THE EFFECT OF ASTRONOMY ACTIVITIES REGARDING WALTON ARGUMENTATION ON PSEUDOSCIENCE BELIEFS OF SCIENCE TEACHER CANDIDATES.

In this study, the effect of astronomy teaching carried out by argumentation applications formed according to Walton's argument-based dialogue structure on pseudoscience beliefs of science teacher candidates was analyzed. In the study, which was carried out with 54 science teacher candidates who were enrolled in the Department of Science Education at the Faculty of Education of Pamukkale University and enrolled in the astronomy course, a mixed method with qualitative and quantitative research methods was used. While 26 teacher candidates in the experimental group were given argumentation-based astronomy teaching, the control group with 28 students had a normal course of astronomy teaching. At the beginning and the end of the study, both groups were applied the Science, Pseudo-Science Separation scale, and at the end of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teacher candidates. The visual and written data obtained from the argumentation-based teaching practices were evaluated and interpreted together with other quantitative and qualitative data. According to the data obtained in relation to the quantitative dimension of the study, it was found that there was a positive development in the experimental and control groups in terms of pseudo-scientific beliefs, but the development of the teacher candidates in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. At the end of the research, the qualitative data obtained from the opinions of the prospective teachers who participated in the semi-structured interviews revealed that the participants in the experimental group were more successful in terms of science, pseudoscience distinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]