Analyzing Student Drawings of Cosmology Concepts

Drawing technique is an effective technique used to reveal the thoughts and misconceptions of science concepts created by students. The aim of this study is to reveal the thoughts and misconceptions of secondary school 7th grade students about cosmology concepts in the subject area of ‘Earth and Universe’ in science course. The research was organised in case study design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Fourteen (7 female, 7 male) 7th grade students in a state secondary school were selected as participants by criterion sampling method. The data were collected with the help of a drawing form designed by the researcher taking into account the cosmology topics and achievements in the subject area of ‘Earth and Universe’ in the 2018 curriculum of the 7th grade science course, and the data obtained were analysed by content analysis method. The most important finding of this study is that visual-aesthetic concern in student drawings is more important than scientific accuracy. In addition, it was determined that students explained cosmology concepts by associating them with different concepts, were influenced by daily life, textbooks and audio-visual educational materials while creating their drawings, and had misconceptions about basic astronomy concepts. It is thought that this study will contribute to the field by revealing the findings about the misconceptions of secondary school students as well as their thoughts and conceptions about cosmology concepts.