Poor academic performance in science is a problem in the world. Numbers of factors contribute to this academic performance. Secondary school learners, particularly those in grade 10 are experiencing problems in understanding simple electric circuits in Physical Sciences. Lack of exposure to practical work might be one of the factors that contribute to lack of understanding of simple electric circuit and inability to link what they learn in class with the outside world. For that reason, it is the purpose of this study to determine what grade 10 learners’ alternative conceptions in electricity are and to explore the impact of conceptual change model on grade 10 learners using simple electric circuits. The study further highlights a number of issues that lead to poor academic achievements in physical sciences. This study further provides the learning strategy in physical science for learners to improve their learning process of simple electric circuits. Four secondary schools from Mankweng cluster, Capricorn District of Limpopo Province were randomly selected to participate in this study. From these schools a sample of 136 learners of different sex were also randomly selected. Two survey instruments, an open-ended questionnaire and the Simple Electric Circuit Conceptual Test were used to collect data. The data was collected over a period of 3 weeks. Learners (in the experimental group) were taught the same electric circuit topics using Conceptual Change Model (CCM) while Regular Teaching Approach (RTP) was used in the control group. Data collected was analysed using descriptive analysis, ANOVA and ANCOVA. The explanations the respondents gave were analysed using nomothetic and ideographic analyses. Misconceptions were identified as one of the learning barriers. The results from the questionnaire also revealed that learners were willing to learn electric circuits’ concepts but they lacked effective learning strategies and techniques to enhance their academic performances. It was also established that learners could not relate what they had learnt on electric circuit with their daily experiences and that practical work was rarely conducted at most schools. The statistical results showed that when teaching simple electric circuits using Conceptual Change Model, there is equal improvement in academic results across all sexes. There was no significant difference between academic achievements of males and females taught using the Conceptual Change Model. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Poor academic performance in science is a problem in the world. Numbers of factors contribute to this academic performance. Secondary school learners, particularly those in grade 10 are experiencing problems in understanding simple electric circuits in Physical Sciences. Lack of exposure to practical work might be one of the factors that contribute to lack of understanding of simple electric circuit and inability to link what they learn in class with the outside world. For that reason, it is the purpose of this study to determine what grade 10 learners’ alternative conceptions in electricity are and to explore the impact of conceptual change model on grade 10 learners using simple electric circuits. The study further highlights a number of issues that lead to poor academic achievements in physical sciences. This study further provides the learning strategy in physical science for learners to improve their learning process of simple electric circuits. Four secondary schools from Mankweng cluster, Capricorn District of Limpopo Province were randomly selected to participate in this study. From these schools a sample of 136 learners of different sex were also randomly selected. Two survey instruments, an open-ended questionnaire and the Simple Electric Circuit Conceptual Test were used to collect data. The data was collected over a period of 3 weeks. Learners (in the experimental group) were taught the same electric circuit topics using Conceptual Change Model (CCM) while Regular Teaching Approach (RTP) was used in the control group. Data collected was analysed using descriptive analysis, ANOVA and ANCOVA. The explanations the respondents gave were analysed using nomothetic and ideographic analyses. Misconceptions were identified as one of the learning barriers. The results from the questionnaire also revealed that learners were willing to learn electric circuits’ concepts but they lacked effective learning strategies and techniques to enhance their academic performances. It was also established that learners could not relate what they had learnt on electric circuit with their daily experiences and that practical work was rarely conducted at most schools. The statistical results showed that when teaching simple electric circuits using Conceptual Change Model, there is equal improvement in academic results across all sexes. There was no significant difference between academic achievements of males and females taught using the Conceptual Change Model. