Science Misconceptions

To address this component satisfactorily, you will need to include the three pieces described below. The overall length of this component should be at least one page.

A) A clear statement of a misconception.

Ideally, this misconception should relate to the theme of the Capstone course, EXPS 420. The theme for Fall 2001 and Winter 2002 is energy. The misconception that you describe can be either one that you personally had, one that the K-8 students you work with during your action research project or one that you found in the literature. You should identify who has/had the misconception. If it is one you found in the literature, be sure to provide a correct literature citation.

B) A correct statement of the scientific concept.

This statement should be as complete as possible and should be at a college level. It should be clear to the reader that you understand why the misconception is incorrect. A good addition to this section would be an explanation, in your own words, of why you or others believed the misconception to be true.

C) One way that the misconception could be addressed in a classroom

This final portion is as important as the previous two sections. As a teacher you will need to think of ways to help your students understand and learn correct scientific concepts. In this section you should describe how you might assist students in correcting the misconception you described above. A complete lesson plan is NOT needed; you should describe an activity or perhaps a sequence of activities that are intended to correct the misunderstanding. You might describe an activity that helped you to a correct understanding.

In addition to these content components, there are two structural components that must be met:

The content must be formatted as an html document, and

References cited must be formatted in APA or MLA style

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