Özet:

When existing literature is examined, it was understood that students came to science classes with preconceptions and had diff iculty in learning basic science concepts. It was extremely important to determine students’ prior knowledge in order to eff ectively plan and design education. One way to determine students’ preconceptions is to make use of their mental models. Th e purpose of the present study was to determine gift ed students’ thoughts and mental models about the particulate nature of matter during change of state, change in matter, and dissolving. Th e method of the present study was determined as the action research. 16 gift ed students, enrolled at Ordu Science and Art Center, voluntarily participated in the study. A Concept Test consisting of 7 open-ended questions was used as a data collection tool. Th e results indicated that the students had not suff icient understanding and held a number of alternative concepts about the topic under investigation. Teachers may identify students’ diff iculties and design a better learning environment by taking into consideration students’ mental models. Th erefore, it was suggested that the teachers should be given in-service training concerning the use of models and modeling. Keywords: Gift ed students, mental models, particulate nature of matter, chemistry

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