Evaporation in different liquids: secondary students’ conceptions

This study explores secondary school students’ understanding of evaporation and investigates whether students associate the concept of evaporation with only water as a liquid. An open‐ended written test was developed using three different words (water, liquid or alcohol) to state the question phrases. The test was implemented on a sample of 313 students at different levels of schooling. Clinical interviews, in which ethyl alcohol was used as an example of liquids, were also undertaken with 12 students, either individually or as a group. From the collected data, it was found that most of the students at different levels lack understanding of the concept and have several misconceptions. Various misconceptions of the evaporation concept that differ from those cited in the related literature were determined. The most important result was that students’ written responses showed some specific misconceptions when they were presented with the questions using three different words; liquid, water and alcohol.

[1]  Nicos Valanides,et al.  PRIMARY STUDENT TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONS DURING DISSOLVING , 2000 .

[2]  Marilyn Fleer,et al.  Children's alternative views: alternative to what? , 1999 .

[3]  Muammer Çalik,et al.  A cross-age study on the understanding of chemical solutions and their components 1 , 2005 .

[4]  R. Driver,et al.  Pupils and Paradigms: a Review of Literature Related to Concept Development in Adolescent Science Students , 1978 .

[5]  Pupils’ Ideas on Conservation during Changes in the State of Water , 1997 .

[6]  Russell Tytler,et al.  A comparison of year 1 and year 6 students' conceptions of evaporation and condensation: dimensions of conceptual progression , 2000 .

[7]  R. Driver,et al.  Theories-in-Action: Some Theoretical and Empirical Issues in the Study of Students' Conceptual Frameworks in Science , 1983 .

[8]  M. Nakhleh.  Why some students don't learn chemistry: Chemical misconceptions , 1992 .

[9]  Alan Goodwin.  THE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY: WHO IS THE LEARNER? , 2000 .

[10]  Victor M. S. Gil,et al.  The Complexity of Teaching and Learning Chemical Equilibrium , 2000 .

[11]  Adri H. Verdonk,et al.  The particulate nature of matter in science education and in science , 1996 .

[12]  Mike Summers,et al.  An Investigation of Some Primary Teachers' Understanding of Changes in Materials. , 1989 .

[13]  R. Yin.  Case Study Research: Design and Methods , 1984 .

[14]  D. Gabel,et al.  Changing Children's Conceptions of Burning. , 2001 .

[15]  John K. Gilbert,et al.  Personal Experience and the Construction of Knowledge in Science. , 1983 .

[16]  David Palmer,et al.  Students' alternative conceptions and scientifically acceptable conceptions about gravity , 2001 .

[17]  B. Andersson.  Pupils' Conceptions of Matter and its Transformations (age 12-16) , 1990 .

[18]  R. Stavy.  Children's conception of changes in the state of matter: From liquid (or solid) to gas , 1990 .

[19]  Ayhan Demirbas,et al.  Turkish Secondary Students' Conceptions of the Introductory Concepts , 1997 .

[20]  Peter J. Fensham,et al.  Development and Dilemmas in Science Education. , 1988 .

[21]  C. W. Anderson,et al.  Changing middle school students' conceptions of matter and molecules , 1990 .

[22]  William J. Boone,et al.  Self‐efficacy and alternative conceptions of science of preservice elementary teachers , 1998 .

[23]  The development of young children's understanding of the process of evaporation , 1985 .

[24]  Michael R. Abraham,et al.  A cross-age study of the understanding of five chemistry concepts , 1994 .

[25]  Roger Osborne,et al.  Children's conceptions of the changes of state of water , 1983 .

[26]  John K. Gilbert,et al.  Children's science and its consequences for teaching , 1982 .

[27]  Jazlin Ebenezer,et al.  Chemistry students' conceptions of solubility: A phenomenography , 1996 .

[28]  Varda Bar,et al.  Children's views about the water cycle , 1989 .

[29]  Anthony S. Travis,et al.  Children's Views Concerning Phase Changes. , 1991 .

[30]  Wynne Harlen,et al.  Children's ideas about evaporation , 1989 .

[31]  Alipaşa Ayas,et al.  A comparison of level of understanding of eighth‐grade students and science student teachers related to selected chemistry concepts , 2005 .

[32]  Jin-Yi Chang.  Teachers college students' conceptions about evaporation, condensation, and boiling , 1999 .

[33]  Philip Johnson,et al.  Children's understanding of changes of state involving the gas state, Part 2: Evaporation and condensation below boiling point , 1998 .

[34]  David Palmer,et al.  Exploring the link between students' scientific and nonscientific conceptions , 1999 .

[35]  John W. Renner,et al.  Understandings and misunderstandings of eighth graders of five chemistry concepts found in textbooks , 1992 .

[36]  Robin Millar,et al.  Teaching Physics as a Non‐specialist: the in‐service training of science teachers , 1988 .

[37]  R. Osborne,et al.  Learning in science : the implications of children's science , 1985 .

[38]  John K. Gilbert,et al.  Concepts, Misconceptions and Alternative Conceptions: Changing Perspectives in Science Education , 1983 .

[39]  Misconceptions of Selected Science Concepts Held by Elementary School Students. , 1972 .

[40]  Mariana G. Hewson,et al.  The role of conceptual conflict in conceptual change and the design of science instruction , 1984 .

[41]  Children's ideas about ‘solid’ and ‘liquid’ , 1985 .

[42]  Igal Galili,et al.  Stages of children's views about evaporation , 1994 .

[43]  D. Treagust.  Development and use of diagnostic tests to evaluate students’ misconceptions in science , 1988 .

[44]  Alipaşa Ayas,et al.  A Review of Solution Chemistry Studies: Insights into Students’ Conceptions , 2005 .

[45]  Ruth Stavy,et al.  Pupils’ problems in understanding conservation of matter , 1990 .

[46]  Seoung-Hey Paik,et al.  K‐8th grade Korean students' conceptions of ‘changes of state’ and ‘conditions for changes of state’ , 2004 .

[47]  J. Roschelle,et al.  Misconceptions Reconceived: A Constructivist Analysis of Knowledge in Transition , 1994 .