EFFECT OF USING ROUNDHOUSE DIAGRAMS ON PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF ECOSYSTEM

Roundhouse diagram is a visual tool which helps to reveal what a student think about science topics and reflects information that students organise in their mind. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using roundhouse diagrams on prospective classroom teachers' understanding of ecosystem, food chain, energy flow and material cycles. The roundhouse diagram was used with the experimental group (n = 44), while a traditional teaching method was employed with the control group (n = 43). Environmental Achievement Test consisting of 25 questions was administered to the 87 preservice teachers as pretest and posttest. The results indicated that the use of roundhouse diagrams significantly improved prospective classroom teachers' understanding of ecosystem, food chain, energy flow and material cycles. In the light of the obtained results, some practical implications are discussed.