning based on research will probably prevail in competence-based teaching in the 21st
Century: project-based, problem-based and research-based learning (Barron, et. all., 1998, Aber ek, 2012). These will
provide students with more comprehensive learning in order to be able to use competences obtained in school
(knowledge, skills etc.) for problem-solving in real life. Research-based approaches are important for nurturing
communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. It must be noted, however, that research-based
learning is greatly dependent on well-structured assessment as regards defining learning tasks and the evaluation
of learned content. This will be discussed in detail later. The success of research approaches is, of course, very much
dependent on the knowledge and skills of those performing them. It is therefore not amiss out of place to note
that all such reforms must include teacher training before they commence work in schools.
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Problem of Research
In 1996, for the first time in the new state, Slovenia adopted an Elementary School Act and, on the basis of
the concepts contained in The White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (1996), introduced compre-
hensive regulation at all levels of the educational system. In addition to the concept of knowledge, the concept of
competence began to establish itself in the school environment, and was for the first time seen as knowledge and
skill. The concept of competence has drawn attention to the complexity of knowledge, its entanglement with the
disposition of the individual and the need to teach the use of skills (The White Paper, 2011).
Teaching on the basis of competencies should take place at all stages of the teaching process, from planning
and implementation to evaluation, since this is the only way to achieve the objective of competent education - a
comprehensive competent person. Competence diagnostics, through which teachers and students can find out
to what degree an individual’s competence is developed, plays a vital part, which lead to the development of a
competitive model as a diagnostic instrument (Upheus, 2010). Evaluation and self-evaluation of performances
provide a basis for the individual student’s results (portfolio), which can also serve as an incentive for further work.
“Instruments for self-evaluation, which are offered in some school textbooks, represent an important step towards
the diagnosis of competences” (Hieber, Lenz, Stengelin, 2011: 3). As noted by R. Wesselink et. al., “the design of a
competency-based curriculum, the design of the learning process and the design process of evaluation can be per-
formed only when the concept of competencies is defined as clearly as possible. Another great trap is assessment,
which is viewed as the Achilles heel of competency-based learning” (Wesselink, 2007: 39). Yet to be able to measure
specific competencies they should be standardised so that they can be recognised and become measurable.
Knowledge and attitudes (according to Bloom’s Cognitive and Affective Taxonomies (Bloom, 1956, Anderson,
Krathwohl, 2001) can be measured with standardised tests. To assess knowledge in the field of technology, tests
for the National Assessment of Knowledge are used in Slovenia and are the same for the entire country. Attitudes
can also be assessed by using standardised procedures, such as the Thurstone, Likert (Judd, Smith, Kidder, 1991)
or Bogardus scale (Miller, 1991). A problem in assessing skills arises when there are no standardised tests. With
the introduction of a nine-year elementary school, the developers of the curriculum emphasised that the total
grade should also reflect the grade in experimental work, i.e. assessment of skills, but in practice this proved to
be extremely difficult, if not almost impossible. The most commonly stated reason for this was that the number of
students to be assessed was too high. The problem also lay in the measurement methods and instruments, which
should have been verified and uniform for a specific area and should also have enabled quick and objective assess-
ment of students’ skills. This study included the use of methods and instruments that enable suitable development
and evaluation of students’ skills.
Research Methodology
General Research Background
Special methods and instruments were developed for the evaluation of student competencies in this research.
The methods and instruments developed can be further improved on the basis of the results obtained from the
study. The research was performed in two consecutive school years, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.
In the 2011/2012 school year the first study was carried out and was used to verify the basic measurement
characteristics of the test and the selected instrument, the so-called recording form (see Table 2). The recording
form was used by an external expert to grade (circle) the level of mastering a specific skill at both the lower and
higher taxonomic levels. Students were divided into two groups, an experimental and a control group. Work in
the experimental group was project-based and included problem-based and research-based lessons, an experi-
ment and a technical analysis. Students drilled and practised specific skills before being assessed. In the control
group the lessons were taught conventionally, with a teacher providing explanations and teaching in front of the
classroom, and working with textbooks. There was no drilling of a specific skill. The study was performed in order
to verify the validity, reliability, objectivity and sensitivity of the recording form. On the basis of this preliminary
pilot study and a comprehensive analysis of the instruments used and the learning process it was established that
the study could continue.
The second study was carried out in the 2012/2013 school year. In the experimental group the method of
teaching was used as the experimental factor and gender and initial assessment in natural science (final grade in
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Science and Technology in the 5th grade) as the non-experimental factor. In the control group gender and final
grade in Science and Technology in the 5th grade were used as the non-experimental factor. No experimental factor
was used since the lessons were taught in a traditional way.
At this stage of the study the emphasis was put on developing and assessing students’ skills. The procedure
was identical to that in the preceding stage. Among others, the main purpose of the study was also to establish
whether project-based learning provides better conditions for developing students’ skills than traditional instruc-
tion. The variables in the pedagogical experiment were:
•• Independent variables: Gender, grade, experimental group, control group, taxonomic levels and teach-
ing methods;
•• Dependent variables: Initial state of skills at a lower taxonomic levels, initial state of skills at a higher
taxonomic level, final state of skills at lower taxonomic levels, final balance of skills at a higher taxo-
nomic level.
The data were computer processed using the SPSS 20,0 program for statistical analysis, at the descriptive and
inferential statistics levels. The following procedures were used:
•• frequency distributions (f, f%) of descriptive variables (gender and final grade);
•• χ2-test of the hypothesis of independence to test dependent associations between variables (according
to gender and the final grade in Science and Technology);
•• T-test for verifying hypotheses in smaller samples (progress dependent on gender and final grade).
Research Sample
During the 2011/2012 school year the study included 38 students from the 6th grade, aged between 10 and 11.
They were randomly divided into two groups, the control group - CG (20 students) and the experimental group - EG
(18 students). The research sample included approximately the same number of boys and girls.
The second study was carried out in the 2012/2013 school year. The study included 35 students from the 6th
grade, aged between 10 and 11. They were randomly selected (regardless of their grade and gender) and divided
into two groups, the experimental (17 students) and the control group (18 students). There were a third as many
boys in the research sample as girls.
Instruments and Procedures
Content characteristics of the measurement instrument
A recording form (Table 2) was used for direct observation of students’ skills in carrying out a specific task.
The name of the generic competence was written in the form’s title field. That was followed by a definition of the
observed skill, how the skill was observed and what had to be taken into account. Mastery of specific skills was
monitored and evaluated according to the criteria for each taxonomic level: knowledge, comprehension, applica-
tion, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. These could be adapted to the individual subject and thematic area. The
observer had to circle the degree of control, where 1 meant unsatisfactory, 2 satisfactory, 3 good, 4 fairly good
and 5 very good mastery of the skill.
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Table 2: Example of a recording form.

