Abstract:

The aim of this research is to identify the cognitive structures of the sixth-class students regarding the "Support and Movement System" through the Word Relationship Test and to identify conceptual errors. For this purpose, the Word Relationship Test (KIT) has been used as a data collection tool to identify the student’s conceptual errors and to identify cognitive errors. The research was carried out with a screening model. The study group consists of 66 high school students who are studying in the sixth grade of two different state schools connected to the province of Istanbul. The students were asked to write the words they associated with in their minds in the context of the CIT for these concepts in the time determined by giving them 5 key concepts (muscle, bone, joint, skeleton and movement). Before the implementation of the KIT, the pilot study is made to ensure that students are familiar with the method. After the original application, a frequency table was created by examining in detail the words that students relate to key concepts. The conceptual networks that illustrate the student’s cognitive structures are drawn up using the data in the created frequency table. In order to ensure the reliability of the research, the data is studied by a field training expert and the reliability value between coders is calculated. The research finds that while students are aware of the subject of support and movement, some students have conceptual errors related to key concepts and there are recommendations in this context.

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