Determination of alternative ideas for preschool teachers' concepts of basic astronomy

The purpose of this research is to identify alternative ideas for pre-school teachers on basic astronomy concepts. The research was carried out with 36 pre-school teachers working in the pre-primary education institutions connected to Kastamonu city center. Survey method was used in descriptive research methods. An interview form was developed in order to determine the alternative ideas of pre-school teachers about basic astronomy concepts. In this interview form, it is required to explain the concepts of star, planet, satellite, Earth, Sun and Moon apart from demographic information from the teachers in terms of definition, motion, brightness, structure and shape. The answers obtained from the interview form were classified by the answers of the teachers according to the definition, motion, brightness, structure and figure titles for the concepts of star, planet, satellite, Earth, Sun, Moon for preschool teachers' open ended questions and then answered in the same direction analyzed according to descriptive analysis method, frequencies were calculated. As a result of the research, it is seen that pre-school teachers have alternative ideas including definition, motion, brightness, structure and shape elements for star, planet satellite, Earth, Sun, Moon concepts. It is suggested that in-service trainings supported by current astronomy studies, which emphasize the basic concepts of astronomy, can be given to teachers in the undergraduate programs that teacher education can give a lesson about astronomy.