working with what is brought: promoting conceptual change in a course on learning

by Junior Gleason 3 min read

What is conceptual change?

Conceptual Change The term conceptual changerefers to the development of fundamentally new concepts, through restructuring elements of existing concepts, in the course of knowledge acquisition.

Do conceptual change programs accelerate student achievement?

John Hattie lists conceptual change programs as having the potential to ‘considerably accelerate student achievement’. Hattie, originally based this claim on a meta-analysis of conceptual change texts. But it also applies to the broader conceptual change process.

What challenges do conceptual-change researchers face in their research?

A challenge for conceptual-change researchers is to provide a typology of important forms of conceptual change.

What is the second step in the cognitive change process?

If they do, you move to the second step in the cognitive change process – creating cognitive dissonance. Or in other words, you help them realise that their prior beliefs were wrong or inadequate.

How do you promote conceptual change?

The instructional process to facilitating conceptual change must therefore: 1) identify and address students' alternative conceptions, 2) provide opportunities for students' ideas to evolve, and 3) enable students' new ideas to be applied in a context familiar to them.

How can conceptual change be used in the classroom?

Teaching for Conceptual ChangeThe student must be dissatisfied with the current understanding.The student must have an available intelligible alternative.The alternative must seem plausible to the student.The alternative must seem fruitful (useable) to the student.

What is conceptual change education?

Conceptual change is a process that changes or replaces an existing conception with a new conception. It could be an idea, a belief or a way of thinking [1]. The shift or restructuring of knowledge and beliefs are what distinguishes conceptual change learning from other types of learning.

How do you improve conceptual learning?

Concept linking activities: Invite students to take the role of a specific concept explored in a unit, and ask them to sit in a circle of four or five people, each representing a different concept. They then make connections to each other, explaining how and why they connect using evidence from prior learning.

What is conceptual approach in teaching?

When a teacher designs lessons that focus on concepts instead of individual facts, she is teaching conceptually. Concepts can be understood as categories that can contain smaller facts or ideas but are simultaneously part of larger categories.

What is an example of conceptual?

The definition of conceptual is something having to do with the mind, or with mental concepts or philosophical or imaginary ideas. An example of conceptual is when you formulate an abstract philosophy to explain the world which cannot be proven or seen.

How does conceptual change happen How do we change our concepts?

Conceptual change (CC) occurs when learners move from a misconception to a scientifically accepted conception (Heddy et al., 2017). Many researchers agree that deep cognitive engagement is integral to facilitating conceptual change (Sinatra, 2005).

How would you go about accomplishing steps for conceptual change in your classroom?

However, telling your students that their prior beliefs may be wrong is not as common. Yet, that is the first of 4 steps in the conceptual change process....Step 1: Identifying Misconceptions. ... Step 2: Creating Cognitive Dissonance. ... Step 3: Explaining the Correct Conception. ... Step 4: Student Engagement.

Which response presents students actions during the stages of the conceptual change model in the suggested order?

Which response presents students' actions during the stages of the conceptual change model in the suggested order? To demonstrate understanding of a scientific idea, a student might: apply new knowledge to new problems.

Why is conceptual learning important for students?

Conceptual learning enables them to draw from what they have learned and use it to grasp new topics. It helps students and teachers alike to develop a deep understanding of how the concepts inter-relate with each other and build an exemplar that will empower them throughout their education and career.

Why is conceptual change important?

Conceptual change instruction can help students overcome misconceptions and learn difficult concepts in all subject areas. Conceptual change is not only relevant to teaching in the content areas, but it is also applicable to the professional development of teachers and administrators.

What is conceptual understanding in learning?

Conceptual understanding refers to an integrated and functional grasp of mathematical ideas. Students with conceptual understanding know more than isolated facts and methods. They understand why a mathematical idea is important and the kinds of contexts in which is it useful.

What is conceptual change in psychology?

Conceptual change is the process whereby concepts and relationships between them change over the course of an individual person's lifetime or over the course of history.

How can we promote positive transfer of learning?

10 Ways to Improve Transfer of Learning. ... Focus on the relevance of what you're learning. ... Take time to reflect and self-explain. ... Use a variety of learning media. ... Change things up as often as possible. ... Identify any gaps in your knowledge. ... Establish clear learning goals. ... Practise generalising.More items...•

What is map of conceptual change?

designed to help students rationalize their perceptions. in light of accepted scientific understanding. This article. outlines one such strategy: a process of recursive concept. mapping we call “mapping for conceptual change.”

What can a teacher do to promote the development of friendships?

Ways to teach children friendship skills include teaching the concept, modeling appropriate behavior, providing practice opportunities with feedback, and supporting children's use of the behavior in context.

What is conceptual change?

The Conceptual Change Process. The idea of helping your students to connect new learnings to their prior knowledge is powerful, but it is hardly new. However, telling your students that their prior beliefs may be wrong is not as common. Yet, that is the first of 4 steps in the conceptual change process. Identify misconceptions.

Who lists conceptual change programs as having the potential to ‘considerably accelerate student achievement’?

John Hattie lists conceptual change programs as having the potential to ‘considerably accelerate student achievement’. Hattie, originally based this claim on a meta-analysis of conceptual change texts. But it also applies to the broader conceptual change process.

What is the second step in cognitive change?

Step 2: Creating Cognitive Dissonance. If they do, you move to the second step in the cognitive change process – creating cognitive dissonance. Or in other words, you help them realise that their prior beliefs were wrong or inadequate.

How to engage students in a class?

Step 4: Student Engagement 1 Ask them questions – for example, justifying whether a given statement is true or false based on what you have just explained 2 Get them to compare their old and new beliefs 3 Ask them to write down, what they already knew that was correct, what new information they have learned, and what old beliefs they have had to change/discard

Introduction

From the moment of birth infants begin to generate views about their new environment. As children develop, there is a need to construct meaning regarding how and why things behave as they do. And, long before children begin the process of formal education, they attempt to make sense of the natural world.

Prior Knowledge and Conceptions of Students

Teachers have always recognized the need to start instruction "where the student is." David Ausubel (1968) emphasized this by distinguishing between meaningful learning and rote learning. For meaningful learning to occur, new knowledge must be related by the learner to relevant existing concepts in that learner's cognitive structure.

Summary

If teachers are to improve students' science conceptions we must recognize that:

What is conceptual change?

The term conceptual change refers to the development of fundamentally new concepts, through restructuring elements of existing concepts, in the course of knowledge acquisition. Conceptual change is a particularly profound kind of learning–it goes beyond revising one's specific beliefs and involves restructuring the very concepts used to formulate those beliefs. Explaining how this kind of learning occurs is central to understanding the tremendous power and creativity of human thought.

Why is conceptual change so difficult?

Conceptual change is difficult under any circumstances, as it requires breaking out of the self-perpetuating circle of theory-based reasoning, making coordinated changes in a number of concepts, and actively constructing an understanding of new (more abstract) conceptual systems. Students need signals that conceptual change is needed, as well as good reasons to change their current conceptions, guidance about how to integrate existing conceptual resources in order to construct new conceptions, and the motivation and time needed to make those constructions. Traditional education practice often fails to provide students with the appropriate signals, guidance, motivation, and time.