Investigation of secondary school students' learning about the fungi kingdom

Abstract

Considering both the ecological niches of fungi and the different benefits they provide to humans, it is expected that students have a high level of scientific knowledge about living things in this kingdom. In the study, it was aimed to examine the learning of secondary school students about living things in the fungi kingdom. The research, which was carried out as a case study, was carried out with 52 secondary school students studying in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye in the 2022-2023 academic years. In the research, it was determined that the students had misconceptions and lack of knowledge about the classification of living things in the fungi kingdom, their diet, ecological functions and their effects on human life. The students stated that fungi take place in the world of plants, feed by photosynthesis and are used in making yogurt. According to these results, it is recommended to conduct studies on textbooks, teaching methods and teachers that cause students' misconceptions about living things in the fungi kingdom.