Welcome to #ASEchat - Student misconceptions (or alternative conceptions) - where do they start?
Let's start by asking Which alternative conceptions do students hold?
Here's a poss question in case I don't make it. Is it right to teach a strategy that works in simple situations if you are going to need to teach a more difficult strategy later for all circumstances? @mrbartonmaths mentions it in his book "How I Wish I'd Taught Maths:"
If you are a science teacher in London put Sat May 11th into your diary - @ASE_London conference. Focus will be EEF Improving Science report with John Holman, Chris Harrison, Dave Dennis, Arthur Galambes. Sheila Curtis, Andy Marwick & Jo Moore. Amazing CPD. See @theASE website.
I think it is subject knowledge related - more about teachers understanding about misconceptions themselves. How they form, how to spot them, when is it OK to have one and when isn’t it #asechat
We could argue about what we call them, we all understand what we mean by using the word misconceptions, with the caveat that this might not be the best way of describing what's in children's heads when they dont yet have the scientific way of looking at the world #asechat
#asechat they start being developed at home, busy/ unsure parental interactions. Move into makes 'logical' sense, then we continue to promote with random decisions re building understanding
Understanding the possible misconceptions students have and how to work with them, is right up there when it comes to the research as being one of the factors of good teaching #ASEchat
Often the ‘misconceptions’ formed outside school are perfectly logical within the understanding a child has of the world. There is, to them (and to scientists hundreds/thousands years ago), nothing wrong with them. #asechat
Probably the same set! We've been reviewing vast amounts of research literature on common misunderstandings/misconceptions for @BestEvSciTeach - and so often the same misunderstandings are found in students of all ages, from primary to undergraduate - and into adulthood! #ASEchat
I read one paper (which I can't find now) about learning the corrected version but you keep the misconception as well, so it's easy to revert. Have you come across good research on correcting misconceptions ?#asechat
Understanding the possible misconceptions students have and how to work with them, is right up there when it comes to the research as being one of the factors of good teaching #ASEchat
Hi Alistair! Care to share an example or two of 'adult misconceptions'? #ASEChat (don't include some of the things I hear from car drivers when riding my bike to do with road tax etc)
Alastair @agittner asks "Is it right to teach a strategy that works in simple situations if you are going to need to teach a more difficult strategy later for all circumstances?" @mrbartonmaths mentions it in his book "How I Wish I'd Taught Maths:" #ASEchat
Probably the same set! We've been reviewing vast amounts of research literature on common misunderstandings/misconceptions for @BestEvSciTeach - and so often the same misunderstandings are found in students of all ages, from primary to undergraduate - and into adulthood! #ASEchat
I was quite struck with the idea about ensuring we don't teach over simplifications (which are similar to misconceptions) because of the difficulties later #ASEchat
An issue with ‘correcting’ a misconception is the child feeling as if they have failed for having what is a perfectly reasonable understanding based on the evidence they had. This is the hardest bit as we this can push children away from science as a subject. #ASEchat
I did climb up in the loft to find my Ros Driver book (from my PGCE days!) but I gave up as I couldn't fight my way past our Dr Who mountain (not mine!) I think this is still a useful publication twenty years later :) #ASEchat
The thing is, convection means that you do let cold air in. #asechat It's a misconception it's just the heat being transferred out the door. There's a transfer of matter as well as energy.
Anyone use analogies to help understanding? You can fall foul - someone once told me there is no such thing as a perfect analogy, if there were, it would not be an analogy. Same for the perfect model? #asechat
#asechat what about the 'science is not for me' misconception? How do u go about correcting this? Because a small change could change the mindset of anyone!
