Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 1, Article 7 (Jun., 2008) Çiğdem ŞAHİN, Hava İPEK and Alipaşa AYAS Students’ understanding of light concepts in primary school: A cross-age study Previous Contents Next

Findings

1. Data Collected from Primary School Students using an Open- Ended Question

The open-ended question is as following:

1. According to you, what is light? How do you explain the concept of light?

Table I. 4th Grade Primary School Students’ Light Concept Definitions

Focus on concept	Typical definitions	Percentages (%) (N= 34)*
illumination	“Light enlightens dark places.” “We turn on the light when it is dark.”	35
Sun	“The Sun gives light to the World.”	21
Electricity	“Light comes through electricity to us.”	12
Lamp	“We use lamps when it is evening.” “Light occurs in the lamp.”	12
To see	“We can see with light when it is evening.”	9
Tool	“It’s a tool, which provides sight.”	6
Existence	“Existence is enlightens of The World.”	3
Matter	“It’s a matter, which enlightens us.”	3

*The percentage is more than a hundred because students’ sometimes use more than one concept in their construction of a definition. 

Primary school 4th grade students’ light concept definitions are given in Table I. 35% of students’ defined light concept as illumination, 21% as sun; 12% as electric and 3% as existence and matter concepts.

Table II. 6^th Grade Primary School Students’ Light Concept Definitions

Focus concept	Typical definitions	Percentages (%) (N= 36)*
To see	“Providing sight is a source. If there weren’t light, human couldn’t see anything.” “Illuminates environment provides sight in dark.”	42
Illumination	“Light is light. If there weren’t light, the World would be dark.” “Light illuminates some places and space.” There is light at luminousness. There isn’t light in dark.”	11
The Sun	“The Sun gives light and heat to the World.” “Sun is light.”	8
Energy	“Light is a source of energy. Light source illuminates every place at night.” “To provide illumination is energy.”	8
Subject	“Is a subject that provides to see?”	8
Reflection	“Light reflects matter.” “Light is a reflector matter.” “Light come into existence with electricity and it reflects. It is a colored, shined, abstracted source.”	8
Electric tool	“Our houses are illuminated with light which run to work with electricity.”	6
Beam	“Providing illumination is a ray of light.”	3
Lamp	“We use lamp as light in our houses.”	3
Matter	“It is a matter that provides to see.”	3
Color source	“Light is a color source. We need light to see in dark.”	3

*The percentage is more than a hundred because students’ sometimes use more than one concept in their construction of a definition.

In Table II, 6th grade primary school students’ light concept definitions are given. 41% of students’ defined light concept as to see; 11% as illumination, 8% as energy, 6% as an electric tool, 3% as matter, beam and lamp concepts.

Table III. 8^th Grade Primary School Students’ Light Concept Definitions

Focus concept	Typical definitions	Percentages (%) (N=39)*
Energy	“Illuminated energy.” “Illuminated darkness energy source.” “Light is energy, which provides to see matters, and to see each other.” “It is an energy that provides sight and is seen as energy.”	51
To see	“Light provides sight every thing we can’t see before.” “Illuminating dark places provides sight.”	18
Darkness and light	“It illuminates darkness.” “It is a source that illuminates darkness.”	15
Matter	“Is a matter that illuminates our front?”	10
The speed of light	“Light spreads in an unknown way. It is very fast. It hits to objects and provides sight their colors.” “Light spreads in an unknown way. Light is very fast.” “When matter gets warm it spreads heat and light. Light turns the World’s surrounding seven times until we open and close our eyes.”	8
To see a tool	“Light illuminates our World. We can use it as a tool to see.” “What we use the most important in daily life.”	6
Wave length	“Light turns the World’s surrounding seven times until we open and close our eyes. Light is a word that symbolized withg.”	3

*The percentage is more than a hundred because students’ sometimes use more than one concept in their construction of a definition.

In Table III, 8th grade primary school students’ light concept definitions are given. 51% of the students’ defined light concept as energy, 10% as matter, 8% as light’s speed, 6% as a tool and 3% defined as a wavelength. 

