the significance of misconceptions for learning and teaching

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MISCONCEPTIONS FOR MISCONCEPTIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHINGLEARNING AND TEACHING

Joel Michael

Department of Molecular Biophysics & Physiology

Rush Medical College

Chicago, Illinois

And

Physiology Educational Research Consortium

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Acknowledgements:Acknowledgements:

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Acknowledgements:Acknowledgements:

Harold Modell and Mary Pat Wenderoth

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Acknowledgements:Acknowledgements:

Harold Modell and Mary Pat Wenderoth

My colleagues in PERC

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Acknowledgements:Acknowledgements:

Harold Modell and Mary Pat Wenderoth

My colleagues in PERCThe National Science Foundation

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My agenda this morningMy agenda this morning

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My agenda this morningMy agenda this morning

What are misconceptions?

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My agenda this morningMy agenda this morning

What are misconceptions?Where do misconceptions come

from?

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My agenda this morningMy agenda this morning

What are misconceptions?Where do misconceptions come

from?How do misconceptions affect the

learner?

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My agenda this morningMy agenda this morning

What are misconceptions?Where do misconceptions come

from?How do misconceptions affect the

learner?How should misconceptions affect

the teacher?

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Are misconceptions a “science Are misconceptions a “science thing?”thing?”

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Are misconceptions a “science Are misconceptions a “science thing?”thing?”

Misconceptions have been extensively studied in science.

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Are misconceptions a “science Are misconceptions a “science thing?”thing?”

Misconceptions have been extensively studied in science.

It is possible that they were studied in science first.

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Are misconceptions a “science Are misconceptions a “science thing?”thing?”

Misconceptions have been extensively studied in science.

It is possible that they were studied in science first.

But, misconceptions exist in whatever discipline someone has looked.

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What are misconceptions?What are misconceptions?

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What are misconceptions?What are misconceptions?

Mental models that differ in significant ways from the models you expect your students to develop

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What is a “mental model?”What is a “mental model?”

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What is a “mental model?”What is a “mental model?”

The representation of knowledge and skills in the mind of the individual

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Mental models (continued)Mental models (continued)

Blood pressure

Cardiacoutput

(the heart)

Totalperipheralresistance

(the circulation)

Cardiovascularcontroler(the brain)

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What are misconceptions?What are misconceptions?

Mental models that differ in significant ways from the models you expect your students to develop

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What are misconceptions?What are misconceptions?

Mental models that differ in significant ways from the models you expect your students to develop

Conceptual and/or reasoning difficulties exhibited by your students

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A CaveatA Caveat

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A CaveatA Caveat

“Misconception” is a convenient, generally understood, label for a complex phenomenon.

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A CaveatA Caveat

“Misconception” is a convenient, generally understood, label for a complex phenomenon.

No assumptions about student (teacher) epistomology or possible origins are implied by my use of the term.

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What’s the big deal?What’s the big deal?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the worldExperiences in “school”Informal learningLanguage usage

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#1)–When you exercise, your breathing

frequency (the number of breaths/min) increases. What happens to the amount of air you take in with each breath? Does it:• A. Increase• B. Decrease• C. Stay the same

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During exercise . . . During exercise . . .

Breathing frequency increases The amount of air you take in INCREASES 40-50% of students get this wrong (as do

40-50% of my professional colleagues) This reflects a common misconception (or

conceptual difficulty)

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#1)– Although everyone has personal

experience with exercise, and in spite of the fact we can directly sense the changes in breathing that occur . . .

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#1)– Although everyone has personal

experience with exercise, and in spite of the fact we can directly sense the changes in breathing that occur . . .

– It appears that many people either mis-perceive what is happening or mis-interpret what is happening

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#1)– This results in a deeply ingrained

mental model about what MUST be happening when ventilation increases that can be very difficult for students to overcome

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#2)

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#2)– Students learning Newton’s Laws may

be able to solve quite complex quantitative problems about the motion of objects in space

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from? Personal experience in the world (#2)– Students learning Newton’s Laws may be able

to solve quite complex quantitative problems about the motion of objects in space

– Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated repeatedly by educational researchers that students may not understand the concepts represented by Newton’s Laws

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Personal experience in the world (#2)– The world is NOT Newtonian (there are

no frictionless surfaces etc.) and the mental models that arise from our experience in the world are not, in general, Newtonian. Hence, we all have misconceptions about kinematics.

