In physics education, a number of studies have developed assessments of teachers' knowledge of student understanding (KSU) of specific physics concepts with modified versions of existing concept inventories, in which teachers were asked to predict the popular incorrect answers from students. The results provide useful but indirect information to…

While many university health science programs include physics courses to raise knowledge and understanding of physical science concepts, they are still far from addressing the needs of that science health profession. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an introductory physics course on first-year physiotherapy and rehabilitation (PR)…

Throughout the years, scientific research has increasingly aimed to identify students' misconceptions and alternative views regarding fundamental concepts and principles of chemistry. Valuable international bibliographic information was created, including details on teaching density and gaining respondent acceptance. The study aimed to explore…

We investigate students' misconceptions in electrostatics, direct current (DC) and magnetism which are important in electricity and magnetism. We developed and administered a multiple-choice questionnaire test to reveal students' misconceptions related to charged bodies, lightning, electric fields, electric potential, forces, DC resistive electric…

The aim of this research is to determine the misconceptions of students about the subject of the moon and to examine the effects of science lesson with reflective science diaries on the achievements of students and eliminating their misconceptions. The research designed according to the pretest-posttest control group model among the experimental…

This study aimed to examine the understanding of secondary school students about green chemistry-related concepts, to include raw materials, solvent, and atom economy. Interviews were conducted with secondary school students from Grades 9 to 12 to acquire their descriptive understanding of the corresponding concepts. Based on the systematic…

In this work, we discuss the importance of underlying theoretical assumptions in research, focusing on the conclusions reached when analyzing data from a misconceptions constructivist (stable, unitary) perspective in contrast to a fine-grained constructivist (resources, knowledge-in-pieces) perspective. Both frameworks are rooted in the idea that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive structures of chemistry teacher candidates about "stereochemistry." A case study research method, one of the qualitative research patterns, was used in the study and the sample of study involved 28 prospective chemistry teachers who had taken Organic Chemistry I and II courses at…

Even graduate physics students have many misconceptions about basic wave optics phenomena. This suggests that there is much room for improvement of the traditional wave optics curriculum. An effective way for initiating a curriculum change is to reconsider and revise the expected learning outcomes and corresponding assessment instruments. By…

This study describes the development and application of a three-tier test as a valid and reliable tool in diagnosing students' misconceptions regarding some basic concepts about carbohydrates. The test was administrated to students of the Pharmacy Department at the University of Bijeljina (Serb Republic). The results denoted construct and content…

We analyze results from paired pre- and post-instruction administration of the Mechanics Baseline Test to 2238 students in introductory mechanics classes. We investigate pairs of specific wrong answers given with unusual frequency by students on the pretest. We also identify transitions between pre- and post-test answers on the same question which…

This study of science standards of all 50 states and 1958 American early adolescents asked whether there is agreement among states about a science topic, lunar phases, that appears in all recent national standards documents, is of cultural significance, and has been widely studied for misconceptions held by children and adults. Secondly, we asked…

Philosophical debates about chemistry have clarified that the issue of emergence plays a critical role in the epistemology and ontology of chemistry. In this article, it is argued that the issue of emergence has also significant implications for understanding learning difficulties and finding ways of addressing them in chemistry. Particularly, it…

A study was conducted on the understandings of the accepted model of ionic substances that are held by participants at all levels of the chemical education system in Croatia, including secondary school students, university students, and chemistry teachers. We follow the research of Taber who found that a diagram of a layer of a sodium chloride…

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cooperative learning based on conceptual change approach instruction on ninth-grade students' understanding in chemical bonding concepts compared to traditional instruction. Seventy-two ninth-grade students from two intact chemistry classes taught by the same teacher in a public high…