On the concept of “Respiration”: Biology student teachers’ cognitive structures and alternative conceptions

Abstract

Hakan Kurt, Gülay Ekici , Murat Aktaş and Özlem Aksu

In researches, the subject of respiration has been determined to be among subjects about whom participants from all educational levels struggle to form their cognitive structures and have many alternative conceptions. This research was carried out in order to determine biology student teachers’ cognitive structures and alternative conceptions related to the concept of respiration. The qualitative research method was employed in the study. Free word association test and drawing-writing technique were used to collect data. These data, collected using both of the above-mentioned instruments, were arranged based on the content analysis technique. At the end of the research, the cognitive structures of the participant biology student teachers about the concept of respiration consisted of the words and drawings they presented in the free word association test and the drawing-writing technique. The data were grouped under the following nine categories: “respiratory organs and their structures”, “molecules that take part in respiration and their transformations”, “types of respiration”, “defining respiration”,“respiratory-carrying system”, “purpose of respiration”, “respiratory diseases and their causes”, “respiratory-digestive system” and “respiration-living species”. In both of the assessment instruments, the categories of “respiratory organs and their structures” and “molecules that take part in respiration and their transformations” emerged as the common and dominant categories. Besides, almost all of the participants presented non-representative drawings and drawings with alternative conceptions, and it was determined that they are incompetent on the subject. On the other hand, the participants were observed to have alternative conceptions under many categories defined in both of the instruments. At the end of this paper, comprehensive suggestions related to the subject are presented.