Metaphorical Perceptions of Physics Teacher Candidates about Some Concepts of Electricity

Purpose of this study is to reveal the metaphorical perceptions of the Physics Teacher candidates regarding the 10 basic concepts of electricity. These concepts are “electron, proton, electric field, charge, conductor, non-conductor, semiconductor, flux, magnetic field and condenser.” The research study was conducted in 2016-2017 academic year with the 3rd grade Physics Teacher candidates studying in Education Faculty of a State University. Students were directed the open-ended question as “This concept is …Because…” with the aim of revealing their metaphorical perception and thy were expected to base their metaphorical perceptions in the because part. In the research carried out with 10 voluntary teacher candidates, descriptive method was used among the qualitative analysis techniques. The second part of this study consists of an interview which lasts 4 weeks. 4 teacher candidates, who were selected in terms of the consistency of their answers given in the first part, attended to the interview. In the interview, it is requested to deeply analyze the answers given by teacher candidates. Therefore, questions were presented by supporting them with sub-problems. Findings had been recorded for 4 weeks. At the end of the study, 93 metaphors were found. These metaphors were divided into 3 groups in terms of their ability to associate the features of the object, to associate the features of the person and to associate the features of the abstract concepts. The results of the research were compared to the researches done in our and other countries and similarities and differences had been revealed