The nature of fourth graders' understandings of electric circuits

The purpose of this study was to interpret the nature of fourth graders' understandings of electric circuits. The qualitative study was guided by constructivist theory and utilized two small groups of four children each. Each child was interviewed prior to and after, as well as observed throughout, the instructional unit on simple electric circuits. The interviews centered around three different electric circuit tasks: predictions and explanations of eight electric circuit problems: the completion and explanation of three electric circuit drawings; and the identification of an electric current diagram, which was based on Osborne's (1983) work. The findings for these children suggested that: (1) the nature of children's understandings of electric circuits is dependent upon the interplay between their understandings of circuit connections and understandings of electric current; (2) prior to instruction children's understandings of electric circuits were scientifically inaccurate and tended to emphasize understandings of circuit connections; (3) children held multiple understandings of electric current prior to instruction, whereas following instruction most children held a single understanding of electric current, albeit scientifically inaccurate; and (4) after instruction children demonstrated a more accurate technical understanding of electric circuits, but only one child demonstrated a scientific understanding of electric current. Based on these findings, conclusions about knowledge restructuring are presented, as well as implications for teaching, assessment, and research. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.