COGNITIVE STRUCTURES OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THIRD GRADE STUDENTS REGARDING THE CONCEPTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THEME “MY EXCITEMENT AT SCHOOL” IN THE LIFE SCIENCE CLASS CURRICULUM

The aim of this study was to determine the cognitive structures of third grade students regarding the concepts associated with the theme entitled “My Excitement at School” in the Life Science Class Curriculum for third grade. The study was performed using a survey model. The study participants consisted of a total of 80 third-grade students attending a public school in the province of U？ak during the 2015-2016 academic year. Data was collected using the word association test. In this technique, students are asked to write within a certain period of time the main concepts that come to mind when provided with key concepts relating to a particular subject. In this context, the key concepts were the concepts of love, need, opinion, social sharing and honesty, which are all part of the School Anxiety theme in the Life Science Curriculum. During the application of the study procedures, students were given a one-minute period to write down in the empty spaces next to these key concepts the words they considered associated with these concepts. Data analysis was performed by first forming frequency tables, and them by developing concept networks using the breakpoint technique. Based on these concept networks, it was determined that the students’ responses to the key concepts, as well as these concepts’ interrelationships, were logical. The obtained results demonstrated that word association test can be effectively used in the Life Science class. The results were also discussed in light of similar studies in the literature, and various recommendations were proposed for the relevant field