A study of the influences of teachers' teaching implementations to address students' common misconceptions on their conceptualunderstanding on the topic of photosynthesis

Abstract

This study aims to find out the influences of science teachers’ teaching implementations in addressing the students’ common misconceptions on their conceptual understanding on photosynthesis. The study was conducted in a school in Hong Kong with an international setting. A total of thirty-one Year 9 students participated in this study. Eighteen students were taught by Teacher A, the intervention group, who carried out the intervention to identify the common students’ misconceptions on photosynthesis and attempt to change the students’ misconceptions by carrying out different teaching activities. On the other hand, thirteen students were taught by Teacher B, the control group, who taught according to the Year 9 Science curriculum plans of their school and had focussed on delivering the expected concepts to be acquired by the students. Students’ conceptual understanding was assessed through the use of 4 different instruments, including the two-tier multiple choice question developed by Haslam and Treagust (1987) and the cartoon concept developed by Naylor and Keogh (2000), before and after the teaching of the topic. Results showed that the intervention group had better conceptual understandings on the plants’ food and the harnessing the Sun’s energy by plants during photosynthesis while the control group had better conceptual understandings on respiration in plants and the limiting factors on photosynthesis in plants. Overall, the intervention group had not developed a better conceptual understanding nor less misconception compared to the control group. Open ended teaching strategies (self-exploration, whole class or group discussions etc.) had limited the conceptual understanding amongst the lower achievers and the formation of misconception ‘plants respire only at night’ in the intervention group.