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experiences in “school”

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experiences in “school”– Textbook figures of molecules or ions in

solution typically look like this.

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experiences in “school”– Textbook figures of molecules or ions in

solution typically look like this.– The consequence is that students

develop misconceptions about diffusion and other phenomena that occur in solution.

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experience in school– Figures and diagrams

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experience in school– Figures and diagrams– Analogies and metaphors

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Experience in school– Figures and diagrams– Analogies and metaphors• Very common in all science teaching

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Informal learning

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Informal learning– Locker room conversations (between

males and females) result in serious misconceptions about exercise, physical conditioning, how to build muscle mass or endurance etc.

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Informal learning– Locker room conversations (between

males and females) result in serious misconceptions about exercise, physical conditioning, how to build muscle mass or endurance etc.

– Television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Language usage

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Language usage–Which is more elastic:• A steel beam?• A rubber band?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Language usage– The term “elasticity” has one meaning

in lay conversation (“the stretchier the more elastic”) and an exactly opposite meaning in physics (“the greater the restoring force or recoil the great the elasticity”). As a consequence students working with the first definition develop serious misconceptions about respiratory mechanics.

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from?Misconceptions interact with one

another (they do not exist in isolation)

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Where do misconceptions come Where do misconceptions come from?from? Misconceptions interact with one another

(they do not exist in isolation) A misconception about one phenomenon

(molecules in solution) can cause students to develop a misconception about another phenomenon (propagation of the action potential in an axon).

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

They will affect the students’ acquiring the “correct” mental model

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

They will affect the students’ acquiring the “correct” mental model

They will affect the students’ conceptual understanding

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Someone has said . . .Someone has said . . .

It ain’t what you know, it’s what you know that ain’t so that can cause a problem

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

They will affect the students’ acquiring the “correct” mental model

They will affect the students’ conceptual understanding

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

They will affect the students’ acquiring the “correct” mental model

They will affect the students’ conceptual understanding – Any one misconception may contribute

to the creation of a another, later misconception

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

They will affect the students’ acquiring the “correct” mental model

They will affect the students’ conceptual understanding

They may affect the students’ ability to solve problems or apply their knowledge (in or out of class)

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How do they affect the learner?How do they affect the learner?

Being told that their model is wrong, or being told the correct model DOES NOT HELP MUCH!

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher?teacher?

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher?teacher?Teachers must understand that

misconceptions exist and that they have consequences for the learner

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher?teacher?Teachers must understand that

misconceptions exist and that they have consequences for the learner

Teachers must make an effort to determine what “old” misconceptions are present and what “new” ones are being created

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? Teachers must help students correct

their misconceptions

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? Teachers must help students correct

their misconceptions– Simply telling students that their model

is wrong doesn’t help

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? Teachers must help students correct

their misconceptions– Simply telling students that their model

is wrong doesn’t help– Telling them the correct model doesn’t

necessarily help

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? To help students correct their

misconceptions you must provide opportunities for them to:

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? To help students correct their

misconceptions you must provide opportunities for them to:– Test their model

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? To help students correct their

misconceptions you must provide opportunities for them to:– Test their model– See for themselves that it fails to

generate correct “answers”

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How should they affect the How should they affect the teacher? teacher? To help students correct their

misconceptions you must provide opportunities for them to:– Test their model– See for themselves that it fails to

generate correct “answers”Then you can help them build a

correct model

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NOTE that teachers were and still are learners. TEACHERS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE MISCONCEPTIONS IN NO WAY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE HELD BY THEIR STUDENTS!

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What’s the take home message?What’s the take home message?

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What’s the take home message?What’s the take home message?

The job of the teacher is to . . .

HELP THE LEARNER TO LEARN!

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Then as teachers we need to . . . Then as teachers we need to . . .

Know what impediments to learning our students are grappling with

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Then as teachers we need to . . . Then as teachers we need to . . .

Know what impediments to learning our students are grappling with

Provide our students with the resources (or learning environment) that will help them move beyond those impediments

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This means creating an interACTIVE learning environment

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TEACHER

STUDENT

STUDENT

STUDENT

"OBJECTS"OF

DISCIPLINE

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TEACHER

student

student

student

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TEACHER

STUDENT

STUDENT

STUDENT

"OBJECTS"OF

DISCIPLINE

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In such an environment students can best challenge their own models and determine for themselves whether they work. Once they appreciate that their models fail under certain conditions they are more likely to build a correct model.

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