Understanding Pre-service Elementary School Teachers’ Mental Models about Seasonal Change

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to develop an abductive procedure that students construct their alternative models, and help teacher to construct their scientific models from initial model to them about seasonal change. The data collected from the paper-pencil test and individual interview with students. For this study, 30 pre-service elementary school teachers(1st grade) were participated. The results of this study show that the students had apparent alternative conceptions, and that the 'distance theory' had most important effects on their alternative conceptions. In order to find the origin of structure of their alternative conceptions about seasonal change, we reconstructed the forming process of their alternative concepts according to the inference patterns of abduction. The revision types of main hypothesis as a their alternative models is done through their early age perceptions of typical celestial bodies rather than the acquired specific knowledge, and have the expansion, contraction, and revision of main theory. Implications for pre-service teachers’ science education and related research were discussed. For teachers to successfully guide elementary school students in scientific activities, teachers must possess both the appropriate scientific knowledge and the necessary abductive inference skills.