Abstract
This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of an analogy activity, which was designed to overcome junior high students' misconceptions about the microscopic views of phase change. Eighty Taiwanese 8th graders were randomly assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. For the control group, the subjects were instructed through traditional teaching whereas for the experimental group, an analogy activity was conducted on students. This specific analogy activity was presented in the form of role-playing in which students acted as particles and worked together to perform the conditions of phase changes. Through analyzing these students' drawings of the atom arrangements for the three states of some substances, it was found that the students of experimental group, though in many cases, did not perform statistically better than did those of control group in an immediate posttest. The comparisons of a delay test between these two groups indicated that the analogy activity had clearly positive impacts on students' conceptual change on these scientific concepts in terms of long-term observations.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Ausubel, D. P., Novak, J. D., and Hanesian, H. (1978). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, New York.
Bonder, G. M. (1991). I have found you an argument. Journal of Chemical Education 68: 385–388.
Boo, H. K. (1998). Students' understanding of chemical bonds and the energetics of chemical reactions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 5: 569–581.
Campbell, D. T., and Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasiexperimental designs for research on teaching. In Gage, N. L. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching, Rand Mcnally, Chicago, IL.
Dagher, Z. R. (1994). Does the use of analogies contribute to conceptual change? Science Education 78: 601–617.
Dow, W. M., Auld, J., and Wilson, D. (1978). Pupils' Concepts of Gases, Liquid, and Solids, Dundee, Dundee College of Education.
Driver, R., and Easley, J. (1978). Pupils and paradigms: A review of literature relate to concept development in adolescent science students. Studies in Science Education 5: 61–84.
Driver, R., and Oldham, V. (1986). A constructivist approach to curriculum development in science. Studies in Science Education 13: 105–122.
Feynman, R. (1986). Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, Bantam Books, New York.
Flick, L. (1991). Where concepts meet percepts: Stimulating analogical thought in children. Science Education 75: 215–230.
Gabel, D. (1991, April). Improving chemistry achievement through emphasis on the particle nature of matter. Paper presented in annual meeting of National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Gilbert, J. K., Osborne, R. J., and Fensham, P. J. (1982). Children's science and its consequences for teaching. Science Education 66: 623–633.
Greca, H. M., and Moreira, M. A. (1997). The kinds of mental representations-models, propositions and images-used by college physics students regarding the concept of field. International Journal of Science Education 19: 711–724.
Griffiths, A. K., and Preston, K. R. (1989, March). An investigation of grade 12 students' misconceptions relating to fundamental characteristics of molecules and atoms. Paper presented at the 62nd conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, San Francisco, California.
Johnston, I. D., Crawford, K., and Fletcher, P. R. (1998). Student difficulties in learning quantum mechanics. International Journal of Science Education 20: 427–446.
Langley, D., Ronen, M., and Eylon, B. (1997). Light propagation and visual patterns: preinstruction learners' conceptions. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34: 399–424.
Osborne, R. J., and Cosgrove, M. M. (1983). Children's conceptions of the changes of state of water. Journal of research in Science Teaching 20: 825–838.
Pereira, M. P., and Pestana, M. E. M. (1991). Pupils' representations of water. International Journal of Science Education 13: 313–319.
Posada, J. M. D. (1997). Conceptions of high school students concerning the internal structure of metals and their electric conduction: structure and evolution. Science Education 81: 445–467.
Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W., and Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change. Science Education 66: 211–277.
Roth, K. J.(1989). Science education: It's not enough to ‘do’ or ‘relate.’ The American Educator Winter: 16–22; 46–48.
Sanger, M. J., and Greenbowe, T. J. (1997). Common student misconceptions in electrochemistry: Galvanic, electrolytic and concentration cells. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34: 377–398.
Shepherd, D. L., and Renner, J. W. (1982). Students understandings and misunderstanding of states of matter and density changes. School Science and Mathematics 82: 650–665.
Stavy, R. (1988). Children's conceptions of gas. International Journal of Science Education 10: 553–560.
Stavy, R. (1991). Using analogy to overcome misconceptions about conservation of matter. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 28: 305–313.
Taylor, P. C., and Fraser, B. J. (1991, April). CLES: An instrument for assessing constructivist learning environments. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Tsai, C.-C. (1996). The interrelationships between junior high school students' scientific epistemological beliefs, learning environment preferences and cognitive structure outcomes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Tsai, C.-C. (1997). The interplay between scientific epistemological beliefs and preferences for constructivist learning environments of Taiwanese eighth graders. Paper presented at the Fourth International Seminar “From Misconceptions to Constructed Understanding,” Cornell; University, Ithaca, New York. [On-line] Available at http://www2.ucsc.edu/mlrg/proc 4abstracts.html.
Tsai, C.-C. (1998a). The constructivist epistemology: The interplay between the philosophy of science and students' science learning, Curriculum and Teaching, 13(1).
Tsai, C.-C. (1998b). An analysis of Taiwanese eighth graders' science achievement, scientific epistemological beliefs and cognitive structure outcomes after learning basic atomic theory. International Journal of Science Education 20: 413–425.
Wandersee, J. H., Mintzes, J. J., and Novak, J. D. (1994). Research on alternative conceptions in science. In Gabel, D. L. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning, Macmillan, New York (pp. 177-210).
West, L. H. T., and Pines, A. L. (Eds.) (1985). Cognitive Structures and Conceptual Change. Academic Press, Orlando, FL.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tsai, CC. Overcoming Junior High School Students' Misconceptions About Microscopic Views of Phase Change: A Study of an Analogy Activity. Journal of Science Education and Technology 8, 83–91 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009485722628
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009485722628