Abstract:

In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of differentiated instruction in eliminating students' misconceptions in science education. The study was carried out with seventh grade students in a public secondary school in Istanbul in the 2021-2022 academic year. The misconceptions of the students were determined with open-ended questions and interviews, and their academic success was determined with multiple-choice questions. In this study, in which the experimental design was used, the content and process were differentiated in the first experimental group/Experiment-1, while the product differentiation was made in addition to the content and process differentiation in the second experimental group/Experiment-2.In the subject of "Mass and Weight Relationship", it has been determined that the concepts of mass and weight, equal-arm scales and dynamometers, which are measuring instruments for these quantities, and the concepts of kilogram and Newton, which are the units of these quantities, are frequently confused. While a decrease in misconceptions was detected in the control and experimental groups after differentiated instruction, the highest decrease was detected in the experimental 2 group. It has been determined that differentiated instruction has a positive effect on correcting misconceptions and also increases the academic achievement of students. With differentiated instruction in science education, the academic achievement differences between students from the past can be reduced and the difficulties in their learning can be eliminated. A detailed examination of the effect of differentiated course contents to be taught by consisting homogeneous and sometimes heterogeneous groups according to their interests and abilities in science education can contribute to the literature.

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