THE CHANGES IN PUPILS’ CONCEPTIONS OF HUMAN BODY BASED ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY BASED TEACHING

This paper explores the changes in 12 year old pupils' conceptions of the organs and systems of the human body. The research was conducted as an intervention study in one Finnish primary school. The instruction was carried out by using the STS teaching approach which aims at linking the studying contents to everyday life contexts. The drawing method was used to catch pupils' conceptions of organs and parts of the body, before and after the teaching period. In addition, nine pupils were interviewed. Results indicate that before teaching, pupils were able to name several organs of the human body, but they had no understanding of how they function and what is their relation with each other. After the teaching period the pupils were able to name more of the organs and explain more clearly their function and meaning. In particular, the brain and digestive systems were understood more accurately.