Metaphoric Perceptions of 6th and 7th Grade Secondary School Students Regarding to Natural Resources

Metaphors are expressions that people use to perceive and make sense of the world through their own perspectives. Metaphor can be expressed as a powerful and powerful mental tool that an individual can use to understand and explain a complex, abstract and theoretical phenomenon. By establishing a relationship between two concepts that are not similar to each other through metaphor, a mental schema is reflected in another schema that is not similar to itself. In a class where abstract concepts such as social studies are frequently involved, it is common to use metaphors to make learning tangible and meaningful. For this purpose, various metaphors can be produced in order to have an understanding of the natural resources gains in the 6th class of social studies course, unit 4. Natural resources are spontaneous in nature and the sources of life where mankind has no role in the stages of occurrence. Although there is no human impacts, natural resources are important tool for human beings to meet their basic needs. Considering that natural resources are so important, it is seen that this subject should be given effectively in social studies class. The aim of this study is to reveal the perceptions of the 6th and 7th grade secondary school students towards the concept of ‘’natural resources’’ and through metaphors. The participants of this research conducted in the phenomenology model consisted of 200 students attending 6th and 7th grades of six public secondary schools in Afyonkarahisar city center, districts and villages in 2017-2018 academic year. The research data was obtained by filling out a form such as “Natural resources are as……, because…..” Metaphorical analysis steps and frequency analysis were used in the analysis of data. According to the study findings, 6th and 7th grade students produced 38 metaphors and these metaphors were grouped under 5 categories. The most frequently repeated metaphors of the participants were; stove, ball pen, lamp, light, oven, air conditioning and sunshine. The findings were supported by direct quotations from the sentences they wrote about the reasons for the metaphors of the students. As a result of the research, it was revealed that, generally the participants perceived the concept of natural resources by means of giving heat and light and not being depleted. In addition, the metaphors produced by the students related to the concept of natural resources vary according to the place of the schools they study. In addition, the metaphors produced by the students related to the concept of natural resources vary according to the place of the schools they study. While the students studying in the schools in the city center compare the concept of natural resources to heating and air conditioning, it is determined that the students studying in schools in the villages and towns compare the concept of natural resources to the stove. Based on this done, it can be concluded that secondary school students were influenced by nearby objects when performing analogy. When the most repeated metaphors are evaluated, it is seen that many of them require high level thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

Keywords

Social Studies, Natural Resources, Metaphor, Aegean Region, Middle School Students