Investigation of Students’ Hypothesis Skills In Chemistry Laboratory Applications

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the skill level of hypothesis gained by the students as a result of the applications made with the activities designed based on Scientific Process Skills. Design/Methodology/Approach: In this study, in the context of constructivist learning approach; A laboratory training material which has been developed by Yaz (2018), consisting of 10 activities, which includes hypothesis-based experimental technique applications, enriched in terms of scientific process skills, has been used in the General Chemistry Laboratory-I course in the Faculty of Education Science Education program. This research was carried out with 31 students studying in the first grade of the Science Teaching Department in the Faculty of Education. General Chemistry Laboratory I courses were conducted for 10 weeks with activities developed based on scientific process skills. This research is a descriptive research type and designed according to the qualitative research approach. After performing the activities, content analysis was conducted on the student reports, and the students' ability to form hypotheses were determined. Findings: As a result of the content analysis conducted on the students’ experimental results reports, it was concluded that a significant number of students were able to construct at least one or more researchable and testable hypotheses about the subject of the experiment. Highlights: It was concluded that a significant part of the hypotheses established could be investigated and tested, and no significant difficulties were encountered during the applications. It was determined that the rate of students who could establish testable and meaningful hypotheses (80%) was higher than the rate of students who could not establish such hypotheses (20%). In addition, it can be said that such activities designed for the acquisition of process skills can contribute positively to both the acquisition of adequate process skills to the students and the permanence of these skills.