Alternative ideas about concepts of physics, a timelessly valuable tool for physics education

Abstract

Alternative ideas, defined as faulty or incomplete understandings of scientific concepts, are prevalent among students across all age groups and educational levels. In physics, misconceptions often arise from everyday experiences, intuitive reasoning, and oversimplified analogies. The persistence of misconceptions in students’ understanding of physics concepts can hinder learning and compromise scientific literacy. Consequently, research on alternative ideas has emerged as a critical aspect of science education, informing teaching strategies and curriculum development. At the beginning of this research, a brief historical report is presented on how research began in the field of the didactic of physics. Then a report is presented with research that led to the identification of alternative ideas at various levels of education. Finally, modern studies on the alternative ideas on the concepts of physics and their conclusions are presented and highlight the timeless necessity of the scientific research of alternative ideas and students’ perceptions of physics concepts, proving how valuable it is for physics education in the search for this topic.

Obstacles to Teaching Science in Primary School and Strategies to Overcome Them

“…The advantage is that the teacher, knowing the students' misconceptions, uses appropriate teaching strategies to build science knowledge (Driver et al, 1985). Unfortunately, have been reported that students and primary education teachers have the same misconceptions about science concepts and phenomena (Kotsis, 2023). The same has been reported for the Pre-service teachers (Gavrilas & Kotsis, (2023); Stylos et al, 2023), making the problem very important.…”

“…The important role of misconceptions in science teaching is well known (Kotsis, 2023). Misconceptions about a science concept can have profound implications on the learning process, influencing the trajectory of how human beings acquire knowledge.…”

The views of preschool educators on the development of environmental awareness through distance education

“…Educators should possess the appropriate knowledge and a friendly attitude toward the environment to teach and sensitize their students (Gontas et al, 2020;Oncu & Unluer, 2015;Papanikolaou et al, 2023). Educators can enhance students' environmental awareness only when they have fundamental ecological knowledge and the right experience to achieve specific educational objectives (Desjean-Perrotta et al, 2008;Kotsis, 2023;Vlachos et al, 2024). Moreover, educators must teach environmental topics from the early years of students' lives.…”

Teaching Physics in the Kitchen: Bridging Science Education and Everyday Life

“…However, many students struggle to connect these abstract ideas with real-life experiences, lacking engagement and understanding (Kaye & Ogle, 2022). Students have many misconceptions about physics concepts (Resbiantoro & Setiani, 2022) and cannot apply the sciences in real life (Kotsis, 2023). The fact is that misconceptions also have adults, especially persons involved with education as Pre-Service Teachers (Gavrilas & Kotsis, 2023;Stefanou et al, 2023) and University Physics Department Students (Stylos et al, 2008;Migdanalevros & Kotsis, 2021;.…”