Identifying and correcting misconceptions about the solar system through a constructivist teaching approach
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The purpose of this study was to help students identify and correct, through the constructivist approach, naive conceptions and misconceptions that interfere or prevent learning from taking place. The question was, can naive conceptions and misconceptions be identified and corrected with the constructivist approach to education. Five classes of 114 fifth graders participated in this study. Their naive conceptions and misconceptions were identified through individual and group responses. After the misconceptions were identified, correcting them through the constructivist approach began. Students were given a scenario to perform, and through project based activities and a variety of different resources, the students were able to correct their misconceptions and construct their knowledge about the solar system. Overall, the results from the data collected indicated the constructivist approach to education is effective in identifying and correcting naive conceptions and misconceptions.