In science we often use a 'good enough' model to explain current understanding, the model evolves or changes as things get more complex. BUT we have to be clear this is a model, and that its not wrong later, just a sophistication #asechat
I was quite struck with the idea about ensuring we don't teach over simplifications (which are similar to misconceptions) because of the difficulties later #ASEchat
I’m a big fan of using the ‘proper’ vocabulary for a subject from the off. Nothing scary/precious about words unless we put them on a pedestal and make them that way. I think many misconceptions are rooted in poor use of language. #asechat
Sometimes you only understand the analogy once you understand the concept. Eg the energy transfer model of getting a book to the back of the class #ASEchat
Good argument for reviewing the curriculum to avoid teaching some ideas too early - consider the number of concepts that the teaching of plant nutrition needs to draw on, and then question when photosynthesis should be taught #ASEChat
Yes but do we always explain what we mean by a good enough model, and with reluctant students are they "happy" to have a partially correct model? #ASEchat
Some argue that ideas can be taught earlier than the curriculum suggests. But It depends of the prior sound knowledge and experience of the person doing the learning. #asechat
Probably the best we can do is to teach children on which occasions different types of thinking are appropriate. This will continue into later life. Perfectly reasonable to discuss draft excluders in the hardware shop rather than use convection ideas #ASEChat
Models (what one is, what are they good for, what are they bad for) should be explicitly taught and (I think) can be done from primary upwards #asechat
I reckon the way of preventing misconceptions is the discipline of scientific (or logical)thinking, that starts with facts that can be backed up. #asechat
Models (what one is, what are they good for, what are they bad for) should be explicitly taught and (I think) can be done from primary upwards #asechat
Absolutely, and the line of research has been picked up by others since Ros. John Leach did some interesting work on ecology and associated misconceptions which was outside Ros' domain #ASEChat
I can remember reading somewhere about Feynman railing against High School teaching electron orbits like planets and the problems it caused him at University level #ASEchat
Curriculum sequencing is all about tracking concepts and the component ‘pieces of knowledge’ to get conceptual understanding. Nothing wrong with photosynthesis in any level as long as it has been adequately supported by prior learning #asechat
So would a good strategy be something like a concept cartoon to see what students are thinking and getting them to discuss (and understand) the science behind the problem? #ASEchat
Or that the instruction is logically complete so that there's no way for misconceptions to form
(They'll find a way - but you need to minimise that possibility)
#asechat
Books such as Driver's are so good, but dated now. Many misconceptions don't change - research from the 80s/90s (or before!) is as relevant now as it was then. But in areas such as genetics there's a need for an updated publication #ASEchat
Probably the same set! We've been reviewing vast amounts of research literature on common misunderstandings/misconceptions for @BestEvSciTeach - and so often the same misunderstandings are found in students of all ages, from primary to undergraduate - and into adulthood! #ASEchat
There's a vast amount in the research literature, but finding it is time consuming & not always open access! With @BestEvSciTeach we're working to put it into teachers' hands - slowly but surely! Disseminating it for free, & may collate it into a book some day! #ASEchat
Don't you find that often in conversation adults "get" a particular part of science when you discuss it with them, that they claim they didn't get at school. Could it be what CASE used to comment on; they are basically more cognitively skilled than they were at school #ASEchat
In reply to
@ViciaScience, @amUYSEG, @BestEvSciTeach
Children often have misconceptions due to logical thinking. What they lack is a range of observable phenomena that challenges those concepts which then need to be rebuilt to accommodate the new observation (that is pretty much what science is anyway) #asechat
Concept cartoons are fine if they draw on research evidence of what children are likely to think at a certain age. I have seen some where this is not the case, and therefore are likely to be ineffective #ASEChat
It's more likely that the have a greater wealth of experiences to compare to when you explain it as an adult. So they can comprehend (through implicit internal analogies) more readily.
#asechat
(This might be simply what you meant by cognitive skill)
In reply to
@agittner, @ViciaScience, @amUYSEG, @BestEvSciTeach
I was always struck by Phil Scott's assertion that teachers on additional specialism courses were more likely to correctly indicate forces acting than practicing physics teachers. #ASEChat
CASE used to say that by 16 only around 30% were working at a truly formal operational level (don't start @viciascience) this may increase as people get older? that what I was wondering #ASEchat
In reply to
@A_Weatherall, @ViciaScience, @amUYSEG, @BestEvSciTeach, @ViciaScience
There is some level of consternation! To me the key word you used was taught which implies a teaching issue. Clarifying the intended curriculum may reduce the risk of the teaching issue happening though. #asechat
Agreed - so what advice would you give to a (busy) classroom teacher? Where should they start? What should they be considering? What should they be reading? :) #ASEchat
Yes. We should be circumspect about our analogies, physical models used etc. Sometimes they can obscure the science we are trying to teach. Unfortunately as a teacher it is difficult to recognise the impact of individual activities in lessons on pupils learning #ASEChat
Could be that for early secondary that the @BestEvSciTeach materials will give busy teachers a leg up . Would also be useful for UKS2 as a check of things to avoid #asechathttps://t.co/up284yNGwq
Agreed - so what advice would you give to a (busy) classroom teacher? Where should they start? What should they be considering? What should they be reading? :) #ASEchat
Used in software development to test algorithms, or to test hardware/mechanical devices to their limits. I'm suggesting that finding the equivalent for concepts is useful to help clear up misconceptions.
