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EDUC 5508 – Integrated Studies from K-7: Science Focus

Assignment 1 -Children’s View of Science

Introduction

Overview

The aim of this assignment was to determine the prior knowledge of two children regarding

a particular science topic. The data collected was interpreted and compared to literature

regarding alternative conceptions. From this data appropriate activities were chosen to

address the alternative conceptions.

Importance of Obtaining Prior Knowledge

When students arrive in the science classroom they are not empty vessels waiting to be

filled with information, instead students have already created their own explanations for

many scientific concepts (Baxter, 1991). They will have observed or experienced a number

of scientific phenomena to create their own ideas and beliefs about why something

happens; this is called everyday concept formation (Cutter-Mackenzie & Logan, 2013). It is

important that science lessons makes links to these everyday science concepts so that

students remain engaged and can see the reasons behind studying science. By obtaining

prior knowledge teachers can find out what is relevant to students and teach topics

students will be able to engage with (Cutter-Mackenzie & Logan, 2013).

Learning a child’s prior knowledge also allows teachers to identify a student’s alternative

conceptions. These are the beliefs and explanations developed through their own

experiences that are different from the accepted scientific concepts (Cutter-Mackenzie &

Logan, 2013). Once these alternative concepts have been identified lessons can be planned

to target them. As Ausubel declared “the most important single factor influencing learning is

what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him appropriately” (Ausubel cited

in Garbett, 2013). This also adheres to the constructivist theories like those of Piaget who

stated that prior knowledge is what children use to make sense of new information.

According to Piaget, people assimilate information by making it fit into what they already

know or they accommodate new ideas by adjusting their way of thinking. If the information

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is too unfamiliar people have a tendency to just ignore it (Piaget cited in Woolfolk &

Margett, 2013). If students distort the information by trying to make it fit or simply ignore

new information this will negatively impact their education. As such the teacher needs to

comprehend that prior knowledge could be acting as a constraint to learning new scientific

concepts (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994). If teachers are aware of what the student already

knows they will know whether these new ideas will fit or if other methods will have to be

used to assist in the students learning.

Once it is established what a student already knows a teacher can use this information to

assist in planning the rest of the topic. A teacher does not want to reteach what has already

been taught in previous years or leave gaps in the topic areas. Also if a teacher is aware of

what a student already knows they are able to shape activities to suit child capabilities. This

is important as if the concept/topic is too hard the student will become disengaged and

unmotivated. However if it is too easy then the student can become bored which in turn can

lead to behavioural issues (Hunt cited in Woolfolk & Margett, 2013). It should be

remembered that determining a student’s prior knowledge is also part of knowing your

students which is a vital part of adhering to the professional standards of graduate teachers

(TRBWA, 2014).

Science topic selected

The topic selected for this assignment is the night/day cycle, a year 3 topic included in the

earth and space sciences section of the national curriculum. Although this may seem an easy

topic there are a number of alternative conceptions that are held by both young children

(and adults) regarding the causes for day and night (Skamp, 2004).

Details of children interviewed

Two students were interviewed for this assignment. The first was a year three student who

will be referred to as Jennifer. The second was a year two student who has recently turned

seven; her pseudonym for the sake of this assignment will be Sophie.

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Day and Night

The reasons for day and night have been considered for thousands of years. To comprehend

the science conception behind night and day there needs to be an understanding that the

earth is spherical, it revolves around the sun and it rotates on its axis.

Earth is believed to have been formed 4.56 billion years ago (Rees, 2005) and although the

earth is depicted as a perfect sphere (see fig.1) the earth actually bulges around the equator

due to the centrifugal forces as the earth rotates (Sanders & Gatehouse, 2004).

Figure 1: The Blue marble (Reto Stöckli, 2002)

Earth is the third closest planet to the sun and revolves around the sun (Williamson &

Garton, 2011). As shown by the illustration in figure 2, the sun is at the centre of the solar

system with the planets following an orbit around the sun.

Figure 2: The inner solar system on 19 September 2008 (Lomb, 2008)

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For centuries it had been believed that the earth was the centre of the universe. The sun,

moon and planets all revolved around the earth creating a geocentric model (see fig. 3). This

was based on Ptolemy’s theories outlined in the Almagest (Rees, 2005).