Competence: ABILITY TO INTERPRET INFORMATION
SKILLS:
•• Presentation of information in a clear manner, correct use of professional terms;
•• Preparation and presentation of a project (work plan, seminar or poster).
HOW? Observe the skills of the particular student and circle the relevant level of skill mastery.
Pay attention to whether the information is presented clearly and accurately, and whether the student had prepared the
project independently.
CRITERION MASTERY OF SKILL
In their presentation the student reviewed already known facts and

concepts. The project was not elaborated on; other students could not 1 2 3 4 5
discern the point.
The student presented information in a clear way and reported inde-
pendently using professional terms yet phrased in the student’s own
1 2 3 4 5
words. The project was elaborated on and summarised the essential
points.
The student analysed the information presented and provided argumen-
1 2 3 4 5
tation for it. The project included all the key elements required.
Key elements were connected in the presentation. The student inde-
pendently formed clear conclusions that were correct and reliable. The 1 2 3 4 5
student’s own ideas were dominant. The student evaluated their project
and suggested improvements.
Procedure
In this research were used two methods, triangulation method and qualitative educational research method.
The purpose of triangulation in qualitative research is to increase the credibility and validity of the results (Bog-
dan, Biklen, 2006). In this case triangulation was used to observe the process and verify the students’ attainment
of skills. This ensured that the research situation could be observed from three perspectives: the teacher - the
performer, student and observer. The observer was an expert in the field of technical education. The method of
direct observation was used.
With the direct observation of skills - social, communication and working skills, we have determined the initial
state of specific skills in the experimental and the control group:
•• skills at lower taxonomic levels, and
•• skills at higher taxonomic levels.
The following table (Table 3) shows students’ skills that were developed and assessed at lower and higher
taxonomic levels.
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Table 3. Students’ skills at lower and higher taxonomic levels.
LOWER LEVEL HIGHER LEVEL

