A survey study of 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grade students misconceptions in electricity

m ABSTRACT This research study was conducted in order to identify sixth, seventh and eight grade students' misconceptions in electricity. For this purpose, a conceptual test was developed, which consists of 28 multiple-choice items. This test was adminis tered to 1162 students in 12 middle schools in metropolitan Ankara. All of the stu dents participated in this research had studied the electricity concepts prior to data collection. The data analysis shows that the students demonstrated a number of miscon ceptions about electricity and its use. Most notable of them are the following: i) Electric current being consumed in electric circuits. ii) A battery being a source of constant current independent from the cir cuit to which it is connected. iii) A battery not being a source of variable potential difference dependent on the circuit to which it is connected. iv) A light bulb being hit due to confrontation of two currents one coming from the (+) pole and the other coming from the (-) pole of a battery. It is found that misconceptions similar to those observed in 6th grade students are also prevalent among 7th and 8th grade students. This supports the earlier findings that misconceptions are persistent and resist to change. Student responses to conceptual test items indicate that at times they consider electric current as voltage and voltage as electric current. This finding in turn indi cates the students confusion with the most fundamental concepts of electricity.IV Students showed difficulty in analyzing and understanding new situations when an additional resistance is put in existing circuit. It is also found that the stu dents had misconceptions associated with such changes made in circuits. Key Words : Science Education, Electricity, Concepts, Misconceptions. Page Number : 135 Adviser : Prof. Dr. Necati YALÇIN