Student conceptions about cloning

The knowledge and thoughts that students have before lesson play an important role in creating the course content. Cloning is one of the important topics in biology education in terms of genetic literacy. One of the main objectives of biology education is to educate biological literate individuals. Therefore, it is necessary to create content that suits the cognitive levels and needs of the students and meets the goals of biology education. In this context, it is very important to know the conceptions of students about biology subjects. The purpose of this study is to determine the conceptions of secondary school students about cloning. Student conceptions were determined using a qualitative research approach. For this purpose, problem-centered semi-structured interviews were conducted with students. As a result of the research, many conceptions about cloning have been identified. In general, students think that cloning means copying living things. The students have the idea that genes alone determine the phenotype. In addition, the conception that "the genes and the environment together determine the phenotype" has been identified. Some students view cloning as reproductive technology, others as genetic engineering. Additionally, some students think that the clones are humanmade and not naturally occurring. The results of the research were interpreted in terms of biology education. Keywords: cloning, secondary school students, conceptions, notions, principles