Notes from ESS 2, 4/3/2006 - Identifying and Addressing Misconceptions

1. Identifying and Addressing Misconceptions
Graphic: After Psias and Imbrie (1986/1987), courtesy of NOAA.

2. A Wall? A Rope? A Tree?
- Misconceptions
- Alternate conceptions
- Naïve conceptions
- Incomplete understandings
- Alternative frameworks
Graphic: Courtesy of USGS.

3. Misconceptions…
- Are at variance with conceptions held by experts in the field
- Tend to be pervasive (shared by many different individuals)
- Are highly resistant to change by traditional teaching methods
- Sometimes involve alternative belief systems that comprised of logically linked sets of propositions that students have used in a systematic way
- Sometimes have their roots in historical precedent and are passed on from teacher to student
Reference: Blosser, P.E., Science Misconceptions Research and Some Implications for the Teaching of Science to Elementary School Students. ERIC/SMEAC Science Education Digest No. 1, 1987. http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/science.htm

4. Types of Misconceptions
Preconceived notions – popular conceptions rooted in everyday experience (e.g., groundwater flows in streams)
Nonscientific beliefs – views learned by students from sources other than scientific education, including religious or mythical teachings (e.g., abbreviated history of the Earth)
Conceptual misunderstandings – faulty models constructed by students to deal with confusion about scientific concepts (e.g., phases of the moon are caused by Earth’s shadow)
Reference: National Academy Press, Committee on Undergraduate Science Education, Science Teaching Reconsidered: A Handbook, Ch 4, http://newton.nap.edu/readingroom/books/str/4.html

5. Types of Misconceptions
Vernacular misconceptions – arise from use of words that have one meaning in everyday life and another in scientific context (e.g., “work”, “glacial retreat” vs “glacial melt”)
Factual misconceptions – falsities that are often learned at an early age and remain unchallenged (e.g., “lightning never strikes the same place twice”)
Reference: National Academy Press, Committee on Undergraduate Science Education, Science Teaching Reconsidered: A Handbook, Ch 4, http://newton.nap.edu/readingroom/books/str/4.html

6. Dealing with Misconceptions
- Identify misconceptions
- Provide a forum for students to confront their misconception
- Help students reconstruct and internalize new knowledge based on accurate scientific models
Graphic: Water cycle animation, courtesy of the City of Lincoln, NE.

7. Identifying Misconceptions
Become familiar with common misconceptions (e.g., via websites, discussions with colleagues)
Administer a pre-test that is specifically designed to identify misconceptions (e.g., the force concept inventory, the geoscience concept inventory)
Pre-assessment instruments such as T-charts, surveys, interviews, initial concept maps
Cushioning/underexplaining – give a partial introduction to a concept and see where students take it
Your ideas…

8. Addressing Misconceptions
Misconceptions can be extremely difficult to eradicate and often are not changed by traditional teaching techniques
- Have students work with physical models (or computer/conceptual equivalents)
- Have students collect and analyze real data
- Teacher-led demonstrations
- Your ideas…
Graphic: Student investigating the properties of sound using an oscilloscope. Courtesy of Brookhaven National Lab.

9. Activity – Designing Experiences to Overcome Misconceptions
Think… Pair… Share…
- What misconceptions might students have about this topic?
- What is the likely source of each of these misconceptions?
- What teaching techniques/educational experiences would you use to replace these misconceptions with a more scientifically valid view?
During the last part of the period, each group will share their thoughts with the class