2. Data Collected From Primary School Students With Two-Tiered Test Questions
The first question of the two-tiered test is:

1. i. Which isn’t a light source?

a) Star b) Candle  c) The Moon d) Firefly

1. ii. Write down your reasons for the choice you made.

Table IV. 4^th Grade Students’ Answers

Choice	Typical definitions	Percentages (%)
Firefly	“It isn’t a tool that works with electricity and it doesn’t reflect light.” “Firefly is an insect. Light source isn’t related to it.” “It doesn’t enlighten every place. We don’t use it for our houses and street illumination.” “Its light isn’t sufficient. It produces less light than others. It doesn’t enlighten The World.” “We can’t open and close its light.”	85
Moon	“It reflects the light that it has taken from the Sun”.	3
Candle	“It ends when it burns”. “Candle is a fire.”	6
Star	“Star can’t be a light source”.	6

In Table IV, 4th grade primary school students’ choice of light sources and their reasoning are given. “The Moon” is the correct choice and only 3% of the students selected the correct answer.

Table V. 6^th Grade Students’ Answers

Choice	Typical definitions	Percentages (%)
Firefly	“Its light isn’t sufficient. It produces less light than others. It doesn’t enlighten The World.” (%5) “We can’t pen and close its light.” (%5) “Firefly is an animal and an existence.” (%48)	58
Moon	“The Moon reflects the light that it takes from The Sun.” “The Moon is a satellite.”	31
Candle	“Candle is a fire.”	8
Star	-	3

 In Table V, 6th grade primary school students’ choice of light sources and reasoning are given. The Moon, again, is the correct choice, but only 31% of the students selected this choice. 

Table VI. 8^th Grade Students’ Answers

Choice	Typical definitions	Percentages (%)
Firefly	“It is an animal.” “We couldn’t open and close its light.” “It produces less light than the other light sources. It doesn’t enlighten World.” “We can’t use it as a tool. It doesn’t illuminate.”	56
Moon	“The Moon reflects the light that it takes from The Sun.”	36
Candle	-	-
Star	-	-

 
In Table VI, 8th grade primary school students’ choice of light sources and their rationale are given. The Moon is the correct choice and only 36% of the students selected correctly.

The second question of the two-tiered test is:

2.i. There are white and black colored papers in the dark room, but there is no light. Can you see these papers?

Table VII. Students’ Answers to the Third Question

Students Choices in percentages	4thgrade	6th grade	8th grade
a)Yes. We can see them.	-	3	-
b) No. We can’t see them	50	17	40
c) We can see black ones.	-	8	-
d) We can see white ones.	50	69	60

ii. Select your answer and write an explanation

50% of the 4^th grade students said that they could see the white papers in the dark room, where 50% said that they couldn’t see anything. Students think that color of the light and paper are the same. 68% of students said that light is necessary to see. Only 12% of students explained vision and sight in a correct way.

 

69% of 6^th grade students said that they could see white paper in the dark room, and 17% said that they couldn’t see anything in the dark room. 8% of 6^th grade students said that when the room is dark everywhere is seen black. Thus, they said that they can see black papers better in dark. Moreover, 3% of 6^th grade students said that they could see both black and white papers.

 

60% of 8^th grade students’ said that they can see white papers in the dark room, where 40% said that they couldn’t see anything in the dark. Some of their ideas were as follows: “White paper shines”, “White light shines at darkness.”, “White is the true color for light.”, “If there is no light, we can’t see and there won’t be any vision.”, “We can’t see any matter at dark.

The third question of the two-tiered test is:

3.i. Six pictures about sight are below. In which picture can you see the tree?

Note: Arrows are showing the direction of light. 

ii. Write your explanation for the choice that you think is correct.

