A proposal for assessing pre-service chemistry teachers' meaningful learning in organic chemistry: Systemic assessment questions diagram

The subject of alkenes, which is included in the organic chemistry course, is among the subjects that are difficult for students in terms of both their reactions and the synthesis of other molecules. In this respect, it is important to determine the learning difficulties of students, especially in the synthesis and reactions of alkenes, for a meaningful understanding of organic chemistry. This situation will also support the creation of learning environments that will contribute to the meaningful learning of pre-service chemistry teachers in organic chemistry courses. With this research, it is aimed to determine how pre-service chemistry teachers make connections between the synthesis and reactions of alkenes and what their learning difficulties are while establishing these connections by using Systematic Assessment Question(SAQ) Diagram. For this purpose, a descriptive study was conducted with 12 chemistry teacher candidates who took the KMY-3004 Organic Chemistry II course in the Department of Chemistry Education in an education faculty in the Aegean region in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. In the study, two data collection tools were used: systematic assessment of the reactions and synthesis of alkenes, a SAQ diagram and interview questions with the thinking aloud technique. In the study, first of all, the pre-service chemistry teachers were provided to complete the diagrams, and then they were individually interviewed in accordance with the thinking aloud technique. In the research, the answers given by the pre-service teachers to the diagrams and interviews were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. It has been revealed that the pre-service teachers are predominantly at the middle and low levels according to the scores they get from the diagram. This showed that pre-service chemistry teachers were not at a sufficient level to establish high-level relationships about the reactions and synthesis of alkenes. In the study, it was also determined that pre-services chemistry teachers had learning difficulties in classification of organic molecules and reaction types and mechanisms.