Examining fifth-grade students’ level of associating some daily-life events with “changes of state”

This study was conducted to examine the fifth-grade students’ level of associating some daily-life events with changes of state. At the end of the study, it was found that students were not able to sufficiently associate the given situations with daily-life events. In this sense, the findings of this study were in agreement with those of the studies conducted by Ayas and Özmen (1998) and Pınarbaşı et al. (1998). The first and second questions used in this study were about the phenomenon of evaporation, and the percentages of the responses to these questions included in the full understanding category were 33% and 14% respectively. Therefore, we can say that the students were not able to sufficiently associate evaporation with daily life. Bakırcı et al. (2010) also found that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students were not able to sufficiently explain the given situation about evaporation. Şimşek (2007) also reported a similar finding. The findings of this study can be said to be in agreement with those of the two studies mentioned above. Although the first and second questions were about the process of evaporation, the difference in the ratio of responses to these questions included in the full understanding category might be due to the requirement of choosing one or more of the answers in the first question. Although a student who has a full understanding of the concept of evaporation is expected to give correct answers to both questions, the ratios were found to be different for the first and second questions. Therefore, teachers should use many examples from daily life, especially from their immediate environment, when teaching these basic concepts.

The third question was about the phenomenon of melting and it was intended to measure the students’ level of associating the concept of melting with daily life. The findings revealed that 57% of the students were able to associate the concept with daily-life events at the full understanding level. The winter season is long and cold in the study location. Therefore, the students are accustomed to seeing frozen conditions over a period of a few days, and subsequently seeing the melting of the ice. This situation causes the examples given about the state changes related to melting and freezing to be better understood. The comparatively high percentage in the full understanding category might be due to the fact that students frequently encounter the melting phenomenon during their daily life. Frequent encounters with the melting of ice or snow might be the reason for such a high ratio of understanding. Another reason might be the examples of changes of state given in the courses, which were mostly about melting and freezing.

The fourth question involves explaining the phenomena of evaporation and condensation together. The ratio of the responses included in the full understanding category was found to be 18%. This is the second lowest ratio after the ratio of the responses to the second question which is about evaporation. Since evaporation and condensation are related concepts, the ratios of correct responses are close to each other. In the study by Bakırcı et al. (2010), sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students were asked to explain a given situation about the concept of condensation. Their findings showed that the students failed to sufficiently explain the situation. On the other hand, in the study by Boz (2004), sixth-, seventh- and 11th-grade students were asked to explain a given situation about the concept of condensation, and only the 11th-grade students (most of them) were able to sufficiently explain the situation. In the study by Hatzinikita and Koulaidis (1997), students aged 10 to 17 years were asked to explain the condensation phenomenon that occurs in a bottle just taken out the freezer. Their findings revealed that the ratio of students with the ability to explain was lower for the 12-year-old students, and higher for the 17-year-old students. The present study was also conducted with students about 12 years old, and our findings were in agreement with those of the other studies in the literature. The studies in the literature show that students may not exhibit the desired level of success in explaining the condensation phenomenon over almost all grades. This is one of the phenomena that students have most difficulty in understanding (Gopal, Kleinsmidt, Case & Musonge, 2004). The reason might be that students need to know that there is always water vapour in the air as well as knowing how condensation occurs (Boz, 2005). At this point, the focus is placed on the importance of associating these concepts with daily life (Campbell & Lubben, 2000; Coştu, Ünal & Ayas, 2007; Pınarbaşı et al., 1998; Yılmaz, 2008). Therefore, teachers should use examples from daily life as much as possible when teaching these concepts. The more science teaching is associated with daily life, the more meaningful the knowledge provided to the individuals will be (Yılmaz, 2012). In addition, it allows students to offer correct explanations for similar situations. In other words, providing only the definition of a concept is not sufficient to ensure its understanding.

The fifth question used in this study was about the concept of sublimation. The ratio of responses included in the full understanding category was found to be 22%. This ratio is somewhat higher than the ratios obtained from the questions about evaporation and condensation, but still is not sufficiently high. Although it was stated that there was no moisture in the tube, there were some responses related to melting, which indicates that the students did not properly understand the melting phenomenon. However, the ratio of correct responses to the third question is higher, which is probably the result of students’ familiarity with the melting of snow in their everyday life. Therefore, examples other than those which are only about the melting of ice or freezing of water must be provided when teaching the phenomena of melting and freezing. It was unexpected to see that the ratio of responses to the question about sublimation included in the full understanding category was higher than that for the responses to the questions about evaporation and condensation, since sublimation is not a common phenomenon in daily life. Students encounter the phenomena of evaporation and condensation almost every day in the winter when they are in vehicles, in the classroom or at home. Such frequently-encountered phenomena are expected to be more closely associated with daily life. The results might indicate the lack of teaching of these concepts in an in-depth way in the classroom environment, as well as the lack of proper explanations provided by the people around the students.

The sixth question was about the concept of deposition. The ratio of responses included in the full understanding category was 23%, which is almost the same as the ratio of the responses to the fifth question. Since sublimation and deposition are opposite concepts, it is not surprising if a student who did not understand one concept, also failed to understand the other. The low ratio might have resulted from the fact that deposition is not a common phenomenon that can be observed everywhere. Another reason might be that the students do not investigate the reasons for the phenomena they encounter in daily life.

The last question was about the concept of freezing, and the ratio of responses included in the full understanding category was 24%. Although freezing is the most frequently encountered daily-life phenomenon, the ratio is found to be low, which might indicate that the concept was taught only by giving its definition. Yılmaz (2008) reported that the freezing of water was the chemistry topic that seventh-grade students had most difficulty in associating with daily life. Thus, the reason for the failure of both fifth- and seventh-grade students to sufficiently associate the concept with daily life might be that they do not dwell on the concept too much, as it is already familiar. The study by Kırbulut and Betth (2013) examined high-school students’ understanding of melting, freezing, condensation and evaporation and found that the students showed inconsistencies when associating theoretical principles related to these concepts with everyday phenomena. Therefore, the concepts must be taught from the beginning in all grades and examples must be provided in detail.

In conclusion, given the importance of associating existing knowledge with daily life, we can say that students are required to achieve maximum success at associating what they have learned in the courses with daily life (Coştu, Ünal & Ayas, 2007). Yılmaz (2008) reported that changing states of matter was the chemistry topic that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students most frequently failed to associate with daily life. The findings of this study also reveal the importance of teaching this fundamental science concept, which is first taught in the third grade, by associating it more with daily-life events. On the other hand, the concept of heat must also be given due weight while teaching the changing states of matter. These are the only ways to ensure permanent learning of the concepts.

Suggestions

Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions can be offered:

Since changing states of matter is a fundamental science topic, it must be taught by giving examples from daily life, starting from the elementary school.
Students must be provided with the opportunity to carry out homework and projects that will allow them to explain daily-life events using their existing knowledge.
Context-based and case-based learning approaches should be applied when teaching concepts related to changes of state.
Course planning must be performed in such a way as to give emphasis to daily-life events.
Student-centred approaches must be adopted to reveal the responses that are not considered to be scientifically valid. The students themselves must learn why their responses are not valid.