Transcript Alternative Conceptions, Concept Change, and Constructivism

Alternative Conceptions,
Concept Change,
and Constructivism
Alternative Conceptions
 Students
come to science class with
alternative conceptions of the real world
that are highly resistant preconceptions
– misconceptions
 Alternative conceptions are:
– misapplied conceptions based upon an Aristotelian
world view.
– “naive” attempts to explain the natural world.
– highly resistant to change.
 Can
you think of any? (“Fish is Fish”)
Examples from Mechanics
 Under
the influence of constant force,
objects move with constant velocity.
 The velocity of an object is proportional
to the magnitude of the applied force.
 In the absence of a force, objects are
either at rest or, if moving, are slowing
down.
 Heavier objects fall faster.
 If an object is at rest, it cannot be
accelerating.
Research-based Claim 1
Learners come to formal science
instruction with a diverse set of
alternative conceptions concerning
natural objects and events.
– Physics
– Chemistry
– Biology
– Earth Science
Research-based Claim 2
The alternative conceptions that
learners bring to formal science
instruction cut across age, ability,
gender, and cultural boundaries.
Research-based Claim 3
Alternative conceptions are tenacious
and resistant to extinction by
conventional teaching strategies.
Research-based Claim 4
Alternative conceptions often parallel
explanations of natural phenomena
offered by previous generations of
scientists and philosophers
Research-based Claim 5
Alternative conceptions have their
origins in a diverse set of personal
experiences including direct
observation and perception, peer
culture, and language, as well as in
teachers’ explanations and
instructional materials.
Research-based Claim 6
Teachers often subscribe to the same
alternative conceptions as their
students.
Research-based Claim 7
Learners’ prior knowledge interacts
with knowledge presented in formal
instruction, resulting in a diverse of
unintended learning outcomes.
– the alcoholic and the prohibitionist
– the boy who called wolf
Research-based Claim 8
Instructional approaches that
facilitate conceptual change can be
effective classroom tools
– cooperative learning
– inquiry
– discovery
– discrepant events
Good Secondary Sources for
Information Concerning
Alternative Conceptions are:
 Handbook
for Research on Science
Teaching and Learning
 Operation Physics Handbook
 Physics begins with an M
 Physics begins with another M
 C 3P http://phys.udallas.edu/altconcp.html
Constructivism
Broadly Defined
A
method of teaching that accepts the
idea that knowledge is not “learned;”
rather, it is constructed.
– students are neither tabla rasa to be “written upon”
nor empty containers to be filled
– learning is a process of the student, not the teacher
A
method of teaching that sees the
students as actors rather than spectators.
Why Constructivism?
 Expository
approaches might work in the
classroom setting, but resistance is
evident ex post facto in out-of-class
experiences.
 Constructivism rejects the notion that
one can simply pass on information to
learners, expect that a understanding
will result, and that a lasting impression
will be made.
The Good
 Students
learn best when they construct
new meaning for themselves by confronting
their preconceptions.
 Lasting impressions can be made and actual
learning can take place.
 Students can come to know how science
works by observing first hand and
participating directly in the scientific
process.
 Constructivism is consistent with discovery,
inquiry, and cooperative learning.
The Bad
 The
problems of personal relativism and
hyper-incredulity.
 Science is a public discipline, not to
private reality.
 Justification of knowledge is a sociopolitical process of consensus building.
 Science knowledge is discovered, not
created.
Concept Change
 Concept
change occurs when alternative
conceptions are directly addressed - not
merely papered over.
 Only by directly confronting alternative
conceptions can physics teachers hope to
make any lasting change in conceptual
understanding of students.
Dealing with Preconceptions
Elicit
 Confront
 Resolve

Elicit Preconceptions
 Recognize
that alternate conceptions
exist.
 Probe for students’ preconceptions
through demonstrations, questions, and
white boarding.
 Ask students to clarify their statements.
Confront Preconceptions
 Provide
contradictions to students'
preconceptions through questions,
implications, and demonstrations.
 Encourage discussion, urging students to
apply physical concepts in reasoning.
Resolve Misconceptions
 Foster
with:
–
–
–
–
–
the replacement of preconception
questions,
thought experiments,
demonstrations,
hypothetical situations,
experiments designed to test hypotheses.
 Reevaluate
students' understanding by
posing conceptual questions.
Resources
 Look
into the book “Children’s Ideas in
Science.” Evidently it contains a list of
alternative conceptions.
 Operation Physics refers to
preconceptions repeatedly.