Figure 3: Ptolemy’s system of orbits from The Celestial Atlas published in 1660-61 (Rees,

2005)

In 1543 Nicolaus Capernicus wrote a paper describing the universe as heliocentric; all the

planets revolved around the sun (see fig. 4). This paper revolutionised how astrologers

studied space and the reasons for night and day.

Figure 4: A map produced by Copernicus in 1543 to show the earth and planets circling the

sun (Rees, 2005)

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Once it is understood that the earth revolves around the sun we can determine the reason

for the day/night cycle. As well as revolving around the sun the earth also rotates on its axis.

This axis is an imaginary line that runs through the centre of the earth from pole to pole at

angle of 23.5 degrees. This axis always points to the same place in space called the South

Celestial pole (William & Garton, 2011). The earth spins at 1700km/h, however, people do

not notice because everything is moving at this speed. The only way that we would notice

the spinning would be if the speed were to suddenly change or we were to stop spinning

(Williamson & Garton, 2011). As the earth spins most locations on the earth will pass from

shadow to daylight creating the day/night cycle (Rees,2005). The side of the earth facing the

sun will be in the sunlight which would be day time and the areas facing away from the sun

would be in shadow creating night time (see fig. 5).

Figure 5: The day/night cycle (Science encyclopaedia for kids, 2014).

Every day the earth rotates once however there are two definitions for what is considered a

day. A solar day lasts for 24 hours which is the length of time the sun takes to return to the

highest point in the sky from the same point the previous day (Rees,2005). A sidereal day is

the earth’s rotation in relation to the stars; it is the time it takes a star to return to its

highest point. This is four minutes shorter than a solar day (Rees, 2005).

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Figure 6: Solar and Sidereal day (Rees, 2005)

The difference in time between the two definitions is because the earth has to turn a little

further in order for the sun to reach the same point (see fig. 6) (Rees, 2005).

In the southern hemisphere the longest day of the year happens on the 22nd December and

is called the Summer Solstice. Then on the 22nd June the shortest day occurs, and is called

the winter solstice. The opposite occurs in the northern hemisphere (Williamson & Garton,

2011).

Due to the rotation of the earth the sun seems to move across the sky from east to west

(see fig.7).

Figure 7: The sun’s apparent movement across the sky (BBC Bitesize, 2014).

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This movement across the sky allowed for sundials to tell the time as the shadow projected

by an object would move as well, this shadow can be used indicate the time(Bely et al,

2010). It is this apparent movement from east to west, however, that may be the root of

some alternative conceptions.

Alternative Conceptions regarding day and night

There are a number of alternative conceptions for the causes of day/night as the day/night

cycle is something that all children can observe with their own eyes. They see the sun out

during the day and the darkness at night. To explain the day turning into night some

children believe that the sun goes behind the clouds (Allen, 2010),or behind the hills (Baxter

cited in Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994) the sun simply moves out into space (Vosniadou &

Brewer, 1994). Disappearance/appearance is something many young children are familiar

with. Babies and toddlers are introduced to the concept early on by often playing games

such as ‘peek-a-boo’. As such, they may accept the notion that things can just appear and

disappear (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994).

If children have not observed the movement of the sun across the sky they may also believe

that the sun and moon rise up and down (Allen, 2010). This alternative conception is quite

often link with the alternative conception of the earth being flat. Therefore students must

comprehend that the earth is a sphere before they can even begin to understand the

scientific explanation for day/night (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994). Vosniadou and Brewer

refer to these types of conceptions as initial mental models, as they are based solely on the

child’s observations (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994).

As mentioned in the previous section the apparent movement of the sun from east to west

can cause students to believe that the sun moves around the earth (Allen, 2010). This

alternative conception was actually the widely held belief for hundreds of years, so it is

understandable to see why children will have the same idea. Children have to be able to

understand that the sun remains stationary in relation to the earth which is spinning around

the sun. Once they understand this they can then understand why the rotation of the earth

would then cause day/night (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994).

