Turkish university researchers studied the effects of two teaching methods (including one instructional, conceptual change-oriented), on students' (ages 11-12) understanding of heat and temperature concepts and attitudes towards science, in addition to gender differences. Different classes were assigned each method for four weeks.

Learners’ ideas

• Many students believed that a small amount of a substance would have a different temperature than a large amount of the same substance in the same environment.
• Many students were uncomfortable with the idea that an insulating material is good for keeping objects both hot and cold.
• Many students failed to recognize that metal particles are easier to move due to their structure when compared to other solid materials.
• Many students believed that different amounts of the same substance being heated by the same source receive different amounts of heat.

Suggestions

• Make it clear that the scientific conception is more useful than the existing alternative conception.
• Become more involved in developing and designing the conceptual change texts, be informed about the usage and importance of conceptual change texts, and plan the instructional activities accordingly.
• The conceptual change approach was shown to be more effective for girls in this context.

Study Structure

Aims

The aims of the study were to explore:

• the relative effectiveness of two modes of teaching (one 'traditional' and conceptual change-oriented)
• gender differences within 7th-grade students' understanding of heat and temperature concepts
• students' attitudes towards science as a school subject

Evidence collection

Evidence for the study was collected via Pre- and post-intervention testing, using the Heat and Temperature Concepts Test (HTCT) and Attitude Scale toward Science as a School Subject (ASTSc), both developed for this study. The HTCT consisted of 32 multiple-choice questions with the ASTSc being a 15-item, Likert-scale survey. 

The intervention consisted of a course taught using 'traditionally-designed' science texts for one group, and a course taught using 'conceptual change-oriented' texts for another group. A logical thinking ability test was administered pre-intervention to allow control for reasoning ability.

Statistical analysis was carried out on pre-intervention test results and the post-intervention test results' covariance with treatment type, gender and a coupling term of gender and treatment.

Details of the sample

The sample consisted of 72 seventh-grade (ages 11-12) students from two classes of a general science course taught by the same teacher in a secondary school in Ankara.