Author(s): Al Hazari,Hans-Dieter Barke,Sileshi Yitbarek
Format: Paperback
No. of Pages: 294
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Language: English
Date Published: 2010-10-15
Dimensions: 157.48 x 231.14 x 20.32mm
Publication City/Country: Berlin, Germany
Edition: Softcover reprint of hardcover 1st ed. 2009
Illustrations: 4 Tables, black and white; XI, 294 p.

Over the last decades several researchers discovered that children, pupils and even young adults develop their own understanding of "how nature really works". These pre-concepts concerning combustion, gases or conservation of mass are brought into lectures and teachers have to diagnose and to reflect on them for better instruction. In addition, there are `school-made misconceptions' concerning equilibrium, acid-base or redox reactions which originate from inappropriate curriculum and instruction materials. The primary goal of this monograph is to help teachers at universities, colleges and schools to diagnose and `cure' the pre-concepts. In case of the school-made misconceptions it will help to prevent them from the very beginning through reflective teaching. The volume includes detailed descriptions of class-room experiments and structural models to cure and to prevent these misconceptions.