Breaking Through the Barriers to Student

Learning

Jake BurgoonNWO Symposium 2009

A lesson on heat began with the question, “What is heat?”

The students said that heat came from the sun and from our bodies

One student spoke up about the heat in sweaters, and everyone agreed that sweaters were hot … and hats and rugs, too!

The teacher decided to let the students find out

www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/teachingforconcept.html

The students placed thermometers inside sweaters, hats, and a rolled-up rug

After 15 minutes, the temperature didn’t increase, so one student suggested to leave it overnight

The students predicted three-digit temperatures the next day

But the students came in the next morning and found the temperature to be the same“Cold air got in somehow”“We didn’t leave them in there long enough”

www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/teachingforconcept.html

One student decided to seal the hat, with a thermometer, inside a plastic bag

Other students put their sweaters in closets or desks

Again, the next day, the students found that the temperature had not changed

One student wanted to put the hat and thermometer in a metal box and leave it for a year

Surely the temperature would change then!www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/

teachingforconcept.html

After some discussion, the teacher offered the students two theories:Heat could come from almost anything, even hats

and sweaters. In measuring this heat, we are sometimes fooled because we’re really measuring the cold air that gets inside

Heat comes mostly from the sun and our bodies and is trapped inside winter clothes that keep our body heat in and keep the cold air out

Most students chose the second theory, and decided to test it by putting thermometers in their hats during recess

www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/teachingforconcept.html

Students come into the classroom with their own conceptions about the natural world

These conceptions are:ExplanatoryRe-confirmed by everyday experiences

Students are often resistant to give up these ideas

Changing students’ initial conceptions can be a long process

How can people live on this spherical earth without falling down?

How can the earth be spherical and flat at the same time?

oAstronomical object oSphericaloUnsupportedoGravity towards the

center of the earth

o Physical object o Flato Supportedo Up/down gravity

Everyday ExperiencesClassroom instruction

Students draw conclusions that were not intendedLesson designPrior experience

Incorrect explanations Textbooks

STUDENTS

TEACHERS

1. Mastering science content

2. Being aware of your students’ misconceptions

3. Addressing misconceptions with instruction

Lack of content knowledge = inadvertently providing students with scientifically incorrect information

Teachers (and other adults) often have the same misconceptions as students

Compare the masses of the three containers

FROZEN HEATEDROOM

TEMPERATURE

Greatest mass42%

Least mass37%

50%

33%

In order to correct student misconceptions, you must FIRST know what they areDive into the research

AAAS Benchmarks, Making Sense of Secondary Science

Formative assessmentsYour students may have unique ideas

The most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.David Ausubel

Assess before, during, and after lessons

Formative assessments should elicit students’ explanations and personal theories about conceptsMore than true/false or yes/no

Ensures that you are giving your students EXACTLY what they needAlign your instruction to their

misconceptionsLessons are slightly modified each year

Help students overcome misconceptions

Use misconceptions to guide instruction

Become aware of student misconceptions

Formative assessment

Increase student learning

Hands-onSorting activities

Writing things downWritten probes

Watching cartoons or viewing comicsScience Concept ComicsAnimated Cartoons

Don’t put the coat on the

snowman – it will melt him!

I think it will keep him cold, and stop him from melting.

I don’t think the coat will make any difference.

1) Dissatisfaction with existing conceptionso Cognitive conflicto Difficult to achieve!

2) New conception must be intelligible

1) New conception must appear plausible

1) New conception must seem fruitful

Discrepant eventsDemonstrationsExperimental activities

The power of PREDICTION

Critiques:Students do not see the conflictStudents become discouraged

1) Dissatisfaction with existing conceptionso Cognitive conflicto Difficult to achieve!

2) New conception must be intelligibleo Understanding terms and symbolso Internal representation of concept

3) New conception must appear plausibleo Not counter-intuitiveo Consistent with personal theory or past experiences

4) New conception must seem fruitful

Spring pushes on

hand

Foam pushes on

book

Flexible board

pushes on book

Table pushes on

book

Initial Conception: A table cannot push up on a book

1) Dissatisfaction with existing conceptionso Cognitive conflicto Difficult to achieve!

2) New conception must be intelligibleo Understanding terms and symbolso Internal representation of concept

3) New conception must appear plausibleo Not counter-intuitiveo Consistent with personal theory or past experiences

4) New conception must seem fruitfulo Resolves dissatisfactiono Potential of concept to lead to new insights and

discoveries

Metaconceptual awareness

Adults are more likely to change their conceptions

Intentional learning

Epistemological beliefs (what is knowledge?)

Simple and certain

Complex and continuously evolving

Makes a difference in students’ responses to conflicting evidence

Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research Into Children’s Ideas by Rosiland DriverStudent misconceptions about numerous topics

Benchmarks for Science Literacy by AAAS Project 2061Chapter 15 is called “Research Base”On-line at

www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php

A Private Universehttp://www.learner.org/resources/series28.html

Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach It by William RobertsonChemistry; Air, Water and Weather; Electricity

and Magnetism; Energy; Force and Motion; Light; Sound

Science For All Americans by AAASScience Matters: Achieving Scientific

Literacy by Robert Hazen and James Trefil

Uncovering Student Ideas in Science (Volumes 1 to 4) by Page Keeley100 total formative assessment probes

Science Formative Assessment: 75 Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning by Page Keeley