ADDRESSING YOUR STUDENTS’
MISCONCEPTIONS:
Breaking Through the Barriers
to Student Learning
NWO Symposium 2008
Barriers to student learning

Correct science concepts won’t stick
 Misconceptions
often function well in
everyday life
 Children often separate concepts into
“school concepts” and “everyday concepts”

Misconceptions vs. You
Where do misconceptions come from?

Classroom instruction
 Students
draw conclusions that were not
intended
Everyday experiences
 Incorrect explanations
 Textbooks

What’s the big deal?
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
Only you can prevent the
continuation of misconceptions!
1.
2.
3.
Mastering science
content
Correcting
misconceptions with
instruction
Being aware of your
students’
misconceptions
Mastering science content
Lack of content knowledge =
inadvertently providing students with
scientifically incorrect information
 Teachers (and adults) often have the same
misconceptions as students

 Heavy
objects fall faster than light objects
 Gases are inherently lighter than solids and
liquids
Correcting misconceptions with
instruction

Creating “cognitive conflict”
 Students
must question their previous
conception

Present students with a viable
alternative
 Applicable

to the real world
Hands-on explorations are great, but
your guidance is needed!
Being aware of your students’
misconceptions

In order to correct student
misconceptions, you must FIRST know
what they are
 Dive
into the research
 AAAS
Benchmarks, Making Sense of Secondary
Science
 Pre-assessments
 Your
students may have unique ideas
Why Should I Pre-assess?

Ensures that you are giving your students
EXACTLY what they need
 Align
your instruction to their misconceptions
 Lessons are slightly modified each year

Provides pre-instruction data
 Compare
to post-assessment
Pre-assessment Ideas

Hands-on
 Sorting

activities
Writing things down
 Written
probes
Big Magnet, Little Magnet
Noah and Emily have two magnets. One magnet is big, and the
other magnet is little. They want to know how many paperclips
the magnets can pick up. To find out, they dump a pile of
paperclips on the table and use the magnets, one at a time, to pick
up the paperclips.
What do you think Noah and Emily will discover about their
magnets? Circle your prediction.
A.The big magnet will pick up more paperclips.
B.The little magnet will pick up more paperclips.
C.Both magnets will pick up the same amount of paperclips.
Explain your thinking. Describe the “rule” or reasoning
you used to make your prediction.
Pre-assessment Ideas

Hands-on
 Sorting

Writing things down
 Written

activities
probes
Watching cartoons or viewing
comics
 Science
Concept Comics
Pre-assessment Ideas

Hands-on
 Sorting

Writing things down
 Written

activities
probes
Watching cartoons or viewing comics
 Science
Concept Comics
 Animated cartoon
http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/3669/Compressed_Hare/
Useful Resources

Uncovering Student Ideas in Science (Volumes
1 to 3) by Page Keeley
 75

total formative assessment probes
Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research
Into Children’s Ideas by Rosiland Driver
 Student
misconceptions about numerous topics