DEMİRCİOĞLU, Hülya KTÜ Fatih Eğitim Fakültesi - OFMAE Bölümü Kimya Eğitimi, Turkey , VURAL, Selma Ordu Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi, Turkey , DEMİRCİOĞLU, Gökhan KTÜ Fatih Eğitim Fakültesi - OFMAE Bölümü Kimya Eğitimi, Turkey

Gifted students’ mental models: the particulate nature of matter

36990

When existing literature is examined, it was understood that students came to science classes with preconceptions and had difficulty in learning basic science concepts. It was extremely important to determine students’ prior knowledge in order to effectively plan and design education. One way to determine students’ preconceptions is to make use of their mental models. The purpose of the present study was to determine gifted students’ thoughts and mental models about the particulate nature of matter during change of state, change in matter, and dissolving. The method of the present study was determined as the action research. 16 gifted students, enrolled at Ordu Science and Art Center, voluntarily participated in the study. A Concept Test consisting of 7 open-ended questions was used as a data collection tool. The results indicated that the students had not sufficient understanding and held a number of alternative concepts about the topic under investigation. Teachers may identify students’ difficulties and design a better learning environment by taking into consideration students’ mental models. Therefore, it was suggested that the teachers should be given in-service training concerning the use of models and modeling.

65

Gifted students , mental models , particulate nature of matter , chemistry

Journal Of Educational Sciences

84