A case study of fourth graders’ conceptions of photosynthesis and situation of conceptual change

• Main Authors: Hui-Fang Kuo, 郭惠芳
• Other Authors: Yiu, Tzu-ta
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/81390054030850194192

碩士 === 臺中師範學院 === 國民教育研究所 === 91 === ABSTRACT The purposes of the study were to explore fourth graders’ conceptions of the photosynthesis and to analyze the conceptual change before and after the teaching. Ten fourth graders in an elementary school were selected as sample. Qualitative approaches with participant observation, interviews, and document analyses were employed to collect data. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1. Fourth-graders tended to have many alternative conceptions on photosynthesis. For example, many students show very little understanding of that green plants make their own food internally in direct and the essential role of photosynthesis in the ecosystem. For students it was difficult to learn photosynthesis. 2. Many students’ conceptual changes about photosynthesis after instruction tended to be tentative. Although some students appeared to use some scientific terminologies to interpret the process of photosynthesis after instruction, they seemed to go back to their intuitive thinking after a short period of instruction.