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Alternative frameworks
And
Misconceptions in Primary Science
Two classes of children exploring forces with Lego Technic vehicles
in the school hall.
A Discussion
y !ordon !uest
(with minor editorial changes by Keith Ross)
"#$ ristol %&cto'er ())*+
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Misconceptions in Primary Science.
Two definitions taken from the Collins Concise English Dictionary 1988
,. Misconceive. To fail to understand.
(. Misconception false or mistaken view- opinion or attitude.
#hen children hold views that differ from conventional scientific explanations
or classifications they are often referred to as .misconceptions- alternative
conceptions- alternative frameworks or children/s ideas.
!hile the origins of children"s beliefs are #ncertain$ they are tho#ght to ha%e been
formed as the res#lt of &re%io#s e'&eriences (or instance$ some children describe
the e%a&oration of water from a &#ddle as the water disa&&earing (R#ssell and !att
199)) *ome are infl#enced by folklore$ that eating carrots hel&s yo# see at night
(!!+ ,ritish &ro&aganda)$ or the media- eg s&ace shi&s e'&lode with so#nd The
ideas ha%e coherence- they make sense and seem to be #sef#l in e'&laining
children"s own e'&eriences of e%eryday &henomena (#rthermore since ideas of this
kind are int#iti%e and fr#itf#l for children they are resistant to change
There is agreement that children are not &assi%e reci&ients of knowledge b#t that
conce&t#al de%elo&ment in%ol%es the acti%e constr#ction of new knowledge$ a &rocess
that &rod#ces a change in ideas There is agreement that the ideas children bring with
them to science lessons ha%e an im&act on learning o#tcomes
Some 0istorical developments in science teaching.
.n the last 1/ to +) years there has been a change in the way we think abo#t &rimary
children"s learning in science The em&hasis from the 19))"s to the 19/)"s was on the
learning of facts and re&eating 0classical scientific e'&eriments 0 #sed to ill#strate a
&artic#lar &oint 1 style that is still common in some secondary schools des&ite
n#mero#s &ro2ects for change
The em&hasis from the 193)"s to the 198)"s and later$ was on the &rocess skills of
science$ s#ch as obser%ing$ inferring and &redicting The %iew that &rocess was more
im&ortant than content has changed as research indicates the com&le'ity of learning
Science now recognises that when children- or adults- learn science conceptual
understanding is a fundamental component of that learning. 4any basic science
conce&ts and #nderstandings hel& #s to make sense of o#r world and they are
rele%ant to learners of all ages
Thinking and working scientifically re5#ires in &art a foc#s on #nderstanding science
ideas in order to make sense of o#r world$ b#t also an a&&reciation of the way science
deri%es those ideas and the forms of e%idence it accr#es to s#bstantiate them
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Research aro#nd the world indicated that at the end of secondary school large
n#mbers of st#dents still held many ideas$ or conce&tions$ which were not in accord
with the way that scientists #nderstood o#r world
These scientifically incorrect conceptions have 'een given numerous names-
such as- misconceptions- preconceptions- na1ve conceptions- alternative
conceptions and alternative frameworks. The "2 literature tends to use
3scientific misconceptions/ whereas literature from elsewhere %e.g. Australia-
"SA+ uses the term 3alternative conceptions/.
4ecent 5deas in science.
.t is now s#ggested ((easey 1996) that there are two key elements to the teaching
and learning of science
,. There is a conceptual scientific 'ackground. That is the key scientific ideas$
the knowledge abo#t science and the essential ability to a&&ly conce&ts

(. The understanding of evidence 7ow and why scientists collect e%idence and
an #nderstanding of and ability to challenge the reliability and %alidity of
e%idence in order to decide on its belie%ability
These %iews are clearly de%elo&ed in the *cience 8ational C#rric#l#m (1999) with a
&rogramme of st#dy de%elo&ing *cientific En5#iry and three &rogrammes of st#dy
de%elo&ing knowledge .t is also e%ident in the (o#ndation *tage (+)))) thro#gh the
goals of scientific e'&loration
,eca#se science is often in conflict with o#r common sense %iew of looking at the
world$ it sometimes doesn"t make sense (Cross and 9eet 1996) The &roblem for the
teacher is that e'&lanations for &henomena and the conce&ts being de%elo&ed deri%e
from a %ocab#lary rooted in e%eryday e'&erience .t is from this %ocab#lary that we
reason abo#t scientific ideas
(or e'am&le$ when added to warm tea$ s#gar goes into sol#tion the s#gar is the
sol#te and the warm tea the sol%ent 7ere we ha%e a familiar &henomenon described
&recisely with an #nfamiliar %ocab#lary (or the learner$ scientific ideas m#st de%elo&
or e%ol%e$ demanding inter&retation in s#ch a way that some words take on a different
meaning
Schemes- models of learning and information processing.
1 model introd#ced by cogniti%e scientists fits well with what we now know of the
interaction between the child"s different ideas and the manner in which these ideas
e%ol%e with teaching This model arg#es that information is stored in the memory in
%ario#s forms and that e%erything we say or do de&ends on the elements or gro#&s of
elements of this stored information 9eo&le #se this stored information to inform
learning make decisions and react to sit#ations
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This information &rocessing of stored information is called schemes 1 scheme may
concern an indi%id#al"s knowledge abo#t a s&ecific &henomenon (for e'am&le the
sensation of cold when handling ice c#bes) or a more com&le' reasoning str#ct#re (for
e'am&le considering how to #se %ariables in fair testing s#ch as the brighter the b#lb$
the dee&er the shadow will be)
Th#s the term scheme denotes the di%erse things that are stored and interrelated in
memory These schemes may also infl#ence the way a &erson may beha%e and
interact with the en%ironment$ and in t#rn may be infl#enced by feedback from the
en%ironment
*o rece&tion children will describe large ice balloons as soft beca#se they feel
smooth Their association of the word smooth is that it is something yo# do to a cat or
dog 1nd while they see the ice melt and t#rn to water they do not link the water and
the ice : they describe them as se&arate discreet &ro&erties : whereas older children
(K*+) will make these connections
*imilarly ;+ children will talk abo#t animals breathing$ eating and mo%ing b#t may not
gi%e those attrib#tes to &lants
The term misconce&tions (alternati%e conce&tions or frameworks) indicate that a
learner$ child or ad#lt has not #nderstood the scientific idea
Science ideas are evolutionary.
