ERIC EJ1069988: Pre-Service Science Teachers' Interpretations of Graphs: A Cross-Sectional Study

2015·0.66 MB·English

by  ERIC

Emine ÇİL and Hazel KAR
Pre-Service Science Teachers’
Interpretations Of Graphs:
A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract be useful as the fi ndings of the study can 2011). Graph construction is the proce-
This study focuses on pre-service sci- be used to aid in designing graphs teach- dure of data processing (National Minis-
ence teachers’ interpretations of graphs. ing modules. try of Education [NME], 2005; Monteiro
First, the paper presents data about the & Ainley, 2003; Temiz & Tan, 2009).
Introduction
freshman and senior pre-service teach- Technological advancements have both
ers’ interpretations of graphs. Then it In the 21st century, we frequently use increased the graph variety (Vekiri,
discusses the effects of pre-service sci- graphs in our daily lives while reading 2002) and contributed to the graph con-
ence teacher training program on student newspapers, magazines, articles, watch- struction (Amer & Ravindran, 2010).
teachers’ interpretations of graphs. The ing TV news, and surfi ng on the net. Eco- For example, it has become easy for
participants in the study were 117 pre- nomic developments, election results, the the individuals to enter only their data
service science teachers. Fifty-six of the results of public reports in the fi elds of to form a graph with some computer
participants were freshman. The data of education and health and so on are pre- programmes. There are even laboratory
the study were gathered with a question- sented by graphs. Therefore, graphing environments that save the data and con-
naire adapted from Aoyama (2007). The competence is important and crucial for vert the data into graphs automatically.
questionnaire includes two graphs each all the citizens who often need it in their So, technologic developments have re-
based on a different context, and having daily life outside of the school environ- duced the skills that individuals are re-
four questions about the interpretation ment. Graphs are used in many scientifi c quired to have for graph construction.
of the graphs. The participants’ inter- disciplines (e.g., geography, economy, However, the individuals still have the
pretations of graphs were analysed in health, etc.) to analyse and organize the main role for the interpretation of the
fi ve levels. The levels were listed from collected data (either qualitative or quanti- graphs (Glazer, 2011).
low to high level: Idiosyncratic, Basic tative) and present them in a visual format Graph interpretations refer to a graph
Graph Reading, Rational/Literal, Criti- (Batanero, Arteaga, & Ruiz, 2009; Shah reader’s skill in obtaining meaning from
cal, and Hypothesising and Modelling. & Hooeffner, 2002). Graphs serve many graphs created by others or by them selves
The results of this study reveal that pre- purposes. First, graphs present complex (Aoyama, 2007; Glazer, 2011; Temiz
service science teacher can read values data concisely and precisely (Alacacı, & Tan, 2009). Curcio (1987), who has
and trends in graphs, but they are not Lewis, O’Brien, & Jiang, 2011; Bowen made important contributions to graph
successful at the higher levels within & Roth, 2005; Monteiro & Ainley, 2004). interpretations competence, identifi ed
the interpretations of graphs hierarchy. After the data are processed and put into three levels in learners’ interpretations
Moreover, the Turkish pre-service sci- graphs, the correlation and co-variation of graphs. The fi rst level is to read the
ence teacher training program does not between the variables can be interpreted values in the graphs directly. In other
promote student teachers’ interpretations more easily (Bowen & Roth, 2005; words, it means looking for explicit in-
of graphs. These fi ndings suggest that Connery, 2007; Glazer, 2011; Vekiri, 2002). formation presented in the values. The
teaching modules should be designed In addition, graphs help to determine second level includes the calculation of
to promote pre-service science teachers’ the meaning of the data and help in mak- the intermediate values, and understand-
interpretations of graphs and challenge ing deductions and decisions (Doig & ing of the relation and trends between
them to go beyond basic graph read- Groves, 1999; Bowen & Roth; 2002; the values presented in the graphs. In this
ing. Furthermore, the factors that affect Vekiri, 2002; Roth & Bowen, 2003). In stage, comparisons are made between
the pre-service science teachers’ inter- this respect, graphing competence is not the values presented in the graph (big-
pretations of graphs, such as the type of an easy task as it requires high-level cog- ger, smaller, the most, the longest, etc)
graphs and the context of the graphs, can nitive abilities (Bowen & Roth, 2002; and four operations are performed on the
Bowen & Roth, 2005; Glazer, 2011; values (addition, subtraction, multiplica-
Grueber, 2011; Sharma, 2006). tion and division). In the highest level of
Keywords: Graphs, interpretations of graphs, Graphing competence includes both reading beyond the values, the answers
teacher education, science education, cross-
graph construction and graph interp- for complex questions can be found by
sectional study.
