New Perspectives in Science Education

The misconceptions that students have are usually obstacles in the learning process while teaching of science that contain abstract concepts such as chemistry. Group concept maps are used to create a conceptual map from a specific topic of a specific social group.  Group concept maps are a type of structured conceptualization that are used to develop a perceptual framework within a group and lead the results to evaluation and planning. Besides the fact that participants are more motivated, group concept maps are keeping the target group in workplace and they can be translated relatively easily comparing concept maps. In this study, it is aimed to determine the effects of augmented reality applications on the achievements of freshmen in chemical bonding units with group concept maps. The research was carried out with a total of 20 freshmen students studying in Science Education program at a state university located in the Black Sea Region of Turkey in the fall semester of 2017-2018 academic year. The study group was divided into half as the control group and the experimental group. Group concept maps are developed by researchers for the purpose of collecting data on chemical bonds and were used as pretests and posttests. It was observed that the concept definitions of augmented reality application group’s group concept maps are more than the groups in the experimental one. This study, which is based on a comparison to clasical teaching methods and usage of augmented reality applications, found that student’s detailed descriptions and learning levels of chemical bond concepts are increased. The use of novel technologies in the teaching of abstract science concepts such as chemistry, especially for the teacher candidates, contributes to meaningful learning. In this context, it is suggested to improve and the generalization of augmented reality applications for chemistry higher education teaching.

Keywords: Group Concept Maps, Augmented Reality, Chemistry Education