scholarly journals Secondary School Students’ Mental Models Regarding the Space

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sendil Can ◽  
Meryem Gorecek Baybars

This study was carried out to reveal the mental models of the secondary school students from different grade levels regarding the concept of space. At the same time, within the context of the study, it was aimed to determine the factors playing a role in the construction of their concepts of space. The study employed the special case study design, one of the descriptive methods. The study was conducted in the spring term of the 2016-2017 school year and the sampling of the study is comprised of the students attending a private secondary school in a city located in the western region of Turkey. In the study, a data collection tool including four open-ended questions developed by the researchers to determine the students’ mental models of the “space” was used. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistical techniques. The findings of the study have revealed that the students mostly associate the concept of the space with the concepts of emptiness (53 students), infinity (50 students), planet (48 students) and star (28 students). These findings are also supported by the students’ drawings and the Celestial Bodies Mental Model was found to be the model most frequently used by the students.

Author(s):  
Meryem Görecek Baybars ◽  
Büşra Tuğçe Kayabas

Teaching astronomy to young generations is of great importance because astronomy education helps us to better understand the world we are living in and to find answers to our questions. In this regard, the current study aimed to determine the secondary school 4th grade students’ mental models of the astronomer. The current research is designed as a descriptive study employing the special case study method. The study was conducted in a city located in the western part of Turkey. The study group is comprised of a total of 77 secondary school 4th grade students attending a state school. In line with the purpose of the study, a data collection tool consisted of 2 open-ended questions was developed. In light of the findings of the study, it can be argued that the mental models possessed by the students about the astronomer are the scientific model, the astronaut model and the celestial bodies model


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1090-1103
Author(s):  
Zubeyde Er ◽  
Perihan Dinç Artut

This study is a descriptive survey model which aims to reveal the measurement estimation abilities of secondary school students. The sample of the study consisted of 91 secondary school students at 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades in the province of Adana. Measurement estimation ability test was used as the data collection tool. This test is comprised of 10 items which include five measurement estimation abilities as measurement of length, area, volume, liquid and weight. The data obtained from the data collection tool was analyzed by quantitative analysis methods. The analysis results showed that the students’ measurement estimation abilities differed according to their gender and that difference was not statistically significant. It was also observed that the students’ levels of measurement estimation abilities were at “acceptable low estimation” level, their general performances in the measurement estimation test differed according to their grade levels and that difference was not significant. Moreover, it was concluded that the length and weight estimation levels of the students regarding length, area, volume, liquid, weight estimation scores were better than the estimation levels of area, volume, fluid. Although their levels increased according to their grade levels, it was not significant according to grade level.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serdar Özçetin ◽  
Mert Kurnaz ◽  
Mustafa Altınkök

<p>This research aims to determine the basic value levels of students for physical education and sports lessons and to examine them according to various variables. The research has been designed as a descriptive survey model. The universe of the research consists of the students studying at a Secondary School affiliated to the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education. The sample group consists of a total of 908 students studying in Istanbul in the 2020-2021 academic year, who were determined by the purposeful sampling method. The "Physical Education and Sports Lesson Value Scale (PESLVS)" was used as the data collection tool. The data collection tool is a 5-point Likert-type scale consisting of 23 items and 6 subdimensions. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the scale obtained in this research was 0.84. Frequency, percentage, t-test for unrelated samples, and ANOVA were used in the analysis of the data. When the value levels of the students were examined, it was found that there was a significant difference in favor of female students in all dimensions. It was observed that the value levels of secondary school students differed significantly in all dimensions of the scale by grade level, and it was concluded as a result of the comparison between the groups that there was a significant difference in favor of the lower grade levels in all groups. It was concluded that the value levels of the students who played in the school team was higher.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0882/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul-Gayoum M. A. Al-Haj ◽  
Al-Rafeea Suliman Al-Fadil Dafaallah ◽  
Abdulrahman Mustafa Abdulrahman Aldirdiri

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Maria Lourdes Mila ◽  
Isabel Alvarez

The aim of this study is to show how the perceptions and attitudes of secondary school students towards mental health issues changed over the course of a Learning and Service project. The Learning and Service project was carried out by 58 students, together with the residents of a mental health institution during three months. Both students and residents shared several activities to bring them closer. Secondary school students did not have any previous experience with mental health residents before. The analysis took place during the course of the process, with the students responding to four questionnaires, each one after having done an activity together. The study demonstrates that through this Learning and Service project most of the students' perspectives changed for the better, some even viewed radical change while others were positive and finally few students only experienced neutral evolution of their ideas with respect to people with mental health disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emine Simsek ◽  
Iro Xenidou-Dervou ◽  
Ilyas Karadeniz ◽  
Ian Jones