retation skills (Aoyama, 2007; Glazer, interpreting the values in the graph. In
36 SCIENCE EDUCATOR
this stage, the person who interprets the
graph is asked to infer, guess, and con-
clude. There are various hierarchies that
show parallelism to Curcio’s three lev-
els in students’ interpretations of graphs
in the literature (e.g. National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM],
2000; Wainer 1992).
Curcio’s classifi cation does not in-
clude the evaluation or criticism of val-
ues in the graph (Monteiro & Ainley,
2004). However, today individuals are
expected to determine whether the val-
ues presented to them are biased or not,
evaluate the information presented criti-
cally, and form and express opinions and
viewpoints (Gal, 2002; Organisation of
Figure 1. CO emission resulting from the fuel consumption according to the sectors (Turkish
Economic Cooperation and Develop- 2
Statistical Annual, 2010)
ment [OECD], 2004). Aoyama (2007)
has suggested a hierarchy that covers
these elements for interpretations of
graphs. The levels in this hierarchy are
like chain rings; each upper level in-
cludes the former. These levels and the
abilities expected from the students are contextual meaning of these explanatory hypotheses and
discussed below: values. For example, if a student models. For example, a student
(cid:129) Idiosyncratic: Students at this can make a comment from the who does not agree with the
level read wrong values in graphs graph in Figure 1 such as, “One of hypothesis given in the critical
or avoid reading the graphs. For the most important reasons for air thinking level and is able to sug-
example, if students are given the pollution in Turkey is the electric- gest a logical, consistent, and
graph in Figure 1 and are asked to ity generation based on fossil alternative hypothesis related to
determine how many million tons fuels,” his/her interpretations of the subject such as, “the renew-
of industrial based CO emissions graphs are at the rational/literal able energy sources must be used
2
were released in 2007, the antici- level. more for electricity generation to
pated answer is 80 million tons. If (cid:129) Critical: Students at this level can reduce air pollution” shows inter-
the student’s answer is not 80 mil- read the values in graphs correctly pretations of graphs at the highest
lion tons or s/he does not answer and understand the context of the level.
the question at all then his/her data presented. Furthermore, they In fact, graphing competence can be
interpretations of graphs are at the can assess the reliability of the taught in any course, e.g., history, busi-
idiosyncratic level. contextual meaning defi ned in ness or culinary arts. However, interpre-
(cid:129) Basic Graph Reading: Students graphs. For example, a student tations of graphs as an important area of
can read the values and trends in who does not agree with the fol- science education have been recognized
the graphs. For example, if a stu- lowing hypothesis related to in recent years because science is replete
dent who analyses the graph in Figure 1 is exhibiting critical with data and graphs. Scientists obtain
Figure 1 uses expressions such as, thinking: “Air pollution could be many data during their investigations
“industrial based CO emission prevented if a fi lter were placed and usually present the data in graphs or
2
was 78 million tons in 2006” on the chimneys of all the indus- tables. They then make deductions and
and /or “CO emission based on trial institutions in Turkey.” formulate explanations based on these
2
electricity generation had been (cid:129) Hypothesising and Modelling: graphs (Hoang, 2010).
