Integrating agent-based models (ABMs) has been a popular approach for teaching emergent science concepts. However, students continue to find it difficult to explain the emergent process of natural selection. This study adopted an ontological framework--the Pattern, Agents, Interactions, Relations, and Causality (PAIR-C)--to guide the design of…

This study investigated the stability and persistence of prospective elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of average speed. A questionnaire containing two questions about average speed was administered to the prospective teachers prior to their admission to an elementary science methods course (pretest) and at the end of the course…

In this study, which aims to help grade nine students overcome the misconceptions about electric current, we identified their misconceptions about this concept and then designed and implemented a playground activity as an analogy of electric current. Through the conceptual change texts approach, which we have enhanced with experience, we use this…

The concept of air-having pressure needs to be understood by students so that they can understand natural phenomena related to the air concept. The characteristic of the abstract concept of air having pressure leads students to misconceptions. The purpose of this study is to analyze changes in students' conceptions of the air-having pressure…

In the study, it was aimed to determine the misconceptions of 8th grade students about the concepts of "solid, fluid and gas pressure", to correct these misconceptions by using STEM supported Science activities, and to improve their attitudes towards Science and STEM. The study group consisted of 46 8th grade students at a public school…

This study investigated the effects of the "dance with fruits" analogy on student's alleviation of alternative conceptions among physical sciences high school students in one of the rural province in South Africa. The study used a sequential mixed method research design consisting of quasi-experimental control group pre-test, post-test…

Quantum mechanics is a notoriously counterintuitive subject within physics and has been the subject of a number of studies at the undergraduate level, and a few pioneering studies at the graduate level. The sketching of wave functions in a confining well is in one sense one of the most basic activities in quantum mechanics. But in another sense,…

This study, whose purpose is to examine the effect of scientific discussion-oriented activities on eliminating misconceptions in the 'Change of Matter' unit, has been designed in accordance with the action research method. Action research is a research approach that is carried out by practitioners alone or with a researcher to understand and…

The concept of hybridisation is one of the most difficult concepts for chemistry students to grasp at all levels of learning. Research showed the students conceptual difficulty ranged from their lack of the prerequisite knowledge for grasping the topic hybridisation to chemical bond formation and orientations of atomic orbitals. This study…

Module analysis for multiple-choice responses (MAMCR) was applied to a large sample of Force Concept Inventory (FCI) pretest and post-test responses (N[subscript pre] = 4509 and N[subscript post] = 4716) to replicate the results of the original MAMCR study and to understand the origins of the gender differences reported in a previous study of this…

This study reports an analysis of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) using item response curves (IRC)--the fraction of students selecting each response to an item as a function of their total score. Three large samples (N = 9606, 4360, and 1439) of calculus-based physics students were analyzed. These were drawn from three land-grant institutions…

Newton's third law is one of the most important concepts learned early in introductory mechanics courses; however, ample studies have documented a wide range of students' misconceptions and fragmented understandings of this concept that are difficult to change through traditional instruction. This research develops a conceptual framework model to…

The aim of this study is to determine the pre-service teachers' perceptions of atom and atomic structure through a word association test. It is important to concretize the concepts having a significant influence on the learning of subjects. Through this concretization, students' understanding of the concepts and accordingly of the subjects is…

We started this work with the goal of detecting misconceptions held by our students about force and motion. A total of 341 students participated in this study by taking the force concept inventory (FCI) test both before and after receiving instructions about force or motion. The data from this study were analysed using different statistical…

The purpose of this study was to assess preservice teachers' views of Nature of Science (NOS), identify aspects that were challenging for conceptual change, and explore reasons why. This study particularly focused on why and how some concepts of NOS may be more easily altered than others. Fourteen preservice science teachers enrolled in a NOS and…