Studying conceptual change in learning physics

Abstract

There is often a severe problem of lack of communication between teacher and pupils. When two people communicate, what passes between them are the words and gestures they use to attempt to convey meaning, not the meaning itself. So a teacher has some ideas which he or she hopes to convey by putting them into words, diagrams or symbols. The child may take note of the words, and so on, but from these has to build up a meaning for them. There is clearly a strong possibility that this meaning created by the child is not the meaning intended by the teacher. This possibility is very high if the type of language used by the teacher, or workcard, or textbook writer, is not familiar to the child. Then various things may happen, as Barnes (1986) has so clearly pointed out: a) The child may ignore what the teacher is saying. b) The teacher may ignore what the pupil is saying (the teacher “controls” knowledge by using unfamiliar language, consequently children'S ideas are devalued and are only heard when they talk among themselves). c) The teacher may insist that the pupils use the “correct” words and so, sound scientific. (We, like Barnes, have seen children praised for “thinking like a scientist” when it is clear that the children are simply “making noises which sound scientific”).

Confidence versus Performance as an Indicator of the Presence of Alternative Conceptions and Inadequate Problem‐Solving Skills in Mechanics

“…Hasan et al (1999) have defined student misconceptions as 'strongly held cognitive structures that are different from the accepted understanding in a field and that are presumed to interfere with the acquisition of new knowledge'. Heller and Finley (1992) refer to these as intuitive conceptions, but Dykstra, Boyle and Monarch (1992) prefer the expression alternative conceptions because it implies that they are 'rationally based on the students' experiences with the world and prove adequate for … most everyday tasks …' (p. 621). We have used the general term alternative conceptions to include all of these perspectives.…”

Learning about seasons in a technologically enhanced environment: The impact of teacher‐guided and student‐centered instructional approaches on the process of students' conceptual change

“…Some researchers have declared that an abrupt change rarely happens when students are learning science in school; rather, what usually happens in this context is a gradual conceptual assimilation, since most students "add" pieces of new information into their store of prior knowledge without abandoning their old ideas (Fensham, Gunstone, &White, 1994;Linder, 1993;Tao & Gunstone, 1999). Therefore, conceptual change for young students is generally a progressive process, a movement from their prior conceptions to certain intermediate conceptions and finally to properly scientific conceptions (Dykstra, Boyle, & Monarch, 1992;Niedderer & Goldberg, 1994). Demastes, Good, and Peebles (1996) identify four progressive patterns of change: "cascade of changes," "wholesale changes," "incremental changes," and "dual constructions."…”

The Effect of Demonstrative Computer Simulation in Developing Intuition: Accomplishment of Acceleration Concept

“…Dykstra et al [2] outlined ways that physics teachers could diagnose students' differing conceptions about the relationship between force and motion and then induce them to transform these conceptions. Educators should also activate their own cognitive forces to configure existing concepts through differential interventions, and enriched experiences.…”

“…Dykstra et al [2] outlined ways that physics teachers could diagnose students' differing conceptions about the relationship between force and motion and then induce them to transform these conceptions.…”