Misconceptions of fourth and fifth grade students about alligators and use of a simple instructional unit to bring about conceptual change

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine fourth and fifth graders' misconceptions about alligators. Subjects (N=99) were located in three central Florida elementary schools. A questionnaire, developed by the researcher, was administered by two student teachers and two regular classroom teachers. Results showed that misconceptions about alligator range, habitat, diet, locomotion, behavior, biology, classification, age, size, uses, and ecological niche vary widely.

The secondary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an instructional unit in changing misconceptions about alligators. All four groups received a pretest. Subsequently, only two groups received lessons about alligators (consisting of a narrated slide show, a puzzle, and a map activity) while two groups did not. A posttest (identical to the pretest) was then given approximately 3-4 weeks after the initial pretest was administered. The treatment was found to be effective in improving student scores on posttests.

Notes

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Graduation Date

1995

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Armstrong, Jack

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Instructional Programs

Degree Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

PDF

Pages

135 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0029497

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education; Education -- Dissertations, Academic

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