scientific misconceptions

Misconceptions (a.k.a. alternative conceptions, alternative frameworks, etc.) are a key issue from constructivism in science education, a major theoretical perspective informing science teaching.Taber, K. S. (2011). Constructivism as educational theory: Contingency in learning, and optimally guided instruction. In J. Hassaskhah (Ed.), Educational Theory (pp. 39-61). New York: Nova. From https://camtools.cam.ac.uk/wiki/eclipse/Constructivism.html. A scientific misconception is a false or incorrect understanding of a scientific concept or principle, often resulting from oversimplifications, inaccurate information, or the misapplication of intuitive knowledge. Misconceptions can arise due to a variety of factors, such as personal experiences, cultural beliefs, or the way information is presented in educational settings. Addressing scientific misconceptions is crucial for developing a more accurate understanding of the natural world and improving scientific literacy.{{cite journal |last1=Clement |first1=John |title=Students' preconceptions in introductory mechanics |journal=American Journal of Physics |date=1 January 1982 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=66–71 |doi=10.1119/1.12989|url=http://people.umass.edu/~clement/pdf/students_preconceptions_in_introductory_mechanics.pdf}} In general, scientific misconceptions have their foundations in a few "intuitive knowledge domains, including folkmechanics (object boundaries and movements), folkbiology (biological species' configurations and relationships), and folkpsychology (interactive agents and goal-directed behavior)",{{cite journal |author1=Altran S |author2=Norenzayan A |title=Religion's evolutionary landscape: Counterintuition, commitment, compassion, communion |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=27 |issue=6 |pages=713–30 |year=2004 |doi=10.1017/S0140525X04000172 |pmid=16035401|citeseerx=10.1.1.687.8586 |s2cid=1177255 }} that enable humans to interact effectively with the world in which they evolved. That these folksciences do not map accurately onto modern scientific theory is not unexpected. A second major source of scientific misconceptions are educational misconceptions, which are induced and reinforced during the course of instruction (in formal education).

There has been extensive research into students' informal ideas about science topics, and studies have suggested reported misconceptions vary considerably in terms of properties such as coherence, stability, context-dependence, range of application etc.Taber, K. S. (2009). Progressing Science Education: Constructing the scientific research programme into the contingent nature of learning science. Dordrecht: Springer. Misconceptions can be broken down into five basic categories:Davis, Barbara (1997). Science Teaching Reconsidered. Committee on Undergraduate Science Education. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press. https://www.nap.edu/read/5287/chapter/5

1. preconceived notions
2. nonscientific beliefs
3. conceptual misunderstandings
4. vernacular misconceptions
5. factual misconceptions

Preconceived notions are thinking about a concept in only one way. Specially heat, gravity, and energy. Once a person knows how something works it is difficult to imagine it working a different way. Nonscientific beliefs are beliefs learned outside of scientific evidence. For example, one's beliefs about the history of world based on the bible. Conceptual misunderstandings are ideas about what one thinks they understand based on their personal experiences or what they may have heard. One does not fully grasp the concept and understand it. Vernacular misconceptions happen when one word has two completely different meanings, specially in regard to science and everyday life. Factual misconceptions are ideas or beliefs that are learned at a young age but are actually incorrect.

While most student misconceptions go unrecognized, there has been an informal effort to identify errors and misconceptions present in textbooks.For example, resources include the [https://personal.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/BadScience.html Bad Science] web page by Alistair Fraser, the [http://archiv.ipn.uni-kiel.de/stcse/ Students' and Teachers' Conceptions and Science Education] (STCSE) website (2009), and the book [https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/ebook/9780854043866 Chemical Misconceptions: Prevention, Diagnosis and Cure] (2002).

In the context of Socratic instruction, student misconceptions are identified and addressed through a process of questioning and listening. A number of strategies have been employed to understand what students are thinking prior, or in response, to instruction. These strategies include various forms of "real type" feedback, which can involve the use of colored cards or electronic survey systems (clickers).{{cite journal |author=Martyn M |title=Clickers in the classroom: an active learning approach |journal=Educause Quarterly |volume=30 |issue=2 |year=2007 |url=http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ClickersintheClassroomAnA/40032}} Another approach is typified by the strategy known as just-in-time teaching.{{cite web|url=http://jittdl.physics.iupui.edu/jitt/|title=www.jitt.org|author=|date=|website=jittdl.physics.iupui.edu|accessdate=15 August 2018}}{{cite journal |author=Rozycki W |title=Just-in-Time Teaching |journal=J Indiana University Research & Creative Activity |volume=XXII |issue=1 |pages=8 |year=1999 |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v22n1/p08.html}} Here students are asked various questions prior to class, the instructor uses these responses to adapt their teaching to the students' prior knowledge and misconceptions.

