Archives
Current issue
About
About us
Aims and Scope
Abstracting and Indexing
Editorial Office
Open Access Policy
Publication Ethics
Journal History
Publisher
Follow us: Twitter
Contact
For Authors
Editorial Policy
Peer Review Policy
Manuscript Preparation Guidelines
Copyright & Licencing
Publication Fees
Fee Waiver Policy for Doctoral Students
EJMSTE Language Editing Service
More
Statistics
Special Issues
Special Issue Announcements
Published Special Issues
RESEARCH PAPER
Misconceptions among Middle School Students Regarding the Conservation of Mass during Combustion
1
The Academic Arab College for Education in Israel, Haifa, ISRAEL
2
The Weizmann Institute of Science, ISRAEL
Online publication date: 2018-05-13
Publication date: 2018-05-13
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2018;14(7):3109-3122
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the misconceptions of eighth-grade students in the Arab sector compared to the Jewish sector regarding the conservation of mass during combustion in a closed system and in an open system before the subject is taught, and to what extent the misconceptions change after it is taught. Students (N=195) from six heterogeneous classes were asked to fill in a ten-question questionnaire twice: once before the subject was taught and again afterwards. The findings indicated that students’ understanding improved more with respect to closed systems compared with open systems; before the subject had been taught the situation was very similar for both cases. The students’ explanations were based on visual arguments and showed that there was confusion concerning the effect of chemical, physical, and state of matter changes on the conservation of mass during combustion. Regarding the comparison between the conceptions of eighth-grade students in the Arab and Jewish (N=105) sectors, students in the Arab sector had better achievements in closed systems, whereas Jewish students gave more correct answers to questions in open systems. The study’s findings can help middle-school students and their teachers understand that physical and chemical changes do not affect mass in a closed system, and that students should learn to distinguish between conservation of mass in open and in closed systems.
REFERENCES (37)
1.
Abdu, B. (1999). Conceptual Concepts in an Arabic-speaking Population in Israel (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
2.
Andersson, B. (1984). Chemical reactions. EKNA Report No: 12, University of Göteborg, Göteborg.
3.
Ayas, A., & Ozmen, H. (2003). Student’s difficulties in understanding of the conservation of matter in open and closed-system chemical reactions. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 4, 279-290. https://doi.org/10.1039/B3RP90....
4.
Barker, V., & Millar, R. (1999). Students reasoning about chemical reactions: What changes occur during a context based post-16 chemistry course? International Journal of Science Education, 21, 645-665. https://doi.org/10.1080/095006....
5.
Birenbaum, M., Nasser, F., & Tatsuoka, C. (2007). Effects of gender and ethnicity on fourth graders’ knowledge states in mathematics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 38, 301–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/002073....
6.
Boujaoude, S. (1991). A study of the nature of student’s understanding about the concept of burning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28, 689-704. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.36....
7.
Cañada, F., González-Gómez, D., Airado-Rodríguez, D., Niño, L., & Acedo, M. (2017). Change in elementary school students’ misconceptions on material systems after a theoretical-practical instruction. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(3), 499-510.
8.
Dayan, A. (2005). Conceptions of Middle School Students on Conservation of Mass during Combustion (Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from https://www.tau.ac.il/research....
9.
Dkeidek, I., Mamlok-Naaman, R., & Hofstein, A. (2012). Assessment of the laboratory learning environment in an inquiry-oriented chemistry laboratory in Arab and Jewish high schools in Israel. Learning Environments Research, 15(2), 141-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984....
10.
Driver, R., Guesne, E., & Tiberghien, A. (1985). Children’s ideas in science. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.
11.
Eilks, I., Moellering, J., & Valandies, N. (2007). Seventh-grade student’s understanding of chemical reactions reflections from an action research interview study. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, 3(4), 271-286. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmst....
12.
Fisher, K. (1985). A misconception in biology: Amino acids and translation. Journal of Biology Education, 22, 53-62. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.36....
13.
