Research-based Teaching about Science at the Upper-Primary School Level

Abstract: It is common knowledge that students bring their own conceptions about science concepts and phenomena to the classroom. These conceptions usually differ significantly from scientific conceptions, influence what students gain from instruction and are often resistant to change and can persist despite the efforts of teachers. Although many studies have been conducted in the area of students ’ conceptions on various science content domains, there are relatively few studies that systematically focus on changing these conceptions through teaching. In this direction teaching sequences-drawing upon existing research evidence about teaching and learning-, which aimed to change the conceptions of students regarding heat and temperature, were planned, applied and evaluated. The present study includes the teaching sequences that aimed at shifting the students from the use of two different entities (heat, as the entity responsible for the heating of bodies, and cold, as the entity responsible for the cooling of bodies) to the use of one entity (heat) in order to explain thermal phenomena as well as the assessment of the learning outcomes of these sequences with respect to primary school students in Greece (aged 11-12). The teaching process included, at first, the emergence of students ’ conceptions and the realization of the disagreements they had with each other; second, the alternative conceptions the students constructed in the direction of the desired knowledge and, finally, the development of the students ’ ability to identify conceptual obstacles. The assessment of learning outcomes was carried out through qualitative analysis of both the students ’ written answers on the worksheets and the dialogues they had with each other during the sequences. The results of data analysis demonstrate the efficiency of teaching sequences, the different intellectual ‘paths ’ the students followed during the teaching sequences as well as the contribution and the limitations the used teaching situations placed when dealing with students ’ conceptions