SKILLS COMPETENCE
Student: Student:
Ability to collect Information is collected using a previously Electronic and written sources are used to search for informa-
information presented method; only one source is tion.
used.
Ability to analyse The information is verified for accuracy The obtained information is verified and connected into a
and organise and organised in previously presented meaningful structure. The quality and validity of information are
information structures. assessed.
Ability to interpret Information is provided in known contexts. Key elements are included in the presentation. Clear conclu-
Information is presented in a clear manner sions, which are correct and reliable, are formed independently.
and independently. The student’s own ideas are dominant. The student evaluates
COMMUNICA- their presentation and suggests improvements.
TION
SKILLS Ability to synthe- The process of connecting data and Different types of graphs are used to present information; simi-
size conclusions forming conclusions is reviewed. Results larities and differences in each type are pointed out. Tables and
are presented using only previously taught graphs are modified/rearranged; their use is assessed.
procedures.
Ability to solve Guidelines for achieving pre-set goals are Student’s own goals are set and the methods of achieving these
problems considered and the results are verified goals are mastered. Own criteria for evaluation procedures are
using set criteria. set and used, and own criteria for result evaluation are used.
Verbal and written Ability to describe the work procedure and Work/project’s key elements - words are emphasised, and infor-
communication to orally present their work/project. mation is transmitted to other students in a clear, professional
and logical manner.
Ability for inde- Understanding of the task is demonstrated The purpose and goals of the task are set, and how they will be
pendent and team and a suitable group work method is realised is described. The roles, procedures and time-frames
work selected. The student takes on a specific in the group are assessed on the basis of various aspects.
group role and understands that role. Negotiating with other group members to set the goals that need
to be verified and defined.
Organisation and The sequence of work procedures is Independent performance of procedures according to instruc-
planning of work reviewed and a proposed plan of the work tions, planning and organising work, finding key elements for
is described. good planning and work organisation. The student checks
SOCIAL
whether the work performed complies with the work planned,
SKILLS
and assesses the individuals’ work.
Interpersonal Communication within the group is The similarities and differences of the proposals made by the
interaction established and characteristics of that group members’ are presented and the reasons for the deci-
communication (frequent, rare) are sions made. The importance of collaboration and communication
explained; the student describes whether between members of the group and other groups is evaluated.
their ideas and opinions and suggestions
by other group members were taken into
consideration.
Transferring Workplaces, tools, machinery and equip- The importance of the correct sequence of workplaces and the
theory into ment needed to implement the task are right use of tools, machinery and equipment is explained. A
practice prepared. proposal is made for solutions regarding rationalisation of work
places and procedures.
Use of math- Guidelines for selecting ideas and tech- The assumptions needed for the selection and use of math-
ematical ideas niques for specific tasks are observed. ematical ideas and techniques are recognised. Mathematical
and techniques Mathematical knowledge is used in known knowledge is adapted and used correctly in new circumstances.
circumstances. Problems are anticipated and measures taken to eliminate them.
WORKING
SKILLS Adapting to new Already known processing procedures are Processing procedures and tools for new material are selected,
situations used with new material. tested, and the most suitable procedures and tools are used.
Concern for Presented equipment is used for Student’s own equipment is made and used for greater product
quality increased product quality. quality, and suggestions are made for improvement.
Safety at work Safety equipment is used when working Devices, machines and tools are used safely; quick and correct
with tools and machinery; the student action is taken in the event of danger or risk. The efficiency of
understands the importance of quick and safety equipment is verified.
correct action in the event of danger.
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In the experimental group project-based learning (PBL) was used. The training and demonstration of certain
skills were conducted. Students trained in all three specific skills. In the control group, a frontal teaching method
was used, e.g. conversation, demonstration and work with texts. There was no training in specific types of skills.
The instrument and measurement methodologies developed enabled the optimisation of the learning
process; different methods of work were assessed depending on the given objectives with a focus on students’
working, communication and social skills.
Results of the Research
a) Gender and final grade in Science and Technology (hereinafter S&T) in the 5th grade1.
At the beginning, the homogeneity of the control and the experimental group had to be verified. The differ-
ence between both groups in gender and in final grade in S&T in the 5th grade was examined, as shown in Tables
4 and 5.
Table 4. Student gender in the experimental and control groups.
Group
Total
Experimental (EG) Control (CG)
No. 11 12 23
Boys
% 64.7 66.7 65.7
Student gender
No. 6 6 12
Girls
% 35.3 33.3 34.3
No. 17 18 35
Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
p = 0.903 χ2 = 0.015
It was established that there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental (EG) and the
control group (CG) as regards gender (P = 0.903, χ2 = 0.015). The same was true for the final grade in S&T since the
experimental group’s average grade was 4.11 and the control group’s 4.00 (P = 0.891, χ2 = 0.23), as shown in more
detail in Table 5. Consequently, the composition of both groups was statistically appropriate.
b) Initial state of the experimental and the control group
Whether the didactic approach (work forms and methods) affected the development of skills as part of the
students’ generic competences was also considered. Therefore, the mastery of skills before the start of the experi-
ment had to be examined. The following analysis shows the initial level of students’ mastery of a specific skill for
the lower (Table 6) and the higher taxonomic levels (Table 7). Students’ skills were divided into three groups: social,
communication and working skills, as shown in Table 3.
1 S&T - Science and technology is a subject in the 5th grade of elementary school that includes topics from natural sciences and technology.
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Table 5. Final grade in S&T in the 5th grade.
Group
Total
Student gender
EG CG
No. 5 5 10
C
% 45.5 41.7 43.5
No. 5 5 10
Final grade in S&T B
% 45.5 41.7 43.5
Boys
No. 1 2 3
A
% 9.1 16.7 13.0
No. 11 12 23
Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
No. 0 1 1
C
% 0.0 16.7 8.3
No. 0 1 1
% 0.0 16.7 8.3
Girls
No. 6 4 10
A
% 100.0 66.7 83.3
No. 6 6 12
Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
No. 5 6 11
C
% 29.4 33.3 31.4
No. 5 6 11
% 29.4 33.3 31.4
Total
No. 7 6 13
A
% 41.2 33.3 37.1
No. 17 18 35
Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
p = 0.891 χ2 = 0.23
Table 6. Initial state of skill mastery - lower level.
Arithmetic Standard Test for difference of Test for homogeneity of