Furio-Mas, C. J., Perez, J. H., & Harris, H. H. (1987). Parallels between adolescents’ conceptions of gases and the history of chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 64(7), 616.
14.
Gabel, D., Makinster, J., Monaghan, D., & Stockton, J. (2007). Changing children’s conceptions of burning. School Science and Mathematics, 101, 439-451. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949....
15.
Gillespie, R. J. (1997). The great ideas of chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 74(7), 862-864.
16.
Haider, A. (1997). Prospective chemistry teacher’s conceptions of the conservation of matter and related concepts. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34, 181-197.
17.
Hesse, J. (2006). Student’s conceptions of chemical change. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29, 277-299. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.36....
18.
Hirsch, A., & Amir, R. (2010). Tipool memokad b’tfisoot shgoiut [Focused Treatment of Misconceptions]. Petach-Tikva: Center for Science Teaching, 1-6 (in Hebrew).
19.
Leigh K., & Mehmet, A. (2012). What do middle and high school students know about the particulate nature of matter after instruction. School Science and Mathematics, 112, 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949....
20.
Levy Nahum, T., Moial, A., Somekh, D., & Koshinsky, N. (2010). Elements, Characteristics and Processes (experimental edition), Rehovot: Weitzmann Institute and the Ministry of Education.
21.
Markic S., Eilks I., Mamlok-Naaman, R., Hugerat, M., Kortam, N., Dkeidek, I. & Hofstein, A. (2016). One country, two cultures - a multi-perspective view on Israeli chemistry teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning. Teachers and Teaching, 22(2), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/135406....
23.
Mendelowits, R. (1996). Scientific thinking and research skills. He-Alon le-Morei ha-Biologiya, 147(c), 1-9.
24.
Nakhleh, M. (1992). Why some students don’t learn Chemistry: Chemical misconceptions. Journal of Chemical Education, 69(3), 191-196.
25.
Nussbaum, Y., & Yehieli, T. (1995). Misconceptions and Conceptual Change in Science Teaching. Tel-Aviv, MOFET Institute.
26.
Ochsendorf, R., & Pyke, C. (2004). Conservation of Matter Assessment Manual. Rockville, MD: Montgomery Country Public Schools, George Washington University.
27.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1974). The child’s construction of quantities. London: Routledge.
28.
Prieto, T., Watson, R., & Dillon, J. (1992). Pupils’ understanding of combustion. Research in Science Education, 22, 331–340.
29.
Pundak, D., Rosner, S., & Maharshak, A. (2005). [Naïve Conceptions and Active Learning]. Orte Braude Academic College of Engineering, 4, 13-17.
30.
Sanz, A. (2006). Student’s ideas on conservation of matter: effects of expertise and context. Science Education, 79, 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.37....
31.
Stavy, R. (1990a). Children’s conception of changes in the state of matter: From liquid (or solid) to gas. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27, 247-266. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.36....
32.
Stavy, R. (1990b). Children’s ideas about matter. School Science and Mathematics, 91, 240-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949....
33.
Stavy, R. (1990c). Pupils’ problems in understanding conservation of mass. International Journal of Science Education, 12(5), 501-512.
34.
Tamir, P. & Caridin, H. (1993). Characteristics of the learning environment in biology and chemistry classes as perceived by Jewish and Arab high school students in Israel. Research in Science and Technological Education, 11, 5 –14.
35.
Watson, R., & Prieto, T. (1994). Secondary science in England and Spain. Education in Chemistry, 31(2), 41–41.
36.
Watson, R., Prieto, T., & Dillon, J. (1995). The effect of practical work on students’ understanding of combustion. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 487–502. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.36....
37.
Yaakov, A. (1988). Hesberim l’atfesoot motaut shil madaim hametsuyeem b’hesberim [Sources for misconceptions of scientific explanations found in the explanations]. He-Alon le-Morei ha-Biologiya, b, 1-4.
| eISSN: | 1305-8223 |
| ISSN: | 1305-8215 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
