addressing your students’ misconceptions: breaking through the barriers to student learning...
TRANSCRIPT
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Addressing Your Students’
Misconceptions:Breaking Through the
Barriers to Student Learning
Presented at the Inquiry Series Blast-OffSeptember 20, 2008 by Jake Burgoon and Michelle KlingerE-mail [email protected] with any questions or comments
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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
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Where do misconceptions come from?
Classroom instruction– Students draw conclusions that were
not intended Everyday experiencesIncorrect explanations Textbooks
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What’s the big deal?
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
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Only you can prevent the continuation of
misconceptions!1. Mastering science
content2. Correcting
misconceptions with instruction
3. Being aware of your students’ misconceptions
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Mastering science content
Lack of content knowledge = inadvertently providing students with scientifically incorrect informationTeachers (and adults) often have the same misconceptions as students
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Example from TEAMS tests
If you cut a bar magnet in half, each half will:a. no longer attract objects
b. attract from both endsc. attract objects only at one endd. have two north poles or two south polese. be more powerful than the original
35%
25%
44%
22%
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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!
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Being aware of your students’ misconceptionsIn 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
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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
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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.
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Kinesthetic Learners
Hands-on– Sorting activities
Magnetic sorting activity
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Kinesthetic Learners
Moving Around– Physical activities
Mirror/light reflection activity
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Visual Learners
Writing things down– Written probes
Sample from Page Keeley’s Uncovering Student Ideas In Science
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Visual Learners
Watching cartoons or viewing comics
– Concept Drawing– Animated cartoon
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Auditory Learners
Talking things through- Demonstrate and Discuss
Mysterious Suspension Jar & “Science Talks”
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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