How to Identify and Replace Misconceptions

A misconception is information that students have prior to a lesson that may be incorrect or misleading. Misconceptions exist in all disciplines and can create difficulties when students are learning new concepts. As misconceptions often originate from a learner’s previous experience, they may not be immediately obvious to the learner. Additionally, it can be difficult for teachers to predict misconceptions. Misconceptions among learners are therefore important to identify. This workshop will introduce the concept of misconceptions and practice techniques to identify misconceptions.

However, identifying misconceptions is only the first step. After misconceptions are identified, they must be dealt with effectively. Simply explaining the correct concept is often not sufficient, and rather the misconception must be directly addressed. Indeed, research shows that the incorrect understanding must be shown to learners to be flawed, therefore providing a space for the correct explanation to replace the previous misconception. Therefore in addition to techniques of identifying misconceptions, this workshop will also allow participants to practice replacing misconceptions. This workshop will develop and practice tools such as Guided Inquiry, Classroom Assessment Techniques, Peer Instruction, and Reflection to integrate the identification and replacing of misconceptions into your teaching practice.

Inhaltliche Stichpunkte

• Misconceptions influence student’s learning during a lesson
• First, misconceptions must be identified
• Then misconceptions can be replaced
• In this workshop, you will practice techniques to identify and replace misconceptions

Lernziele des Seminars
Die Teilnehmenden arbeiten im Rahmen des Seminars an folgenden Kompetenzen

• Describe the concept of misconceptions to a peer
• Practice and apply techniques to identify misconceptions
• Utilize replacement techniques to remove misconceptions
• Develop identification of misconceptions and application of replacement techniques into your lesson planning