GROUP
mean deviation means variants
SKILLS x s Boys Girls Boys Girls
SOCIAL EG 3.470 0.750

CG 3.324 0.735
COMMUNICATION EG 2.269 0.643 0.470 0.473 0.353 0.657
CG 2.115 0.552
WORKING EG 3.447 0.605
CG 3.300 0.593
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Table 7. Initial state of skill mastery - higher level.

GROUP
SOCIAL EG 2.921 0.740

CG 2.675 0.788
COMMUNICATION EG 1.509 0.535 0.499 0.284 0.318 0.577
CG 1.370 0.490
CG 2.133 0.665
The test for difference of arithmetic means showed the students’ mastery of communication skills (written
and oral communication) at the lower and at the higher level to be the poorest; however, the analysis showed that
there was no significant difference between skill mastery at the lower and higher level between the experimental
and control group (Boys = 0.470, Girls = 0.473 – lower level, Boys = 0.499 Girls = 0.284 - higher level).
Figure 3 shows the level of mastery of a specific skill at the lower and the higher level. The level of students’
skill mastery is represented by an ordinate encompassing values from 1 to 5, where 1 means unsatisfactory, 1.5 - 2
satisfactory, 2.5 - 3 good, 3.5 - 4 quite good and 4.5 - 5 very good. The most problems arose in the field of written
and oral communication due to poor vocabulary and poor use of standard language.
Figure 3: Comparison of students’ skills at lower and higher taxonomic levels.
c) Final state of the experimental and control group
As mentioned already the main focus of this study was skill mastery at the end of the experiment, i.e. students’
progress in social, communication and working skills. Only after this had been established, could the question of
whether project work enables greater development and progress in skill mastery than teaching focused on frontal
instruction with explanations and text work be answered.
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Table 8. Final state of skill mastery - lower level.