Finally, there is a more research-intensive approach that involves interviewing students for the purpose of generating the items that will make up a concept inventory or other forms of diagnostic instruments.Taber, K. S. (2002) Chemical misconceptions - prevention, diagnosis and cure, London: Royal Society of Chemistry Concept inventories require intensive validation efforts. Perhaps the most influential of these concept inventories to date has been the Force Concept Inventory (FCI).{{cite journal |author1=Hestenes D |author2=Wells M |author3=Swackhamer G |title=Force Concept Inventory |journal=The Physics Teacher |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=141–58 |year=1992 |doi=10.1119/1.2343497 |bibcode=1992PhTea..30..141H |s2cid=12311835 |url=http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PHTEAH000030000003000141000001&idtype=cvips}}{{cite journal |author=Hestenes D |title=Who needs physics education research |journal=Am J Phys |volume=66 |issue= 6|pages=465–7 |year=1998 |doi=10.1119/1.18898 |bibcode=1998AmJPh..66..465H |url=http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=AJPIAS000066000006000465000001&idtype=cvips}} Concept inventories can be particularly helpful in identifying difficult ideas that serve as a barrier to effective instruction.{{cite journal |author1=Garvin-Doxas K |author2=Klymkowsky MW |title=Understanding randomness and its impact on student learning: lessons learned from building the Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) |journal=CBE: Life Sciences Education |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=227–33 |year=2008 |pmid=18519614 |pmc=2424310 |doi=10.1187/cbe.07-08-0063 }} Concept inventories in natural selection{{cite journal | author = Nehm R, Schonfeld IS | year = 2008 | title = Measuring knowledge of natural selection: A comparison of the C.I.N.S., an open-response instrument, and an oral interview | url = http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/socialsci/psychology/faculty/upload/Nehm-Schonfeld-2008-JRST.pdf | journal = Journal of Research in Science Teaching | volume = 45 | issue = 10| pages = 1131–1160 | doi = 10.1002/tea.20251 | bibcode = 2008JRScT..45.1131N | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110517013711/http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/socialsci/psychology/faculty/upload/Nehm-Schonfeld-2008-JRST.pdf | archivedate = 2011-05-17 }}{{cite journal | author = Nehm R, Schonfeld IS | year = 2010 | title = The future of natural selection knowledge measurement: A reply to Anderson et al. (2010) | url = http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/socialsci/psychology/faculty/upload/Nehm-and-Schonfeld-2010-JRST.pdf | journal = Journal of Research in Science Teaching | volume = 47 | issue = 3 | pages = 358–362 | doi = 10.1002/tea.20330 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719182444/http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospective/socialsci/psychology/faculty/upload/Nehm-and-Schonfeld-2010-JRST.pdf | archivedate = 2011-07-19 }}{{cite journal |author1=Anderson DL |author2=Fisher KM |author3=Norman GJ |title=Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection |journal=J Res Sci Teaching |volume=39 |issue= 10|pages=952–78 |year=2002 |doi=10.1002/tea.10053 |bibcode=2002JRScT..39..952A |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/100519786/abstract|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105131151/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/100519786/abstract|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-05|citeseerx=10.1.1.1010.5115 }} and basic biology{{cite web|url=http://bioliteracy.net|title=Bioliteracy Project Home Page|author=|date=|website=bioliteracy.net|accessdate=15 August 2018}} have been developed.

While not all the published diagnostic instruments have been developed as carefully as some concept inventories, some two-tier diagnostic instruments (which offer multiple choice distractors informed by misconceptions research, and then ask learners to give reasons for their choices) have been through rigorous development.{{Cite web|url=https://camtools.cam.ac.uk/wiki/eclipse/diagnostic%20instrument%20to%20determine%20a-level%20students%E2%80%99%20understanding%20of%20ionisation%20energy.html|title=The ECLIPSE Project|website=camtools.cam.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-08-15}} In identifying students' misconceptions, first teachers can identify their preconceptions.Fuchs, T.T., & Arsenault, M. (2017). Using test data to find misconceptions in secondary science. School Science Review 364(98) 31-36. "Teachers need to know students' initial and developing conceptions. Students need to have their initial ideas brought to a conscious level."Minstrell, J. & Kruas, P (2005) Guided Inquiry in the Science Classroom. How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom. (478) However, teachers' ability to diagnose misconceptions needs to be improved. When confronted with misconceptions about evolution, they only diagnose approximately half of these misconceptions.{{cite journal |author1=Hartelt T. |author2=Martens H. |author3=Minkley N. |title=Teachers' ability to diagnose and deal with alternative student conceptions of evolution |journal=Science Education | pages=706–738 |year=2022 |volume=106 |issue=3 |doi=10.1002/sce.21705 |s2cid=246591337 |doi-access=free }} Thus, another approach for identifying misconceptions could be that not only teachers do it but the students themselves. With the help of lists with common misconceptions and examples, students can identify their own misconceptions and become metacognitively aware of these.Hartelt, T. & Martens, H. (2024). Influence of self-assessment and conditional metaconceptual knowledge on students' self-regulation of intuitive and scientific conceptions of evolution. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 61(5), 1134–1180. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21938Hartelt, T. & Martens, H. (2025). How accurate are students in self-assessing their conceptions of evolution? Science Education. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21945Hartelt, T. & Martens, H. (2025). Promoting metacognitive awareness and self-regulation of intuitive thinking in evolution education. The American Biology Teacher, 87(2), 113–119. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2025.87.2.113

