Abstract:

This study aimed to identify the learning styles preferred and attitudes towards biology teaching of the pre-service biology teachers and to investigate relationship between their attitudes towards biology teaching and learning styles. The survey model was used as research model. The study group included a total 100 students (58 of whom were female, and 42 of whom were male) attending the Department of Biology at Ziya Gökalp Education Faculty of Dicle University in the academic year of 2010-2011. As the data collection tools, The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and the Scale of Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Biology Teaching were used. The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory (KLSI) is a 12-item scale developed by Kolb (1985) and adapted by Aşkar and Akkoyunlu (1993) for applicability in Turkey. For the analysis of the data obtained, percentages, frequencies, means, standard deviations, independent groups t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. As a result of the study, it was seen that the dominant learning style of a majority of the pre-service biology teachers was "diverger" (58%) and that their self-efficacy beliefs in biology teaching were high ( = 3,70). It was also revealed that the pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in biology teaching did not differ with respect to their learning styles.

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