A longitudinal study of dynamics concepts

Multiple frameworks?: Evidence of manifold conceptions in individual cognitive structure

“…T his two outcomes perspective is where pupils learn presented theories and explanations, and can use them in class, but revert to their existing ideas in everyday conversation and problem-solving (Gilbert et al 1982). T his view is supported by many studies that suggest that learners are more likely to apply scientific principles if questions were set as formal exercises with obviously`scientific contexts' , but they often tend to revert to using their alternative frameworks in novel and particularly`everyday' contexts (Bliss et al 1988;Driver 1983;Dumbrill and Birley 1987;Viennot 1979Viennot , 1985Palmer 1997). Solomon (1993: 96) developed these ideas to suggest that one should distinguish between two systems of knowledge: life-world knowledge and symbolic 402 K. S. T ABER universes of knowledge (such as the theories of formal science).…”

The Role of Metacognitive Activities in the Contextual Use of Primary Pupils' Conceptions of Science

“…Donaldson (1978), for instance, found that although three to four year old children may face considerable difficulties with the procedures of a problem task they are given in a particular context that is unfamiliar to them, and that when the same problem is presented in a familiar and realistic setting this results in dramatic improvement in performance. On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that deliberately setting problems in familiar contexts has resulted in children reverting to familiar everyday systems of explanation, abandoning learnt scientific knowledge (e.g., Solomon, 1983;Bliss, Morrison, & Ogborn, 1988). In the latter studies learners made greater use of scientific principles if questions were set in obviously scientific contexts, demonstrating that the smaller the distance between the context in which learning takes place and the one in which new knowledge is to be used, the more likely it is that such transition will take place successfully (Engel-Clough & Driver, 1986;Murphy & Schofield, 1984;Toh & Woolnough, 1994).…”

Using a Diagnostic Test of Pupils’ Alternative Conceptions to Plan a Teaching Strategy on Electric Circuits

“…Increase in the conceptions of physics is of the order 0.30 and about 0.10 for the alternative conceptions. An increase in mean values of alpha for the correct physics conceptions is also found in the longitudinal study of Bliss et al (1988). Our analysis derived on the basis of this study, which is not longitudinal but cross-sectional in nature, indicates that alternative conceptions also become gradually more coherent throughout schooling.…”