increasing from 2004 to 2008,” Students at this level read graphs, Science curricula should be designed
s/he accomplish the task of basic and realize the trends. They know to help students to achieve science lit-
graph reading. the contextual meaning of these eracy everywhere in the world in the
(cid:129) Rational/Literal: Students at this tendencies. They can also criticize 21st century. A set of publications and
level read the values and trends in the information presented in standards such as Benchmarks for sci-
graphs correctly. They explain the graphs. Moreover, they can suggest ence literacy (American Association for
SUMMER 2015 VOL. 24, NO. 1 37
the Advancement of Science [AAAS], Thus, the fi ndings of the current study graphs in physics, chemistry, biology,
1993), the National science education provide an opportunity to discuss the ef- and mathematics courses in particular.
standards (National Research Council fects of teacher training programs on stu- Pre-service science teachers take these
[NRC], 1996), Next Generation Sci- dent teachers’ interpretations of graphs. courses in the fi rst three years of their
ence Standards (Achieve, 2013) outline The results of this study are important teacher-training program. The study de-
what students need to know, understand because interpretations of graphs have scribed here was carried out in a state
and be able to do to be scientifi cally relevance to both instructors who teach university located on the Aegean coast
literate at different grade levels. All of pre-service science teachers and teachers of Turkey. The university has a history
these benchmarks and standards recom- who teach science for children. of 20 years. Undergraduate, graduate
mend that a scientifi cally literate student and postgraduate education is given in
Methodology of the Study
should acquire graphing competence the Department of Science Teaching in
The developmental research method
beginning in pre-school. By the end of Education Faculty.
was used in the study. The purpose
the 12th grade, Next Generation Science
Standards suggest that individuals who of developmental research is to assess Participants
changes over an extended period of time
are scientifi cally literate should be able The participants in the study were
and is an ideal choice to assess the differ-
to use graphs to analyze and interpret 117 pre-service science teachers. Demo-
ences in academic or social development
data, acquire mathematical and compu- graphically, 56 of the participants were
of students in various grade levels. The
tational thinking skills, engage in argu- freshmen in the teacher training pro-
changes in the pre-service science teach-
ments from evidence and communicate gram, with 38 of the freshmen being fe-
ers’ interpretations of graphs through-
effectively. In addition to curricula, as- male. Sixty-one participants were senior
out their teacher-training program were
sessment tools include references to students in teacher training program and
investigated in this study. Hence, this
graphing competence. For example, the 37 of them were females.
study was carried out with developmen-
Program for International Student As-
tal research methods. The developmental Instrument
sessment carried out by OECD includes
research method can be undertaken us- The data of the study were obtained
questions which require students to in-
ing several designs: longitudinal, cross with a questionnaire adapted from
terpret graphs (Programme for Inter-
sectional and cross sequential. In this Aoy ama (2007). There are two graphs in
national Student Assessment [PISA],
study researchers chose the cross sec- the questionnaire. The fi rst graph pres-
2006).
tional design because they compared ents the fi ndings of a research study of
Although the importance of graphing
freshman and senior pre-service sci- the number of hours elementary students
competence is understood very well in
ence teachers’ interpretations of graphs. play TV games per day and how many
an educational context, studies reveal
Cross-sectional design involves looking acts of violence they experience. In the
that students do not always acquire
graphing competence at an acceptable at different groups of people of different next pages of this text we will call this
level (Demirci & Uyanık, 2009; Doig ages who share the same experiences. graph TV graph. It is a bar graph. The
& Groves, 1999; Oruç & Akgün, 2010; The benefi t of this type design is that it second graph presents the literacy rate
Sharma, 2006; Temiz & Tan, 2009; reduces the amount of time and the attri- of forty randomly chosen countries and
Watson & Chick, 2004). Interpretations tion rate in the developmental research the gross national product per capita.