Table VIII. Rates of Figures That Students Selected, about How They Can See a Tree

Students	Choices and Students’ Answers Percentages
	A(%)	B(%)	C(%)	D(%)	E(%)	F(%)
4th grade	3	9	15	38	12	18
6th grade	6	-	25	36	14	14
8th grade	-	-	8	62	13	10

 

38% of the 4^th grade students, 36% of the 6^th grade students, 62% of the 8^th grade students selected choice D. 3% of the 4^th grade students selected choice A and 9% selected choice B. 25% of the 6^th grade students selected choice C, but none of the 8^th grade students selected choice A.

The forth question the two-tiered test is:

4.i. A mosquito bites Ahmet’s chin at midnight. Ahmet wants to see where the mosquito has bitten. Ahmet immediately finds a flashlight and a mirror. If he wants to see his chin in the mirror very clearly, how should he hold the flashlight?

 

A) He should hold the flashlight to the mirror.

B) He should hold the flashlight to his chin.

C) He should hold the flashlight parallel to the mirror.

D) He should hold the flashlight straight to the mirror.

E) ……………………………………………………………………………………………

ii. Which one of the diagrams below perfectly explains your ideas? If none of the diagrams explains your ideas, draw your diagram in box E.

A)	B)	C)	D)

E)

 

 

Table IX.  Students’ Answers about Figures Related to Ahmet’s Sight His Chin

Students	Frequencies of students’ answer choices
	A (%)	B (%)	C (%)	D (%)
4th grade	44	32	18	3
6th grade	33	19	14	14
8th grade	33	21	13	15

 

32% of the 4^th grade students, 19% of the 6^th grade students, 21% of the 8^th grade students selected choice B. None of the students selected to write their own answer in box E. 

Table X. Students’ Explanations about Figures about Ahmet’s Sight His Chin

Students	Frequencies of students’ answer choices
	A(%)				B(%)				C(%)				D(%)
	A	B	C	D	A	B	C	D	A	B	C	D	A	B	C	D
4th Grade	7	27	27	20	55	18	-	-	-	17	67	17	-	-	100	-
6th Grade	8	8	75	-	71	-	-	-	-	-	60	20	-	-	-	100
8th Grade	-	54	31	-	86	-	13	-	-	20	-	80	17	-	-	67

 

55% of the 4^th grade students, 71% of the 6^th grade students, and 86% of the 8^th grade students selected figure A for choice B. 17% of the 4^th grade students, 20% of the 6^th grade students, and 80% of the 8^th grade students selected figure D for choice C.

The fifth question of the two-tiered test is:

5. Yıldız, Ali, Gül and Burak are talking about sight and light concepts. Gül confused as to whether the Moon is a light source or not? Which idea is correct Please write your explanations under your answers?

Three cartoons characters are talking about whether the Moon is a light source or not. Gül confused Ali’s, Burak’s and Yıldız’s statements about the necessity of light for vision. We want students to select the ideas, for which they agree.

Table XI. Students’ answers about whether the Moon is a light source

Students grade	Students’ answer percentages
	Ali (%)	Burak (%)	Yıldız (%)
4th grade	15	3	74
6th grade	19	6	56
8th grade	13	-	82

3% of the 4^th grade students and 6% of the 6^th grade students selected Burak’s statement. On the other hand, none of the 8^th grade students selected Burak’s statement.

3. Data Collected from the Sample through Interviews about Concepts and Drawings

These interviews were conducted in order to learn the reasons behind students’ responses for the two-tiered test’s first (about light source) and fifth questions (about sight and light concepts).

Table XII. 4^th Grade Students’ Interview Answers about Concepts

Focus Concept	Typical definitions	Student (N=10)
Moon	“The Moon reflects light to us.” “The moon reflects the light that it takes from The Sun to us. So we can see.”	3 (agree)
Moon	“The Moon reflects the light that it takes from The Sun. It can’t be a source.” “If the Moon was a light source, it would be full moon. But, the Moon is sometimes The Full moon and sometimes First Moon.”	7 (don’t agree)
Firefly	”If a firefly is put into a lamp, it doesn’t give light like electricity because it is an animal, it reflects light very little, and it can’t be used at home”.	7(don’t agree)

In Table XII, 4th grade primary school students’ answers to interview questions about light concept definitions are given. 3 students agreed that the Moon is a light source. The others did not agree that the Moon is a light source. Also, these students didn’t agree that a firefly is a light source or not. When we asked students whether the moon or the firefly is light source, they stated that firefly isn’t a light source. They showed evidence by saying that; “If firefly is put into lamp, it doesn’t give light like electricity because it is an animal, it reflects light very little, and it can’t be used in houses”. Similar answers were given in the two- tiered test that took place beforehand.

