The role of anomalous data in restructuring fourth graders' frameworks for understanding electric circuits

Abstract

This is a case study of the nature of fourth grade children's understandings of electric circuits and how their understandings provided them with frameworks for interpreting data derived from the observation and manipulation of electric circuits. The findings suggest that (a) children's interpretive frameworks of electric circuits are reflected in the specificity of details, consistency and coherence of their understandings; (b) the detail, consistency and coherence of children's understandings influenced their ability to view data as anomalous, supportive or irrelevant; (c) children whose interpretive frameworks enabled them to view the electric circuit data as anomalous were challenged to change their understandings of electric circuits; (d) children whose interpretive frameworks enabled them to view the electric circuit data as supportive evidence weakly restructured their existing understandings of electric circuits and (e)children whose interpretive frameworks enabled them to view the electric circuit data as irrelevant or isolated failed to change their understandings about electric circuits.