A dynamic research strategy was employed to track the development of
mental models of simple DC circuits and reasoning patterns of students learning
these concepts for the first time. The medium for research and instruction was a
computer tutorial that allowed students to explore their ideas and beliefs as they
manipulated simple materials. The study utilized structured observations
generated from videotaped data and transcribed analysis of students' verbal
commentaries. Verbal protocol analysis (Ericsson and Simon, 1994) provided
data for the development of conceptual maps (Dykstra, Boyle, and Monarch,
1992) from which students' conceptual frameworks and mental models were
inferred. The sequence and types of changes the models underwent were
illustrated by the changes in the conceptual maps as the subjects progressed from
a naive understanding towards a more scientific understanding.
Both assimilation and accommodation occurred to different degrees: from
the acquisition of a single, simple idea (or separation of a single, minor idea) to
the development of elaborate and inter-related ideas. In both cases, the process
was not simple nor straight forward. Rather, the process is better described as a
painful negotiation and renegotiation of conflicting beliefs. The "path" from
naive towards expert understanding goes in both directions, with subjects
moving backward (toward personal theories) as easily, if not more so, as forward
(toward expert understanding).
Studying conceptual change in physics learning is necessary in order to
develop appropriate instructional materials and strategies that take into account
students' preconceptions and how those preconceptions change during
instruction.
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