#asechat
I do have a bee in my bonnet about the place of photosynthesis in science teaching. I am yet to see a specification or national curriculum document which reflects the science I want children to understand #ASEChat
In some ways, despite all the research, there is a limited range of teacher facing materials about this complex area of science education (maybe because it is complex?) #ASEchat
If I keep saying @BestEvSciTeach I’ll sound like a broken record 😂 But it is a vast project attempting to fairly comprehensively survey & summarise research on misconceptions and approaches that can help to overcome them. Hopefully it’ll become a v.useful resource. #ASEchat
In reply to
@cleverfiend, @MarcNeesam, @agittner, @ViciaScience, @BestEvSciTeach
I was thinking the same thing - in my day to day I don’t need to know electron configurations. BUT if I had stayed on my scientist career path it would matter. So do we push correcting misconceptions because education is geared towards academic/career outcomes? #asechat
Just look at public debates about healthy eating! Last week a listener thought that if veganism became popular we would need to kill off butterflies to prevent crop damage #ASEChat
Earlier, @cleverfiend asked "What can teachers do to prevent misconceptions at a later date?" It's useful to identify practices that can introduce/reinforce common misconceptions, then these practices can be reduced. Attached is a snippet from @BestEvSciTeach on cells! #ASEchat
And is it more socially acceptable to have misconceptions that are blatantly wrong? - I mean it doesn't seem to do a certain orange president any harm... Can we ever do anything about that? :) #ASEchat
Earlier, @cleverfiend asked "What can teachers do to prevent misconceptions at a later date?" It's useful to identify practices that can introduce/reinforce common misconceptions, then these practices can be reduced. Attached is a snippet from @BestEvSciTeach on cells! #ASEchat
Is chemistry the famous one for the teacher saying, "everything you learned at GCSE is lies! Here is the truth... Write the title, 'electron arrangements' " #asechat
#asechat no just requires effort. The primary Nuffield material of 1980s was a great starter but even they recognised they couldn't go further as no one was prepared to do it
I don't. I want them to understand nutrition of organisms (whether animal, green plant, parasitic or symbiotic) - to understand relationships between organisms that need sustaining, rather than complex biochemical reactions at compulsory education age. #ASEChat
A starting point would be to give children the tools to question the veracity of what is said to them - whether intended or not - so they can make judgements themselves #ASEChat
My first year undergraduate lecture by the Head of Department started like this ‘Everything you did at school was wrong!’ (Or words to that effect) I think the next tier up partially likes the ‘grand reveal’ and ‘you will now learn the proper secrets of the universe!’ #asechat
Ha! I doubt it! We looked at this in 80's and found children who thought a compound involved in psyn was called chlorophy 2 because they had only seen it written (as chlorophyll). From then on I have been more critical of what and how we teach science #ASEChat
In reply to
@amUYSEG, @MarcNeesam, @agittner, @RoyalSocBio
If I keep saying @BestEvSciTeach I’ll sound like a broken record 😂 But it is a vast project attempting to fairly comprehensively survey & summarise research on misconceptions and approaches that can help to overcome them. Hopefully it’ll become a v.useful resource. #ASEchat
In reply to
@cleverfiend, @MarcNeesam, @agittner, @ViciaScience, @BestEvSciTeach
I never say that, I tell them that I will show them phenomena where their existing idea might not work. #ASEchat (I have a Father Christmas analogy to show this)
Ah clearer. Unfortunetly there are many curriculum areas present due to ‘but it is always there’. Very hard to challenge content as people start to feel defensive especially if they have an interest in something particular. Curriculum are put together by people after all #asechat
All teaching and scientific models have their limitations. Isn’t science just a series of best fit models for nature? Are we teaching the history of scientific models? #ASEchat
Unfortunately this is not just confined to transitions from 18 - UG! #ASEChat No wonder pupils think science is a hard subject when teachers cannot agree! #ASEChat
I have tried it a couple of times, lesson 1 in Sept. "I am not teaching any facts, only theories, " (I then explain why a scientific theory is not like one in cleudo) and we go from there. Some groups like it, others want the ANSWERS, not theories. #ASEchat
Yes, but point was (I think) that the further the case from the central concept (human skeleton) the more the concept that all these animals must be related.
But I'd say that whole episode was based about that idea - how far can we push it. Even fruitflies etc. #asechat
Very difficult to write a curriculum in the absence of clear curriculum aims. Not suggesting this is common practice, but I have searched National Curriculum documents to find mention of why we teach science in schools - to no avail. Where I could locate such statements? #ASEChat
I have tried it a couple of times, lesson 1 in Sept. "I am not teaching any facts, only theories, " (I then explain why a scientific theory is not like one in cleudo) and we go from there. Some groups like it, others want the ANSWERS, not theories. #ASEchat
I hate the "everything we taught you last year was wrong" approach! Make it explicit that explanations, e.g. of photosynthesis, are models. At different stages of learning, we use models with different amounts of complexity/detail - but all model the same thing. #ASEchat
You should be able to find the aims of curriculum around. @sciencestrachan gave some in her #Aseconf session for various countries - I have a paper copy. Amy could share the electronic list she has? #asechat
In reply to
@ViciaScience, @agittner, @sciencestrachan
Simple models can be good enough for what we want to explain; doesn't mean they're wrong. (Slide is something I showed and talked over at an ASE teachmeet) #ASEchat
So a starter for this discussion could be 'can a teacher replace a misconception by good teaching, or only supplement the misconception by offering an additional view?' #ASEChat
In reply to
@A_Weatherall, @MarcNeesam, @NeedhamL56
Think it comes down to human nature - we like the concrete. I remember trying to explain how gravity is a theory and one day it may get replaced if evidence was found. Too much of science is treated as fact. #asechat
