Scientific Misconceptions Research Articles

Identification of Misconceptions in Science Learning During the Covid-19 Pandemic Using the CRI (Certainty of Response Index) Method for Primary school Students

This research aims to identify the science misconceptions of elementary school students using CRI (Certainty of Response Index), as well as to describe the factors of students' misconceptions at Primary school Muhammadiyah 8 Tulangan. This research uses the descriptive qualitative method. The subjects used in this study were class V, totaling 26 students. Data collection techniques using the test, interviews, and documentation. Based on the results obtained from the research as a whole, the highest misconception is about the concept of the effect of temperature on changes in the shape of objects by 44.70%, the concept of temperature and heat by 39.42%, and the lowest misconception is about the concept of object properties by 32.04%. From the results of research using the CRI (Certainty of Response Index) method, several factors cause misconceptions, namely from the students themselves who come from the initial concept and students wrong intuition, then misconceptions from the teacher, as well as incomplete book explanations. So it can be concluded that science learning during the covid-19 pandemic caused misconceptions for students of Primary school Muhammadiyah 8 Tulangan

A Four-tier Diagnostic Instrument: An Analysis of Elementary Student Misconceptions in Science Topic

Learning science in elementary schools encourages students to understand the natural environment more deeply, rationally, and scientifically. However, often the scientific concepts they believe about science topics are not in accordance with the scientific concepts they should be. This misconception is difficult for teachers to diagnose. Special instruments to identify and analyze students' misconceptions are needed. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the misconceptions of elementary school students on the topic of energy using a four-tier diagnostic instrument. The purposed-designed survey method was used in this study. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The participants in this study were 20 fourth grade students in an elementary school in Ciamis Regency. A total of 6 questions in the form of a four-tier diagnostic instrument were used to determine the level of students' conceptions. The results showed that the students have misconceptions about the concept of energy. This can be seen from the average percentage of students' misconceptions of 66.67%. This research is expected to contribute to alternative ways to identify and analyze students' misconceptions using the four-tier diagnostic instrument. In addition, it can be used as a reference for teachers and researchers related to the problem of misconceptions of science in elementary school students

Comparing climate science misconceptions with worldview and cognitive reflection suggests poor understanding and motivated reasoning among undergraduates

This survey study evaluated the relationship between cultural worldview and the occurrence of climate science misconceptions among 688 undergraduates at five colleges in the United States. The Worldview, Misconceptions, and Cognitive Reflection instrument was employed to measure respondents’ cultural worldview, climate science misconceptions using a three-tiered diagnostic test, and cognitive reflection ability. Binary logistic regression was used to test the extent to which hierarchy-egalitarianism, individualism-communitarianism, and cognitive reflection ability impacted the occurrence of ten common climate science misconceptions. Analysis revealed that the understanding of climate change science was low, while certainty of response was high. Misconceptions of climate-weather confusion and the magnitude of global warming were related to learners’ worldview. Motivated reasoning was suggested in hierarchist-leaning learners holding the misconception that recent climate changes are the result of natural cycles. Certain climate science misconceptions were related to learners’ cognitive reflection ability such as the misconception that sudden changes in weather are evidence of climate change, the misconception that global warming is caused by ozone layer depletion, and the misconception that global warming can be reduced by setting limitations on chemical waste released into rivers or by not building nuclear power plants. This investigation yielded an emergent finding and area of future research: respondents in this study differed significantly by gender in their worldview, cognitive reflection, and climate science misconceptions. Recommendations include using an intervention approach to boost numerical skills and quantitative self-efficacy in the climate science classroom, and addressing misconceptions with a refutation text.

Evaluating item difficulty patterns for assessing student misconceptions in science across physics, chemistry, and biology concepts

Understanding item difficulty in science concepts is essential for teachers in teaching and learning to avoid student misconceptions. This study aims to evaluate the patterns of item difficulty estimates in science concepts exploring student misconceptions across physics, biology, and chemistry and to explore differential item functioning (DIF) items in the developed diagnostic test on the basis of gender and grade. Participants were drawn from 856 students (52.3% females and 47.7% males) comprising senior high school students from 11th to 12th grades and pre-service science teachers in the West Kalimantan province, Indonesia. Out of 16 science concepts categorized, the common science concepts causing misconceptions among students were investigated to understand item difficulty patterns using Rasch measurement. The findings of this study evaluated that 32 developed items are valid and reliable whereby the item difficulty estimates ranged from −5.13 logits to 5.06 logits. Chemistry is the scientific discipline with the highest mean logits than other disciplines. There is no significant item difficulty estimate across the science disciplines. We also found DIF issues in one item based on gender and four items based on grade. This study contributes a significant role in mapping and informing item difficulty patterns in science concepts to tackle teachers' problems in assessing and teaching science concepts to improve the students’ science performance. Future studies and limitations are also discussed.

