Science education studies have revealed that students often have misconceptions about how nature works, but what happens to misconceptions after a conceptual change remains poorly understood. Are misconceptions rejected and replaced by scientific conceptions, or are they still present in students' minds, coexisting with newly acquired scientific conceptions? In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activation between novices and experts in science when they evaluate the correctness of simple electric circuits. Results show that experts, more than novices, activate brain areas involved in inhibition when they evaluate electric circuits in which a bulb lights up, even though there is only one wire connecting it to the battery. These findings suggest that experts may still have a misconception encoded in the neural networks of their brains that must be inhibited in order to answer scientifically.

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ABSTRACT. Recent research efforts have argued for the persistence of some of students' frequent scientific misconceptions, even after correct answers are produced. Some of these studies, based on the analysis of reaction times, have recorded latencies for counterintuitive or incongruent stimuli compared to intuitive or congruent ones. The proposed interpretations were that prior knowledge survives learning and still coexists with new closer-to-scientific knowledge, producing conflicts that delay correct answers. But these conclusions are based on the assumption that stimuli from different conditions only differ in the presence/absence of interfering misconceptions, which is sometimes, in our opinion, a rather fragile claim. Thus, we have designed a task in which it is possible to test different levels of interference and not only its effects in contrast to another condition. Then, we have used it to see if different intensities of interference produce different levels of conflict. The task tested the persistence of the misconception that "heavy objects sink more than lighter ones". One hundred twenty-eight 14-to 15-year-olds were asked to tell which of the 2 balls presented (3 different materials and 3 different sizes) would "sink more" than the other. Analysis verified the presence of latencies and negative priming. For the most part, results show that the intensity of interference does produce corresponding latencies, which suggests greater conflict and therefore supports the hypothesis of persistence and coexistence of conceptions, even after correct answers are produced, and beyond other plausible effects due to the used stimuli. Prescriptions for theory and teaching are proposed.

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Previous studies have revealed that “neuromyths,” which are misconceptions about the brain, show a high prevalence among teachers in different countries. However, little is known about the origin of these ideas; that is to say, the sources that may influence their presence among teachers. This research aims to identify the prevalence of five frequent neuromyths among teachers in Quebec (belief in neuromyths and reported practices) and the reported sources of these beliefs (e.g., reading popular science texts). A total of 972 teachers from Quebec responded to an online questionnaire. Results show a lower prevalence than previous studies (although it remains high), and that the main sources cited by participants are related to cognitive biases and university training. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report data supporting the idea that cognitive biases are related to the prevalence of neuromyths.