Publication Title: Journal of Baltic Science Education
Author: Selami Yangin, Sabri Sidekli, Yasin Gokbulut
Volume (Issue): 13(3)
Page Number: 105-117
Publication Year: 2014
Abstract:
Abstract. This study reported herein aimed to reveal prospective teachers’ mis- conceptions about classification of plants and the effect of pre-service education program on their correct conceptions of this biological issue. Prospective teachers majoring in Elementary School Classroom Teacher Education constituted the target population of this study during the fall semester of the 2012-2013 academic
years from Turkey. In order to reveal the difference between the misconceptions of prospective teachers who are at the beginning and at the end of their university education, the research was conducted as a cross-sectional study (78 first and 84 fourth class). The results showed that the prospective teachers in both groups have misconceptions and considerable confusion over the concepts of without- seed plants, seedy plants, vascular plants, non-vascular plants, gymnosperm plants, angiosperm plants, fruit and vegetable. In addition, the pre-service education
did not seem to have an important effect on correction of prospective teachers’ misconceptions about classification of plants. In this context, prospective teachers are graduated with misconceptions about classification of plants.
Key words: biology, classification of plants, misconceptions, prospective teach- ers.
Misconceptions
- 1. Pine is a plant without seed{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Systems in Plants}
- 2. Plants with seeds are plants with a big or a small trunk, circular or oval plump leaves, living in various habitats and having colourful flowers thus seeds.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subject: Biology}
- 3. Mushrooms are plants without seeds.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 4. Mushrooms are plants without seeds.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 5. Tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber and pumpkin are vegetables.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 6. Vegetables can be seedless plant, not because their seeds.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 8. Plants without seeds such as algae, lungwort, lycopodium clavatum and fern were non-vascular.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 9. Pine, fir tree, spruce, wheat, corn and peanut are plants without seed.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 10. Plants such as wheat, apricot, horsebean and pea are gymno- sperms.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}
- 11. Peanut is an angiosperm plant.{Scientific Subject: History and Philosophy of Science}
- 12. Corn is a dicotyledon plant.{Age/Grade: adult}{Scientific Subjects: Biology, Basic Taxonomy and Classification Issues, Botany (plant biology including fungi and classification of plants)}