In today’s information age, the main objective of any education system should be to teach our students how to gain skills to have access to information rather than transferring information to them. In this respect, the vision of the new science and technology curriculum put into effect in 2005-2006 school year is based on the constructivist approach. The main premise of the constructivist theory is the construction of the information by the learner himself/herself. It is a theory which entails every individual to construct information based on his/her own thinking. It requires to reach a world view by interpreting pieces of information through one’s own experiences and interactions (Selly,2000) .

The emergence of conceptual cartoons dates back to 1992, it was first found as a result of a study where a new learning-teaching strategy based on the constructivist theory was developed (Keogh & Naylor 1999; Stephenson & Warwick, 2002). It was first designed and used by  Naylor & McMurdo (1990). (Kabapınar, 2005). Conceptual cartoons are drawings arousing students’ interest, encouraging them to ask questions, leading to class discussions and contributing to the production of scientific thoughts (Long & Marson, 2003).In conceptual cartoons, usually there are two or more characters discussing a daily problem through questions and answers presented in speech bubbles (Naylor, Downing & Keogh, 2001). The characters in the cartoons express various perspectives about a daily issue related to science and encourage students to take part in discussion taking place among the characters of the cartoon (Keogh, Naylor & Wilson, 1998). One of the ideas proposed in the discussion represents the thinking skill considered to be scientifically correct and the others represent the ideas scientifically incorrect yet constructed by the students based on their unique ways of thinking (Kabapınar, 2005).

These cartoons developed based on the principles of the constructivist learning theory are drawn in a format where two or more characters discuss their opinions about a daily issue related to science. 

As stated by Sheppard (2002), conceptual cartoons can be used in various ways either being a means of introduction to the lesson, or a means of triggering a search of a topic, or  means of checking students’ understanding at the end of the lesson.

Their contributions to learning process can be expressed as follows (Kabapınar, 2005):

• Conceptual cartoons can easily reveal the conceptual misunderstanding on the part of students.

• They provide opportunities to discuss the causes leading students to misunderstandings.

• They can generate classroom discussions where participation rates are high.

According to Keogh & Naylor (1999), many authors express their concerns about the highly visible gap between research and application in science education. Conceptual cartoons are of great importance especially as they serve the function of bridge between complex scientific concepts and experiences lived in our daily lives. Conceptual cartoons designed in line with the development stages of children can easily draw their attention; hence, they can constitute a teaching approach that can easily be implemented in the class and useful teaching material.

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