Investigation of pre-service physics teachers’ transfer of knowledge of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to daily life

Abstract

This study investigated how pre-service physics teachers transfer their knowledge of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to daily life. A case study, which is a qualitative research method, was utilised. The study participants consisted of 63 pre-service teachers studying in the Department of Physics Education. Criterion sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used in selecting participants. The data were collected through an ‘opinion form’ with seven open-ended questions. The data were analyzed within the framework of deductive content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that pre-service physics teachers had problems transferring their knowledge of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to daily life. It is thought that the source of this problem is the inability of pre-service teachers to understand basic concepts such as work, heat, enthalpy and entropy, and therefore, the failure of pre-service teachers to transfer their knowledge to daily life in a scientifically correct way due to the deficiencies in their prior knowledge. Because it is known that at the point where scientific knowledge is transferred to daily life, it is necessary to make sense of the knowledge first; to overcome this problem identified in the research, it can be suggested to create a learning environment enriched with various teaching methods, techniques and strategies. This way, pre-service teachers' knowledge can be structured, and transferring it to daily life can be supported.