Student conception and misconception in drawing phosphorus cycle based on worked example learning

Abstract

The phosphorus cycle is still unfamiliar for students in the biogeochemical cycle. When worked example provides an opportunity for students to be able to learn from existing examples, this study seek to uncover the conceptions and misconceptions about the phosphorus cycle that carried out in the implementation of worked example learning. This research was conduct in the form of descriptive research by analyzing the diagram made by students and interviews conducted on some students whose diagram indicated contain misconception. Results showed that worked examples can help students to get a conception of the phosphorus cycle through the identification of the components involved in the phosphorus cycle, the relationships between components, and training students to trace phosphorus atoms. Misconception occurred only in a small proportion of students (10.58%) due to students' limitations in understanding the concepts of chemical molecules and plant physiology. It also influenced by the presented examples during classwork.