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The Circulatory System
Student’s Misconceptions:
The Circulatory System
Ashley Erin Solomon
EDSE 352
Prof. H. Yacoubian
September 26th 2010
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The Circulatory System
Student’s Misconceptions:
The Circulatory System
Student’s misconceptions within the educational system can begin at any age and
continue through to high school and even university in some cases. The study of Biological
Sciences is one of the most difficult subjects to grasp for some students due to the fact it at times
requires knowledge of not only Biology but at times Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and even
Psychology. It is also a subject that can demonstrate a plethora of prior knowledge in which must
be fully understood before any further knowledge can be supported, and if a student does not
understand one link in the chain, it could quickly all ravel apart.
A misconception can be viewed as a numerous number of issues with a child’s learning
of a concept, however S.A. Alkhawaldeh’s (2007) definition of the term ‘misconception’ will be
used to refer to students’ conceptions that are different from scientific conceptions. One of the
biggest issues with misconceptions according to Sungar Tekkaya and Geban (2001), is they are
resistant to change, persistent, well embedded in an individual’s cognitive ecology, and difficult
to extinguish even with instruction designed to address them. (pg.91) The misconception can be
something so ingrained, that a child may have truly valued its worth since a very young age. It is
as if a child has been told your soul is in your heart your entire life, however when they get to
high school they learn that your brain actually carries the function of personality differentiation
and your heart pumps blood throughout your body. This stark contrast between societal
knowledge on Biological subjects and students expected knowledge of true science can be a
large area of struggle for many students and teachers whom are trying to teach these students.
According to Sungar et al. (2001) “even teachers hold misconceptions about the mechanism of
The Circulatory System
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material exchange, the role of formation and withdrawal of tissue fluid I the capillaries, and the
relationship between blood flow rate, blood pressure, and vessel diameter.” (p.92)
The circulatory system is very unique in the sense that it is intertwined in almost every
aspect of physiology and anatomy within the human body. Even at the high school level it is
difficult to learn about the kidneys without it being connected to the heart and especially the unit
on homeostasis. Every unit is learned in sections, which is one of the greatest difficulties. The
heart is immensely complex and having taken courses at the university level on cardiology the
realization that when knowledge is placed in context of a whole system it is quite simpler to
grasp. The way that I was taught in high school is almost like a puzzle. You are given the pieces,
the do all fit together, but no one helps you to assemble the full picture and if by chance you
place a piece in the wrong spot no one is there to correct you and the whole understanding of the
concept can be lost.
Students within the high school biology curriculum are expected to be able to understand
a multitude of areas regarding the circulatory system, however to simplify I will focus on the
Alberta Curriculum mandated outcome in section 20–D2.6k that students will explain the role of
blood in regulating body temperature. In this one simple outcome many misconceptions can be
found. The difficulty with this outcome specifically is that it requires a full understanding of the
circulatory system and its ability to circulate blood throughout the entire body. S.A.
Alkhawaldeh’s (2007) research discovered that the most common misconception among students
in the control group 36.11% on this item was that ‘when environmental temperature increases
skin takes red appearance because blood pressure increases’. Another misconception detected in
the control group 27.78% was that ‘when environmental temperature increases, skin takes a red
appearance because the diameter of capillaries increases’. (pg. 379)
The Circulatory System
In order for students to be successful, these misconceptions must be determined in the
beginning section of the semester before they contaminate future knowledge acquisition. At
times this can be a difficult task because you do not want to single out students who are having
issues and make them feel self conscious about their misconceptions. Making students feel
comfortable with the class and ability to discuss the issues at hand could is detrimental.
Although students may have difficulty at first with the circulatory system does not mean
this must persist. With careful instruction and evaluation any teacher can successfully be
conscious of student’s misconceptions and deal with them quickly.
Word Count : 746
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The Circulatory System
References
Alberta Education, Alberta, Canada. (2009). Biology 20-30 Program of Studies.
<http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/science/programs.aspx>
Alkhawaldeh, S. (2007). Facilitating conceptual change in ninth grade students'
understanding of human circulatory system concepts. Research in Science &
Technological Education. 25(3). 371-375.
Sungar S., Tekkaya C., Geban O. (2001). The Contribution of Conceptual Change
Texts Accompanied by Concept Mapping to Students’ understanding of the
Human Circulatory System. School Science and Mathematics. 101(2), 91-101.