The suggested metaphors regarding on the concept of "cell" by teacher candidates of biology, science and primary

The main purpose of this study is to define the perceptions of biology, science and primary teaching candidates studying at Selcuk University on the concept of "cell" using metaphors. The data of the study was obtained through the answers given to the complete-questions such as "cell is like...because,..." and "cell is similar to..., because..." The suggested metaphors were gathered under 6 groups: "administrative", "controller", "building stone", "information store", "cooperative", "connective". As a result, it was seen that almost two third of the participants defined cell as "building stone" and "cooperative" while the rest, one third, defined it as "administrative","controller", "information store" and "connective". The results of this study indicate important data on the fact that metaphors can be used as effective tools to reveal the students' personal perceptions on the concept of cell. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.