A number of lines of evidence suggest that the recognition and revision of student misconceptions involves active, rather than passive, involvement with the material. A common approach to instruction involves meta-cognition, that is to encourage students to think about their thinking about a particular problem. In part this approach requires students to verbalize, defend and reformulate their understanding. Recognizing the realities of the modern classroom, a number of variations have been introduced. These include Eric Mazur's peer instruction, as well as various tutorials in physics.For example: {{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/uw.edu/uwpeg/curricula/tutorials-in-introductory-physics |title=Tutorials in Introductory Physics |publisher=Physics Education Group, University of Washington |accessdate=2020-04-23}} Using a metacognitive approach, researchers have also found that making students metacognitively aware of their own intuitive conceptions through a self-assessment and supporting them in self-regulating their intuitive conceptions in scientific contexts enhances students' conceptual understanding. Scientific inquiry is another technique that provides an active engagement opportunity for students and incorporates metacognition and critical thinking.

Success with inquiry-based learning activities relies on a deep foundation of factual knowledge. Students then use observation, imagination, and reasoning about scientific phenomena they are studying to organize knowledge within a conceptual framework.Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. (Expanded ed., [http://www.csun.edu/~SB4310/How%20People%20Learn.pdf PDF]). Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, {{ISBN|0309070368}}.Bransford, J.D.& Donovan, M.S. (Eds).(2005). "Scientific Inquiry and How People Learn". How Students Learn: History, Mathematics and Science in the Classroom. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. The teacher monitors the changing concepts of the students through formative assessment as the instruction proceeds. Beginning inquiry activities should develop from simple concrete examples to more abstract. As students progress through inquiry, opportunities should be included for students to generate, ask, and discuss challenging questions. According to Magnusson and Palincsan,Magnusson, S.J. & Palincsar, A.S. (Eds).(2005). "Teaching to Promote the Development of Scientific Knowledge and Reasoning About Light at the Elementary School Level". How Students Learn: History, Mathematics and Science in the Classroom. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. teachers should allow multiple cycles of investigation where students can ask the same questions as their understanding of the concept matures. Through strategies that apply formative assessment of student learning and adjust accordingly, teachers can help redirect scientific misconceptions. Research has shown that science teachers have a wide repertoire to deal with misconceptions and report a variety of ways to respond to students' alternative conceptions, e.g., attempting to induce a cognitive conflict using analogies, requesting an elaboration of the conception, referencing specific flaws in reasoning, or offering a parallel between the student's conception and a historical theory. However, approximately half of the teachers do not address students' misconceptions, but instead agree with them, respond scientifically incorrect, or formulate the correct scientific explanation themselves without addressing the specific student conception.

• List of common misconceptions{{snd}}Common misconceptions, including scientific ones
• Superseded theories in science
• {{annotated link|List of fallacies}}
• Wiley Bad Science Series of books:
• Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax"
• Badastronomy.com blog

{{Reflist}}

• Barker, V. 2004. [http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/learnnet/miscon.htm Beyond appearances : students' misconceptions about basic chemical ideas]. 2nd edition (accessed on-line 9 Sept. 2008)
• Charles, E.S. & S.T. d'Apollonia. 2003. A systems approach to education. PEREA report.
• {{cite journal |author=Hake RR |title=Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: a six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses |journal=Am J Phys |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=64–74 |year=1998 |doi=10.1119/1.18809 |bibcode=1998AmJPh..66...64H |url=http://scitation.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=AJPIAS000066000001000064000001&idtype=cvips}}
• {{cite book |author=Krebs, Robert E. |title=Scientific development and misconceptions through the ages: a reference guide |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-313-30226-8 }}
• {{cite journal |author1=Morton JP |author2=Doran DA |author3=Maclaren DP |title=Common student misconceptions in exercise physiology and biochemistry |journal=Adv Physiol Educ |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=142–6 |date=Jun 2008 |pmid=18539853 |doi=10.1152/advan.00095.2007 |s2cid=8066357 }}
• {{cite journal |author1=Visscher PM |author2=Hill WG |author3=Wray NR |title=Heritability in the genomics era--concepts and misconceptions |journal=Nature Reviews Genetics |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=255–66 |date=Apr 2008 |pmid=18319743 |doi=10.1038/nrg2322 |s2cid=690431 }}
• [http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074339/html/ How Students Learn]. 2005. A National Academy of Sciences Report.
• Fuchs, T.T., & Arsenault, M. (2017). Using test data to find misconceptions in secondary science. School Science Review 364(98) 31-36.

Category:Science education

Category:Misconceptions