1Third Misconceptions Seminar Proceedings (1993) Paper Title: COGNITIVE ABILITIES, PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVES, AND SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AS COMPONENTS OF LONG- TERM LEARNING IN BASIC ELECTRICITY

Abstract: Since research in learning and instruction turns back to the process of understanding, the learning of the student is seen as an active process of knowledge construction. In this context learning means "to develop understanding " or "to know something well that was unknown before". This process can only be studied in a specific knowledge domain. In our case, students ' conceptions, concepts and rules in physics, and integrated knowledge of the circuit as a system belong to the specific knowledge domain. If in this first approximation the cognitive aspects of learning are emphasized, learning should not be seen as a process without emotions. It is a principle of learning psychology that cognitive and motivational processes are intermixed, when learning takes place. The handy formulation of "will and skill " (Salomon 1987) describes this evident fact. Besides cognitive actions and motivational states it is important for the learning of the student how he or she perceives the environment. It ranges from more distal cultural and social influences to the proximal social interactions with teachers and class-mates, which define the social climate in the classroom. Especially, in the case of long-term learning the class climate may influence the learning processes