TEACHING THE TOPIC OF THE PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER IN PROSPECTIVETEACHERS TRAINING COURSES

This article presents an attempt to improve teaching-learning strategi es for science as addressed by prospective teachers in the Department of Primary Education of the University of Athens. The aim of the propo sed strategy is twofold: to promote the constructivist aspect in scien ce teaching-learning and to improve prospective teachers' knowledge in the particulate nature of matter. Prospective teachers were confronte d with pupils' ideas about matter and its transformations as they are described and explained by the molecular theory of matter. They were a sked to evaluate pupils' explanations about the states of matter and c hanges of state as if they were the pupils' actual teachers. Moreover, they were asked to discuss the origins of pupils' conceptions and to propose appropriate interventions for classroom activities. The result s show that prospective teachers share a number of misconceptions with pupils' and that when they 'act as real teachers' they willingly revi se their relevant ideas and accept a more constructivist approach to s cience teaching.