Evaluation of Pre-Service Elementary Science Teachers' experiences with science projects [Fen bilgisi öǧretmen adaylarinin geçmig öǧretim kademelerindeki bilimsel aragtirma projesi deneyimlerinin deǧerlendirilmesi]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate preservice elementary science teachers' experiences with science projects. the study group were sophomore students in an elementary science teacher education program who took a science teaching and laboratory practice course between 2006 and 2008. data sources included a survey and a semi-structured interview. data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. quantitative analysis of the survey indiacated that in general participants had low participation in science projects. that preservice teachers had their lowest level of participation at the university level was an important finding. qualitative analysis of data indicated that many of the participants incorrectly perceived routine science related activities to be science projects. it was also found that teacher-directed science projects created barriers to understand the phases of scientific inquiry.