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The pre-existing knowledge that Earth Science Bachelor students have when they are starting their University studies, is influential on the scientific knowledge that they will have built when they graduate. This thesis examines the alternative ideas that Uppsala University’s first, second and third year Earth Science Bachelor students have on basic geological topics, and whether it influences the knowledge that they develop. These topics include; the definition of density, Earth’s magnetic and gravity field, heat sources inside the Earth, location and movement of tectonic plates, volcanic andearthquake’s distribution on surface, isostasy, weathering and erosion, earth’s past and future, rock formation and the relevant age of continental and oceanic rocks. In order to process this, students’alternative ideas were assessed with a 20-item multiple choice questionnaire, which was formed online and delivered to all the Earth Science bachelor students of Uppsala University, at the end of the academic year. The questions were selected from the Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) developed by Libarkin & Anderson (2006). The answers of the questionnaire were statistically analyzed with SPSS software and students’ scores were calculated. One way ANOVA was performed in order to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between students’ scores and the year ofstudies. The expected outcome was that third year students would have higher GCI scores/level ofconceptual understanding, compared to the first and second year students, and that first year students would have the lowest. The results revealed the presence of alternative ideas to all of the students, and that even that the year of studies is a factor that affects the GCI scores, students’ final scores, are relatively low. The Earth’s scientific knowledge is not acquired by the accumulation of relevant information through the years of studies, but the existence of alternative ideas imply a resistance to learning or an obstacle in learning science. / De studenter som börjar på universitet har inhämtat kunskap kring olika naturvetenskapliga fenomen och företeelser under sinuppväxt och genom undervisningen i grundskola och gymnasium. Detta kan ha resulterat i alternativa idéer eller missuppfattningar som står i strid med den vetenskapliga uppfatt-ningen. När desedanbörjar studera på universitetsnivå, så kan den uppfattning deredan har hamna i konflikt med undervisningen och blir till ett motståndmotkunskapsinlärning. Förståelsen av dessa alternativa idéer är därför mycket viktig, speciellt tidigt i en utbildning, då det visat sig i tidigare studier att dessa alternativaidéerkan vara mycket motståndskraftiga mot devetenskapliga förklaringar de möter, även efter att de studerat vidare under lång tid.Syftet med denna studie är att undersökaom kandidatstudenter i geovetenskap vid Uppsala universitet harmed sigalternativa idéer och sedan se hur detta påverkar deras kunskap om grund-läggande delar av geovetenskapernasom jordens magnetfält, källor till värme i jordens inre, platt-tektonik, vulkaner och jordbävningar, isostasi, vittring och erosion, jordens utveckling och framtid, åldern på bergarter och bergartsbildning. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av ett frågeformulär med 20 frågori form av en konceptinventering, vilket är ett diagnostiskt verktyg för att studera alternativa idéer och missuppfattningar hos elever och studenter. Frågorna valdes från en Internetbaserad resurs för s.k. ”Geoscience Concept Inventory”. Dessa skickades ut till studenterpå år ett, två och trepå kandidatprogrammet i geovetenskap, med frågor som täckte de områden som nämnts tidigare.Därefter utfördes en statistisk analysav resultatetoch utvärderades med avseende på studenternas kunnande i de olika frågorna.Ett förväntat resultat var att de studenter som läste på tredje året borde ha mer kunskap och förförståelse än de på första året av programmet. Resultatet avslöjade dock att förståelsen hos de olika studenterna i många fall var relativt lika och kunskapen i stort sett densamma för alla studenter, oavsett antaletår av studier. En slutsats var således att de alternativa idéer som studenterna hade var motståndskraftiga mot nya idéer och kunskap, så som teorin beskrivit det och att det är viktigt att ha kunskap om alternativa idéer som studenter kan förväntas bära med sig i undervisningen.I den geovetenskapliga utbildningenerhålls således inte ny kunskap genom en ständig påbyggnad av ny information genom åren, utan är ett slags ”kamp” mellan intuition och logik, strävandemot en mer vetenskaplig kunskapslogik

This thesis reports on the findings of an international study into the way in which children approach calculations which involve the order of operations. The study involved 203 pupils aged between 12 to 14 years from four different countries: England, The USA (New York State), Japan and The Netherlands. Many pupils in England are taught to use mnemonics such as BODMAS or BIDMAS to remember the correct order of operations, and in the USA pupils are often taught to use PEMDAS. However in Japan and The Netherlands these methods are not used, and the approach to teaching mathematics differs considerably across the countries. In this study pupils from classes in these four countries have been given calculations to perform and their work has been analysed for misconceptions. The analysis of their work has involved use of the Key Recorder software as a data collection tool, in which the pupils’ calculator keystrokes have been recorded and played back to give a unique insight into their thinking. Analysis of the children’s work has resulted in the categorisation of the misconceptions that were observed, and suggests that the nature of the mathematics curriculum and the teaching methods employed may have a significant effect on the way in which children approach calculations of this sort.

