A Study on Misconceptions of Astronomy for Teachers of Elementary School: A Case Study of Solar Observation

• Main Authors: Hsiu-Yun Wei, 魏秀耘
• Other Authors: Hong-Wen Cheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/nfwh2t

碩士 === 國立臺北教育大學 === 自然科學教育學系 === 102 === The purpose of this research is to develop a two-tier diagnostic instrument to understand the misconceptions that elementary school teachers have when teaching natural science. Moreover, it would also discuss the relationship between important background factors and concepts of elementary school teachers at their posts. This research is based on the unit of Solar Observation found in the first semester of fifth grade natural science using an open-ended questionnaire and interviews to collect information regarding the misconceptions on relevant concepts of the sun shared by elementary school teachers at their posts. Based on such information, a two-tier diagnostic instrument will be developed. The research samples include 172 elementary school teachers who officially implemented the test in Taipei. After testing is completed, the information collected is analyzed by statistical software, and the statistical methods such as descriptive statistics and the t-test are used. Results from the analysis are then summarized as per the understanding and misconceptions shared by elementary school teachers on the notion of the sun. Conclusions of the study are follows: (i) according to the two-tier diagnostic instrument, elementary school teachers are found to have various misconceptions about the concepts of The Cause of the Four Seasons, The Apparent Motion of the Sun, The Length of Days and Nights, and The Eclipse; (ii) there is a significant difference in scores among teachers with different disciplinary backgrounds from the two-tier diagnostic instrument, and it shows that the disciplinary backgrounds of teachers generates a difference in their concept of the astronomy; (iii) there is no significant difference in scores from teachers with varying experience in teaching science, as shown in the two-tier diagnostic instrument, indicating that pure reliance on experience does not help in the growth of understanding astronomical concepts; (iv) reasons that teachers have misconceptions lie in the fact that their spatial concepts cannot be transformed, they are short of professional training.