Recognizing the Misconception

Students enter classrooms with prior knowledge of scientific principles. Much of that knowledge is formed on misunderstandings or misrepresentation in their learning. So to teach science effectively a teacher must asses what a student knows and what their understanding is. A number of tools can be used to expose misconceptions a student holds about the science knowledge they possess. One of the easiest tools to use is a discrepant or an exposing event. It is also useful to have a student describe or represent their conceptions about the subject being studied. In the case of students understanding about the seasons this survey could be used.

When it comes to in-class instruction, one can recognize the misconception that the earth's orbit is elliptical, quite easily. Teachers must prompt and listen to students' explanations of natural phenomena. In this case, a teacher needs to listen for the verbiage to the tune of, "The earth gets farther away from the sun in the winter and closer to the sun in the summer." Teachers will not find out these things of their students if they do not directly ask them their private theories. Another misconception about the seasons, is that the earth's poles in winter, are further away from the sun and therefore are colder. The truth is that the sun's rays hit the earth in a less concentrated manner (at the poles in winter), causing the surface to not heat up as quickly (verses the places where the earth recieves a concentrated amount of sunlight, ie., at the poles in summer)

Science needs to be taught as a process, with content knowledge as a part of the whole process.

References:

• Survey from Annenberg that examines private theories. (From the video, A Private Universe) 
• Conceptual Change Wiki This site provide information on how to address changing misconceptions in all aspects of education. 
• Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes A good website explaining the misconceptions of a distance theory of the earth, and the explanation of why the distance theory is false.
• National Science Education Standards (NSES). This online book lays the basics for standards in teaching science.

Developers of this page:

Current group members (first names only): Jason (spring '09)

All editors and writers (first names only): Amanda, Shelley, Loree and Jason (Spring '09)

All editors and writers (first names only): David, Rachel, and Jason (Spring '08)

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