This study is an action research project where I study my own practice in giving feedback in investigative tasks. The aim is to find ways of improving my feedback by engaging learners in conversation and eliciting misconceptions. The study is framed by a sociocultural view of learning and teaching. The study was conducted in a high school with a class of Grade 10 learners who worked on an investigative task and six lessons were video recorded. Analysis was based on the investigative task, feedback given to learners, misconceptions that arose and conversations that took place during the lessons. The findings are that when developing an investigative task, the teacher should look for mathematical processes that can be developed as learners work on it. I found that I both took up and missed opportunities to work with learners’ misconceptions and that four components of mathematical conversations: questioning, explaining mathematical ideas, sources of mathematical ideas and responsibility were present at different levels in my classroom. On the basis of my findings I make a number of recommendations for my own further practice and for other teachers.

This mixed methods study was designed to compare the effect of using an inquiry teaching methodology and a more traditional teaching methodology on the learning gains of students who were taught a five-week conceptual change unit on density.

Este trabalho teve por objetivos: levantar conceitos alternativos sobre radicais livres na mídia impressa e em livros de Bioquímica; examinar os conceitos alternativos prevalentes em pós-graduandos e em professores de Química e Biologia do Ensino Médio; e, planejar e aplicar intervenção para reduzir a influência destes conceitos. Para o levantamento na mídia impressa, foi selecionada a revista Veja, período de 01/01/2000 a 31/07/2014, e foram criadas as seguintes categorias para classificar o material encontrado: Conceito Alternativo (CA), Informação Indutiva (II), Conceito Indutivo (CI) e Generalização Indevida (GI), formando o grupo dos Conceitos Não Científicos (CNC); Conceito Correto (CC); Conceito Errado (CE); e, não preenche os critérios de inclusão (NPCI). Foram encontrados 294 trechos dos quais: 55,4% CA; 21,1% II; 9,2% CI; 5,4% GI; 4,1% CC; 2,7% CE; 2,0% NPCI; e, 91,2% CNC. Para o levantamento em livros de Bioquímica foram selecionados: Campbell - Bioquímica; Lehninger - Princípios de Bioquímica; Marzzoco e Torres Bioquímica Básica; Stryer - Bioquímica; e, Voet e Voet - Bioquímica. A maior parte dos conceitos encontrados nos livros foram conceitos corretos, contudo 77,5% dos conceitos encontrados destacavam aspectos negativos sobre radicais livres. Para o levantamento de conceitos alternativos em pós-graduandos e professores foi desenvolvido o Questionário de Radicais Livres (QRL), versões piloto e final, aplicadas, respectivamente, a 14 pós-graduandos matriculados na disciplina de pós-graduação Planejamento e Aplicação de Sequências Didáticas Envolvendo o Conteúdo Radicais Livres e 31 professores matriculados no curso de extensão Radicais Livres e suas Interfaces com a Vida, planejado com o auxílio dos pós-graduandos da disciplina. O QRL é um questionário de múltipla-escolha em etapas, composto por uma etapa de avaliação do conteúdo e outra sobre a percepção do participante sobre seu nível de certeza. Os pós-graduandos revelaram baixo domínio sobre o tema e baixo nível de certeza. Os professores, testados pré- e pós-intervenção, também apresentaram alta frequência de erros, bastante semelhante no pré- e no pós-teste, e baixo nível de certeza no pré-teste e aumento do nível de certeza no pós-teste. Acredita-se que estes resultados, tanto entre os pós-graduandos e como entre os professores, sejam reflexo da falta de contato acadêmico com o tema. Aos professores, também foram aplicados dois questionários complementares denominados Perfil Profissional e Conhecimentos Sobre Radicais Livres. Entre outras informações, os dados coletados a partir destes questionários, indicaram que os professores lecionam juntos para aproximadamente 12000 estudantes e que o curso de extensão contribuiu para aumentar seus conhecimentos sobre radicais livres. Estes dados oferecem suporte para a escolha do público-alvo e justificam a execução de cursos de extensão, tanto pelo o potencial de alcançar indiretamente um grande número de pessoas, como pela