Children's misconceptions and conceptual change in Physics Education: the concept of light

Abstract

The aim of this research project is to investigate the effect of a constructivist  teaching strategy on 11-12 old children's understanding of light. It explores their understanding of the concept of light as an entity that is transmitted independently if the light source and the final receiver. The study was conducted in three phases: pre-test, teaching intervention, and post-test. The sample consisted of 120 children who were assigned to two groups. The children in the experimental group participated in activities which adopted a constructivist perspective, while the children in the control group participated in activities with the same objectives, but adopting an classical teaching perspective. A statistically significant difference was found, between the pre-test and the post-test, providing evidence for the effect of the constructivist strategy on facilitating children in create model for the concept of light.