Research has shown that most chemistry teachers have misconceptions about
covalent bonding. This study investigates whether the cognitive conflict
interview technique could persuade teachers to revise their possible
misconceptions of covalent bonding. Eight chemistry teachers from different
schools participated in this study. Two validated instruments, cognitive
conflict technique inter-view guidelines and the open-ended covalent bonding
test, were employed for data collection. The results showed that cognitive
conflict interviews could facilitate respondents to overcome their
misconceptions about covalent bonding. Five of the eight respondents
experienced a conceptual change from misconceptions to scientific
conceptions, and three others experienced a partial conceptual change. Six
concepts previously a source of misconceptions was eliminated and turned
into a scientific concept instead. Of the 46 cases of misconceptions, 41
cases turned into scientific conceptions. The result of this study serves as
an initial perspective for exploring the effectiveness of cognitive conflict
interviews more broadly.
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