أثر تعلم المفاهيم العلمية الخطأ بكتاب فيزياء الصف الأول بالمرحلة الثانوية في السودان على التعلم اللاحق للطلاب

The scientific paper aimed to identify the Physics misconceptions in the first year book of the secondary school stage, and the extent of their effective to the students’ subsequent learning.The descriptive and the experimental methods were followed, that, with the book content analysis, and an application of pre and post tests, to discover the misconceptions effect to the subsequent learning. The sample were the fourth year Physics students, at the Faculty of Education – Khartoum university, which contains 24 students, chosen with an intention method. A pre test was conducted, then the corrigenda were done, and a post test was conducted. The statistical analysis program (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The scientific paper comes out to the following results:There are scientific misconceptions in the first year Physics book at the secondary instruction stage.The use of different methods of teaching, help in the correction of the Physics misconceptions, which students acquired.Students learning to the misconceptions, affect their subsequent learning.The percentage of misconceptions frequency to some Physics conceptions varied to the students with a large degree.The paper recommended that: the revision of Physics teacher rehabilitation and training system, and to follow the scientific methods in how toauthoring the Physics books at the secondary school stage, and specialists should participate in preparing the scientific syllabuses.

Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Pedagogical Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The purpose of the present study was to investigate pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of science teaching. To this end the participants’ perceptions of their pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) were examined. Furthermore, it was aimed to investigate how pre-service science teachers’ perceptions were differed according to their level of achievement regarding PK and PCK. 176 fourth year pre-service science teachers participated in the study. The design of the study was planned as a survey and three scales were given to the participants to collect data. The data obtained from the scales were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the study revealed that pre-service science teachers perceived themselves as competent in terms of both PK and PCK. When components of PK were examined, participants’ perceptions were high regarding classroom management, learners and learning, lesson planning and assessment. With respect to components of PCK, participants perceived that they had high level knowledge of science instructional strategies, knowledge of science learners, knowledge of science misconceptions, knowledge of science curriculum and knowledge of science assessment. Moreover, it was observed that level of achievement did not show any differences on pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of PK and PCK.

Development of ADiagnostic Assessment Test to Evaluate Science Misconceptions in Terms of School Grades: A Rasch Measurement Approach

Development of ADiagnostic Assessment Test to Evaluate Science Misconceptions in Terms of School Grades: A Rasch Measurement Approach

PENERAPAN MODUL PENILAIAN MISKONSEPSI IPA MATERI SUHU DAN KALOR TERINTEGRASI CRI (Certainly Of Response Index) MELALUI METODE BLENDED LEARNING

A B S T R A C TThis study was taken based on the results of observations and interviews of researchers at SMP Negeri 2 Lubuklinggau which showed that many students had misconceptions in science about temperature and heat, as many as 84 percent of students had misconceptions about the concept of changing temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit, 75% of students did not understand the meaning of temperature and heat material In everyday life, students' misconceptions about changes in the state of matter and factors of heat change. This study aims (1) how to analyze students' misconceptions on temperature and heat material after applying the Blended Learning model and (2) measure the validity and practicality of the temperature and heat science misconception assessment module according to students' needs. The location of this research is SMP Negeri 2 Lubuklinggau City. This research was conducted in Class VII.1 and VII.2 even semesters, namely from January to July 2021. The development model used was the Borg and Gall models. Data collection techniques in this study 1) documentation based on the CRI Diagnostic Test, 2) interviews, and 3) questionnaires. Analysis of the data that has been collected was analyzed by quantitative descriptive. Based on the results of research using the temperature and heat science misconceptions assessment module, the validity level is 37.5% (valid), the average field test student response is 3.8 with a very practical category and the effectiveness of the science misconception assessment module increases the number of students who understand the concept of using the Blended Learning model of 95.03% (very good). The effectiveness of the module is seen from the student's test scores after using the Science misconceptions assessment module for Temperature and Heat material. There are 80 students who take the test. There are 12 students who understand the concept and 68 students still have misconceptions.