of graphs are not an easy task. Students (Çepni, 2010; Heffner, 2004; Hofer, It is a scatter plot. In the next pages of
often cannot learn to cope with this task Flaherty, & Hoffman, 2006). this text we will call this graph literacy
on their own. If we want students to un- Context of the Study graph. The graphs in the instrument are
derstand graphs, teachers are required Pre-service science teachers in Turkey of different types and contexts. How-
to acquire the graph interpretation skills have to take a total of 61 courses dur- ever, they both look like the graphs which
(Jocobbe & Horton, 2010; Szyjka, Mumba, ing their four-year training. Pre-service frequently appear in visual and printed
& Wise, 2011). There are several studies science teachers take courses of gen- media. Each graph has four questions
intended to assess pre-service teachers’ eral culture (i.e., Turkish language, asking about interpretation of a graph.
interpretations of graphs (e.g., Alacacı com puter, English, etc), science (i.e., The fi rst question of each graph asked
et al., 2011; Bowen & Roth, 2005; physics, chemistry, biology, mathemat- the student teachers to read the value in
Jacobbe & Horton, 2010). Therefore, the ics, biology laboratory, chemistry lab- the graph directly. We used the re-
study described in this paper focused on oratory, physics laboratory, science sponses of the participants to these que-
pre-service science teachers’ interpreta- education laboratory) and pedagogical stions to decide whether their graphical
tions of graphs. First, the paper reveals knowledge (i.e., evaluation and assess- interpretation was at the idiosyncratic
pre-service science teachers’ interpreta- ment, teaching technologies and mate- level or above. The second questions
tions of graphs. In addition, it compares rial design, education psychology, class concerning the graphs asked the stu-
the freshman and senior pre-service sci- management, teaching methods). Pre- dent teachers to determine tendencies
ence teachers’ interpretations of graphs. service science teachers are engaged in (provide interpretations) based on the
38 SCIENCE EDUCATOR
data in the graphs. These questions test questionnaire by the participants with interpretations of graphs are presented
the basic graph reading level of the respect to these fi ve categories. If a in the Tables. These analyses were car-
Aoyama’s interpretations of graphs hi- participant did not answer a question ried out for both the TV and the literacy
erarchy. The third question asked about of a graph, or wrote something irrel- graphs.
each graph required the participants to evant about the question, we used the
Results of Research
explain the data in the graph taking the idiosyncratic code for these responses.
Table 1 presents the fi ndings obtained
context into account. These questions The statements of the pre-service sci-
from the interpretations of participants
reveal whether the pre-service science ence teachers for the TV graph in the
about the TV graph in the questionnaire.
teachers reach the rational/literal level questionnaire that indicated that 20.4%
Nearly 10% of the freshman and se-
of the interpretations of graphs hier- of the people who played TV games for
nior pre-service science teachers avoided
archy. The last questions asked about an hour per day experienced violence
reading the data in the TV graph directly
the graphs have two stages. In the fi rst “quite a lot” were coded as basic graph
or misread them. Nearly 90% of the par-
stage, a hypothesis based on data set reading. If a student teacher stated that
ticipants could determine the tenden-
in the graph was presented and partici- the more time allotted to playing TV
cies in the TV graph. Nearly one fi fth of
pants were asked whether they agreed games increased, the more the number
both the freshman and senior pre-service
with this hypothesis or not. The deci- of children’s violence act experiences
science teachers could accomplish the
sions of the participants about this hy- increased, this statement was coded un-
skills of the rational/literal level of the
pothesis reveal whether they are able to der rational/literal category. The fourth
interpretations of graphs hierarchy. Very
accomplish the skills needed to reach question of the TV graph presents the
few participants (16% of freshman and
the critical level of the interpretations following hypothesis to the participants:
28% of seniors) could criticize the sug-
of graphs hierarchy. In the second stage, If the parents prevent the children from
gested hypothesis depending on the data
the participants were asked to explain playing TV games, the problem of act of set in the TV graph. Only 10% of both
the reasons for their responses in the violence by the children can be solved. the freshman and senior pre-service sci-
fi rst stage. The representative responses If pre-service science teachers stated ence teachers could suggest their own
include a model/hypothesis. In other that they did not agree with this hypoth- rational hypothesis/models by using the
words, these questions assess whether esis, this response was coded as critical. values in the TV graph.
