Importance of the order of demonstrations in changing pupils’ conceptions

Abstract

Conceptual change is concerned with the question of how a teacher can connect pupils’ prior knowledge with the new content to be learned. Fifth and ninth graders were asked to compare the weights of two objects suspended in a pulley in balance in three different positions. Pupils’ conclusions and arguments were classified for each demonstration. The proportion of the pupils who concluded after the last demonstration that both objects weighed the same depended on the order of the demonstrations and varied from 60% to 90%. Teachers may consider the demonstrations to be alike but pupils experience them as different. Pupils tend to rely on the concrete and familiar models they have used earlier. Therefore it is important that teachers help pupils to look for more general explanations behind the phenomenon, and that the pupils are aware of their preconceptions.