Abstract:

This study explores pre-service primary teachers’ drawings of the digestive system. The research data was collected through the use of drawing method with 102 third grade pre-service primary teachers studying in the Faculty of Education at Trakya University during 2016-2017 academic year. The findings revealed that primary teacher candidates’ drawings of the digestive system were quite far from the scientifically acceptable ones. A small percentage of students (12.7 percent) produced a relatively scientific representation of the digestive system, including all the digestive organs. Although a great majority of the students depicted the mouth, gullet, stomach and intestines in their drawings of the digestive organs, they mostly omitted the pharynx, liver and pancreas. They commonly had lack of knowledge about the digestive system organs, and size of them in the human body. These results also reveal that, in teaching and learning process, drawings are an important tool in revealing knowledge shortages or misconceptions, and may be used more commonly in improving students understanding of some scientific phenomena.

Keywords: