High School Science Teachers' and Students' Conceptions Related to Osmosis

In this study, high school science teachers' and students' various conceptions related to osmosis phenomena were compared with and analyzed in relation to the content of science textbooks used in high school science classrooms and college science courses. The questionnaires developed by the researchers were administered to science teachers and students. Differences can be found between the explanations of science textbooks on osmotic pressure and semi-permeable membranes. Many science teachers and students thought of osmotic pressure as 'membrane pressure occurred by the movement of a solvent'. Moreover, the types of teachers of semi-permeable membranes were similar regardless of their academic majors. Many of the teachers thought of a semi-permeable membrane as a membrane that 'passes small-size particles'; however, many students thought of this type of membrane as being 'selectively permeable'. Also, the salt-pickling cabbage phenomenon seemed to cause significant confusion to science teachers and students. These study results show that teachers and students possess various conceptions related to the osmosis phenomena. These different conceptions related to osmosis phenomena might cause confusion and diverse conceptions including misconceptions among teachers and students.