Addressing Your Students’ Misconceptions: Breaking Through the Barriers to Student Learning Presented at the Inquiry Series Blast-Off September 20, 2008 by Jake Burgoon and Michelle Klinger with any questions or

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? STUDENTS TEACHERS

Only you can prevent the continuation of misconceptions! 1.Mastering science content 2.Correcting misconceptions with instruction 3.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

Example from TEAMS tests If you cut a bar magnet in half, each half will: a. no longer attract objects b. attract from both ends c. attract objects only at one end d. have two north poles or two south poles e. be more powerful than the original 35% 25% 44% 22%

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-assessing All Learners Since people don’t all learn best by only doing, seeing, hearing or reading information, we need to find different ways to assess different learners.

Kinesthetic Learners Hands-on –Sorting activities Magnetic sorting activity

Kinesthetic Learners Moving Around –Physical activities Mirror/light reflection activity

Visual Learners Writing things down –Written probes Sample from Page Keeley’s Uncovering Student Ideas In Science

Visual Learners Watching cartoons or viewing comics –Concept Drawing –Animated cartoon

Auditory Learners Talking things through - Demonstrate and Discuss Mysterious Suspension Jar & “Science Talks”

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