an innovative approach

stored by photosynthesis as the substrate for releasing energy, ATP, for plant growth.
However, the difference between respiration and photosynthesis, the day-time and
night-time balance and gas exchange are three big issues of students’ misconceptions
(Wandersee, 1985; Haslam and Treagust, 1987; Waheed, 1992; Eisen and Stavy,
1993; Amir and Tamir, 1994; Songer and Mintzes, 1994; Lavoie, 1997; Canal, 1999;
Ozay and Oztas, 2003).
Songer and Mintzes (1994: 632) studied biology college students’
misconceptions and found the students believed that “photosynthesis is the plant’s
form of cellular respiration.” Also, Lavoie (1997: 5) found that elementary education
major college students believed that plants obtained energy from H2O and CO2 by the
respiratory process. Eisen and Stavy (1993: 123) found that Grade 8 Israeli students
were questioned about their learning about autotrophic feeding and respiration. In
this study, the results indicated that these students believed either that “plants’
breathing was… photosynthesis” or “plant breath only at night while performing
photosynthesis during the day.” Some students argued plants respired only during the
night (Haslam and Treagust, 1987: 120; Lavoie, 1997: 5; Ozay and Oztas, 2003: 69).
Carlsson (2002) examined student teachers’ ecological understanding connected with
the photosynthesis processes, the cycling of matter and the flow of energy. The result
showed that photosynthesis and respiration were understood in terms of process
transformation in plants. The gas, CO2, and H2O were transformed to produce sugar
and oxygen by photosynthesis. These products then were restored for the next cycling
of photosynthesis by respiration which needed oxygen and energy stored in sugar to
produce CO2 and H2O.
These findings indicated that students had difficulty of understanding
relationships between photosynthesis and other plant processes e.g. transformation of
matter, plant respiration and ecology. Songer and Mintzes (1994) suggested that the
difficulty might have come from learning without rethinking of the knowledge. To
provide an adequate chance to illustrate and discuss this relationship, the topics need
to be addressed in new teaching strategies about photosynthesis.
28