Analyzing the changes of pre-service biology teachers' conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect

The aim of this longitudinal study was to identify and describe the conceptions of 28 pre-service biology teachers about the greenhouse effect and compare the changes of their conceptual understanding at the end of 5-year undergraduate education. Data was collected by a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Analysis of undergraduate education effect found that there was a significant difference between students' first and final year scores. However the results also show that there are some misconceptions that remained unchanged in the final year, such as; holes in the ozone layer and dumping rubbish in rivers as causes of increased greenhouse effect; increased greenhouse effect would cause more rainfall and the greenhouse effect would be reduced by using unleaded petrol and burying waste matters.