Promoting interest, positive emotions, and knowledge using augmented reality in a museum setting

ABSTRACT Informal learning environments, such as museums, provide unique opportunities for science learning. They are deliberately designed to impact public understanding of science and shape visitors’ attitudes and behaviors. As a developing technology, augmented reality (AR) offers the transformative potential to support museums’ educational missions by enhancing visitors’ experience, thereby creating effective conditions for learning and personalized interactions with science. We implemented an AR-enhanced exhibit at the La Brea Tar Pits (LBTP) to reduce scientific misconceptions and explore the role of interest and emotions around science and AR technology as it related to learning and knowledge revision. Using a pretest-posttest design, 62 adults completed an AR experience that addressed two scientific misconceptions related to the consistency of tar and frequency of large animal entrapment. We found that participants had significantly fewer misconceptions at posttest than at pretest. Participants also reported higher levels of interest in science content than AR technology and discriminated between emotions they experienced with regard to science content and AR technology. Feelings of curiosity predicted knowledge revision and interest in both science content and AR technology. These findings may be useful for museums and other science communicators seeking to create AR interventions that support learning and conceptual change.

The Development of Three Tier Test (TTT) Instruments to Identify Students Misconceptions on Material in Elementary

The purpose of this study is to develop the assessment instruments used in testing the level of science misconceptions in high grade elementary school. The instrument used is a Three-tier test (TTT) This research is a Research and Development (R&D) research that is a method of conducting research for research that produces a product, and testing the effectiveness of the product. The research stages are as follows: (1) Data Collection and Literature Studies, (2) Product Description and Design, (3) Small Scale Trials, (4) Product Analysis and Revision, (5) Broad-Scale Trials, and (6) Product Analysis and Revision. The research conducted at SDN 5 Sukagalih, Tarogong Kidul District, Garut on a small scale and for a large scale at SDN 1,2,3,4 and 5 Sukagalih, Tarogong Kidul District, Garut. Based on the results of the research obtained data that by using TTT instruments teachers can find out how much quantity of students are misconceptions, trials are conducted on a small scale and large scale and each is carried out 2 stages, namely the stage before the revision and after the revision of the instrument. The results of phase I tests on a large scale many students experienced misconceptions of 62.7% and the phase II test after instrument revision showed a significant decrease to 32.65% of students who experienced misconceptions, the presentation of a decrease in the quantity of misconceptions for large scale was 52.86%. the result was quite significant compared to the small scale which decreased by only 24.61%. The results showed that by using TTT techniques teachers will easily identify the quantity of students who misconception and for the next the teacher will provide treatment to students to lower the quantity.

The influence of exposure to educational science television on U.S. parents’ science explanations to their children

ABSTRACT In the current experiment, U.S. parents (N = 141) of children between the ages of 3 and 6 watched one of three versions of a popular educational science television show. Each version varied how science information was portrayed. Afterward, parents generated science explanations in response to hypothetical questions from their children. Results indicated that parents exposed to science television generated explanations that contained more scientific facts and fewer scientific misconceptions than parents in a no-exposure control group. These improvements were consistent across all three versions of the show. Mediation analyses indicated that these effects occurred because parents exposed to science television scored higher on tests of their science knowledge, and they were less likely to perceive misconceptions as pedagogically valuable for children. These findings have implications for the design of children’s programming and for future research on parent–child science interactions.

Positivist Misconceptions of Science and the Search for Viable Solutions

Abstract Prevailing current definitions of science are largely based on a traditional, positivist paradigm that favors the natural sciences and either denies or downplays the scientific status of the social sciences and the humanities. The disciplinary organization and institutionalization of research and systematic inquiry is still the norm. This article argues that the rigid organization of science and indeed the dominant view that there are hard sciences and soft sciences with the latter occupying an inferior position with regard to their knowledge claims and utility is pretty outmoded and does not fit well the current challenges and global needs. This is not just an academic issue but has clear practical implications in terms of funding and staffing, as well as the distribution of other valuable resources, especially in view of the dwindling federal and state funding for both the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences. We develop our argument using as a methodological platform the ideas of ‘The Two Cultures,’ the ‘Science Wars,’ the new constructivist turn in social studies of science, and science as a social institution. We argue that current definitions of science need to be modified to include the humanities and to emancipate the social sciences and the ‘soft’ paradigms associated with them. This can form the basis of an earnest effort for better integration of different kinds of disciplines and for achieving much needed synergisms to tackle complex problems that tend to be multifaceted and whose solutions do not easily conform to single disciplinary paradigms. The contention here is that such a bridge between the two cultures can use as a model the social sciences, since they successfully combine methods from the natural sciences with approaches and theories common in the humanities. In our opinion, this is a feasible path to both greater interdisciplinarity and more vigorous collaboration between the different branches of science that can benefit both working scientists and society at large when dealing with pressing issues like environmental problems, the depletion of natural resources, pandemics, and natural disasters.

