Facilitating Conceptual Change by Engaging Students’ Preconceptions During College Science Classroom Instruction

Abstract

Whether to engage student preconceptions to facilitate conceptual change is an area of debate among conceptual change theorists. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of a preconceptions-based instructional sequence about groundwater previously described by (Arthurs, 2019). To assess the impact this instructional sequence had on facilitating the development of more expert-like mental models about groundwater among college students, this research is rooted in the design study methodology and framed within the knowledge integration perspective of conceptual change. The relation of the instructional sequence to conceptual change is investigated in terms of cognitive, temporal, and social considerations. Students’ responses to items in inclass activities, homework, exams, and pre- and postcourse surveys; the instructor’s lesson plans and notes; and classroom observations provide evidence of the preconceptions-based instructional sequence’s impact. We conclude the sequence has a significant positive impact on facilitating conceptual change for a range of student demographics, including gender and race.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leilani A. Arthurs

Leilani A. Arthurs ([email protected]) is an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Boulder.

Justin Elwonger

Justin Elwonger was an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; currently, he is a science teacher in Shickley, Nebraska.

Chelsie M. Kowalski

Chelsie M. Kowalski is a research assistant in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.