Using The Science Writing Heuristic Approach To Promote Student Understanding In Chemical Changes And Mixtures

Autor: Kingir, Sevgi
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Druh dokumentu: Ph.D. Thesis
Popis: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach on 9th grade students&rsquo
understanding of chemistry concepts and chemistry achievement in chemical changes and mixtures units. Four 9th grade classes taught by the two chemistry teachers from a public high school were selected for the study. Each teacher&rsquo
s one intact class was assigned as the experimental group and the other class was assigned as the control group. Students in the experimental group were instructed by the SWH approach, while those in control groups were instructed with traditionally designed chemistry instruction. Tests measuring students&rsquo
conceptual understanding and achievement in the units of chemical changes and mixtures were administered as pre-test and post-test to students in both groups, and a test measuring students&rsquo
attitudes toward chemistry was administered to students in both groups at the beginning of the instruction. At the end of the instruction, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 students from experimental group and 8 students from control group. The quantitative data were analyzed by using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). The results revealed that the SWH approach was superior to the traditional approach on students&rsquo
understanding of the concepts in the units of chemical changes and mixtures. In addition, interview results indicated that students in experimental group demonstrated better scientific understanding of chemical change and mixture concepts compared to those in control group. The interview results also showed that students in experimental group developed positive attitudes toward chemistry and SWH approach.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
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