The Effect of Traditional Lecturing on METU Stusents' Misconceptions in A Mechanics Course

Abstract

This study is a replication of European studies conducted with Turkish university students. The purpose is to investigate the effect of the conventional lecturing that is widely used in universities on freshmen students' misconceptions in an introductory mechanics course. The Mechanics Misconception Test that contains Turkish multiple-choice items was administered to 946 freshmen students as a pre-test and to 506 freshmen students as a post-test in an introductory mechanics course. Statistical analyses were done on 435 students who took both the pre-test and the post-test. Gender differences were analyzed by independent t-test, the effect of conventional lecturing on students' misconceptions was analyzed by dependent t-test, and the correlation between students' misconceptions and achievement in physics was analyzed by correlation analysis. The statistical results showed that there are statistically significant mean differences or correlations as follows: 1. Male students show fewer miconceptions and higher achievement than female students. 2.The correlation between students' misconceptions and achievement in physics (measured by students'grade in the mechanics course) is statistically significant. The fewer the students' misconceptions are,the higher the students' achievement are. 3.Although there was a statistically significant effect of conventional lecturing on students' misconceptions, this effect was far from being great enough to have a practical significance. After the findings were compared and contrasted with the findings in other countries, what could be done to decrease or dispell students' misconceptions in physics was discussed.