Investigating effect of using analogy in science teaching course on primary school third grade students' conceptual meaning creation skill regarding different viewpoints

The main purpose of this research was to investigate effects of using analogy in science teaching course on primary school third-grade students' conceptual meaning creation skills regarding different viewpoints. The research was conducted for two weeks with randomly selected third-grade students who studied in two different primary schools, in Adana province in 2016-2017 education years. In the research, a quasi-experimental model with pre- and the post-test group was used. Within the context of primary school third-grade science course, analogy based instruction was applied in a classroom called experimental group (n=20), the conventional instruction was applied in another classroom called control group (n=21), and totally 41 students participated in the research. Moreover, in the research, two different data collecting tools called two-tier diagnostic test (TTDT) based academic achievement test (AAT) and semi-structured interview form (SSIF) to reveal students' cognitive structure related to concepts and views were used. Students' opinions about cognitive structures related to academic achievement and conceptual understanding of students were taken in science teaching practices in both experimental and control groups. Moreover, three weeks after implementation of post-AAT, AAT was applied as a retention test to the students in the experimental group and also students' pre-AAT, post AAT, and retention AAT scores were compared. Quantitative data obtained from the research were analyzed through SPSS 20 software. Furthermore, in the analysis process, paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test, and covariance techniques were used. The qualitative data obtained from the students were analysed throug MaxQda software. The results of the study showed that analogy based instruction applied in the experimental group were more effective than the conventional instructions applied in the control group in terms of supporting students' academic achievement. In addition, it was determined that there was not a significant difference between the students' post AAT and retention AAT scores. However, the results showed that students' retention AAT scores were higher than the post AAT scores although three weeks had passed since the administration of the post AAT. From this point of view, the effect of analogy based instruction on students' retention AAT scores positively increased day by day within the period. The aim of the first two items involved in SSIF was to discover students' views towards instructions in both groups. Additionally, the aim of the other items (3-8) involved in SSIF was to find out students' cognitive structures related to concepts in the science course. The results showed that analogy based instructions applied in the experimental group positively support students' interest, enjoyment towards the course. Also, it was determined that students have fun in the classroom environment. Similarly, the students in the control group, for whom the conventional instruction was applied, have positive views towards the course. Also, it was determined that students have fun in the classroom environment. Students' explanations related to the items (3-8) involved in SSIF which focus on to discover students' cognitive structures related to concepts in the science course, showed that the analogy based instruction applied in the experimental group was more effective than the conventional instruction applied in the control group in terms of supporting students' conceptual meaning creation skills. Moreover, these results were parallel with the results obtained from the quantitative analysis. Keywords: Primary school, teaching science, analogy, academic achievement, students' views, retention.