Verbal and Visual Content That May Lead to Misconceptions in Primary School Science Textbooks

In the present study, verbal and visual contents that may lead to misconceptions in the science textbook prepared in three volumes for use at the third grade of primary school in the 2016-2017 Academic Year were examined. The research was designed with a qualitative approach, and content analysis was used for data analysis. A set of criteria was developed by the researchers to examine the textbook, and the content analysis was performed in accordance with the headings contained in the content analysis. According to the order in which the main headings of the findings of the sub-problems are included in the set of criteria, the following issues were identified with regard to verbal content that could lead to misconceptions: not focusing on the basic property of the concept in the given example, the use of improper headings, not using the words in proper place, not protecting the boundaries when making generalizations, the absence of unity of expression, and the inaccuracy of the questions. In the light of the findings, it is thought that this research is important in terms of illustrating the contents that may lead to misconceptions in the textbooks of the third grade, where children first meet with the science course