[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-588454-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-588454-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","student-mental-models-related-to-expansion-and-contraction-research-study","STUDENT MENTAL MODELS RELATED TO EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION - Research Study","","Learning environments strongly influence how students form explanations of scientific phenomena, yet expansion and contraction of materials remain difficult to conceptualize at molecular levels. This case study examines 155 Turkish students’ mental models of expansion and contraction using open-ended description and visualization tasks. Coding produced scientific, synthetic, and initial categories. Findings indicate initial models dominate in lower grades, while synthetic models increase in higher grades, with gaps linked to difficulty grasping the processes. Visual models and animations are recommended for future learning.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/student-mental-models-related-to-expansion-and-contraction-research-study/588454/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/student-mental-models-related-to-expansion-and-contraction-research-study/588454.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Putri","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-10","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the purpose of the study on expansion and contraction?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study aims to examine students’ mental models related to the concepts of expansion and contraction of materials.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How were students’ mental models assessed?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Students answered open-ended questions that required descriptions or visualizations of expansion and contraction processes.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What pattern of mental models did the study find across grade levels?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Students generally show initial mental models in lower grades and synthetic mental models in higher grades, suggesting that the processes are hard to grasp.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},588454,1792065285,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":123,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":143,"preview_page_count":4},962085571259,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","STUDENT MENTAL MODELS RELATED TO EXPANSION AND  \nCONTRACTION  \nMehmet Altan Kurnaz, Ayşe Yağmur Emen  \nAbstract: Following up on the effects of learning environments is essential to learning. The aim of this study was to examine students' mental models related to the concepts of expansion and contraction of materials. The population of the case study consisted of 155 students in a city center in Turkey. The data was gathered using open-ended questions that required a description or visualization of expansion and contraction. Data analysis was carried out in two stages. After coding results, the categories scientific, synthetic, and initial were established and applied to the answers. In light of the findings, students generally have initial mental models at low grade levels but synthetic mental models at high grade levels. The discrepancy is not a failure of the students but because processes of expansion and contraction of material cannot be grasped easily.  \nTherefore, visual models and animations of the processes are suggested for future learning applications.  \nKey words: mental mode; expansion; contraction  \n1. Introduction  \nResearch of students' preliminary understandings in science education shows that students face abstract concepts from an early age and experience a number of misunderstandings as a result (Nicoll, 2001; Canpolat, Pınarbaşı, & Sözbilir, 2003; Koray, Akyaz, & Köksal, 2007) . Some studies report that such mistakes negatively affect the learning of basic science concepts in later years (Coll & Treagust, 2001; Özmen & Demircioğlu, 2002) . One of the duties of teachers is to resolve students'misconceptions.  \nFundamental science concepts take two dimensions, macroscopic and microscopic. Daily events are considered macroscopic; atomic, molecular, and electron-like particles and their interactions are microscopic. Interactions at the microscopic level include abstract concepts and mental configurations that students have difficulty forming, which has been emphasized in many studies (Novick & Nusbaum, 1978, 1981; Harrison & Treagust, 1996; Coll, 2008; Çökelez & Yalçın, 2012) . For example, observations of students about the incompressibility of liquids and solids lead them to consider how the granular structure of the material shows continuity (Novick & Nusbaum, 1978, 1981) .  \nIt was emphasized that some students will argue that properties such as the expansion, contraction, and melting of material are about the atom (Andersson, 1990; Pereira & Pestana, 1991; De Vos & Verdonk, 1996; Albabese & Vincentini, 1997; Johnson, 1998); they perceive the atom as a round, hard and solid \"something\" (Griffiths & Preston, 1992; Harrison & Treagust, 1996) . These kinds of perceptions may lead students to believe notions such as the bending property of materials being the bending of single atoms (Ben-Zvi, Eylon, & Silberstein, 1986) . Such students do not apply correct meanings to the granular structure of materials during expansion, contraction, and melting (Ayas &Özmen, 2002) .  \nThe restructuring of scientific mislearning is a complex mental change (Ayas & Özmen, 2002) . It may not even be realized until after the teaching of related lessons (Novick & Nusbaum, 1978) . Moreover, some teaching practices and insufficient materials may lead students to develop non-scientific mental  \nstructures (Cin, 2007; İyibil & Sağlam Arslan, 2010; Kurnaz & Sağlam Arslan, 2009, 2010; Kurnaz & Değermenci, 2012) . In this sense, the effects of teaching practices on the learning of fundamental science concepts have to be questioned and monitored for deficiencies frequently.  \nStudent mental models related to the expansion and contraction of material, a molecular level event, are the focus of this study. A mental model is an internalized status of an object, event, process, or system; these are cognitive structures that do not require technical accuracy (Borges, & Gilbert, 1999; Clement, 1993) . They offer opportunities for evaluation, esti","cbCaif3OBxK9cIZl","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaif3OBxK9cIZl","pdf",987801,"English","# Introduction\n# Methods\n## Study Group\n## Data Collecting Instrument\n## Analysis of Data","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of the study on expansion and contraction?\",\"answer\":\"The study aims to examine students’ mental models related to the concepts of expansion and contraction of materials.\"},{\"question\":\"How were students’ mental models assessed?\",\"answer\":\"Students answered open-ended questions that required descriptions or visualizations of expansion and contraction processes.\"},{\"question\":\"What pattern of mental models did the study find across grade levels?\",\"answer\":\"Students generally show initial mental models in lower grades and synthetic mental models in higher grades, suggesting that the processes are hard to grasp.\"}]","STUDENT MENTAL MODELS RELATED TO EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION - Research Study | PDF",25]