The Effect of New Experimental System Design Related to the Plasma State on Achievement of Candidate Elementary Science Teachers

Abstract

The educational objectives related to the plasma state of matter, which comprises more than 90% of our universe, are located in the "properties of substances" unit in the 9th grade high school physics course curriculum. If there are physical and technical limitations while performing an experiment, the use of different techniques is recommended, such as demonstration experiments or simulations. Performing experiments related to the plasma state, which is the topic of this study, is very difficult in the classroom due to technical limitations. Thus, students cannot achieve the educational objectives related to the plasma state of matter. In addition, in Turkey, university curricula of elementary science education departments do not include lectures on plasma. The purpose of this study is to increase students' comprehension of the plasma state of matter and its properties. The newly designed experimental system and simulations are intended to answer the following questions: "What is plasma?" "What are the general characteristics of plasma?" "How can plasma be created in the laboratory?" For this purpose, a research group was established. The research group participants include: 28 female and 4 male elementary science education teacher candidates from Eskisehir Osmangazi University. Data were collected by an achievement test which includes 10 multiple-choice and 10 essay-type questions (to determine the reasons behind students' answers) developed by the researchers. Essay questions were scored with a rubric. The achievement test was administered before and after the experiment, and mean scores were compared by an independent samples t-test. In addition, the students' answers to the essay-type questions were compared by their rubric scores. The results of the independent samples t-test indicated that the students' mean post-test score was significantly higher than their mean pre-test score. In addition, rubric scores showed that students answered multiple-choice questions based on a higher level of understanding of plasma.