Electrifying misconceptions

It was intriguing to compare the misconceptions between Harvard graduates and grade 9 students. Interestingly, the misconceptions between the two demographics were similar.  When Heather was pressed on how she acquired these theories, she either wasn’t sure, or suggested confusing ideas based on how they were depicted in textbooks from earlier grades.  It is likely that most common sources of misconceptions are lack of clear explanations, misunderstandings from reading and visual materials, and lack of hands on learning. Without having the Sun, the earth and the moon in your hands, it becomes difficult to understand clearly the reasons why we have phases of the moon.

The study by Turgut, Gurbuz, and Turgut (2011) focused on gaining an understanding of misconceptions harbored by grade 10 students on electricity.  A three part multiple choice test was conducted with 10 questions, part one: a normal content knowledge multiple choice question, part two: a multiple choice question where the student would pick the best option supporting why they chose the answer they chose in part one, and part three: how sure they were of their choice in part one.  This was a clever way of determining any misconceptions as if the student was sure of the wrong answer with a reason given, a misconception would become clear.  If the student got a wrong answer and wasn’t sure of the answer, that wouldn’t count as a misconception.  The researchers found around 25 or so different misconceptions related to electricity among 96 grade 10 students.  A few of these misconceptions included: current is consumed in the circuit; current decreases when it passes through the bulb; and bulbs in the parallel are always brighter in series.  The researchers strongly recommended designing classroom experiences that addressed these misconceptions so that students could have better learning experiences regarding electricity.

There were some parallels between the Turgut, Gurbuz, and Turgut (2011) and Driver, Guesne, and Tiberghien (1985), one of the required readings.  Both studies highlighted the sheer difficulty of getting rid of misconceptions that children develop as they go through different grades learning science.  Both articles also suggested students are not empty vessels when they come to class, that they have their own set of ideas, something that was also a fact stated in the required video about Heather.

From the readings I have discovered that multiple activities are required so that students get various opportunities to compare the scientific view of a concept to their own.  To allow students to be rid of a misconception, it first needs to be recognized by the teacher.  Furthermore, it needs to be confronted directly by the teacher in multiple ways so that students have a better chance of letting go of their misconception.  To that end, there are a variety of interactive simulations and high quality video content that teachers could use to provide these multiple ways of teaching a single concept.  There are a number of science related channels like TEDEd, CrashCourse, The Sci Guys etc. that produce very engaging and inviting video content, along with simulations like Phet can go a long way in helping students understand concepts.

References

Driver, R., Guesne, E., & Tiberghien, A. (1985). Children’s ideas and the learning of science. Children’s ideas in science, 1-9. Available online: search the title using any engine.

Turgut, U., Gurbuz, F., & Turgut, G. (2011).  An investigation 10th grade students’ misconceptions about electric current. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1956-1971.