Developing Students' Understanding and Thinking Process by Model Construction

ÖZET: Günümüzde modellerin fen kavramlarının anlaşılmasında temel rol oynadığı yaygın biçimde kabul görmektedir. Bu çalışma öğrencilerin anlama ve düşünmelerini model oluşturma yöntemi ile geliştirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışma bir merkez ilköğretim devlet okulu 7. sınıf öğrencileri ile okul sonrası etkinliği çerçevesinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma sürecinde, öğrenciler hayvanlara ait ortak çevresel faktörleri veri toplama, resimleme, cisim tasarlama ve gözlem raporu hazırlama yolu ile araştırırlar. Gözlem raporlarının hazırlanması öğrencilerin deneyimlerini ve soyut kavramları ifade etmelerine olanak sağlamaktadır. Buna ilave olarak öğrencilerin deney raporları araştırmacının dolaylı olarak öğrencilerin zihinlerinde oluşturdukları modelleri anlamasına fırsat sağlamaktadır. Öğrenciler ilk etapta oluşturdukları modelleri benzeşim yoluyla yeni modellere dönüştürerek geliştirmektedir. Bulgular model oluşturma ve geliştirme yönteminin fen öğretimine olumlu katkı sağlayacağını göstermektedir.

Öğrencilerin Anlama ve Düşünme Mekanizmalarının Model Oluşturma Yoluyla Geliştirilmesi

ABSTRACT: There is growing recognition that models play a fundamental role in the comprehension of science concepts. This paper aims at enhancing students’ understanding and thinking by model construction. Seventh grade middle school students from an urban public school participated in this study as a part of their weekly science club that met after the regular school hours. During the course of the study, the students investigated several common environmental factors about animals by collecting data, made drawings, constructed objects, and wrote journals. The use of journals allowed them to reflect on their experience and the abstract concepts. It also allowed the researchers to have indirect access to the models underlying the meanings students were making every week. Students developed initial models, came up with analogies, and constructed newer models by improving the initial ones. The findings show that model criticism and modification processes are promising activities for science education.

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