Investigating Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Animal Classification

Autor/inn/en	Burgoon, Jacob N.; Duran, Emilio
Titel	Investigating Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Animal Classification
Quelle	In: School Science and Mathematics, 112 (2012) 7, S.410-419 (10 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0036-6803
DOI	10.1111/j.1949-8594.2012.00160.x
Schlagwörter	Animals; Classification; Elementary School Teachers; Interviews; Comparative Analysis; Professional Development; Semi Structured Interviews; Zoology; Science Education; Scientific Concepts; Pretests Posttests; Science Instruction; Elementary School Science; Ohio + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Animal; Tier; Tiere; Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Elementary school; Teacher; Teachers; Grundschule; Volksschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Zoologie; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht
Abstract	Numerous studies have been conducted regarding alternative conceptions about animal diversity and classification, many of which have used a cross-age approach to investigate how students' conceptions change over time. None of these studies, however, have investigated teachers' conceptions of animal classification. This study was intended to augment the findings of past research by exploring the conceptions that elementary teachers possess about animal classification. Using interviews and written items, we documented teachers' conceptions about animal classification and compared them with student conceptions identified in previous research studies. Many of the teachers' conceptions observed in this study were similar to students' conceptions in that they were often too limited or too general compared with scientifically accepted conceptions. Also, the teachers in this study frequently used "non-defining" characteristics, such as locomotion and habitat, to classify animals. As a result, several misclassifications were observed in the teachers' responses to the written items. Notably, the results of our study demonstrate that teachers often have the same alternative conceptions about animal classification as students. We explore some possible explanations for these alternative conceptions and discuss the instructional implications of the findings. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10