Understanding the Atom and Relevant Misconceptions: Students' Profiles in Relation to Three Cognitive Variables

Autor/inn/en	Papageorgiou, George; Markos, Angelos; Zarkadis, Nikolaos
Titel	Understanding the Atom and Relevant Misconceptions: Students' Profiles in Relation to Three Cognitive Variables
Quelle	In: Science Education International, 27 (2016) 4, S.464-488 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1450-104X
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Secondary School Students; Grade 8; Grade 10; Grade 12; Student Characteristics; Profiles; Nuclear Physics; Scientific Concepts; Scientific Attitudes; Knowledge Level; Misconceptions; Individual Differences; Creative Thinking; Abstract Reasoning; Cohort Analysis; Factor Analysis; Cognitive Style; Greece + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Sekundarschüler; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; School year 12; 12. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 12; Charakterisierung; Profilanalyse; Atomphysik; Kernphysik; Wissensbasis; Missverständnis; Individueller Unterschied; Kreatives Denken; Abstraktes Denken; Denken; Kohortenanalyse; Faktorenanalyse; Cognitive styles; Kognitiver Stil; Griechenland
Abstract	This work investigates the formation of particular student profiles based on of their ideas relating to basic characteristics of the atom. Participants were secondary students of 8th, 10th and 12th grades from Northern Greece (n = 421), with specific cohort characteristics e.g. age, grade and class curriculum, and individual differences, e.g. formal reasoning, field dependence-independence and divergent thinking. Analysis of data from four tasks concerning the characteristics of the atom, linked to identity and behaviour, revealed a significant number of students' misconceptions. A joint dimension reduction and clustering method was applied to outcomes from these four tasks and a four-cluster solution emerged as the most conceptually meaningful. An inspection of the relevant student profiles indicated that three tasks were the most important in the formation of the clusters; one task concerning the understanding of the differences between the atom and other particles of the microcosm and two tasks concerning relations between relevant micro- and macro- characteristics. Furthermore, individual differences could effectively discriminate between student profiles. Generally, students' performance in the above tasks was positively associated to their performance in the three cognitive factors, whereas formal reasoning contributed the most to this discrimination. Although the distribution of student cohort characteristics across student profiles was not clearly different, it seemed that the curriculum also played a noticeable role in the formation of profiles. Relevant implications for the educational practice were also discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	International Council of Associations for Science Education. Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Education, Buca, Izmir 35150, Turkey. Tel: +90-532-4267927; Fax: +90-232-4204895; Web site: http://icaseonline.net
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01