the pre-service science teachers’ inter-
If a student teacher stated that the chil- Table 2 presents the participants in-
pretations of graphs are at the hypoth-
dren who never played TV games could terpretations of the literacy graph in the
esising and modelling level.
even experience the act of violence and/ questionnaire.
In order to provide the construct
or mentioned other possible variables Nearly 30% of pre-service science
reliability of the instrument, the views
such as exposure to domestic violence teachers could not read the values pre-
of three experts were consulted. Ac-
which caused them to experience the sented by the literacy graph. Nearly 70%
cording to their feedback, necessary
act of violence in order to disagree with of freshman pre-service science teach-
corrections were made. The question-
this hypothesis, this response was coded ers and 65% of senior pre-service sci-
naire was piloted with a group of 30
under hypothesising and modelling cat- ence teachers could interpret the literacy
pre-service science teachers. During
egory. The authors of this study coded graph in the basic graph reading level.
the application, the participants were
the data independently from each other. Less than 25% of the participants could
asked to underline the points they had
The inter-rater reliability was 95%. The interpret the literacy graph at rational/
diffi culty in understanding. According
few differences in coding were resolved literal level. The participants who could
to the information gathered from this
by negotiation. After the process of cod- interpret this graph at the critical level
application, the comprehensibility of
ing data was completed, the frequencies are quite few in number (freshman 32%
data collection tool was determined.
and the percentages for the fi ve different and seniors 25%). There are scarcely any
The graphs and their questions are in-
levels of the interpretations of graphs hi- participants who could suggest their own
cluded as Appendix 1.
erarchy were calculated. The freshman hypotheses based on the values presented
and senior pre-service science teachers’ in the literacy graph.
Analysis of Data
The participants’ interpretations of
graphs were analysed under the idio-
syncratic, basic graph reading, rational/ Table 1. The distribution of graphical interpretation level for TV graph
literal, critical, and hypothesising and
Basic Graph Rational/ Hypothesising
modelling categories. These categories
Idiosyncratic Reading Literal Critical and Modelling
are parallel with the interpretations of
f % f % f % f % f %
graphs hierarchy identifi ed by Aoyama
(2007). The data analysis started by Freshmen 6 11.1 50 89.3 10 17.9 9 16.1 8 14.3
coding the statements written in the Seniors 5 8.2 56 91.8 13 21.3 17 27.9 7 11.4
SUMMER 2015 VOL. 24, NO. 1 39
Table 2. The distribution of graphical interpretation level for literacy graph few of the pre-service science teachers
(less than 15%) are able to interpret the
Basic Graph Rational/ Hypothesising
graphs at the hypothesising and model-
Idiosyncratic Reading Literal Critical and Modelling
ling level. This result might depend on
f % f % f % f % f %
various reasons. The last two levels in
Freshmen 17 30.3 39 69.6 7 12.5 18 32.1 1 1.8
Aoyama’s interpretations of graphs hi-
Seniors 21 34.4 40 65.5 16 26.2 15 24.6 2 3.3
erarchy are diffi cult tasks. These levels
require thinking about the values and
Discussion The third level of the interpretations of generating ideas about the conditions
Aoyama (2007) identifi ed fi ve differ- graphs hierarchy identifi ed by Aoyama that are not explicit in the graphs. Many
ent levels of interpretations of graphs: (2007) is rational/literal. Students who studies have found that it is not an easy
Idiosyncratic, Basic Graph Reading, are able to accomplish this level can read task for learners to go beyond the ex-
Rational/Literal, Critical, and Hypothesis- the values in graphs and they can also plicit information in the graph (Aoyama,
ing and Modelling. The fi rst two of these explain contextual meanings of these 2007; Bowen & Roth, 2005; Espinel,
levels focus on extracting specifi c value values. If students cannot accomplish the Bruno, & Plasencia, 2008; Glazer, 2011;
points from a graph. For these levels of tasks of this level, they cannot discover the Jacobbe & Horton, 2010; Shah &
