High school students' metaphorical perceptions of biology and biology teacher concepts

The purpose of the study was to identify and analyse high school students'metaphorical perceptions of biology and biology teacher concepts. The sample comprised all the 515 students studying in the Etimesgut district in Ankara in the spring semester of the 2015/2016 academic year. The data were gathered through a form which included the phrases 'Biology/the biology teacher is similar to/the same as…, because…’ The data for the research were collected through qualitative research methods. The research approach adopted was phenomenological. Content analysis was used for the data analysis. According to the results, high school students use different metaphors to describe the biology concept. These metaphors are united under different conceptual categories in terms of their common qualities. The study results show how metaphors can be used as an important research tool in understanding and explaining the perceptions of students towards biology and biology teacher.