Science knowledge and attitudes of lifelong learners in an astronomy massive open online course

ABSTRACT The basic science knowledge and attitudes toward science have been compared for (1) adult free-choice learners in an astronomy online course or MOOC, (2) undergraduate non-science majors, and (3) professional scientists from graduate student to professor level. The adult MOOC learners have a higher level of science knowledge than the college students, as measured using an NSF instrument, and they display fewer science misconceptions and a deeper view of how science works. They also have more positive attitudes toward science and technology and lower levels of belief in pseudoscience and superstition. Compared to professional scientists at any level, both student groups showed a more limited and shallow view of how science works. These results inform efforts to help free choice learners engage in science so that they can meaningfully participate in the many societal and policy debates that hinge on science.

The development of 5E-POW (predict-observe-write) learning model assisted by virtual simulation to reduce the quantity of high school students’ misconceptions on fluid topics

This study was aimed by the number of students who were experiencing misconception on the Fluid Topic. Therefore, it requires a learning method that is able to facilitate students to learn which is Marked by a student misconception into a scientific misconception. the purpose of this study is to develop an existing learning models to reduce the quantity of students’ misconception. this research includes mixed methods research with embedded experimental model approach that combine qualitative and quantitative research procedures in one study to solve the problem. the priority of the model is quantitative, with qualitative data attached to methodology. A number of research subjects in the readability test of student worksheets (LKPD) were 5 (five) students in one high school in West Bandung Regency. the research subjects for the trail treatments and devices were 25 students in one high school in Central Sulawesi. the implementation of research subjects consisted of 25 students in one of high schools in Central Sulawesi province. the instruments used for this study were Four-Tier Diagnostic Test and Questionnaire to determine students’ response about the program being developed. The developed learning model has syntactic: engage, explore (predict-observe-write), explain, elaborate and evaluate (5E-POW). It can be declared that based on the data analysis of the average value N-gain on conception acquired by 77.05% and the decrease on the average quantity by -47.45% the conclusion derived from the data obtained is that research has also successfully developed a 5e-pow model with virtual simulations to decrease the quantity of high school student misconception on the Fluid Topic.

Analyzing the science misconception in mastery concept of ecosystem topic at senior high school

This study aims to determine the percentage of biology misconceptions especially in ecosystem topics at senior high school. Ecosystem topics are basic in science. But there are still many students were got difficulties in understanding the concept, that causing misconceptions. A misconception is an explanation of the phenomenon according to the experience and student’s previous knowledge. This study used a descriptive statistics method. Profiling data was used to describe the percentage of mastery concept students and misconceptions. Multiple-Choice tests were chosen to measure the understanding of concept mastery and misconceptions in ecosystem topics. The results have shown the average of percentage in mastering conception is 58.65%, while the average percentage of misconception is 41.01%. It means misconceptions that are inversely proportional to the understanding of student concepts. Therefore, to reduce the misconceptions that emerge a needed an improved understanding of the concept.

An Analysis of Scientific Articles on Science Misconceptions: A Bibliometric Research

The aim of the study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the published articles related to science misconceptions. For this purpose, bibliometric analyses have been carried out with 859 articles published in physics, chemistry, and biology education between 1986 and 2019. The articles have been obtained through Web of Science Core Collection database using “science misconceptions” keyword and the tendencies in the last 33 years are presented. The selected articles were put through bibliometric analysis to identify the results for the annual distributions of the articles; the average citation scores; the list of the journals that published the highest number of related articles; the list of the authors that had published the highest number of related articles; the citation burst scores of the authors; the scientific productivity of the countries of the authors; the articles that were cited at the highest rates; collaboration networks; and their patterns that were obtained through text mining methods of word cloud and word tree. The results indicate that there has been an increase in the interest in science misconceptions after 2010. The journal that has the highest number of publications on the issue is found to be Journal of Science Education while David F. Treagust is identified to have the highest number of articles published on the topic so far. The article that has been cited the highest is Furtak’s article published in 2012. The findings also show that Korea and China are the countries that are open to collaboration the most and that the most frequently used keywords are determined to be “science” and “students”. The results are meant to guide researchers in the field in their future studies

Evaluating Item Difficulty Patterns for Assessing Student Misconceptions in Science Across Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Concepts