Research shows that there is a remarkable similarity in the ideas children use
to explain the world around them. (Harlen 2000 p40)
There is clear research e%idence that #nderstanding in science is a grad#al &rocess
and that at certain ages children seem to ha%e similar misconce&tions regardless of
where in the world they li%e .n making sense of ideas in science$ the learner is
in%ol%ed in an e%ol#tionary &rocess re5#iring constant refinement$ redefinition and
inter&retation The e%ol#tion of ideas is therefore a core element of teaching and
learning in science at all le%els and sho#ld be acti%ely enco#raged in the de%elo&ment
of #nderstanding
Recent research in brain de%elo&ment also indicates that between )<3 years the brain
becomes wired$ it de%elo&s the ne#rological connections needed to make sense of
e'&eriences (=reenfield * +)))) There are th#s a&&arent connections between the
brains &hysical mat#ration and the ability for it to &rocess information to aid learning
Ed#cation in a broader sense arg#es that learning sho#ld be for #nderstanding$ so
attention should 'e paid to children/s capa'ility to process information.
>nderstanding is a contin#o#s &rocess that goes on thro#gh life .t is im&ossible to
say that anyone achie%es com&lete #nderstanding Think of the different
#nderstanding a 3 year old$ a 13 year old and a +3 year old research chemist wo#ld
ha%e for the conce&t of 0dissol%ing?
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(or the 3 year old it might mean a solid becoming no longer %isible when &#t in warm
tea The 13 year old may ha%e linked se%eral &henomena and en%isage it as a
&rocess that de&ends on the nat#re of the two s#bstances bro#ght together The +3
year old Chemist will link it to the molec#lar str#ct#re of these s#bstances
The diffic#lty with scientific conce&ts is that they are often co#nter<int#iti%e and the
com&le' #nderstanding needs to be b#ilt #& slowly layer #&on layer
=i%ing children facts that do not link into their own e'&eriences and thinking can deter
them from asking 5#estions since they find that they cannot #nderstand the answers
ut scientific concepts are often complex to understand6
The Earth s&ins on its a'is at a&&ro'imately 1))) miles an ho#r at the e5#ator$ which
is +/$))) miles in circ#mference ;et at the &oles the earth is %irt#ally motionless
beca#se the circ#mference is smaller and it therefore tra%els less distance (1simo%
1986 Ch@)
*o how is it . am standing still yet mo%ing at 1))) miles an ho#rA !hat ideas can
children bring to make sense of these &henomenaA
Bight tra%els at +96$)))$))) metres &er second
0ow do you interpret such information7
#hat understanding do you individually make of this7
A Language framework for learning science.
&ne ste& in hel&ing children make sense of science ideas is to hel& them ac5#ire the
correct lang#age
. !c"uisition o# $an%ua%e. &his is the #irst sta%e o# the process. 'ords are
ac"uired throu%h discourse in social interaction and are %i(en meanin% #rom
the experiences we associate with them. )or example the word wei%ht
ac"uires meanin% throu%h experiences o# the particular property o# an
ob*ect which is di##erent #rom its other properties such as shape+ colour or
si,e.
2. &ranslation. &he second part o# the process is one o# translation. &his is
context related. &he word wei%ht ac"uires #urther meanin% throu%h
association with hea(y and li%ht. &he meanin% o# the word is translated into
understandin% throu%h comparison and contrast. 'ei%ht is commonly
associated with si,e and the distinction between wei%ht and si,e o#ten
re"uires re#inement and rein#orcement in di##erent contexts. &his process o#
translation #rom a ran%e o# e(eryday common sense experiences+ althou%h
important+ is insu##icient in itsel# in de(elopin% scienti#ic understandin% o# the
world.
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-. .nterpretation. /any scienti#ic terms such as wei%ht can be interpreted in
di##erent ways. &here is e(eryday meanin%+ which is a sense o# hea(iness+
#re"uently associated with bulk and there is the scienti#ic meanin% which is
that wei%ht is a #orce. .# understandin% o# the word is to e(ol(e #rom the
e(eryday to the scienti#ic then it is necessary to pro(ide experiences that
draw attention to the new or extended meanin% o# the word. !s with
translation+ the opportunity to compare and contrast is inte%ral to the
process. &his mi%ht be achie(ed #or example by drawin% attention to the
e##ect that the #orce o# wei%ht has on structures or #loatin% ob*ects.
%8ross and Peet ,99: p*9+
Each stage of scientific lang#age de%elo&ment in%ol%es com&arison and contrast of
the new with e'isting e'&erience in order for ideas to e%ol%e
Developing scientific concepts.
Children"s ability to &rocess information$ their thinking ability$ de%elo&s slowly with
e'&erience and interaction and the information &rocessing ca&ability of a &artic#lar
child will set limits on the com&le'ity of conce&ts that the child can co&e with !e ha%e
o&erations in the workings of o#r minds$ or ways of thinking$ which enable #s to
constr#ct knowledge This de%elo&ment is not 2#st a matter of becoming faster or more
f#ll of knowledgeC there are 5#alitati%e changes in the way that children &rocess new
information as they de%elo& cogniti%ely
*tages of cogniti%e de%elo&ment were identified by 9iaget and labelled as-
Sensori; motor
Pre;operational
8oncrete and
<ormal operational
The sense children make of science de&ends on their ability to &rocess information
and this is both a f#nction of what they know already$ and of their thinking skills The
de%elo&ment of their thinking skills may$ in broad terms$ be linked with brain mat#rity
and cogniti%e de%elo&ment This mat#ration &eriod is similar to the stages identified by
9iaget
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A Ta'le indicating how scientific understanding may increase with children/s
age.
