USING TECHNOLOGY IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: A COURSEWARE TO OVERCOME MISCONCEPTIONS AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES ABOUT PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Abstract

Photosynthesis is one of the abstract subjects in biology. A lot of students have some learning difficulties because of lack of the laboratory studies. CBI provides to the students an imaginary world and the students have some possibilities which they cannot have in a traditional learning environment such as immediate feedbacks, flexible study hours, and chance of study again and again in this imaginary world. Also the students have had some misconceptions about the photosynthesis because of their previous experiences. The students need to test and see the results in order to change the concepts in their mind. CBI provides an appropriate study environment for students to observe their right and wrong behaviors on their study. In this study a courseware was designed which supports the students to overcome the misconceptions and learning difficulties about the photosynthesis by presenting an interactive learning environment which represents the real life to the students’ manipulations. The sample group is consisted of 21 6^th grade students. The students can study on the subject at this micro world and create a connection between the abstract concepts and the real life. The students was conducted a pre-test at the beginning of the class and then they studied with this courseware. After their study they take a post-test. Their accomplishment was measured by using these tests and the students and the teacher had a usability test to determine the courseware usability.

Key words: Computer Based Instruction, misconception, learning difficulty.

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