The use of conceptual change texts as class material in the teaching of “sound” in physics

This pilot study presents two examples of conceptual change texts that physics teachers will benefit from throughout the teaching/learning process. In the first conceptual change text that was prepared, the difference between the two characteristics of sound, pitch and intensity was explained in order to remove confusion. It was explained in the second text that molecules have to vibrate in the medium in order for sound to travel. Students learn the concept of the distance between molecules in the solid, liquid and gas states of matter in the first tier of elementary school. Since they already had this knowledge, an attempt was made in the study to support the explanations with images in the text so that the students could make the connection between the distance between molecules and the speed of sound.

After the texts were drawn up, the expert opinions of three experienced teachers--one of them a science teacher and the other two physics teachers--were enlisted. The experts confirmed that the texts that had been drawn up were appropriate to the academic level and readiness of the students in the two groups (8^th and 9^th grades) and matched the students’ degree of knowledge. In accordance with the educational program reforms implemented by the Turkish Ministry of National Education in 2004, the Elementary School “Science and Technology Course” syllabus was revised in the light of the spiral educational model approach and subject loads were lightened. The students in both groups were familiar with sound, wavelength, frequency, speed, amplitude, intensity and other related concepts as well as with the animals (i.e., Parakeet and Eagle in “Part 3”) mentioned in the conceptual change texts, having studied these previously in the different levels (4^th, 5^th and 6^th grades) of the course known in the elementary school curriculum as “Science and Technology.”

To test the prepared texts (including five parts), a pilot study was conducted at two separate schools—one a high school, the other a middle school—in the province of İzmir, Turkey during the fall semester of the 2012-2013 academic year. The texts were tried out on two groups—the first group with elementary school eighth grade students (n=12) and the second with middle school ninth-graders (n=15).

During the pilot study, the students were asked whether there was anything in the texts that they did not understand. No problem was encountered with regard to either the texts or the implementation. It was observed that attendance in the pilot study was high among the students.

In the section on Teaching Design below, an explanation is offered of how the process of teaching and learning is executed in the context of the present study and what factors must be taken into account.