Stage. The $arth in Space
$lectricity and
current
Solutions
1 RD;1
Earth is flat like a
disk$ an absol#te
idea of down
Enly one wire is
needed for a circ#it
*alt disa&&ears water
gets no hea%ier
0+1 ;+A;F
9eo&le li%e all o%er
the s#rface of the
earth- drawings
show them all the
same way #&
Two wires$ the
c#rrent comes down
both from cell to
b#lb Clashing
c#rrents model
*alt mi'es with water$
which gets hea%ier$ b#t
no change in %ol#me
*alt is still there b#t
may not be
reco%erable
+, ;/D3
9eo&le on s#rface of
the Earth feet all
towards the centre
C#rrent circ#lates it
gets less as it goes
aro#nd
The salt in water
&rocess is re%ersible
salt and water can be
reco%ered
F some ;3
some ;6D8
.dea of down relati%e
to the centre of the
Earth
C#rrent remains
constant$ b#t there
is a transfer of
energy
E'&lanation in terms of
&articles and salt and
water mi'ing
Chart taken from- &13+$
4onk 4 and Dillon G 199/ Bearning to Teach *cience 1cti%ities for *t#dent Teachers
and 4entors (almer &ress Bondon
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Looking at 8hildren/s ideas in science.
PoS. ( Life processes and Living Things.
0ow do we know it/s alive7
Children ha%e a restricted meaning of the word &lant *ome consider a tree is a &lant
when it is little b#t not when it"s big : it/s a tree6 Ethers think that &lants are c#lti%ated
so weeds s#ch as dandelions are not &lants *ome children will say that carrots and
cabbage are %egetables rather than &lants
*ome children consider only large animals fo#nd in Hoos$ farms or at home as &ets
can be animals : a close link between mammal and animal$ tho#gh &eo&le are seldom
considered to be animals by yo#nger children Ether animals were gro#&ed by %ario#s
criteria$ n#mber of legs$ wings etc
;o#ng children may ha%e %ery different ideas abo#t what is li%ing They tend to o%er
em&hasise mo%ement as a characteristic of li%ing things and some may s#ggest that
clo#ds and fire are ali%e beca#se they mo%e
Ethers s#ggest trees fla& their branches (beca#se teacher says &lants mo%e) to lose
their lea%es (8ot a &ro&erty of the in%isible wind)
;/ and ;3 children #s#ally #nderstand the 6 characteristics of being ali%e Rece&tion
and ;1 children may only manage F or @ characteristics
Eg-<
breathing
eating
drinking
mo%ing
some may consider going to the toilet as &art of being ali%e
=uestions to consider6
6 do plants go to the toilet7
6 are there animals that do not urinate7
Elder children often ha%e the idea that &lants 0breathe o#t? o'ygen d#ring the day and
carbon dio'ide at night
Children are conf#sing two 5#ite different &rocessesC &hotosynthesis$ which o&erates
only in the light$ and res&iration$ which goes on all the time
Children don"t disting#ish germination of seeds from their s#bse5#ent growth
Different conditions are re5#ired for each : d#ring germination only res&iration takes
&lace$ b#t once the green shoots a&&ear &hotosynthesis can start
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.f asked where the material of the &lant comes from$ many children and ad#lts will
s#ggest that it comes only from the soil 4any do not realise that most of the &lant
material is &rod#ced thro#gh &hotosynthesis That a large tree tr#nk is com&osed of
carbon con%erted from the CE
+
in the air- ie air becomes a solid s#bstance
Children often think that seeds contain miniat#re &lants waiting to grow 7#man
babies$ snail babies are miniat#re %ersions of the ad#lt The connection between one
form of baby and a &lant is a misconce&tion
Sensing and moving.
Children #se their senses$ to#ch$ smell$ taste$ sight and hearing to inform them abo#t
their s#rro#ndings *o li%ing things that do not ha%e all the senses eg &lants and
taste may not be ali%e
The fact that many animals do not ha%e the same senses as h#mans s#&&orts the
%iew of many children that h#mans are a distinct category and not an animal
Enly a minority of children seem to be aware of the circ#lation of the blood or the
f#nctions of the heart and blood
4any children ignore the f#nction of internal organs that are not meas#rable B#ngs$
heart stomach bones ha%e a clear f#nction that can be &hysically felt Kidneys$ Bi%er$
intestine ha%e f#nctions that cannot be felt
Children often think that food and drink tra%el thro#gh the body se&arately They will
draw different t#bes thro#gh the neck
The idea that 9)I of o#r food is f#el and 1)I is for growth is often lost in a 5#est to
#nderstand Jhealthy" foods and Jbalanced diets" 4ost &eo&le say that Jfood is energy"$
rather than realising that it &ro%ides #s with f#el The f#el is then res&ired$ #sing
o'ygen$ to &rod#ce carbon dio'ide and water with energy becoming a%ailable d#ring
the reaction
&ther living Things.
Children may say- 01 shee& grows a warm coat so it can li%e in cold &laces 1 &olar
bear grows a white coat to li%e in the snow a brown bear has a brown coat to li%e in
the mo#ntains?
They ass#me the animal can choose this attrib#te *hee& cannot somehow decide to
e5#i& themsel%es for an en%ironment 1nimals ada&t to their en%ironment : a warm
coat and a white coat hel&s the animal s#r%i%e in that habitat
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<ood 8hains.
