THE EFFECTS OF MODEL-BASED COOPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING METHODS ON PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF GASES

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya

Study investigates how model-based cooperative learning (Reading Writing Application) and individual learning methods influence pre-service science teachers’ conceptual understanding of gases and address their misconceptions. A pretest/post-test non-equivalent comparison group design was used with two experimental groups (n=22 and n=20, total N=42). Gases Concept Test measured outcomes. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test analyzed data. No significant intergroup difference was found, though misconceptions persisted after instruction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Review of Relevant Literature: Gases

Table 1. Misconceptions about Gases

THE EFFECTS OF MODEL-BASED COOPERATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING METHODS ON PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF GASES Seda OKUMUŞ, Zehra ÖZDİLEK, Kemal DOYMUŞ Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of model-based cooperative (Reading Writing Application) and individual learning methods on conceptual understandings of pre-service science teachers and to eliminate their misconceptions related to gases. For this reason, a pretest/post-test non-equivalent comparison group design was applied across two experimental groups. The sample consisted of 42 pre-service science teachers; one of the research groups was a Reading Writing Application- Model Group (n=22) and the other group was an Individual Learning-Model Group (n=20) . The Gases Concept Test (GCT) was used for pre-and post-test asthe data collection instrument. For analysing data, descriptive statistics were determined, and the Mann-Whitney U test was performed. There was not a significant difference between groups with respect to their development of their conceptual understanding of gases. In addition, some preservice science teachers from both groups had various misconceptions about the topic after the application. Key words: Cooperative learning, Reading writing application, Individual learning, Models, Gases 1. Introduction Many studies have described learning as a process of cognitive construction, which shows a wide variation from person to person (Greca & Moreira, 2000) . For this reason, learning processes and the resulting understanding of concepts vary among individuals. Understanding abstract concepts and visualizing them in science can be challenging for learners, which adds further complexity to learning. A major difficulty of understanding certain science topics is that students cannot construct a meaningful correlation between sub-microscopic (sub-micro) and macro levels. These correlations are very important to developing an understanding of abstract concepts (Papageorgiou et al, 2010; Smith & Villarreal, 2015) . While the macro level includes concrete and observable events, the sub-micro level includes invisible, abstract phenomena or situations (Johnstone, 1991) . Various researchers have emphasized that students have problems in understanding specific topics in physics, chemistry and biology content because they are unable to envision events fully in the submicro level (Smith & Villarreal, 2015; Talanquer, 2011) . Chemistry, being one of the most abstract fields of the sciences, often presents students with such challenges as demonstrated by several studies that have been conducted on the conceptual understanding of chemistry by secondary and high school students and pre-service science and chemistry teachers (Belge Can & Boz, 2016; Kimberlin & Yezierski, 2016; Privat et al., 2016; Talanquer, 2011) . Taken together, these studies have identified several related conclusions, including that students have learning difficulties related to chemistry subjects are (e.g., Griffiths & Preston, 1992), these learning difficulties may be related to misconceptions that the learners have in these topics (e.g., Smothers & Goldstone, 2010), and there are strategies that can be suggested to eliminate these misconceptions (e.g., Kimberlin & Yezierski, 2016) . However, despite the guidance offered by prior research and the implementation of different methods and techniques for supporting student learning, some misconceptions still exist (Smith & Villareal, 2015; Tsai, 1999) . 1.1. Review of Relevant Literature: Gases Gases are one of the most abstract subjects in chemistry, and students often have difficulty in understanding this topic (Stavy, 1988) . Because most gases are colourless and have a structure that cannot be observed at macro level, students are not able to imagine the behaviour of the gas molecules in a container (Şenocak et al., 2007) . A meaningful understanding of the concept of gases can eventually

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study about gases learning?

To determine the effects of model-based cooperative and individual learning methods on pre-service science teachers’ conceptual understanding of gases and to reduce their misconceptions.

How was the study designed and what data were collected?

A pretest/post-test non-equivalent comparison group design was used across two experimental groups. Conceptual understanding was measured with the Gases Concept Test.

Did cooperative and individual learning lead to different learning outcomes?

No significant difference was found between groups regarding the development of conceptual understanding of gases.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aditya