James Wandersee asked in 1986: 'Can History of Science help science educators anticipate students' misconceptions?. This paper aims to answer the same question by attempting a comparative bibliographical study between the assumptions of early philosophers and the conceptions of children relating to the roles of light and the eye in the process of vision. The results indicate remarkable similarities, which are analysed as to their nature and origin. The conclusions underline the significant role of the history of science as a rich bank of ideas for the design of educational material. Additionally, implications for educational research are discussed.

This research, carried out in Greece on pupils aged 12-16, focuses on the transformation of their representations concerning light emission and image formation by extended light sources. The instructive process was carried out in two stages, each one having a different, distinct target set. During the first stage, the appropriate conflict conditions were created by contrasting the subjects' predictions with the results of experimental situations inspired by the History of Science, with a view to destabilizing the pupils' alternative representations. During the second stage, the experimental teaching intervention was carried out; it was based on the geometrical optics model and its parameters were derived from Kepler's relevant historic experiment. For the duration of this process and within the framework of didactical interactions, an effort was made to reorganize initial limited representations and restructure them at the level of the accepted scientific model. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated two weeks later, using experimental tasks which had the same cognitive yet different empirical content with respect to the tasks conducted during the intervention. The results of the study showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, that is, the pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.

This study investigates the eVectiveness of a teaching conXict procedure whose purpose was the transformation of the representations of 12-16-year-old pupils in Greece concerning light emission and shadow formation by extended light sources. The changes observed during the children's eVort to destabilize and reorganise their representations towards a model that was compatible with the respective scientiWc model were studied using three groups of pupils belonging to diVerent age groups. The methodological plan implemented was based on input from the History of Science, while the parameters of the geometrical optics model were derived from Kepler's relevant historic experiment. The eVectiveness of the teaching procedure was evaluated 2 weeks after the intervention. The results showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, i.e. the pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.