A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE KNOWLEDGE LEVELS OF PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TEACHERS AND ELEMENTARY STUDENTS ABOUT RESPIRATION-PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN PLANTS

The present study aims to compare the knowledge levels of prospective science and technology teachers and 6th, 7 th, and 8th-grade students about respiration-photosynthesis in plants. To this end, it used the survey model as a quantitative research method. The study was carried out in two elementary schools in Demirci during the first semester of academic year 2009-2010 and with the prospective science and technology teachers studying in the Faculty of Education at Celal Bayar University during the second semester of the same academic year. The study sample consists of 192 prospective science and technology teachers and 191 elementary students. The concept cartoon tests were used to collect data in the study. SPSS 17 software was used to analyze concept cartoons. The results of the study demonstrate that the knowledge levels of pre-service teachers and elementary students about respiration-photosynthesis in plants differed in favor of the pre-service teachers. Furthermore, the participants exhibited the highest knowledge levels about the subject in the 5th concept cartoon question, which is 'respiration and photosynthesis phenomena in plants'. Nevertheless, the knowledge levels were low for pre-service teachers about 'the relationship between respiration-photosynthesis in plants', and for elementary students about living things that can carry out photosynthesis. In the light of these results, some suggestions are made about respirationphotosynthesis in plant