hidden meanings in the values in graphs. Hoeffner, 2002; Sharma, 2006). Individuals
interpretations of graphs, the desired in-
The values in graphs are no more than need the help of their teachers in order
formation is explicitly represented in the
small, meaningless knowledge points to cope with the demands of high level
graph and the graph reader is required
(Pfannkuch, 2006). The result of this performances in the hierarchy of inter-
only to locate and read the specifi c value
study revealed that only a quarter of the pretations of graphs. Another reason
points. The results of this study show
pre-service science teachers are able might be that individuals must have
that most of the pre-service science
to achieve the rational/literal level of prior knowledge about the context of
teachers can read the values and trends
the interpretations of graphs hierarchy. the graph in order to suggest their own
in the graph. This result may not be
The Turkish pre-service science teacher alternative explanations and criticize
surprising because directly reading the
training program might be the main rea- a hypothesis as presented (Aoyama,
values in the graph is not a diffi cult task
son of this negative result because in- 2007; Glazer, 2011; Roth, 2004; Shah &
(Doig & Groves, 1999; Espinel, Bruno,
class science teaching usually focuses Hoeffner, 2002; Vekiri, 2002; Wemyss
& Plasencia, 2008; Jacobbe & Horton,
on the quantitative aspects of graphs. & van Kampen, 2013). There are two
2010; Sharma, 2006). Nearly 90% of the
Students struggle with quantitative data, graphs in the questionnaire used to col-
participants of the study could read the
mathematical computation, equations, lect data in this study. One of the graphs
values directly given in the TV graph.
statistical terms such as mode and me- presents values about how many hours
However, only just under 65% of the
dian in the graphs throughout the lessons the children play TV games per day and
participants could read the values in the
(Bayazıt, 2011; Connery, 2007; Espinel, how many acts of violence they experi-
literacy graph directly. The fundamen-
Bruno, & Plasencia, 2008; Monterio & ence. The other graph is formed of the
tal reason for this situation might be the
Ainley, 2007). values about the gross national product
types of the graphs. In the literature some
The fourth level of the interpretations of countries and their literacy rates. We
researchers reported that types of graphs
of graphs hierarchy identifi ed by Aoyama thought that the participants of this study
had effects on the students’ interpretations
(2007) is critical. Students at this level would be familiar with the contexts of
of graphs (Baker, Corrbet, & Koedinger,
can evaluate the hypothesis depending the two graphs because, these contexts
2001; Tairab & Al-Naqbi, 2004). The TV
on the values and trends in graphs. The are related to their professions. The fi nd-
graph is a bar graph. The literacy graph results of this study reveal that most of ings lead us to believe that, contrary to
is a scatter plot graph. The scatter plot the pre-service science teachers (nearly our expectations, the participants were
graphs involve more cognitive operation 70%) do not critically evaluate informa- actually not familiar with the contexts.
than bar graphs. Bar graphs are usually tion presented in a graph form. Aoyama When the freshman and senior pre-
more understandable, clear, and defi nite. states that it is not adequate for students service science teachers’ interpretations
The values in the axis and the relations to accomplish only Level 4 skills. In the of graphs were compared, it was found
between the variables in the axis are 21st century, all citizens should take into that their interpretations of graphs were
much more blurred in scatter plot graphs account all the variations in the values quite similar. In Turkey, pre-service sci-
(Alacacı et al., 2011; Baker, Corrbet, presented in graphs and they should sug- ence teacher training programs do not
& Koedinger, 2001). Also, the partici- gest their own alternative explanations. seem to promote the improvement of stu-
pants may not be familiar with scatter In other words, more citizens are ex- dent teachers’ interpretations of graphs.