Children often #nderstand food chains in relation to the food they eat$ s#ch asC
0en eats corn
0en lays eggs
$ggs
oiled>fried eggs
Children are often conf#sed abo#t the direction of the arrows and fail to mention the
*#n as the #ltimate so#rce of energy K*+ children get mi'ed #& abo#t cons#mers
and &rod#cers and &rimary cons#mers at the to& of a food chain
9eo&le often say$ conf#singly$ that energy is &assed along food chains$ whereas it is
biomass (biological material) 1t each le%el most of the biomass is #sed by the animal
as f#el$ and some is #sed to b#ild the cells of the animal
Energy is stored when the s#nlight s&lits water and carbon dio'ide d#ring
&hotosynthesis 1s long as the biomass and o'ygen are ke&t a&art$ energy is stored
!hen a li%ing thing needs energy it res&ires some of the biomass by 2oining it with
o'ygen$ releasing water and carbon dio'ide again 4ost &eo&le m#ddle #& energy and
matter and do not see that food has to be res&ired (with o'ygen) to transfer energy
;o#nger children in the (o#ndation *tage and Key *tage 1$ &artic#larly those li%ing in
#rban areas$ may belie%e that nothing ha&&ens witho#t a h#man ca#se They may
think that hills were made by &eo&le That wild animals in Hoos beha%e in a &artic#lar
way beca#se of &eo&le They may foc#s on the negati%e as&ects of h#man infl#ence$
s#ch as litter and %andalism$ while nat#re is seen as attracti%e
Children are more likely to notice differences than similarities !hen asked to e'&lain
differences$ yo#ng children in &artic#lar may sim&ly sayC =od made them that way
Children ha%e diffic#lty with the scientific gro#&ing of li%ing things$ e%en into &lants and
animals They tend to #se these terms when describing &artic#lar &lants or animalsC
flowers are &lants b#t grass is not$ a cat is an animal b#t a &erson is not
They need to &ractice sorting and gro#&ing animals in many different ways$ land$ air
sea$ big$ small$ many legs few legs scales or f#r etc
(*cientists gro#& li%ing things into : ,acteria (K %ir#ses)$ 9rotista$ (#ngi$ 9lants$
1nimals : with backbones : witho#t backbones)
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PoS * Materials and their properties.
Materials.
The ideas children ha%e abo#t the #se of materials for %ario#s &#r&oses are circ#lar
!e #se &a&er for writing on beca#se &a&er is good for writing on
Children #se their e%eryday e'&erience of r#st on cars and gates to concl#de that r#st
is already there #nder the s#rface so there is no need for an e'&lanation
(or e'am&le an 8 year old wrote$ Screws are made of metal. Rust comes
out of metal. (7arlen +))) 1 &@@)
Children #se the word material to mean fabric They tend to classify ob2ects according
to their #ses rather than their &ro&erties 1n im&ortant distinction children need to
make early on is the difference between an ob2ect (with its &ro&erties) and the
material(s) from which it is made (with their &ro&erties)
Com&osite or mi't#res of materials ca#se diffic#lty ie$ brass$ and man#fact#red and
man made ca#se &roblems Eg a table is nat#ral wood b#t man made 1 car is
nat#ral metal b#t man#fact#red
Solids- Li?uids and gases.
;o#ng children often do not realise that water can e'ist as ice and change back to
water They may think that ice formed on a &ond in winter has been added the way
that we add ice to drinks
(o#ndation *tage children will hold ice c#bes (ice balloons) and see the water
dri&&ing from the ice b#t not link the water and the ice The &ool of water and the ice
c#be are two distinct &ro&erties
Children often #se the word solid to mean hea%y$ not fle'ible$ or in one big &iece .t is
then diffic#lt for them to classify s#bstances s#ch as flo#r$ or salt as a solid
!hen cooking children talk abo#t the cake mi't#re$ the bread mi't#re b#t later on find
it hard to #se the scientific term of mi't#re acc#rately
(1 mi't#re is : two or more distinct chemical s#bstances and the com&onents retain
their indi%id#al chemical &ro&erties 4i't#res can be se&arated by &hysical means
.n a com&o#nd a s#bstance formed by the combination of elements in fi'ed
&ro&ortions The formation of a com&o#nd in%ol%es a chemical reaction Com&o#nds
#nlike mi't#res can not be se&arated by &hysical means)
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Mixing and separating.
Children often describe dissol%ing as disa&&earing and say that the salt or s#gar has
disa&&eared They often conf#se the terms melting and dissol%ing
(4elting L 1 s#bstance changing from solid to li5#id Dissol%ing L 1 s#bstance mi'ing
into a li5#id s#bstance to form a sol#tion)
;o#ng children are not always aware that materials e'ist in different forms (states) or
how materials can change from one to another They may not ha%e noticed that some
changes are re%ersible while others are irre%ersible
4ocks and soil.
Children ass#me that rocks are rocks They do not discriminate They also call hard
large ob2ects$ concrete$ tar$ clay etc rocks 1t K*+ they need assistance in sim&le rock
classification Children find the idea that soil is formed from %ery small bits of rock
conce&t#ally diffic#lt
#eather.
Children ha%e their own theories abo#t why the weather changes (or instance 0The
same weather goes aro#nd the world and we get it when it is o#r t#rn
(1 misconce&tion often linked with e'&laining night and day where the earth is shown
s&inning aro#nd and the light shines on &art of the earth only !eather is inter&reted
in the same way)
They also ha%e their own ideas abo#t rain !ater is s#cked #& from the sea into
clo#ds !hen the clo#ds are f#ll the water is let o#t as rain !hen asked why clo#ds
wo#ld do this a common answer is =od told them to (Think abo#t the clo#d &eo&le in
Games and the =iant &each how stories can con%ey a belie%able #nderstanding) 0The
cloud is like a magnet!
