Misconceptions about the Concepts of Continuity and Continuity Equation by Physics Undergraduates in Teacher Capacity Development Program

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XII, December 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Misconceptions about the Concepts of Continuity and Continuity Equation by Physics Undergraduates in Teacher Capacity Development Program

E.Mudzamiri¹; T.Manyeredzi²; N. Zezekwa^3
1,2,3 Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe

Abstract: This qualitative study inspired by Constructivist Theory ideas identified misconceptions held by 40 purposively selected Teacher Capacity Development Program part 1.2 physics undergraduate students concerning the concept of Continuity and the Continuity Equation. The study was conducted at a state university in Zimbabwe .The main argument being that, if learning is based on prior knowledge, then instructors must know the misconceptions held by their students so that they can provide learning environments for development of learners from their current understandings. Identification of the misconceptions was done through a Multiple-True- False diagnostic test. Analysis of the ethically collected data revealed twenty six misconceptions held by the students which instructors can target when teaching the two concepts. The researcher challenges future researches to identify the sources of the misconceptions and their categories.

Keywords: Preconceptions, Misconceptions, Teacher Capacity Development Program (TCD), Continuity, Continuity Equation

I. INTRODUCTION

Over the last three decades, many studies have been conducted to identify students’ pre-instructional conceptions on various Physics topics. Pre-instructional conceptions constitute prior knowledge (correct or not), which students may have about a concept before it is formally taught in school [1], [2]. It is argued that, every student enter physics classes with their preconceived ideas or a well-established systems of common sense beliefs and opinions about how the physical world works derived from years of personal experiences[2], [3], [4]. These preconceived ideas have been named differently by various authors[5]: alternative conceptions[4], children’s science[6], personal knowledge or spontaneous knowledge[7],[8], misconceptions[9]andpreconceptions[10], [8].
Some authorities use the terms preconceptions and misconceptions interchangeably [11]. However, [12] distinguished them by noting that preconceptions constitute any prior knowledge (correct or not) while misconceptions are solely erroneous knowledge of the concept. Therefore misconceptions can be viewed as a mental representation of a given concept that does not correspond to the currently held scientific theory [13], [14].

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