Determination of Middle School Students' Alternative Ideas in the "Conduction of Electricity" Unit through Score Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to identify the alternative ideas of 6th-grade students regarding the "Conduction of Electricity" unit. Data were collected from students who had completed the electricity conduction unit. The study was conducted using a survey model with 54 6th-grade students. A test developed by Aydoğdu (2017) assessed student performance on the electricity conduction unit. The test consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions, and correct and incorrect responses were analyzed. The results showed that student responses fell into patterns such as high score-high concentration (HH), low score-low concentration (LL), medium score-medium concentration (MM), and medium score-low concentration (ML). Based on these patterns, students' alternative ideas were examined. It was found that students had misconceptions about electrical resistance and the factors that influence it. As a result, it is recommended that more efforts be made to detect and address learning deficiencies in the electricity conduction unit, that science teachers relate the topic more to everyday life during instruction, and that teachers actively work to correct students' alternative ideas.