Understanding item difficulty in science concepts is essential for teachers in teaching and learning to avoid student misconceptions. This study aims to evaluate the patterns of item difficulty estimates in science concepts exploring student misconceptions across physics, biology, and chemistry and to explore differential item functioning (DIF) items in the developed diagnostic test on the basis of gender and grade. Participants were drawn from 856 students (52.3% females and 47.7% males) comprising senior high school students from 11 th to 12 th grades and pre-service science teachers in the West Kalimantan province, Indonesia. Out of 16 science concepts categorized, the common science concepts causing misconceptions among students were investigated to understand item difficulty patterns using Rasch measurement. The findings of this study evaluated that 32 developed items are valid and reliable whereby the item difficulty estimates ranged from −5.13 logits to 5.06 logits. Chemistry is the scientific discipline with the highest mean logits than other disciplines. There is no significant item difficulty estimate across the science disciplines. We also found DIF issues in one item based on gender and four items based on grade. This study contributes a significant role in mapping and informing item difficulty patterns in science concepts to tackle teachers’ problems in assessing and teaching science concepts to improve the students’ science performance. Future studies and limitations are also discussed.

Pre-Service Teachers Conceptual Understanding in Space Science

Space science discovery has stimulated interest among Malaysian teachers, students and the society after the success of sending a Malaysian astronaut into space. It has resulted in the incorporation of astronomy education at primary and secondary schools. However, the development of astronomy education is hastened due to the lack of astronomy education research focusing on specialized knowledge among school teachers. Limited astronomy content knowledge in lessons poses detrimental effects on student learning and may form misconceptions, not just among the students but the teachers as well. This study is intended to determine the level of conceptions and misconceptions in space science among the pre service teachers. A set of space science test was distributed to 140 preservice teachers from diverse courses in public university in Malaysia. The result of this study reveals that preservice teachers have moderately (37.86%) conceptual understanding of space science with a number of misconceptions of basic astronomy concepts such as the formation of the seasons, the causes of day and night and the galaxy. Interestingly, gender and major study of pre service teachers do not show any substantial difference in understanding the space science concept. Education was found to be the most important factors which contributed to the pre service teachers’ understanding of the space science concepts. This study sheds light into the crucial needs to increase the understanding of pre service teachers on nature, elements in outer space, and philosophy of science to avoid them from teaching the misconception of space science to their students.

Preparing preservice teachers to use block-based coding in scientific modeling lessons

Scientific modeling and coding are critical skills to be integrated into K-12 instruction. Research has shown that preservice teachers are often ill-prepared for teaching scientific modeling, and lack opportunities to learn coding within teacher education programs. The present study reports the implementation of an instructional module and online system, called Coding in Scientific Modeling Lessons (CS-ModeL), which was designed to scaffold preservice science teachers’ learning to code simulations and design scientific modeling lessons that feature simulation coding. In this study, we examined preservice teachers’ epistemic discourse during simulation coding, perceptions of coding for future teaching, and coding-enhanced scientific modeling lessons. This was a qualitative single case study that involved six participants enrolled in a science teacher education course. Participants worked in pairs during scientific modeling activities, and each pair was considered an embedded unit within the single case. Data sources included transcripts of screen recordings captured during simulation coding, transcripts of individual semi-structured interviews, and lessons in which participants used simulation coding as part of scientific modeling activities. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Findings revealed that participants’ epistemic discourse led to correction of science misconceptions. However, lack of debugging and conflict argumentation skills detracted from their epistemic discourse quality. Participants perceived coding as a beneficial skill for K-12 students though they voiced concerns about teaching with coding unassisted. Participants failed to design truly interdisciplinary and authentic scientific modeling activities including simulation coding. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Öğretmen Adaylarinin Döl Almasina Yönelik Kavram Yanılgılarının Belirlenmesi ve Giderilmesi

Biology, in its simplest sense, refers to the study of living organisms and is one of the branches of science that is closest to humans due to its areas of study. Therefore, the true conception of terms of biology is of crucial importance for both education and personal development of individuals. This study aimed to identify the misconceptions of pre-service science and biology teachers about the alternation of generations and to correct misconceptions according to a set of instructions designed by the researchers. The research was carried out in the 2018-2019 academic year. Inthe present study, application-oriented action research, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The sample consisted of 130 pre-service teachers who were studying science and biology teaching at a state university in Turkey. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form designed by the researchers. The findings of the study showed that all pre-service science and biology teachers who participated in the study had misconceptions about the scientific definition of alternation of generations and about what organisms undergo alternation of generations. Pre-service teachers’ misconceptions about the alternation of generations were dispelled after the implementation of the instruction designed within the scope of the study. It can thus be said that the instruction is effective in eliminating pre-service teachers’ misconceptions about the alternation of generations.