possibilidade de difusão do tema. Tanto o curso de extensão como a disciplina de pós-graduação foram muito bem avaliados pelos professores e pós-graduandos. Os altos percentuais de conceitos não científicos, principalmente conceitos alternativos, encontrados na mídia impressa, bem como os conceitos alternativos apresentados por pós-graduandos e professores, devem preocupar especialistas e cientistas, pois este tema é objeto de muitos anúncios publicitários que frequentemente incentivam o consumo de suplementos de antioxidantes. Em livros de Bioquímica, o aumento de conteúdo destacando o papel fisiológico dos radicais livres deve contribuir para desfazer o conceito disseminado de que radicais livres seriam prejudiciais à saúde. / This work aimed to survey the misconceptions regarding free radicals published in printed media and in biochemistry textbooks; to examine the misconceptions regarding free radicals prevalent among graduate students and chemistry and biology high school teachers; and to design and implement instructional intervention to reduce the influence of these misconceptions. For surveying printed media, publications from Veja magazine, dating from 01/01/2000 to 07/31/2014, were selected. The published material was categorized as follows: Misconception (MC), Inductive Information (II), Inductive Concept (IC), and Inadequate Generalization (IG) - collectively called Non-Scientific Concepts (NSC) - and Right Concept (RC), Wrong Concept (WC), and not fit for the inclusion criteria (NFIC). A total of 294 text excerpts were obtained, comprising 55.4% MC, 21.1% II, 9.2% IC, 5.4% IG, 4.1% RC, 2.7% WC, 2.0% NFIC, and 91.2% NSC. In order to examine the content in biochemistry textbooks, the following were selected: Campbell - Biochemistry; Lehninger - Principles of Biochemistry; Marzzoco & Torres - Basic Biochemistry; Stryer - Biochemistry; and Voet & Voet - Biochemistry. Most of the excerpts selected from the biochemistry textbooks were right concepts. However, 77.5% of the concepts highlighted negative aspects of free radicals. To investigate misconceptions among graduate students and high school teachers, a Free Radicals Questionnaire (FRQ) was developed. Pilot and final versions were given to 14 students enrolled in the graduate course Planning and Application of Didactical Sequences Encompassing Free Radicals Content and to 31 high school teachers enrolled in the extension course Free Radicals and its Interfaces with Life, respectively. The extension course was planned with the assistance of graduate students enrolled in the graduate course. FRQ is a multiple choice tier test with tiers for content evaluation and the participants perception of their level of certainty. Graduate students exhibited low levels of subject expertise and certainty. Teachers were tested pre- and post-intervention, and exhibited a high frequency of mistakes, comparable to graduate students, with similar pre- and post-test outcomes. However, their certainty level increased post-test. It is believed that these results may have occurred due to an academic lack of contact with the subject of free radicals. Additionally, two complementary questionnaires were given to the teachers: Professional Profile and Free Radicals Knowledge. Data collected from these questionnaires indicated that teachers collectively taught approximately 12,000 students and that the extension course contributed to increasing the teachers knowledge on free radicals. These results support the choice of the target audience and justify the implementation of the extension courses, because these courses have the potential to indirectly reach a large audience and can be used for thematic dissemination of knowledge in the subject area. The extension and graduate courses were highly rated by the teachers and graduate students, respectively. The high percentage of non-scientific concepts, especially misconceptions, found in printed media, as well as the misconceptions regarding free radicals prevalent among graduate students and teachers must concern specialists and scientists, as this topic is the subject of many advertisements encouraging consumption of antioxidant supplements. In biochemistry textbooks, increasing the content highlighting the physiological role of free radicals would contribute considerably in dispelling the widespread notion that free radicals are harmful to health.