;o#ng children do not see the need to e'&lain why water dries #&$ < it just goes by
itself (7arlen +))) 1 &@/)
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PoS @. Physical processes
<orces and Movement.
Children a&&ly their own ideas to force
8hildren identify force with living things A there is some intention involved.
&'Bects in constant motion need a constant force to keep them moving in the
same way %confusion with momentum+.
An o'Bect that is not moving has no forces acting on it
A moving 'ody has a force acting on it in the direction of motion %confusion
with momentum+.
Children think of forces in terms of mo%ement$ not staying still Children are likely to
belie%e that if something is not mo%ing there are no forces acting on it (Think of a
&erson trying to &#sh a car with the handbrake on The car does not mo%e so to
children no force is e%ident ;et scientifically we know there are se%eral forces at
work)
Children find the force arrows in diagrams diffic#lt and think they do not make sense
This is beca#se scientists #se force arrows from the centre of gra%ity not the to& or
bottom of an ob2ect They are also conf#sed with mo%ement and moment#m
Children think that hea%y ob2ects sink and light ones float There is a grain of tr#th
here$ beca#se$ in e%eryday lang#age$ Jhea%y" can mean Jdense"$ and light can mean
low density : as in 09olystyrene is light$ stone is hea%y? The research s#ggests there
is a direct correlation with age in #nderstanding &ro&erties of floating- that there are
significant differences between the ages of / and 8 and 8 and 11 (7arlen +))) 1
&@9)
Children also s#ggest that things float better in a large %ol#me of water than in a small
%ol#me They may also deny that floating is taking &lace (o#ndation *tage children
obser%ing ice balloons floating in water did not think the ice balloons floated *imilar
conf#sion can e'ist when describing heli#m balloons floating in air Eften no
connection is made between the idea of floating in water and floating in air Children
need to &lace material half way down in water to test them : if they mo%e #&wards
they Jfloat" and if they mo%e downwards they Jsink"
$nergy.
(This is not a re5#irement in the 8ational C#rric#l#m b#t sometimes it is im&ortant to
raise the iss#e of energy)
Children conf#se ideas of energy with those of force !hen looking at mechanical
energy thro#gh wind #& toys they may belie%e energy is wo#nd #& *o when looking
at energy thro#gh &hotosynthesis they imagine some wind #& &ro&erty inside a &lant :
tiny s&rings inside lea%es
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The main conf#sion with energy is that we talk of J#sing" energy or 0energy is needed
to do this 2ob? .n this sense we are talking of high grade #sef#l energy D#ring J#se"
the energy scatters and becomes #seless waste heat *o altho#gh energy is not #sed
it becomes &rogressi%ely less and less #sef#l$ meaning we need a constant in&#t of
high grade energy to kee& o#r systems going 8at#re and climate #se the daily in&#t
of energy from the s#n to kee& going
$lectricity.
Children often belie%e that a single wire connection from a b#lb to a battery will work$
&robably beca#se they think that a&&liances in their homes work with only one wire
The &lastic casing at home contains two or three wires b#t children do not see these$
they therefore reason there is only one wire Children from K*1 K*+ and K*F &ersist
with the idea that a circ#it only needs one wire to light a b#lb e%en when they can
make a circ#it work with two wires
4any children imagine electricity to be a sort of f#el that flows into an electrical
a&&liance .n this sense they are a&&reciating electrical energy that is Jgenerated" in
a &ower station (or from a cell) and is transferred to light$ mo%ement etc at the
a&&liance The 5#estion then arises : why do we need a ret#rn wireA Children need to
disting#ish between electrical energy that is transferred from cell to b#lb and
electrical current that goes ro#nd and ro#nd &icking #& energy and deli%ering it
*ome children think that electricity comes from th#nder and lightening$ or from the
sky 4any do not acce&t static electricity eg from r#bbing a balloon on a 2#m&er as a
form of electricity
Magnets.
Children often think that magnets stick to ob2ects beca#se they ha%e magical
&ro&erties or some kind of gl#e
Marnished wooden blocks when wet will stick together Children will describe this as
magnetic Different ty&es$ siHes and sha&es of magnets will conf#se 4agnetic
strength will often be attrib#ted to the 0biggest? magnet
This is a good time to get children to a&&reciate that there are many sorts of metal b#t
only iron N steel (and cobalt$ nickel and some alloys) are magnetic Disting#ishing
al#mini#m and iron cans for recycling is a #sef#l acti%ity
Sounds.
Children often ha%e their own ideas abo#t so#nd tra%elling$ s#ch as 0t#nes are %ery
small and they can get thro#gh ga&s in doors? Early years children find the idea of
so#nd %ibrations conf#sing *ome children think there is something in the ear that
acti%ely catches the so#nd$ (similar to the ,(= catching dreams or the n#mbsk#lls in
the ,eano)
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There is also a distinction in many children"s minds (&artic#larly K*+) between so#nd
and %ibration !here the so#nd can be acti%ely seen as %ibrating this is acknowledged
eg a r#ler$ a string tele&hone !here it cannot be seen it is gi%en a %ag#e attrib#te :
a t#ne$ a noise
Light sources and vision.
Children consider seeing as an acti%e &rocess !e see a book beca#se light comes
o#t of o#r eyes (like s#&erman) and tra%els to the book Elder K*+ children ha%e
diffic#lty inter&reting the light arrows in diagrams *ome s#ggest that o&ening and
closing the eye is similar to switching on a light in a room !hen the eye is o&en light
&o#rs o#t from it
This #s#ally ca#ses a few &roblems in the ;3 *1T"s
Children are %ery conf#sed abo#t shadows and reflections$ as this e'am&le shows$
0. think a shadow is a reflection from the *#n *ometimes when yo# look in a &ond yo#
see a reflection !hen yo# go somewhere where it can reflect yo# see yo#r shadow?