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Another alternative conception involves the moon blocking the sun at night and the

opposite during the day (Allen, 2010). This links to the belief that the moon only comes out

at night (Allen, 2010). The idea of the moon only coming out at night is not surprising as

many children’s picture books show the moon wearing a night cap in the night sky (Allen,

2010). Some children also believe that the sun and moon swap places (Allen, 2010). A

similar idea is that the moon and the sun are both fixed in position and as the earth rotates

we see one or the other. This mixes the scientific fact of the earth rotating and the

alternative conception of a stationary moon (Allen, 2010). These conceptions could be a

result of the fact that it is very rare to see a picture with the moon out in the daytime, and

many children may never have looked for the moon during the day. It is also claimed that

literature about night and day often does not explain explicitly what the moon is doing in

relation to the day/night cycle (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994). These last few conceptions are

referred to as synthetic mental models as although not being scientifically correct they do

show have to some level of scientific knowledge such as knowing the earth is a sphere or

that the earth rotates (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994).

The causes for these alternative conceptions can be due a number of things including

personal experience, the impact of the media, as well as religious and cultural backgrounds

of the individual. For example an Aboriginal theory from Yolungo peoples of the northern

territories believed that the Walu the sun woman lit a fire every morning and carried the

torch from east to west then extinguished the torch every evening. She would then journey

underground throughout the night to return to the morning camp. The sunsets and sunrises

were caused by spilling ochre on the clouds (Norris, 2008). Children would use this story to

explain what they see. This type of belief is not only restricted to aboriginals but many other

cultures as well. Some studies have even found many different cultures across the world

have similar theories for astrological events (Skamp, 2004). Although not matched with

current scientific theories teachers must be still be sensitive of religious and cultural beliefs.

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Procedure

Selection of children

Before selecting the students it was decided that space and more specifically the reason we

have day and night would be the topic discussed. Therefore it was appropriate to choose a

child who was in year three, which is when this topic is part of the national curriculum. It

was then decided that a participant from a lower year would provide a good comparison as

they would not covered the topic in school and may have different ideas as to why we have

night and day.

Ethical Issues

To ensure that there were no ethical issues, whilst organising the interview it was explained

to the parents what we expected from their children. It was explained that there would be

three interviewers who would ask the children to draw a picture which would be followed

by some questions about space. We also asked permission to create audio recordings of the

conversation. Once arriving for the interview the parents were asked to read through an

information sheet and sign a permission form (see Appendix A & B). It was not only the

parent’s permission that needed to be collected, however, the child also had to provide

informed assent. The 1989 Convention on the rights of the child stresses the importance of a

child’s right to make decisions that affect their lives (Einsardóltir, 2007). As such, the

children also received an explanation about what was happening and why they were being

interviewed using terms they would understand. It was also made clear that the children

could stop the interview at any time. To avoid any issues that could be caused by inequality

in the relationship between the child and the interviewer it was arranged that the main

interviewer was someone the child new well. Jennifer was a close family friend to one of the

interviewers and Sophie was a child who the interviewer had met on numerous occasions.

Since there was already relationships formed between the interviewer and child before the

research commenced it was hoped that the child would not only feel comfortable enough to

say stop, but also feel comfortable to enough to share their ideas.

Another ethical issue would be the confidentiality of the data, as participants data should be

respected and protected (Einsardóltir, 2007). It was made clear that audio recording would

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be deleted upon completion of the assignment and any data gathered would only be shared

by members of the group and the assessors of the assignment. It was also made clear that in

the report they would be given pseudonyms.

Data collection methods

Data was collected from the children through a recorded conversation. To begin with the

students were asked to draw a picture of a person in daytime and then draw a picture of a

person at night time (See Appendix C & D). They were then asked to describe the picture

and were asked questions about their drawings such as; how do we know it is daytime?

What can they see? What can they smell? And what can they hear? They were then asked to

add words to the picture to describe day and then night (See Appendix C & D). This was to

ensure they knew what day and night were.

The students were then asked a number of focus questions about day and night. The

students were provided with a small ball that looked like the earth and a larger yellow ball

which they were told could represent the sun. It was explained that they could use these to

help explain their answers. The questions included:

What do you think causes day and night?

What happens to the sun at night?

What happens to the moon during the day?

What do we mean by sun set?

What do we mean by sunrise?

When you are sleeping, is someone on the other side of the world sleeping?

