Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the understanding of diffusion, osmosis and particulate theory of matter conceptions among pre-service Biology teachers. The respondents were 30 pre-service Biology teachers of a faculty of education, UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor. The Diffusion, Osmosis and Particle Theory (DOPT) Two-Tier Diagnostic Instrument and interview applied for the data collection. The items for the diagnostic test are based on the two-tier, multiple-choice format. The first tier consists of a response question and the second tier consists of possible reasons. Findings from the DOPT two-tier diagnostic instruments highlighted that the respondents’ understanding of diffusion and osmosis were satisfactory good as 5 out of the 7 items was over 75 % which is within 80–99 %. However the understanding on particulate theory of matter was unsatisfactory as all seven items were less than 75 % and does not reached the benchmark set up. Interviews with four respondents provided useful insights into their understanding of the concepts of osmosis, diffusion and particulate theory of matter. Overall, findings indicated most of the respondents who participated in the study held misconceptions, which eventually affect their understanding of Osmosis, Diffusion and Particulate theory of matter. Among the misconceptions include concentration and tonicity, differentiating between osmosis and diffusion, effect of temperature on solubility, membrane, process of osmosis, change of state, dissolving, particles arrangement in solid, properties of solid and diffusion in gases and liquid.
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Yusof, M.M.M., Halimin, N.M., Shamsudin, N.M. (2016). Understanding of Diffusion, Osmosis and Particulate Theory of Matter Conceptions Among Pre-service Biology Teachers. In: Fook, C., Sidhu, G., Narasuman, S., Fong, L., Abdul Rahman, S. (eds) 7th International Conference on University Learning and Teaching (InCULT 2014) Proceedings. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-664-5_16
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