Phases of the moon is a challenging topic to teach and learn in the context of middle school science education. Considering the previous research studies, profound agreement about the existence of misconceptions belonging to many students and teachers has been indicated. Looking at various studies, it is revealed that these misconceptions in phases of the moon have generally emerged due to the characteristic of the subject matter regardless of the cultural differences (Bayraktar, 2009; Driver, 1991). Accordingly, visualization of relationship between the earth, the sun and the moon in three dimension and explaining the role of the position of observer while observing the moon are among the challenging steps which make this concept difficult to learn (Suzuki, 2002). In addition, distance among and sizes of astronomical objects do not seem to be very familiar for us while considering our daily life experiences. In order to acquire sound conceptual understanding regarding many astronomy concepts, students should be well equipped with the adequate spatial ability to visualize, rotate and transform objects in their mind (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1987). Students’ lack of these abilities were declared as one of the sources of students’ learning difficulty in astronomy including phases of the moon issue (Heyer, Slater, & Slater, 2013).  

Based on descriptive findings, some studies were conducted to find out appropriate teaching strategies for overcoming learning difficulties. Their results revealed that approaches stemming from constructivist learning theory were more effective than traditional teaching. In other words, teaching approaches such as inquiry, model based teaching, and combination of different techniques which facilitate students to construct their own knowledge were appropriate for students’ learning in the phases of the moon (Callison & Wright, 1993; Hobson, Trundle, & Saçkes, 2010; Trundle & Bell, 2010; Ucar, 2008). However, previously Cohen (1982) pointed out that even appropriate teaching techniques might cause misconceptions. Thus, teachers were pointed out to have critical responsibilities in detecting misconceptions of students and ensuring sound understandings regarding phases of the moon. In order to achieve this goal, teachers should be aware of not only appropriate ways to teach but also the characteristics of the topic and difficulties students face. In this aspect, this study aimed to delving into a beginning science teacher’s knowledge of curriculum, knowledge of student, and knowledge of teaching strategies. Thus, the following research questions guided the current study;

i) What is the middle school science teacher’s knowledge of curriculum in phases of the moon?

ii) What is the middle school science teacher’s knowledge of student with respect to phases of the moon?

iii) What is the middle school science teacher’s knowledge of teaching strategy for teaching phases of the moon?

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