Investigation of the process of science teacher candidates' learning current biology topics designed according to inquiry based learning approach

The aim of this study is to determine science teacher candidates' understandings about current biology topics in order to contribute their information literacy, to implement an inquiry-based learning process to develop these understandings and to determine the views of science teacher candidates about this learning process. The biology subjects included in the study are Antarctica, Astrobiology, wastes, biological sensors, biomimicry, genetically modified organisms, conservation biology, stem cell technology, water and water resources, viruses and renewable energy resources. The study was carried out in accordance with the special case method, one of the qualitative research approaches. The sample of the study consists of 15 science teacher candidates (14 females and 1 male) studying at the faculty of education. Word association test, open-ended questions test and interviews were used as data collection tools in order to reveal the understandings, change in science teacher candidates' knowledge. and views about the process. Content and descriptive analysis were used in the analysis of the data. According to findings it is seen that the science teacher candidates wrote the least response word in the subjects of astrobiology, biological sensors and biomimicry. In open-ended questions, it was determined that they had insufficient and limited understanding of astrobiology, biological sensors and biomimicry. While there was a sufficient and excellent level of change in all subjects after the application, it was determined that the learning process designed according to inquiry-based learning approach revealed a positive change in science teacher candidates' knowledge. Regarding the applied learning process, science teacher candidates stated that they developed their research skills and were effective in learning different subjects. It is suggested that the learning process designed based on inquiry-based learning approach can be used to improve the research skills of middle school and high school students and to increase their knowledge about different subjects.