Case Study of a Student Who Counters and Improves His Own Misconception by Generating a Chain of Analogies

Abstract

Research in science education has identified a large variety of student conceptions that can conflict with currently accepted theories in science. These are variously called alternative conceptions or misconceptions. This chapter is a case study of an 18-year-old freshman in college who is able to counter one of his own misconceptions in physics and make considerable progress toward constructing a new conception. The self-correction occurs while the student is solving a qualitative problem aloud. The problem describes a situation that is unfamiliar to him, but he eventually solves it by relating it to several analogous situations that are more familiar. He also exhibits other types of behavior that Polya has described as important in creative problem solving: generating thought experiments, generalizing and specializing, and generating extreme cases. In addition he produces body movements that parallel his arguments, generates personal as well as physical analogies, and generates a bridging analogy. In fact, his method of using analogies and a number of his other reasoning patterns have the same form as those we have observed in experts solving unfamiliar problems. Thus, although the student has not taken college science courses, he spontaneously uses thought processes similar to those of creative scientists and mathematicians. However, since the student's arguments are simple ones based on common physical intuitions, there is reason to believe that such reasoning strategies could be useful in instruction with other students. This leads to the recommendation that qualitative arguments and chains of analogies be tried as techniques for helping students overcome misconceptions in the classroom.