The &osition of the s#n in the s#mmer sky and winter sky gi%es rise to f#rther
conf#sions abo#t shadow length
Children often do not relate the colo#rs they see to the materials the ob2ects are made
of Eg &lants reflect green light so the nat#ral (,ritish) landsca&e looks green
The $arth in Space.
.t is not self e%ident that the Earth is a &lanet orbiting the s#n !e notice the s#n"s
a&&arent mo%ement across the sky each day and talk abo#t the s#n rising$ coming #&$
going down$ setting going behind clo#ds$ all of which im&ly that it is the *#n rather
than the Earth that is mo%ing
Children may tell their teacher that the Earth is ro#nd$ b#t their res&onses to 5#estions
often show that they really consider it to be flat
Children sometimes say that there is no gra%ity on the moon$ or that things will float
away on the moon beca#se there is no air to hold them down
*&ace films will show great e'&losions in s&ace as if they are scientifically correct
1ltho#gh Teachers e'&lain that this is scientifically wrong$ the images from *tar !ars
are stronger than a teacher"s e'&lanation
;o#ng children may say that night ha&&ens beca#se we need to slee&$ beca#se the
*#n swa&s with the moon$ or beca#se the s#n has gone to 1#stralia
Children often think that we ha%e s#mmer when the earth is close to the s#n rather
than d#e to the tilt of the a'is .f this were so all the earth wo#ld ha%e s#mmer at the
same timeC &oint o#t to them that when we ha%e s#mmer 1#stralia has winter
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;o#ng children often think the moon is a series of c#t o#t sha&es st#ck in the sky and
when we see the moon in the daytime it is =od &laying tricks on #s
Summary.
4any of the children"s ideas and misconce&tions make sense They are logical
inter&retations of the information the children c#rrently ha%e .ndeed these
misconce&tions make more sense than the scientific %iew$ which is co#nter$ int#iti%e
The scientific %iew fre5#ently makes #se of ideas based on things that are not
obser%able by the children$ s#ch as water %a&o#r$ #nseen forces$ %ibrations in air etc
Eften science re5#ires children to link together se%eral #nseen abstract conce&ts
Take$ for e'am&le$ the moon !e see the moon in the sky at night and sometimes in
the daytime To make sense of the s#n$ moon$ night and day we ha%e to acce&t that
the earth spins around every (@ hours
The earth is always half lit up 'y the sun- and half is in darkness
the moon has an or'it around the earth so it is sometimes in the day;time
sky
we see the moon 'ecause of the sun/s reflection from the surface of the
moon
the moon is always half lit up 'y the sun %Bust like the earth+- with half in
darkness
from the earth we sometimes see the side of the the moon that is lit up
%full moon+ sometimes we see half the lit side and the other half is dark
%half moon+ and sometimes we 3see/ the unlit side %new moon+
*cientific #nderstanding re5#ires e%er more com&le' acce&tance and #nderstanding
of in%isible forces that most &eo&le do not a&&reciate in their normal li%es
The scientific e'&lanation to many &eo&le is 2#st as fancif#l as the 4aori legend of how
the moon was formed$ or the stories of =reek =ods
.t is not s#r&rising tha$ com&ared to the com&le'ity of science$ children"s int#iti%e ideas
ha%e se%eral shortcomings
7arlen (+))) 1 &/@) s#ggests se%eral reasons for this$ which co#ld incl#de one or
more of the followingC
8hildren/s experiences are necessarily limited and therefore the evidence is
partial. A so they may well consider r#st to be within metals if they ha%e only &aid
attention to it when it a&&ears #nder &aint or flaking chrome
8hildren pay attention to what they perceive through their senses rather than
the logic- which may suggest a different interpretation : so if the s#n a&&ears
to mo%e aro#nd and follow them then they think it$ does mo%e this way
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Counger children %$arly Cears+ particularly focus on one feature as cause for
a particular effect rather than the possi'ility of several < for e'am&le$ the
factors in the conditions needed for li%ing things to grow healthily
Although it may satisfy them- the reasoning they use may not stand
comparison with scientific reasoning. (or e'am&le$ if they made gen#ine
&redictions based on their ideas$ these ideas wo#ld be dis&ro%ed ,#t instead they
may &redict what they know to fit the idea
They may use words %voca'ulary+ without a grasp of their meaning : we ha%e
seen that this can ha&&en with floating$ %ibration (so#nd) and e%a&oration$ b#t
many more e'am&les co#ld be cited
They may hold on to earlier ideas even though contrary evidence is availa'le
'ecause they have no access to an alternative view that makes sense to
them. 5n such cases they may adBust their ideas to fit new evidence rather
than give it up- as in the idea that light t#rns the eye on
Terry R#ssell director of the *91CE &ro2ect arg#es that children also need a lot of
time to assimilate new ideas$ and that mental learning$ information &rocessing$ is best
achie%ed by fre5#ent &ractical hands on work to embed the conce&t
5mplications for teaching.
9ro%ide children of all ages with lots of hands<on &ractical work to hel& embed the
conce&t in a mental schema$ b#t make s#re they &redict what they think will
ha&&en
.f an idea is deri%ed from a narrow range of e%idence then &ro%ide more e%idence
.f testing a &rediction based on an idea co#ld hel& challenge the child"s e'isting
idea then hel& the child to make that &rediction and consider the challenge This
sho#ld assist children in fair testing and #sing &rocess skills
.f the &#&ils" #se of words is s#s&ect then ask the child to gi%e e'am&les and non
e'am&les of what they #nderstand the words to mean De%elo& a scientific
dictionary$ word bank etc
.f children ha%e a locally correct idea abo#t a &henomenon in one sit#ation b#t do
not recognise that the same e'&lanation holds in different sit#ations they need to
be hel&ed by the teacher to make links between the sit#ations This may mean
re&eating e'&eriments$ for e'am&le e%a&oration thro#gh clothes on a line$ water in
a dish a 2ar and &#ddles on the &laygro#nd
Each strategy hel&s the teacher s#&&ort the child in e'tending their conce&t#al
#nderstanding
#here do 5 go to 4esearch the issue of Misconceptions7.
