The effects of model based science education on students? conceptual understanding, science process skills, understanding of scientific knowledge and its domain of existence: The sample of 7th grade unit of light

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of model based science and technology course on students? conceptual understanding, science process skills, understanding of scientific knowledge and its domain of existence during the 7th grade unit of light.The study was conducted with 34 students as experimental group and 31 students as control group in Vali Rahmi Bey Primary School of Buca, İzmir during the spring term in 2008. The experimental group received model based science teaching while the control group received regular science education depending on the Science and Technology Curriculum over a period of 6 weeks. Both groups were given conceptual understanding test, science process skills scale, scientific knowledge scale and the scale for the existence domain of scientific knowledge. The conceptual understanding test, scientific knowledge scale and the scale for the existence domain of scientific knowledge were developed by the researcher. Besides, 5 students from each group were interviewed before and after the instruction about the scientific knowledge and its domain of existence by the forms developed by the researcher.The results showed that there are significant differences between experimental and control group students with respect to their conceptual understanding, science process skills in favor of experimental group. Although there is not a significant difference between experimental and control group students with respect to their understanding of scientific knowledge regarding the results of quantitative data, it was seen that the experimental group students improved their understanding of scientific knowledge regarding the results of qualitative data. On the other hand, it was seen that there is a significant difference between experimental and control group students with respect to their understanding of the existence domain of scientific knowledge in favor of experimental group regarding the results of quantitative data. Besides, it was seen that the experimental group students improved their understanding of the existence domain scientific knowledge regarding the results of qualitative data.