For both interviews there was a main interviewer with two secondary interviewers

observing the child’s behaviour. The main interviewer would use constant words of support

to encourage the child to share and expand their ideas. They were never told an idea was

incorrect instead it was made clear that all ideas were valued.

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Results

Day/Night drawings

The first activity the children were asked to do was a picture of day and night. Both children

portrayed daytime with the sun shining and a person outside. For night time both children

drew the moon in the night sky, with a person inside (See Appendix C & D). Jennifer drew a

person in bed sleeping and Sophie drew a house with someone looking out the window.

After they had finished the picture the conversation that followed is summarised in the

table below (see table 1). A full copy of the transcript can be found in the appendix (see

Appendix E & F).

Jennifer Sophie

Day time drawing

How do we know it is day

time?

Because the sun is out. Because the sun is up and it

is not dark.

What do you see in the day

time?

You can play sport.

What does day time smell

like?

Nothing. Nothing.

What does it sound like? Birds, teachers talking. Birds.

How does it make you feel? Happy.

Night time drawing

What do you see? Pitch black but can see the

moon and stars.

Moon and stars. Its dark and

nothings around.

What do you hear? Nothing, I’m asleep but

sometimes hear my baby

sister crying.

Mozzies and nocturnal

creatures.

Does night time have a

smell?

No.

Does everyone sleep at night

time?

Not nocturnal creatures or

some people.

Yes.

Table 1: Table summarising day/night drawing discussion.

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From this discussion it is clear that both children understand the difference between day

time and night time. The day is light because of the sun and the night time is dark and they

are able to see the moon and the stars.

Interview about the day/night cycle

The children were then asked the focus questions. The two interviews have been

summarised in the following table (See table. 2).

Jennifer Sophie

When shown the balls the student could:

Recognise small 3D globe as

the earth

Yes Yes

Locate Australia on the globe Yes Yes

Recognise the larger yellow

ball as the sun.

Yes No

Students answers to the focus questions:

What causes day and night? The earth turns around and

when the earth turns away

from the sun it turns to the

moon. When the earth

doesn’t see the sun it goes

dark.

The sun and the moon spin

around the earth slowly

swapping places.

Later in the conversation

The sun goes behind the

moon.

If Australia is in day time is

everyone in day time?

No, England is 8 hours

behind.

No, at different times the

sun goes around the world.

When the moon comes up

the sun goes up on the other

side.

What happens to the sun at

night?

Nothing it stays. Well the sun

does move but at night it

stays there and the earth

rotates.

As the moon comes up the

sun goes down.

What happens to the moon At night we see the moon The moon goes behind the

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during the day? and during the day we see

the sun and other countries

see the moon.

sun.

Have you seen the moon

during the day?

Yes, since its morning you

can still faintly see it.

No

Describe sunrise Demonstrates with the balls.

The earth is starting to tilt so

its going down for Australia

but coming up for other

countries.

The sun is going down and

the moon is going up.

Describe sunset Demonstrates with the balls

the sun rising for Australia.

The sun is going down.

Does the sun move? Only for the seasons. Earth stays in the same spot

and the sun moves around

the earth.

Does the moon move? No. It stays where it is. Yes. The sun and moon

switch spots.

Table 2: Table summarising answers to the focus questions.

Jennifer also mentioned a solar system craft project she was making with her mum. When

questioned she revealed that the solar system is ‘everything’. She described it as everything

that goes round the sun including the earth and other planets. She could also name other

planets and recognise that they were different sizes.

It should be mentioned that if the interview was performed again it would have been

beneficial to ask the students to draw their conception, as well as using the balls to describe

what they are saying. Drawings would have given a greater insight and may have discovered

further alternative conceptions. Also, by using the balls the interviewers had assumed that

students new the earth was a sphere and could actually have caused some alternative

conceptions to be missed.

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Interpretation and comparison to literature

Using these results we are able to see quite clearly that both children interviewed have very

different alternative conceptions. Jennifer was able to correctly identify the science

conception that the earth rotates and revolves around the sun but still held other

alternative conceptions. Jennifer’s main alternative conceptions included the fact that she

believed the sun moved for the seasons and that the moon remained stationary. On the

whole Jennifer seemed quite knowledgeable about the subject of the solar system but

would benefit from having a few topics clarified. Jennifer is originally from the United

Kingdom and still has family living in England and Scotland so was able to use this

knowledge regarding different time-zones and for her understanding that if it was day in

Australia it would be night the other side of the globe (Sharp & Sharp, 2007).