plot graphs becau se scatter plots are pected to operate at Level 5 of the inter- This result implies that interpretations of
not dominant in the curriculum (Alacacı pretations of graphs hierarchy. However graphs are cognitive learning outcomes
et al., 2011; Friel, Curcio, & Bright, 2001). according to fi ndings of this study, very and teachers should teach interpretations
40 SCIENCE EDUCATOR
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Primary School. Ankara: National Min- 4, 241-268. respondence concerning this article should
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Szyjka, S. P., Mumba, F., & Wise, K. C.
National Research Council NRC. (1996). Na- (2011). Confi rmatory factor analysis University, Faculty of Education, Primary
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Organisation of Economic Cooperation and cation. Journal of Baltic Science Educa- Hazel KAR, is a Master Student at Mugla
Development OECD. (2004). Learning tion, 10(4), 261-276. Sıtkı Kocman University, Faculty of Edu-
for Tomorrow’s world -First results from Tairab, H. H., & Al-Naqbi, A. K. K. (2004). cation, Mugla, Turkey.
PISA 2003. Paris: OECD. How do secondary school science stu- Acknowledgements: We would like to ex-
Oruç, S., & Akgün, I. H. (2010). The Ac- dents interpret and construct scientifi c press our most sincere appreciation and thanks
quisition Level of Graphic Reading graphs? Journal of Biological Educa- to Kazuhiro Aoyama for his support in the de-
Skills of Elementary Social Studies 7th tion, 38(3), 127-132. sign of the instrument used in this study.
42 SCIENCE EDUCATOR
Appendix 1. Graphic Interpretation Questionnaire
TV games and violence graphic: The graphic below shows a research result that investigates how many hours per day elementary
students play TV games at home and how many experiences of violence (e.g. hitting or pushing a classmate, pulling someone’s
hair) they have.
1. What percentages of the individuals who play a TV game for an hour in a day experience violence at the level of “quite a lot”?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
2. As the rate of TV games increases, how does the rate of the individuals who report “a few” experiences of violence change?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………...
3. An opinion such as, “Increasing use of spare time for TV games led to the increase in experiences of violence” is asserted. Do
you agree with this opinion? Please specify reasons for your answer
a) Agree
b) Disagree
c) None
d) No idea
Because……………………………………………………………………………………….....
4. A hypothesis such as, “If the students are prevented from playing TV games, the violence incident experiences can be prevented,
too” is claimed. Do you agree with it? Please specify your answer
a) Agree
b) Disagree
c) None
d) No idea
Because………………………………………………………………………………………….
SUMMER 2015 VOL. 24, NO. 1 43
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the ratio of literacy: In the graphic below, the Gross Domestic Product per capita for
40 countries chosen randomly ($) and their literacy rates are seen.
1. How much is the Gross Domestic Product of the countries whose literacy rate is below 60%?
……………………………………………………………………………………………...........
2. How can you explain the literacy rate of the countries whose Gross Domestic Product is high?
……………………………………………………………………………………………...........
3. Do you think that there is a relation between the literacy rate and the Gross Domestic Product? If there is a relation, please explain
what kind of relation is this?
a) There is a relation
b) There is not a relation
c) It is not so clear
d) No idea
Because: …………………………………………………………………………………….......
4. Do you agree with the hypothesis, “If the Gross Domestic Products of the countries are increased, the illiteracy problem can be
solved”? Please specify the reason for your answer with your justifi cations.
a) Agree
b) Disagree
c) None
d) No idea
Because………………………………………………………………………………….............
44 SCIENCE EDUCATOR