Determination of Secondary School Students' Misconceptions About the Concept of Seed with the Four-Tier Misconception Diagnostic Test

Abstract

Studies show that students have difficulty understanding topics such as fruit formation, germination and seed dispersal. The concept of seed is perceived as a general concept by students and its boundaries cannot be drawn exactly. In this context, the study aimed to determine the misconceptions of 12th grade secondary school students about seeds by developing a four-tier concept diagnostic test. For this purpose, a four-tier multiple-choice seed concept diagnostic test was developed for 12th grade secondary school students. The four-tier seed concept diagnostic test consisted of 11 questions and had a 3-factor structure. As a result of the analysis, this test was found to be valid and reliable. 30 different misconceptions were revealed with the four-tier seed concept diagnostic test. The results of the study showed that approximately one fourth of the 12th grade secondary school students had misconceptions about the concept of seed, and the rate of three of the misconceptions was above 10%. This study, which was conducted on 12th grade secondary school students, should also be conducted on different sample groups, and various studies should be conducted to eliminate the misconceptions determined in this study.