IDENTIFICATION OF TEACHER CANDIDATES' SKILLS IN DESIGNING EXPERIMENTS WITH VARIOUS ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the classroom teacher candidates' skills in designing experiments using two assessment tools and the effects of these tools on the experimental design skills. This study is a survey realized on one group. The sample of the study consists of 206 2nd -year students from Abant Izzet Baysal University, In the study, Scientific Operation Skill Test (Test-1) with multi-selective questions and scenario dependent Test of Scientific Processing Skills For Teachers (Test-2) with an open ended structure are used. The findings of the study showed that teacher candidates answered multiple choice questions covering experimental design more comfortably by not leaving any questions unanswered. However, open-ended questions proved to be an area with significant number of blank answers. The finding that both tests provide different success rates shows that the selected assessment tool is an important factor in successfully identifying variables and evaluating skills related to validation. The results of the study show that the teacher candidates have not performed in either test related to experimental design in the expected manner. Suggestions in the light of the findings of the study are provided at the end of the study.