Exploring Pre-Service Elementary Science Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding of Particulate Nature of Matter through Three-Tier Diagnostic Test

OpenAlex İngilizce

The purpose of this study was to explore Pre-service Elementary Science Teachers’(PSTs) conceptual understanding of Particulate Nature of Matter (PNM) through athree-tier diagnostic test. Participants were 215 PSTs from Turkey. Dataconsisted of participants’ responses to the Particulate Nature of Matter Test (PNMT).The PNMT consists of three-tier items. Students were asked to choose thecorrect choice in the first tier, and then to justify their choice of the answerprovided in the second tier. Finally, they were asked to indicate theconfidence level of their responses in the third tier. Results showed that thePSTs were not competent in their understanding of the PNM concepts. Moreover,some had strongly held misconceptions. Finally, the PSTs struggled to providecoherent answers to the items on the PNMT across three tiers.