The Knowledge Structures about Buoyancy Concept of Secondary School Students: Phenomenological Primitive Flotation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the eighth grade secondary school students’ knowledge structures regarding the concept of buoyancy. The study included eight students. Semi-structured interview technique was used to collect the data. Students were asked seven questions about buoyancy and the questions were presented with visual materials. Different contexts were created through the questions and visuals in the interviews. Interviews were videotaped and then transcribed. With reference to the raw data, basic codes were generated and associated with two main themes. A specialist’s opinion was referred for the determination of basic concepts. The agreement between two experts was .91. All the students gave inconsistent answers to the first question set (questions about the relationship between buoyancy and mass). Except for student seven and eight, others students’ responses to the second question set were inconsistent (questions about the relationship buoyancy and immersed volume). In conclusion, study findings support that knowledge structures of the students are consistent with "knowledge in pieces theory".