Browsing by Subject "Misconceptions"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Comparison of international baccalaureate primary years program and national curriculum program 4th grade student's misconceptions on the topic of fractions
(2015) Şengül, Ezgi
The purpose of this study was to compare the misconceptions of fractions in IB Primary Years Program (IBPYP) to the misconceptions of fractions of Ministry of National Education (MoNE) 4th grade students. To measure this, the three most popular subtopics of fractions covered in 4th grade mathematics curriculum were selected. These subtopics were (1) partitioning, (2) ordering and (3) addition. Then, nine questions for each subtopics were developed. Accordingly, a fractions test that included 27 items total was developed and used in this research. Analyses were conducted to determine if different curricula cause any response patterns. Analysis showed that only 7 out of 27 items were answered statistically differently by the IBPYP and MoNE students. PYP students had higher correct answer and lower misconception rates in 6 out of these 7 items. However, in general, the correct answer and wrong answer patterns seemed to have no substantial difference across the two curricula. Also, the results proved that some fractions subtopics were more challenging for students than others. Some suggestions about how to address misconceptions were made in the present study.
Open Access
The effectiveness of predict-observe-explain technique in probing students' understanding about acid-base chemistry: a case for the concepts of pH, pOH and strength
(Springer Netherlands, 2013-06) Kala, N.; Yaman, F.; Ayas, A.
The present study describes high school students’ conceptions about acids and bases in terms of pH, pOH, microscopic level, strength, and concentration. A total of 27 high school students participated in the study. The data was collected using 3 POE tasks and a semi-structured interview. The data analysis demonstrated that most of the students had poor understanding related to a drawing of weak and strong acids. In addition, the findings revealed that the POE’s were effective in terms of gathering students’ predictions and reasons for the prediction of outcomes in an open-ended format. The POE tasks also revealed that some of the students had misconceptions regarding pH and pOH. The students believed that pH was a measurement of the acidity, while pOH was a measurement of the basicity. The findings obtained have certain implications for the secondary chemistry program.
Open Access
Evolutionary psychology: A how-to guide
(American Psychological Association Inc., 2017) Lewis, David M. G.; Al-Shawaf, Laith; Conroy-Beam, D.; Asao, K.; Buss, D. M.
Researchers in the social and behavioral sciences are increasingly using evolutionary insights to test novel hypotheses about human psychology. Because evolutionary perspectives are relatively new to psychology and most researchers do not receive formal training in this endeavor, there remains ambiguity about "best practices" for implementing evolutionary principles. This article provides researchers with a practical guide for using evolutionary perspectives in their research programs and for avoiding common pitfalls in doing so. We outline essential elements of an evolutionarily informed research program at 3 central phases: (a) generating testable hypotheses, (b) testing empirical predictions, and (c) interpreting results. We elaborate key conceptual tools, including task analysis, psychological mechanisms, design features, universality, and cost-benefit analysis. Researchers can use these tools to generate hypotheses about universal psychological mechanisms, social and cultural inputs that amplify or attenuate the activation of these mechanisms, and cross-culturally variable behavior that these mechanisms can produce. We hope that this guide inspires theoretically and methodologically rigorous research that more cogently integrates knowledge from the psychological and life sciences.
Open Access
The impact of popular audio-visual media on the scientific knowledge of adolescents
(2012) Mumtaz, Khadijah
Students learn and assimilate scientific information from a variety of informal sources, including television and movies. Since such forms of media often stretch the truth or present fiction as fact, it is possible that young adults develop a warped understanding of scientific information which may hinder (or aid) formal science education in a classroom setting. This study aimed to determine how science learned from informal audio visual sources affects knowledge gained in the classroom. Further, it attempted to discern whether gender or age was a variable. The study was mixed methods in nature; a case study examined how grade 6-8 students from a private, international school in Turkey acquired scientific knowledge from a movie and a television show that contained concepts not related to the school's science curriculum. Additionally, grade 6-10 students, on rotation, watched a movie/television show in class that contained scientific information relating to the curriculum. Data from discussions and responses to key questions relating to the scientific content before and after the viewing of the movie/television show were used for analysis. This study found that students acquire knowledge from movies and television shows but are unable to relate this knowledge to information acquired in a classroom. However, the nature and extent of the information that students acquire from movies/television shows depends on age, gender and the scientific content itself.