The question asked of our interview participants was, “What causes high tides?” When researching this topic, we read a study by Viiri and Saari, about ” the scientific theory of tides, textbooks, and also an analysis of students’ conceptions” (2004, p. 463). Since we are in Plymouth for the summer, we felt this would be a perfect setting to ask the question about what causes high tides. After reviewing several resources, we anticipated that there would be many misconceptions about the cause of high tides, but we were still surprised by the overwhelming misconceptions of our participants.
Our own research not only proves our hypothesis, but also proves the research done by Viiri and Saari. Few of our subjects understood the causes of high tides. They appeared to have a vague idea about the causes of high tides, which they attributed to school. Moreover, they could not verbally explain or visually illustrate their knowledge. In some cases the subjects were not able to explain their illustrations.
The topic of tides poses a large problem for teachers. Specifically, we found references to resources in our research that gave incorrect information regarding the causes of high tides (Simanek, 2003). Textbooks containing incorrect information in conjunction with students' preconceived notion about tides acerbates their misconception of the causes of high tides. Teachers will have to deconstruct the students’ knowledge about the subject before they can begin to teach the correct concept of tides.
Our group found that there is a necessity for teachers to select resources containing accurate information. If the students come into the classroom with misconceptions about high tides, the teachers need to have correct information at hand to help students' construct an accurate understanding of the causes of high tides.
Our own research not only proves our hypothesis, but also proves the research done by Viiri and Saari. Few of our subjects understood the causes of high tides. They appeared to have a vague idea about the causes of high tides, which they attributed to school. Moreover, they could not verbally explain or visually illustrate their knowledge. In some cases the subjects were not able to explain their illustrations.
The topic of tides poses a large problem for teachers. Specifically, we found references to resources in our research that gave incorrect information regarding the causes of high tides (Simanek, 2003). Textbooks containing incorrect information in conjunction with students' preconceived notion about tides acerbates their misconception of the causes of high tides. Teachers will have to deconstruct the students’ knowledge about the subject before they can begin to teach the correct concept of tides.
Our group found that there is a necessity for teachers to select resources containing accurate information. If the students come into the classroom with misconceptions about high tides, the teachers need to have correct information at hand to help students' construct an accurate understanding of the causes of high tides.
Subjects' Illustrations
In the interviews, logic gaps about the causes of high tides are filled with illusory understandings called fantasia. As the fantasia becomes more elaborate the subjects take whatever knowledge they have and realign the facts to fit their preexisting schema.
In conclusion, educators teaching the concept of the causes of high tides need to ensure that their pedagogical content knowledge is sound. Specifically, the pedagogy must include an authentic assessment tool designed to help students reflect on their conceptions of the causes of high tides. The purpose of this assessment should be to prevent later misconceptions on the causes of high tides.