Figure I. 4^th grade student think that to see and to look have the same meaning. 

Table XIII.  6^th Grade Students’ Interview Answers about Concepts

Focus Concept	Typical definitions	Student (N=10)
Moon	“The Moon illumines at night.”	4 (agree)
Moon	“The Moon reflects the light that takes from The Sun.	6 (didn’t agree)
Metal spoon	“Metal spoon reflects the light; we can see it in dark kitchen.”	1 (agree)
Firefly	“We can see its light.”, “If there were fireflies more than one, they would illumine us.”	2 (agree)
Firefly	“Firefly doesn’t spread light like The Sun.” “Firefly spreads enough light for itself to see.”	8 (didn’t agree)

 In Table XIII, 6th grade primary school students’ answers to interview questions about light concept definitions are given. 4 students agreed that the Moon is a light source. They explained their reasons as; “The Moon illumines at night.” And a student stated that, a “Metal spoon reflects the light; we can see it in dark in kitchen”. Students drew figures to further explain their statements.

Figure II. 6th grade student agree the moon is light source

Figure III. 6th grade student agree metal spoons are light source

Table XIV. 8^th Grade Students’ Interview Answers about Concepts

Focus Concept	Typical definitions	Student (N=10)
Moon	“The moon reflects light that it takes from The Sun to us.”	10 (agree)
Firefly	“We can see its light.” “If there were more fireflies they would illumine us.”	2 (agree)
Firefly	“Firefly doesn’t spread light like The Sun.” “Firefly spreads enough light for itself to see.” “It is an animal and it dies.”	8 (didn’t agree)

In Table XIV, 8th grade primary students’ answers to interview questions about light concept definitions are given. 10 students agreed that the Moon is a light source. They reasoned that, “The Moon illumines at night.” And a student stated that “Metal spoon reflects the light, we can see it in dark in kitchen”. Students drew figures to further explain their statements.

Figure IV: An 8^th grade student’s drawing reflecting the relationship between the concepts of sight with light.

 

Figure V gives a summary of the findings for the 4^th, 6^th and 8^th grade students’ rates of correctly answered open-ended and two-tiered questions.

Figure V. Rates of 4^th, 6^th and 8^th grade students’ rates of answers to questions A, B, C, D, E and F

First open-ended question A: According to you what is light? How do you explain the concept of light?

First two-tiered question B: Which isn’t a light source?

Second two-tiered question C: There are white and black colored papers in the dark room, and there is no light. Can you see these papers?

Third two-tiered question D: Six pictures about sight are given at the below. In which picture could you see the tree?

Fourth two-tiered question E: The mosquito bites Ahmet’s chin at midnight. Ahmet wants to see where the mosquito has bitten. Ahmet immediately finds a flashlight and a mirror. If he wants to see his chin in the mirror very clearly, how should he hold the flashlight?

Fifth two-tiered question F: Yıldız, Ali, Gül and Burak are discussing sight and light concepts. Which idea do you think is correct? Please write an explanation for your answers.

As seen in Figure V, from 4^th grade to 8^th grade, the students’ level of understanding improved except when looking at questions D and F. 6^th and 8^th grade students have lower levels of understanding than 4^th grade students regarding question D. Also, 6^th grade students have lower levels of understanding in comparison to 4th graders regarding question F.

---

Copyright (C) 2008 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 9, Issue 1, Article 7 (Jun., 2008). All Rights Reserved.