Stage theory of the development of alternative conceptions

Abstract

A systematic study of children's ideas on motion of macroscopic objects was camed out with the participation of 631 subjects in Grades 2-12 (ages 7-8 through [17][18]). An openended, four-part questionnaire was administered to the subjects. The responses were categorized according to the level of sophistication of the answer. The results were analyzed using a mathematical model that was first applied to the development of Piagetian stages (Eckstein & Shemesh, 1992, in press). For three of the questions, the responses change as the children mature, and it appears that the children pass through distinct, successive stages with respect to their conceptual understanding of these questions. The mathematical model predicts that the proportion of subjects at each stage is a linear combination of decreasing exponentials. The model fits the experimental data well. Characteristic times for transition between stages were calculated. If teaching strategies to overcome misconceptions are to be effective, then they must be appropriate to the particular misconception prevalent at each stage.

Impetus beliefs as default heuristics: Dissociation between explicit and implicit knowledge about motion

“…For instance, some younger children (ages 7-10) believe that falling has an initial cause-namely, a loss of support-but is a natural motion, since there is no need for any force or agency for it to continue (Eckstein & Kozhevnikov, 1997;Eckstein & Shemesh, 1993;Ogborn, 1985). However, most students, beginning about Grades 5-6 (age, 11-12), acquire beliefs resembling impetus rather than Aristotelian theories (Eckstein & Kozhevnikov, 1997) and continue to hold these beliefs even after physics instruction.…”

Portuguese Students’ Understanding at Ages 10‐11 and 14‐15 of the Origin and Nature of the Earth and the Development of Life

“…(a) learning science is a complex affair and the learner's existing knowledge plays an important role in it (Hills, 1989); (b) the evaluation of students' responses and attitudes to school science teaching is basic (Ebenezer & Zoller, 1993) and is much concerned with existing ideas rooted in their minds; (c) information about the development of students' views is fundamental in constructing appropriate curriculum materials (Eckstein & Shemesh, 1993); (d) new teaching approaches and roles in the classroom can be based on the understanding of students' learning difficulties to which any misconceptions are related (Kempa, 1988); and 30 L. Marques & D. Thompson (e) misconceptions must be directly addressed for conceptual changes to occur (Muthukrishna et al, 1993).…”

A Dynamic Model of Cognitive Growth in a Population: Spatial Tasks and Conservation

“…They assumed that a population can be separated into groups at different cognitive stages, and their models described cognitive development as transitions from one stage to another. Eckstein and Shemesh (1993) also used their model to describe the development of children's conceptions of motion. Recent developments in this field are models by Preece and Read (1995) and by Eckstein and Kozhevnikov (1997).…”