Abstract:

The models and modelling takes an important place in the teaching of science. The purpose of this research was to examine the postgraduate theses made in Turkey about models and modelling in the science education field by using the content analysis method. When the postgraduate theses were examined in respect to the purpose of the research, it has been determined that the number of the experimental research studies which were aimed to examine the efficiency of the model/modelling based teaching method was more than the others. In the examined theses, it has been identified that quantitative methods were more preferred as a research method. In the sense of the research sample, it has been determined that the number of research studies on the middle school level, especially those on 7th grade students was numerically more. It was seen that the most used data collection tool was conceptual test. The most examined variables in the theses were the achievement level and the mental model of the participants. The most preferred subjects were the “Atom and its structure” and the “Astronomy”. Based on the results, some suggestions were presented to future research studies related to models and modelling in science education.

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