The effect of POE strategy on preservice science teachers understanding the subject of growth-development in plants

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of activities based on Prediction-Observation-Explaination? (POE) strategy on preservice science teachers? conceptual achievements, retentions, science process skills and attitudes toward science. In this study, working gruop consisted of 80 second class preservice science teachers? at Adıyaman University, Turkey. The research was conducted in fall semester of 2010-2011 academic year. In the study, control and experimental group design was used. Pretest and posttest was administered at the beginning and end of the study. Normal day class students were assigned as experimental group while the night class were assigned as control group. POE strategy based activities were applied on experimental group and traditional teaching was used on control group. Following instruments were used for data collection from the students: conceptual achievement test, science process skills test and attitude toward science test. Quantitative datas were analyzed by using independent t test for testing the hypotheses of study. Results of the analyses showed that the effect of activities based on POE strategy on preservice science teachers? conceptual achievements, retentions, science process skills was significant; attitudes toward science was not significant. Furthermore, science teacher candidates reported that POE strategy was more effective than previously used methods, student-centered, referred to comment and to think, provided permanent learning, would be useful to practice in science courses and they would like to use this method when they became a science teacher (94 pages, 2011).Key Words: Science Education, POE Strategy, Conceptual Achievement, Retention, Science Process Skills, Attitude Toward Science.