The term misconce&tions means the same as the term alternati%e frameworks
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Eriginally children were tho#ght to mis#nderstand the science hence the term
misconce&tion 7owe%er more recent research s#ggests the children ha%e an
alternati%e framework and the reasoning they #se is 5#ite logical
<or example
Children e'&loring wooden blocks in water !hen lifted o#t they disco%ered the two
wooden blocks st#ck to each other They knew nothing abo#t s#rface tension of water
and related this to the only other e'&erience they had magnetism The blocks are
magneticO (*ee 7arlen , &F@ : F3 for details of this acco#nt)
They might also mi' #& ideas abo#t cotton wool$ wool and cotton 8e%er ha%ing seen
a cotton &lant they see cotton wool as white and fl#ffy$ that matches their e'&erience
of woollen clothes and &ict#res of shee& *o cotton wool comes from shee& (*ee
7arlen +))F &1@@ :1@3)
Children ha%e %ery clear ideas abo#t how light tra%els and how it is seen !hen we
talk abo#t the &rocesses of life we disc#ss$ breathing$ mo%ing$ eating$ all of these
re5#ire a &hysical action *o they nat#rally attrib#te action to seeing and imagine
beams of light coming o#t of o#r eyes *#ch ideas are being reinforced by s#&erman
films *o they belie%e seeing is an acti%e and not a &assi%e &rocess (*ee 7ollins and
!hitby +))1 &13@)
=ra%ity is another &roblematic area 1n .n%isible force is &#lling #s all down towards
the centre of the Earth and kee&s #s from falling off the earth as it s&ins at tho#sands
of miles an ho#r and &eo&le in 1#stralia are not #&side down b#t the right way #&O
They will inter&ret these e'&lanations in relation to their e'&eriences (*ee Ross et al
+))@ &F3 :@9)
1 clear e'am&le is the child who claimed that all orange ob2ects float !hen
5#estioned they admitted they wore orange armbands in the swimming &ool$ when
these were on they floated and when they were off they sank (#rther &ractical work$
blowing #& different colo#red balloons and floating them on water made the child
realise it was not the colo#r b#t the air inside the armbands that ke&t them afloat The
diffic#lty they had was trying to e'&lain something for which they did not ha%e the
range of %ocab#lary and e'&eriences needed 1s they gained these they co#ld make
their e'&lanation more e'&licit and meaningf#l
That is they co#ld change their alternati%e framework
Keith *kam& (1998) in nearly e%ery cha&ter disc#sses the teaching im&lications and
how yo# change st#dent"s ideas Thro#gho#t his book he does 8ET #se the term
misconce&tion he talks abo#t 1lternati%e Conce&tions the s#mmary he &ro%ides on &F
and @ is well worth co&ying
The book by Keith Ross et al (+))@) Teaching *econdary *cience e'&lores
misconce&tions and children"s naP%e ideas in great detail and wo#ld be a good &lace
to start yo#r backgro#nd research
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<or your assignment you need to $L585T children/s ideas in the classroom and
match these ideas to scientific misconceptions. The Literature will give you
guidance onD
$licitation strategies and children/s scientific ideas and misconceptions.
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Misconceptions in Science i'liography.
1*.4EM . 198@ !simo(0s 1ew 2uide to 3cience F
rd
Edition *t .%es 9eng#in
1TK.8*E8 * and (BEER 4 (199/) 3cience with Reason Bondon 7odder and
*to#ghton
,E8TB; D and !1TT* 4 (199+) 4ommunicatin% in 3chool 3cience. (&/3<9+
comm#nicating in gro#& work) Bondon (almer 9ress
De ,EE 4 (1999) Enquiring hildren! hallenging Teaching Early "ears
Science. ,#ckingham E>9
De ,EE 4 (+)))) Science # to $. %aying the &oundations in the Early
"ears 7atfield 1*E
CEBB.8* ED>C1T.E81B (1996) 1u##ield 5rimary 3cience. 6nderstandin%
3cience .deas. ! 2uide #or 5rimary &eachers. Bondon Collins Ed#cational
CRE** 1 and 9EET = (1996) &eachin% 3cience in the 5rimary 3chool. 7ook
one. ! practical source book o# teachin% strate%ies E'eter 8orthcott 7o#se
DR.MER R =>E*8E E and T.,ER=7E.8 1 (198/) 4hildren0s .deas in
3cience 4ilton Keynes E>9
=B1>ERET E (199/) Tracking *ignificant 1chie%ement in 9rimary *cience
Bondon 7odder N *to#ghton (&1 : @1)
=REE8(.EBD * (+)))) &he Human 7rain +
nd
Edition =#ernsey =#ernsey
9ress
=EBD*!ERT7; 1 (E1*E; R and ,1BB * (1996) /akin% 3ense o# primary
3cience .n(esti%ations. 7atfield 1*E
71RBE8 ! (1963) /atch and /ismatch Raisin% 8uestions Bondon Eli%er and
,oyd
71RBE8 ! (1963) /atch and /ismatch )indin% !nswers Bondon Eli%er and
,oyd
71RBE8 ! (198/) &akin% the 5lun%e Bondon 7einemann (&6) : 9+ Children"s
own conce&ts)
71RBE8 w$ N Gelly *$ (1989) De%elo&ing *cience in the 9rimary Classroom
Bondon Eli%er N ,oyd (&F3 : /+)
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71RBE8 ! (1993) The Teaching of *cience in 9rimary Classrooms Bondon
Da%id (#lton (&8 : @F)
71RBE8 ! (+))) 1) &eachin% $earnin% and !ssessin% 3cience 9 : 2.
