Özet:

The descriptive method was used in this study, which was conducted in order to determine the mental models of pre-service science teachers (PTs) for science teaching and to examine the mental models according to gender, grade level, parents' education status, general academic achievement scores and the variables of high school they graduated. The sample of the study consists of 200 PTs studying in the Science Education Department of the Faculty of Education of a state university in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. The “Draw-a-science-teacher-test-checklist” (DASTT-C)" and individual information form developed by Thomas, Pedersen and Finson (2001) were used as data collection tools in the study. At the end of the research, it was determined that 39% of the PTs have a conceptual model, 34.5% have a explorotary and 26.5% have an explicit mental model. While no significant difference was found between the mental models of PTs according to gender, a significant difference was found between mental models according to grade level. As the grade level progresses, it is observed that the mental models of the PTs change from the explicit model to the explorotary model. While there was no significant difference between the mental models of the PTs according to their parents' education levels and the type of high school they graduated from, it was found that there was a low, negative and significant relationship between their general academic achievement scores and their mental models. Based on the result that the mental model shifts towards the student-centered model as the grade level increases, it can be suggested to offer opportunities for PTs to use student-centered techniques and have student-centered experiences.