GROUP
SOCIAL EG 4.686 0.411

CG 4.055 0.588
COMMUNICATION EG 4.024 0.853
CG 2.944 0.596 3.476 0.001 3.704 0.063
CG 4.037 0.494
The test for difference of means (Table 8) showed that there was a significant difference between the control
and the experimental group in students’ skill mastery (social, communication and working) at the lower level (Boys
= 3.476; Girls = 0.001). The most progress was made in communication skills.
Table 9. Final state of skill mastery - higher level.

GROUP
SOCIAL EG 4.156 0.791

CG 2.592 0.754
COMMUNICATION EG 3.039 1.159 5.231 5.231 0.000 13.173 0.001
CG 1.472 0.537
CG 2.902 2.445
The test for difference of means (Table 9) again showed a significant difference between the control and the ex-
perimental group (B = 5.231; G = 0.000). Again, the most progress was made in communication and social skills.
d) Progress in skill mastery with regard to gender
Table 10. Progress in skill mastery with regard to gender.

GROUP
SKILLS - INITIAL STATE Boys 2.212 0.376 0.769 0.000 0.278 0.602
Girls 2.982 0.559
SKILLS - FINAL STATE Boys 3.171 0.669 0.991 0.000 0.278 0.602
Girls 4.162 0.655
It had been assumed that the most progress in skill development would be made by girls. The test for differ-
ence of means (Table 10) showed that there was a significant difference in skill mastery progress with regard to
student gender (Boys = 0,991; Girls = 0,000). This confirmed the assumption that progress is also dependent on
gender. Girls achieved greater progress in skill mastery than boys. The difference between the initial and final state
was 0.959 for boys and 1.18 for girls.
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e) Progress in skill mastery with regard to final grade in S&T
An assumption was also made that progress in skill mastery would be greater for those students whose final
grade in S&T was higher. The test for difference of means (Table 11) showed that there was a significant difference
in skill mastery progress with regard to final grade (Boys = 13.654; Girls = 0,000). This confirmed the expectation
that progress in skill mastery is also dependent on the final grade. For students whose final grade was a C progress
made was 0.922, for students with a B it was 0.955 and for those with an A it was 1.196.
Table 11. Progress in skill mastery with regard to final grade.
FINAL
Arithmetic mean Standard deviation Test for difference of means
GRADE
x s Boys Girls
SKILL - INITIAL STATE C 2.045 0.192

B 2.282 0.308 18.994 0.000
A 3.005 0.563
SKILL - FINAL STATE C 2.967 0.496
13.654 0.000
B 3.237 0.605
A 4.201 0.701
An assumption was also made that progress in skill mastery would be greater for those students whose final
grade in S&T was higher. The test for difference of means (Table 11) showed that there was a significant difference
in skill mastery progress with regard to final grade (Boys = 13.654; Girls = 0,000). This confirmed the expectation
that progress in skill mastery is also dependent on the final grade. For students whose final grade was a C progress
made was 0.922, for students with a B it was 0.955 and for those with an A it was 1.196.
The students’ combined progress in social, communication and working skills was also of interest. The level
of students’ skill mastery is represented by an ordinate encompassing values from 1 to 5, where 1 means unsatis-
factory, 1.5-2 satisfactory, 2.5-3 good, 3.5-4 quite good and 4.5-5 very good. As has already been established (at
the lower and higher levels), the most progress was made in communication skills, and the progress was greater
in the experimental group than in the control group (Figure 4). Thus, a conclusion can be made that the teaching
approach influences skill development in students.
Figure 4: Progress in skill mastery with regard to group.
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The effect size (d) was measured by deducting the average transfer grade in the control group from the average
transfer grade in the experimental group. This was then divided by the combined standard deviation. According
to Cohen, the effect size of +0.8 is large, +0.5 medium and +0.2 small, which is why planning principles with effect
size 0.8 or more are of particular interest.
Table 12. Effect size.
Average Value
Control group Experimental Combined standard Result