Sophie on the other hand believed that the sun moved and the earth remained in the same

position which is a common alternative conception. There also seemed to be some

confusion about whether the sun went around or up and down. She also seemed unsure

about the moon blocking the sun at night and vice versa during the day. The idea that the

sun and moon swap places was also an alternative conception that arose from the

interview. Sophie’s almost contradictory answers are not unusual in astrology and she may

have been trying to work out her ideas as she was explaining them (Baxter, 1994). Sophie

did however show some scientific views as well, as she did explain that the moon did not

remain stationary. One thing that we should bear in mind is that Sophie is younger than

Jennifer so is therefore bound to have different alternative conceptions.

A number of alternative conceptions mentioned in the literature became apparent from the

interview with Jennifer and Sophie. Jennifer’s main alternative conception about the sun

moving for the seasons has appeared in the literature (Allen, 2010) however is not directly

linked to day/night so was not discussed previously. Jennifer’s conception that the moon

remains stationary was one of the alternative views discussed by the literature. As

previously stated this could be due to the fact the moon is not discussed when referring to

the day/night cycle so students are unsure how it is involved (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994).

Sophie displayed a number of the conceptions that were mentioned in the literature. She

held the alternative conception that the sun went around the earth (Allen, 2010). Sophie’s

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geocentric model is not unusual for children her age (Skamp, 2010). She is unable to feel the

earth spinning therefore is not likely to deduce that the earth is rotating. Instead she

believes the sun is moving which is most likely due to observing the sun move across the

sky. She was also adamant that the moon did not ever come out during the day. This could

explain why she thinks the sun and moon must swap places or that the moon blocks the sun

(Allen, 2010).

Both students were using synthetic mental models, as there was a mixture of accepted

science concepts and student observation that created their ideas about the day/night cyle

(Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994). Neither of the children revealed any new alternative

conceptions that had not been mentioned in the literature studied.

Rationale for teaching to these alternative conceptions

The main point that came from both of the interviews was the alternative conception

regarding the movement of the sun. Jennifer believed that the sun moved nearer and

further to the earth to create the seasons, whereas Sophie believed the sun moved around

the earth. Therefore the position and movement of the sun would be the main alternative

conception to be addressed. Although the sun does rotate it stays the same distance from

the earth and the earth actually rotates around the sun (Rees, 2005).

The first activity choosen would be the shoe box model activity. Students would colour the

inside of a shoebox black. The student would then draw a picture of Australia on a

polystyrene ball, this would represent the earth. The student would then place a pipe

cleaner through a polystyrene ball and attach the pipe cleaners to the edge of the box that

has view holes cut out from the top and side of the box. A strong light source would then

shine on the polystyrene earth. Students should then be able to see the line of shadow for

when day end and night begins. The student can then turn the pipe cleaner to show how the

earth rotates creating day and night across the globe (Howitt, Blake, Zadnik, 2010). Not only

would students be able to see that the light source (the sun) does not move but they would

also understand that the earth is rotating. During the discussion, however, the teacher

should explain that the theory that the sun went around the earth causing day and night is

not a completely outlandish idea. The students should understand that for hundreds of

years this was the widely held belief. If students know this they can be made to feel better

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about their own alternative conceptions (Baxter, 1991). This can help reduce any negative

association children may have about science.

The second activity to target this alternative conception would be for students to physically

enact the day and night cycle. Students working in pairs would create their own homemade

globes using a template (Silverston, 2014). They will attach wire to the top of the globe so

they are able to spin. Once they have made the globes, in a darkened classroom one

member of the pair would shine a strong light source at the globe whilst the other person

spins the globe. The person hold the light source must stay on the same spot to show how it

is the earth spinning causes day and night not the sun. The teacher should then ask the

students which way they should spin the globe to promote discussion and allow students to

share ideas. This is very similar to the previous activity just on a larger scale but gives the

students a chance to really compound their knowledge. If students are still having trouble

understanding that the sun remains in the same spot more time can be spent on this,

however, if students understand the concept, the teacher could introduce the movement

around the sun. The student holding the globe can place it on his/her head and spin around

whilst revolving around the person holding the light source. The teacher should emphasise

that the sun does not move from its spot even though it does rotate.

