Strategies for Overcoming Misconceptions in Science

现在有大量文献记录了理科生所怀有的误解，这些误解相当普遍，而且在教学过程中令人惊讶地抵制改变。对许多学生来说，这种误解是阻碍他们理解概念的关键障碍。本项目将探讨一些有希望的策略，以克服高中物理课程中的误解。该项目将：(1)对学生的误解和可能有用的物理直觉进行研究；(2)为解决力学中几个具体的误解而开发创新课程；(3)评估其在高中课堂上的有效性；(4)进行辅导实验，详细研究学生的学习过程，比较不同的教学方法；(5)制定一般的教学原则，以处理物理学中的误解，并可能应用于其他科学和数学领域。制定这些教学原则的研究被视为指导国家为学生和教师开发有效的新课程材料和软件的必要条件。该项目将由一个由高中教师和研究人员组成的团队执行，他们共同努力制作创新课程和研究报告。因此，该项目将直接在科学教育研究界和课堂之间的界面上工作。

There is now a significant body of literature documenting misconceptions harbored by science students which are quite widespread and which are surprisingly resistant to change during instruction. For many students, such misconceptions are critical barriers which prevent the attainment of conceptual understanding. This project will investigate some promising strategies for overcoming misconceptions in high school physics courses. The project will: (1) conduct research on students' misconceptions and potentially useful physical intuitions; (2) develop innovative lessons for dealing with several specific misconceptions in mechanics; (3) evaluate their effectiveness in high school classrooms; (4) conduct tutoring experiments in order to study student learning processes in detail and to compare alternative teaching methods; (5) formulate general principles of instruction for dealing with misconceptions in physics with possible applications to other areas of science and mathematics. Research that leads to such principles for instruction is seen as essential for guiding the national development of effective new course materials and software for students and teachers. The project will be carried out by a team of high school teachers and researchers who have worked together to produce innovative lessons and research studies. Thus, the project will be working directly at the interface between the science education research community and the classroom.