(CG) group (EG) deviation
Lower level 4.055 4.686 0.999 0.63

SOCIAL SKILLS
Higher level 2.892 4.156 1.546 0.81
COMMUNICATION Lower level 2.944 4.024 1.450 0.74

SKILLS Higher level 2.472 3.039 1.696 0.33
Lower level 4.034 4.566 0.850 0.62
WORKING SKILLS
Higher level 2.902 3.647 3.076 0.24
Average Value 3.216 4.019
Discussion
Planning lessons well is very important for the teacher since this is the only way to achieve the desired prog-
ress in students (Cohen, 1988). This research mainly focused on developing and evaluating students’ skills in the
frame of four generic competences. A large part of lesson planning is knowing all the generic competences and
the specifics of each individual competence, especially which strategies, methods and types of lessons are being
planned, since they fundamentally affect the development of a certain skill or competence. To sum up all the major
findings presented in the research:
1. The results show that, after the experiment, the mastery of skills at a lower and higher taxonomic level
for a single generic competence is higher in students of the experimental group and mostly in learning
and problem solving, interpretation, and verbal and written communication, where the appreciation
is mostly due to successful methods of work.
2. Boys and girls were, at a lower taxonomic level, the most proficient in social skills and the least proficient
in communication skills. Boys achieved the most progress in mastering social and communication skills
and girls in mastering working skills.
3. From the calculated effect size (d) (Table 12), it can be concluded that the most progress in students’
skills was achieved in developing social and communication skills at a higher taxonomic level. A moder-
ate effect was achieved in the field of working skills at a higher taxonomic level.
4. It was proven that in project work that is based on problem-based and research-based lessons (active
students), better results were achieved in developing students’ skills than with frontal work (students
are passive listeners).
The relatively good result presented in Table 12 was surprising since the measured effect confirmed that greater
development of students’ skills can be achieved by using PBL. The control group’s average value was 3.216, while
that of the experimental group was 4.019. The most progress in skill mastery was achieved in developing social
skills at a higher level, and in communication and working skills at a lower level, as had also been expected.
That project based learning (PBL), which encompasses problem-based lessons, experimental and research
work, and has a very strong effect on students’ process knowledge and indirectly on developing skills, is also proven
by John Hattie’s results, who sieved through 900 results of meta-analysis, that included 52,600 studies and 240,000
students (Hattie, 2013). He established that PBL have a strong effect (above 0.60) on the students’ achievement and
also on cooperative learning, developing vocabulary, teaching learning strategies, solving problems and students’
prior achievements (prior knowledge). These are also the elements that we planned when implementing lessons
and research.
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Conclusions
The results showed that project-based learning as a modern teaching method and part of the competence-
based curriculum offers optimum development of students’ knowledge and skills. Progress depends on the gender
and the preliminary score of the student. Not only is it important to develop certain skills i.e. competences, but
one also needs to have suitable tools to test them. On the bases of Bloom’s, Simpson’s and Dave’s taxonomy for
all three fields, cognitive, affective and psychomotor, the research developed a unified taxonomy (UTC – Unified
Taxonomy of Competences) where acquired skills/competences in every field at a lower and higher taxonomic level
are defined. For this purpose, an instrument for measuring students’ skills/competences was developed.
The research was carefully planned, because it took place in a classroom with randomly chosen students in the
presence of experts from the technical and pedagogical-didactical fields. A pilot study was carried out beforehand
under the same conditions and where the students were of the same age. The developed instrumentation allowed
evaluation of initial mastery of skills at both taxonomical levels, evaluation of final state and following the progress
in mastering skills at both taxonomical levels.
It is obvious that the results of the research will be of great help to teachers, as the instrumentation developed
along with the measurement methodology will help improve the quality of examination and evaluation of students’
skills, not only in Science and Technology, but also in other areas of education, and not only in Slovenian schools,
but also worldwide. The results and findings of this research could also have an impact on the consideration of
amending the regulations on examination and assessment of knowledge in elementary school and integrating
an assessment of student skills.
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Received: January 12, 2014 Accepted: September 30, 2014
Dragica Pešaković Primary School Destrnik-Trnovska vas, Janežovski Vrh 45, 2253
Destrnik, Slovenia.
E-mail: dragica.pesakovic@guest.arnes.si
Website: http://www.os-destrnik.si
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E-mail: andrej.flogie@slomskov-zavod.si
Website: http://www.slomskov-zavod.si/
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Mathematics, Departmend of Technical Education, Koroška 160, 2000
Maribor, Slovenia.
E-mail: boris.abersek@uni-mb.si
Website: http://tehnika.fnm.uni-mb.si
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JBSE
1st International Baltic Symposium on
Science and Technology Education
(BalticSTE2015)
„STATE-OF-THE-ART AND FUTURE
PERSPECTIVES“
15-18 June 2015, Siauliai, Lithuania
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the organizing committee, we are delighted to welcome you to Šiauliai, Lithuania, for the I
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© NSERC, Siauliai University, 2014
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Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 13, No. 5, 2014