Both these activities are very hands on and use physical models. Physical models are tools

that allow the science concept to be explored at a deeper level and are vital for cognitive

development (Vygotsky cited in Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). Having the children physically

create or act out the concept is more effective than just telling the students the scientific

concept and hoping it sinks in. In some cases, simply telling students facts often results in

students creating hybrid between their alternative conception and the scientific

conception(Gilbert et al cited in Baxter, 1991). Teachers should also be aware that children

want to protect their original idea so they need to provide the opportunities to discover and

try out new theories and then be able to back them up with evidence (Baxter, 1991). Being

actively involved in the learning creates ownership of these new ideas and therefore are

more likely to replace the old concepts with these new ideas.

Both activities would hopefully engage the student’s interest and then retain the student’s

interest through to the next concept within that topic. If the student is engaged in the

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activity they are more motivated are more likely to be able to recall information (Skamp,

2004). These activities are also tailor made to concentrate on the specific alternative

concept revealed by the interview. Studies have shown that students who received targeted

teaching showed significant improvement within that topic (Diakidou & Kendeou, 2001). So

with these targeted activities student’s knowledge of space should be increased.

Since both of these activities use visual models to help explain the causes of day/night, the

teacher must be careful not to confuse the students further, as students may not

understand what the model is actually representing (Skamp, 2004). To avoid any confusions

the teacher must be able to predict what students may incorrectly focus upon and redirect

the attention to the concept they are trying to explain (Frazier cited in Skamp, 2004). This

also links to the importance of social discussion and teacher scaffolding when doing these

activities (Vygotsky cited in Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). As students discuss ideas with their

peers and the teachers, they begin to understand more about the concept and how it links

to other concepts within the topic (Skamp, 2004).

Reflection

Reporting

The purpose of this report was to identify the importance of using prior knowledge to

determine a child’s alternative conceptions. These conceptions can then be addressed with

activities designed to challenge these alternative conceptions and replace them with

scientific conceptions.

Responding

What surprised me was the number of alternative conceptions students could have about a

single scientific topic and how if they are not addressed directly, they can restrict the

learning process of the students.

Relating

The attainment of knowledge about a topic is a gradual process and as such alternative

models change over time. Students begin with an initial mental model based on

observations then over time, as they learn more, they create synthetic mental models that

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reflect both observations and scientific models until finally arriving at the fully formed

scientific mental model (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1994). If the student believes the world is flat

(initial model) there is no way they can comprehend the reason for day/night (rotation of a

spherical earth). As such, initial and synthetic models can be seen to act as a barrier to

learning. Students can also become protective of their ideas and become resistant to other

explanations, which once again negatively impacts on their learning process (Driver, 1989).

If the alternative conceptions are identified and teacher then tailers a teaching program to

question these beliefs students are more likely to progress through the subject. Studies

have shown that students who received targeted teaching showed significant improvement

when compared to students who were just following the stages of a textbook (Diakidou &

Kendeou, 2001).

Reasoning

After completing this assignment I now comprehend why there is an emphasis on getting to

know your students and listening to their ideas and beliefs. An important part of that

process would be to recognise the importance of discussion not only to learn the

conceptions, but also when sharing ideas and evidence (Driver, 1989). However, not all

students are going to have the same alternative conceptions, as the literature showed there

were a number of alternative conceptions for the small topic of night and day (Vosniadou &

Brewer, 1994, Allen, 2010). The challenge for the future would be how to create lessons that

address all the student’s alternative conceptions.

Reconstructing

As a teacher I hope to ensure that I use the student’s prior knowledge to assist with my

planning and preparation of not just science lessons but other subjects as well. I had been

aware that students come with prior knowledge and use this to construct new ideas but

have never considered that prior knowledge in the form of alternative conceptions could

actually hinder a child’s progress. Now in the classroom I will make a concerted effort to

target these alternative conceptions to ensure their academic progress is not hindered.

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Bely,P., Christian, C., & Roy, J.(2010). A Question and answer guide to Astronomy.

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Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Logan, M. (2013). Making links between science and the learners

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