Students’ conceptions of the equals sign are related to algebraic success. Research has identified two common conceptions held by children: operational and relational. The latter has been widely operationalised in terms of the sameness of the values on each side of the equals sign, but it has been recently argued that the substitution component of relational equivalence should also be operationalised (Jones, Inglis, Gilmore, & Dowens, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2012.05.003). In this study, we investigated whether students’ endorsement of the substitution definition of the equals sign is a unique predictor of their algebra performance independent of the other two definitions (operational and sameness). Secondary school students were asked to rate the ‘cleverness’ of operational, sameness, and substitution definitions of the equals sign and completed an algebra test. Our findings demonstrate that endorsement of substitution plays a unique role in explaining secondary school students’ algebra performance above and beyond school year and the other definitions. These findings contribute new insights into how students’ algebra learning relates to their conceptions of the equals sign.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 984
Author(s):  
Özlem Eryılmaz Muştu ◽  
Sare Ucer

In the current study, the purpose is to determine the secondary school students’ cognitive structure related to the concept of atom by using the drawing technique. The study was conducted with the participation of 90 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in 2016-2017 school year. The students were asked two open-ended questions to illustrate the concept of atom in their minds and to explain where they have learned the information expressed in their drawings about the atom so that the atom models in their minds could be elicited. The students’ responses to these questions were categorized by means of qualitative analysis and frequencies were calculated for them. At the end of the study, it was determined whether the atom models drawn by the students are false or acceptable. It was seen that the students rarely illustrated nucleus and electrons in their drawings and they usually drew spheres. Moreover, the students stated that they learned this information mostly from different textbooks or the Internet. Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.  ÖzetÇocuklar, etraflarında olan olaylara karşı aşırı meraklıdırlar ve kavramlara kendileri kişisel anlamlar yüklemektedir. Öğrencilerin kavramları anlayabilmeleri için kavramların zihinlerine doğru bir şekilde kodlanması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada; ortaokul öğrencilerinin atom kavramı ile ilgili bilişsel yapılarının çizim tekniği ile belirlemesi amaçlanmıştır. 2016-2017 eğitim öğretim yılı bahar döneminde gerçekleştirilen çalışma; 5., 6., 7. ve 8. sınıflarında  öğrenim görmekte olan toplam 90 ortaokul öğrencisiyle gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmada öğrencilerin zihinlerindeki atom modellerini belirlemek amacıyla atom kavramı ile ilgili bir çizim yapmaları ve bu çizdikleri şekle ait bilgiyi nereden öğrendiklerini ifade edebilmeleri için iki adet açık uçlu soru sorulmuştur. Öğrencilerin verdikleri cevaplar nitel analiz yöntemiyle kategorilere ayrılmış ve frekans değerleri elde edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda öğrencilerin çizdikleri atom modellerinin yanlış veya kabul edilebilir seviye olduğu belirlenmiştir. Öğrencilerin çizimlerinde nadiren çekirdek ve elektronlara yer verdiği genellikle küre şeklinde çizim yaptıkları görülmektedir. Ayrıca öğrencilerin bu bilgilere genellikle farklı ders kitaplarından veya internetten öğrendiklerini ifade ettikleri tespit edilmiştir.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-317
Author(s):  
Marloes L. Nederhand ◽  
Huib K. Tabbers ◽  
Joran Jongerling ◽  
Remy M. J. P. Rikers

Abstract Grades provide students with information about their level of performance. However, grades may also make students more aware of how well they have estimated their performance, their so-called calibration accuracy. This longitudinal quasi-experimental study, set in secondary education, examined how to increase students’ awareness of the accuracy of their grade estimates in order to improve their calibration accuracy. During an entire school year, students from year 1, 2, and 3 provided grade estimates after each of their French exams. Subsequently, when students received their grades, the level of reflection support on their earlier estimates was manipulated. The first group of students just received their grade, the second group had to calculate the difference between their estimate and the actual grade, and the third group also had to reflect on reasons for a possible mismatch. We expected that more reflection support would lead to more improvement in calibration accuracy. Results showed that providing grade estimates already improved calibration accuracy over the school year, regardless of level of reflection support. This finding shows that asking for grade estimates is an easy-to-implement way to improve calibration accuracy of students in secondary education.


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