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Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 13, No. 5, 2014

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Vol.13, No.

The International Journal of the Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

Published since 2002 Address:

ISSN 1648–3898 © Scientific Methodical Center „Scientia Educologica“, Lithuania,

SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION: HOW TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE?

SURVEY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF OXIDATION-REDUCTION

The effects of multimedia learning material on students’ academic

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES ON PRIMARY SCHOOL

FOSTERING STUDENT’S CREATIVE AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS THROUGH A

USING CONCEPT MAPPING FOR ASSESSMENT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

TEACHER EDUCATORS’ VIEWS OF “MODEL” CONCEPT AND THEIR MENTAL MODELS

LEARNERS’ VIEWS ABOUT USING CASE STUDY TEACHING METHOD IN AN

CONCEPTS OF VEGETABLE AND FRUIT IN PRESCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S IDEAS OF MIXING AND OF HEAT AS EXPRESSED IN A

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A COMPETENCE-BASED TEACHING PROCESS FOR

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756

Problems of psychology in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757

Quality Issues and insights in the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758

SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION: HOW TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE?

There is no such thing as moral or immoral books.

ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES

ON THE SAME SIDES

Received: September 30, 2014 Accepted: October 08, 2014

Abstract. This study investigated the Wen-Wei Chiang,

Evaluating Conceptual Development via Two-tier Diagnostic Testing

Concept Maps in Chemistry Education

Test Validity and Reliability

Overall Performance of Each Grade in Questions on Redox Reactions

Numbers of students Average number of correct answers Standard deviation

10th grade 96 10.31 4.42

Table 2. ANOVA of redox test scores.

Inter-group 3990.14 2 1995.07 46.34 0.000

Difference for the mean Standard error p

10 th grade 11th grade −6.90* 0.94 0.000**

Student Performance on Concept Maps

Figure 1: Concept map for the high-achievement group.

Figure 2: Concept map for the middle-achievement group.

Figure 3: Concept map for the low-achievement group.

Effectiveness of Two-tiered Testing

Recommendations for Future Study

Appendix: Sample Questions from Two-tier Diagnostic Test

Only an oxidation reaction

Only a reduction reaction

Received: August 29, 2013 Accepted: March 10, 2014

Wen-Wei Chiang Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Institute of Science Education and

Abstract. This study implemented multi-

Aim of the Study

Related to the necessity of foods and healthy nutrition students:

Figure 2: General outlook of the software.

Data Collection Tools

Table 1. Relationship between groups’ pre-test attitude scores.

Experimental 1.57 0.17

Table 2. Relationship between groups’ pre-test academic achievement scores.

Experimental 15.29 3.10

Experimental 28.333 0.609 1-58 29.581

Table 4. Relationships between groups’ post-test academic achievement scores.

Experimental 23.55 3.28

Table 5. Relationships between groups’ post-test attitude scores.

Experimental 1.65 0.16

Pre-test 15.29 3.10

Table 7. Relationships between Achievement and Gender.

Female 22.56 3.67

Table 8. Results of ANCOVA analysis when pre-test scores are controlled*.