The Impact of Contextual Factors on the Use of Students’ Conceptions

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impacts of contextual factors on the use of students' conceptions. A total of 106 students received a questionnaire involving openended questions on acid-base and equilibrium concepts. Of these students, 16 students who provided complete and accurate responses to the questions participated in an interview. In order to observe the effects of different contexts, in the interview, the conception of acid-base was probed in an equilibrium system. As a result, the students' utterances indicated that (1) a specific problem situation could activate a different part(s) of a concept image, (2) an evoked concept image perfectly working in a particular context could become inadequate in a broader one, and (3) a misconception that could not be observed in a particular context might surface itself in a different one. The results further pointed to the fact that our current definitions and descriptions for acids and bases could be one of the sources of these misconceptions.

Students' Alternate Conceptions on Acids and Bases

“…Boz (2009) gave a questionnaire with 5 openended questions and conducted semistructured interviews of 38 prospective teachers in Turkey. Similarly, Saglam, Karaaslan, and Ayas (2011) also gave a questionnaire and interviewed 106 college students. Sesen and Tarhan (2011) gave 45 high school students a multiple-choice test of 25 questions and conducted 15-minute interviews.…”

“…Students also mistakenly believe that milk, coffee, tea, and fruits are basic. Saglam et al (2011) and Nakhleh and Krajcik (1994) discovered that students think acids are pink and bases are blue. While litmus paper turns pink or blue in the presence of acids or bases, the acid and base do not change color.…”

“…Examples include: acids contain hydrogen atoms and bases contain hydroxide; acids are electron-pair acceptors and bases are electronpair donors, and can be seen in Table 2. Saglam et al (2011) and Cetingul and Geban (2011) both discussed that students are fixated on the Arrhenius definition of acids and bases. The Arrhenius definition states that acids contain hydrogen atoms and bases contain hydroxide ions.…”

“…Cetingul and Geban (2011), Kind (2004), Nakhleh and Krajcik (1994) Acids are colored pink and bases are colored blue; acids turn solutions red while bases turn solutions blue. Nakhleh and Krajcik (1994), Saglam et al (2011) A base is something that makes up an acid.…”

Development of Simple Multiple-Choice Diagnostic Test of Acid-Base Concepts to Identify Studentsr Alternative Conceptions

“…The acid-base alternative conceptions that occur in the learners has been widely identified in both secondary (Artedj, 2010; Chiu, 2004;Dermicioglu, 2009;Demircioğlu et al, 2005;Drechsler & Schmidt, 2005;Lin & Chiu, 2010Sheppard, 2006Ross, 1989;) and higher education (Cross et al, 1986;Saglam et al, 2011;Banerjee, 1991;Mutlu & Sesen, 2016;Orgill and Shutherland, 2008;Pinarbasi, 2007;Zoller, 1990). The identification of acid-base alternative conceptions in universities is generally carried out partially, e.g.…”