Download Changing Misconceptions - Chester Upland School District

December 2008, Tips and Techniques for Creative Teaching
Changing
Misconceptions
Misconceptions, or conceptual misunderstandings, can be difficult to
recognize and even more difficult
to correct. During student-centered
learning activities, students actively
engage in their own learning based
on individual prior understandings.
It can be difficult for a teacher to
know if students fully understand
the concepts being presented, especially if they do not comment
or ask questions because they are
shy or afraid of getting something
wrong. Teachers may not know students’ true ideas until they express
themselves on a written summative
exam, and then it is often too late to
correct them before rushing off to
the next topic.
To uncover students’ individual
learning needs and levels of understanding, I had students write
reflections on their learning before,
during, and after instruction. While
putting together a unit on stellar
astronomy, I added three new fea-
tures: a pretest, daily learning log
sheet, and posttest.
The pre- and posttests provide a
gauge for cognitive improvement.
The daily learning logs provide an
outlet for student reflection and
questions about the topics at hand.
Figure 2
Daily learning log.
What did you learn during the last time we met?
How light is split, refracted, and reflected.
Warm-up question: Draw a diagram to show how light is split, refracted,
and reflected.
Figure 1
Astronomy pretest and
posttest.
11. What is a star?
12.Name the colors of visible light.
13. How does a telescope work?
14.Name one star.
15.How long does a star “live” for?
16.Are stars out during the day?
17. True or false: The Sun is the
brightest star in the universe.
18.Is the Sun larger or smaller than
the Earth?
19. What are sunspots?
10.Do stars move?
11. What are stars made of?
12.Are all stars the same size, color,
and temperature? Explain.
13. How many stars are in our solar
system?
64
The Science Teacher
Figure 2
Daily learning log.
What did you learn during the last time we met?
How light is split, refracted, and reflected.
Warm-up question:
Draw a diagram to show how light is split, refracted, and reflected.
What did you learn today?
What did you learn today?
I learned how refracting and reflecting telescopes work.
I learned you refracting and reflecting telescopes work.
Questions about today’s lesson or topic?
Questions about today’s lesson or topic?
How do eyeglasses work?
How do eyeglasses work?
Confidence about today’s topic (circle one): (highest) 4 3 2 1 (lowest)
Confidence about today’s topic (circle one): 4 3 2 1
Before we begin the unit, I explain
to students that these activities will
allow them to express their level of
understanding, and therefore help
me understand how (and how much)
they are learning. With this strategy
in place, I can then recognize if any
of them are having difficulty.
The pretest (Figure 1) helps me
learn what students know and do
not know. Students’ scores are my
baseline measurement for their
knowledge. The questions on the
pretest are a combination of material
covered previously in middle school
and general knowledge. Students are
asked to complete this test to the best
of their ability. If students have any
prior understandings or misunderstandings, they are exposed during
the pretests, and I can adjust my lesson plans accordingly.
At the beginning of each class,
students receive a daily learning
log sheet (Figure 2) to complete,
which allows them to reflect on
what they learned during the previous class and prepare for the new
day’s lesson. Reading students’ responses allows me to evaluate their
knowledge and find out whether
or not they have any misconcep-
tions before proceeding further
into the topic.
Then as part of the daily learning log, students complete a warmup exercise that is based on the topic
we have been discussing in previous
classes. The warm-up question challenges students to use higher-order
thinking and helps me to determine if they are fully grasping the
new ideas being presented to them.
For example, when students were
working on an experiment involving properties of light, they were
given the following warm-up question: “How is light ‘split,’ refracted,
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December 2008
65
and reflected? Describe or diagram
each.”
During class, students are asked
to write down any questions they
have about that day’s topic on their
daily lesson log. Before we begin a
new lesson, I address the previous
warm-up question and discuss all of
the questions written on the previous daily learning logs. Although
this is time-consuming, I want to
make sure that each student’s question is answered completely. At the
end of class, students again reflect
on what they have learned in their
learning log. They connect prior
knowledge to what they learn on a
given day, and are thus able to see
how concepts are connected.
Reading students’ reflections
allows me to adjust the next day’s
lesson to offset any misconceptions
that students have and track student learning while they perform
student-centered activities. Then,
as the final component of the daily
learning log, students rate their
confidence about the topic, which
enables me to quickly assess students’ confidence in their understanding of the material covered,
and adjust the pace of instruction
accordingly. Students report that
the learning logs allow them to
become more confident in their
understanding, and many state
that the daily logs help to get their
minds ready for science.
The posttest, containing the
same questions as the pretest, is
given at the end of the astronomy
unit. It helps me to determine how
each student has improved, where
I need to provide follow-up instruction, and where I can adjust
the unit for the following year. By
using pretests, daily learning logs,
and posttests, I am able to assess
student learning throughout each
unit and make sure that no student
is left behind.
Tara Holzmiller (tara.holzmiller@
meriden.k12.ct.us) is a teacher on the
Meriden Board of Education in
Meriden, Connecticut.
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66
The Science Teacher
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