Bondon 9a#l Cha&man
71RBE8 ! (+))) ,) &he &eachin% o# 3cience in 5rimary 3chools. F
rd

Edition Bondon Da%id (#lton
71RBE8 !$ 4acro C$ Reed K$ *chilling 4$ (+))F) /akin% 5ro%ress in
5rimary 3cience Bondon Ro#tledge (almer
71R8QM.*T K N ,#rgen 1 Eds (1996) =rowing #& with *cience De%elo&ing
an Early >nderstanding of *cience ,ristol Gessica Kingsly (&@1 : 68)
7EBB.8* 4 N !hitby (+))1 second edition) 9rogression in 9rimary *cience
K*1 and K*+ Bondon Da%id (#lton (&1 : 1+)
41CRE C (+))F) Science in the Early "ears. The &oundation Stage (Ch /)
in 71RBE8 !$ 4acro C$ Reed K$ *chilling 4$ (+))F) /akin% 5ro%ress in
5rimary 3cience Bondon Ro#tledge (almer
4E8K 4 and D.BBE8 G (199/) $earnin% to &each 3cience. !cti(ities #or
3tudent &eachers and /entors Bondon (almer &ress
EBBERE8*71! C N R.TC7.E R (1996) 9rimary *cience making it work
Bondon Da%id (#lton (&F6 : 1)@ Elicitation N Restr#ct#ring)
E=,ER8 G$ Kress =$ 4artins . N 4c=illic#ddy K (1993) ;xplainin% 3cience
in the 4lassroom Bondon E>9 (Reworking knowledge &+/ < @@)
E&en >ni%ersity (198/) ,lock + The *cience ,ook E79/F1 5rimary 3cience
'hy and How Bondon E> (&+/ : @@) an e'cellent s#mmary
K
R1TCB.((E 4 Ed (1998) !3; 2uide to 3econdary 3cience ;ducation.
7atfield 1*E
*7ERR.8=TE8 R Ed (1998) !3; 2uide to 5rimary ;ducation. 7atfield 1*E
*K149 K (1999) &eachin% 5rimary 3cience 4onstructi(ely. *ydney 7arco#rt
,race
!"is doc#ment can be freely copied and amended if #sed for ed#cational p#rposes. $t m#st not be #sed for commercial %ain. !"e a#t"or&s' and
web so#rce m#st be acknowled%ed w"et"er #sed as it stands or w"et"er adapted in any way.
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RE** K$ Bakin B$ Callaghan 9 (+))@) &eachin% 3econdary 3cience *econd
Edition Bondon Da%id (#lton
R>**EBB T (1989 to 1998) 5ro*ect reports #rom 35!4; Bi%er&ool Bi%er&ool
>ni%ersity 9ress
1&art from the books listed abo%e there are many 2o#rnals$ which disc#ss
science ed#cation Key Go#rnals to become familiar with are those &rod#ced by
the 1*E$ 1ssociation for *cience Ed#cation These are
9rimary *cience Re%iew
Ed#cation in *cience
*cience Teacher Ed#cation
*econdary *cience Re%iew
1ll of these 2o#rnals will ha%e interesting articles in them
Key a#thors on children"s conce&t#al #nderstanding areC <
Gonathon Esborne
Rosalind Dri%er
Keith Ross
!ynne 7arlen
Ron Ritchie
8#ffield 9rimary *cience *cience 9rocesses and Conce&t E'&loration (1998)
>nderstanding *cience .deas 1 =#ide for 9rimary Teachers Collins
Ed#cational Bondon
8ote
(The 8#ffield 9rimary *cience scheme is a science scheme for #se with &#&ils
in K*1 and K*+ .t has a wide range of &#&il books and teacher books The
&artic#lar strength of the scheme is that it was de%elo&ed from the *91CE
research &ro2ect (which lasted 1) years) at Bi%er&ool >ni%ersity Each #nit of
the 8#ffield *cience scheme comes with a com&rehensi%e teachers book
These teacher books are essential reading to #nderstand children"s ideas in the
classroom and the misconce&tions they might come #& with)
8#ffield 9rimary *cience
Teachers =#ide for K*1 and K*+ on the following to&ics
The $arth in Space
$lectricity and Magnetism
<orces and Movements
Light
!"is doc#ment can be freely copied and amended if #sed for ed#cational p#rposes. $t m#st not be #sed for commercial %ain. !"e a#t"or&s' and
web so#rce m#st be acknowled%ed w"et"er #sed as it stands or w"et"er adapted in any way.
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Living Processes
Living things in their environment
Materials
4ocks- soil and weather
Sound and Music
"sing $nergy
The Eariety of Life
The Primary Science Processes and 8oncept $xploration (*91CE) &ro2ect
Edited by Terry R#ssell$ Binda 4c=#igan$ Dorothy !att Bi%er&ool >ni%ersity
9ress Bi%er&ool (Research &ro2ect ran from 1989 to 1999) Titles incl#de
$vaporation and 8ondensation
!rowth
Light
Sound
$lectricity
Materials
<orces
$nergy
!enetics and $volution
$arth in Space
Processes of Life
Eariety of Life
!"is doc#ment can be freely copied and amended if #sed for ed#cational p#rposes. $t m#st not be #sed for commercial %ain. !"e a#t"or&s' and
web so#rce m#st be acknowled%ed w"et"er #sed as it stands or w"et"er adapted in any way.
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