This study aims to determine misconceptions about interphase, a basic phase in the cell cycle and to address those misconceptions. Meristem cells in plants, stem cells in animals, spermatogonia and oogonia cells, and some cells with partial regeneration ability do not lose dividing ability. However, normal tissue cells other than these are in the…

The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a popular multiple-choice instrument used to measure a student's conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. Recently, a network analytic technique called module analysis has been used to identify responses to the FCI and other conceptual instruments that are preferentially selected together by students;…

Pregraduate students often have low success expectations toward their thermodynamics courses, which are often considered too abstract and remarkably difficult to understand. For this reason, they may not even try to reach any level of comprehension while settling for reproducing mathematical calculations and memorizing definitions to pass the…

Virtual humans are on-screen characters that are often embedded in learning technologies to deliver educational content. Little research has investigated how virtual humans can be used to correct common misconceptions. In this study, we explored how different types of narrative structures, refutation text and expository text, influence perceptions…

This study examined the relationship between refutation texts and attention allocation by focusing on the interaction between important reader-and-text characteristics. Specifically, the authors investigated how prior knowledge and text-based interest affect attention allocation on refutation/control statements, topic, and explanatory and…

The goal of the present set of experiments was to identify the conditions under which readers evoked prepotent-response inhibition to prevent interference from reactivated misconceptions. In Experiment 1, participants with varying inhibition ability read refutation texts that addressed common misconceptions and control texts. Overall, participants…

Constructivism proposes that learners construct concepts based on prior knowledge and experiences. Numerous factors may lead to inadequate or improper concept construction, leading to misconceptions. This study provides a foundation for discussing literary misconceptions using discussions with 47 pre-service literature teachers on the origins of…

Everyday encounters with graphical representations include a variety of graphs that superficially appear similar due to their use of bars. This article examines students' conceptions and misconceptions regarding the interpretation of variability in histograms, bar graphs, and value bar charts. A multiple choice assessment with brief written…

Studying English literature is interrelated to studying English as a foreign language (EFL), and thus incorporating literary texts into EFL learning curricula is important for providing EFL learners with the necessary language skills and emotional growth. However, EFL learners prefer to avoid studying English literature due to several challenges…

Confusion is an important epistemic emotion because it can help students focus their attention and effort when solving complex learning tasks. However, unresolved confusion can be detrimental because it may result in students' disengagement. This is especially concerning in simulation environments using discovery-based learning, which puts more of…

Physics and physical science content are essential for many professional fields, and they are an important component of scientific literacy. Yet, students are commonly less engaged in physics learning at all levels. Funds of knowledge approaches to science instruction build upon learners' real-world experiences and interests in order to make…

Misconceptions are the "the old, the bad, and the ugly" prior knowledge, ideas or conceptions that the learners have that hinder their further learning in science. Several types of misconceptions that undergraduate students hold about reaction coordinate diagrams (from here on we use the term "reaction coordinate diagrams" and…

Most people know that the Pacific is the largest ocean on Earth and that Edison invented the light bulb. Our question is whether this knowledge is stable, or if people will incorporate errors into their knowledge bases, even if they have the correct knowledge stored in memory. To test this, we asked participants general-knowledge questions 2 weeks…

We describe the development and validation of a three-tiered diagnostic test of the water cycle (DTWC) and use it to evaluate the impact of prior learning experiences on undergraduates' misconceptions. While most approaches to instrument validation take a positivist perspective using singular criteria such as reliability and fit with a measurement…

Students often have misconceptions about natural selection as they misuse a direct causal schema to explain the process. Natural selection is in fact an emergent process where random interactions lead to changes in a population. The misconceptions stem from students' lack of emergent schema for natural selection. In order to help students…