Empirical evidence from the National Education Inspectorate suggested that teachers at the primary school in this study in an island country in the Caribbean have inadequate science content knowledge. Students' average performance on the science Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) has been below 40% for the last 5 years. The purpose of this bounded case study, guided by Shulman's conceptual framework, was to understand teachers' science subject matter knowledge (SMK). The guiding questions focused on teachers' abilities to demonstrate components of Shulman's SMK during science teaching and lesson planning and to gather their views on their abilities to meet the SMK components in grades 4-6. The 9 participants were primary-trained and each had taught science at grades 4-6 for a minimum of 2 years. Data collection consisted of interviews, lesson observations, and lesson plan reviews. Data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and themes from Shulman's SMK domains. The participants believed that they lacked proficiency in teaching science at the assigned grade level. They held misconceptions about the topics taught at the Grade 4-6 level and their lesson plans and observation data demonstrated lack of key components of SMK. Findings from this study were used to develop a science professional development project to empower teachers and, in turn, students in science content and processes. It is expected that implementation of the program could improve the science content knowledge of teachers at the primary school in this study. Positive social change might occur as improvement in teachers' science content knowledge might serve to improve students' learning outcomes in science at this and other settings in the island country.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of gender on different categories of tenth grade students&#039 / misconceptions about force and motion. The Force Concept Inventory Test (FCI), Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT), Physics Attitude Scale (PAS) and Experience Questionnaire About Force and Motion (EQFM) were developed by the researcher to assess students&#039 / misconceptions, achievement, attitudes, and experiences, respectively. There were nine dependent (students&#039 / total scores on the FCI and their scores on eight misconception categories (Kinematics, Impetus, Active Force, Action/Reaction Pairs, Concatenation of Influences, Other Influences on Motion, Resistance and Gravity)) and six independent (students&#039 / gender, MBT scores, attitude, experience, school type and age) variables involved in this study. This study was conducted with 10 schools / 20 classes / total of 651 10th grade high school students in the academic year of 2002-2003. For each school, two classes were used in the study. MBT, PAS, FCI and EQFM were administered. Findings of the FCI and MBT indicated that general performances of the subjects were relatively low and many students have misconceptions in interpreting force and motion. The statistical results indicated that gender difference is effective on students&#039 / misconceptions in force and motion. When the data were analyzed using MANOVA, gender difference was observed on the collective dependent variables of scores on total FCI, and on misconception categories of Impetus, Active Force, Resistance and Gravity in favor of males although there were no significant difference on scores of both groups on the other categories of misconceptions. Moreover, when the same data were analysed using MANCOVA, while controlling students&#039 / age, attitude, experience, achievement scores, and school types, observed difference on the misconception categories of Active Force and Resistance were disappeared.

Stars are one of the most frequently covered topics in introductory astronomy classes. From a constructivist framework, one must know what conceptions students bring with them to the classroom in order to effectively facilitate deep conceptual learning about stars. This study investigated the beliefs about stars that students hold when they enter an introductory astronomy course, and used that information to develop a concept inventory that can be used to assess those beliefs pre- and postinstruction.First, students' preinstructional beliefs were investigated through the use of student-supplied-response (SSR) surveys, which asked students to describe their ideas about topics such as what is a star, how is starlight created, how are stars formed, are all stars the same, and more. More than 2,200 students participated in this portion of the study during four semesters. Responses were inductively analyzed in an iterative process and coded for themes. Calculated frequencies show that although many students (80%) understand that stars are made of gas, a third to half of the participants (32-44%, depending upon the question) believe that starlight is created (or energy otherwise emitted) as a result of the star burning. Nuclear fusion, the true energy source in stars, is identified by fewer than 10% of the students. Interviews with seven volunteers confirmed that the responses seen on the SSR surveys were consistent with verbal explanations.The second portion of the study involved the design and testing of the Star Properties Concept Inventory. After item development and testing on Versions 1 and 2, interviews with 18 participants about their responses to Version 1, and an expert review by 26 volunteer astronomy instructors, Version 3 was created and tested during the Fall 2005 semester. Results from approximately 2,000 students who took Version 3 show that those students in an introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors increased their scores significantly over the semester, whereas a control group (students in an introductory earth science course for nonscience majors) showed no increase. These results support the purpose of this concept inventory to investigate the effectiveness of instruction on the topic of star properties and formation.