Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education
<span>This study examines 80 elementary school teachers’ conceptions of the Planet Earth’s shape and the reference system determined by gravity. The information was collected through a semi-structured interview. A qualitative analysis of the answers identified four conceptions: a) The plan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
2008-11-01
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| Series: | Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/205 |
| _version_ | 1818725825621524480 |
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| author | María Teresa Fernández Nistal Sergio Humberto Peña Boone |
| author_facet | María Teresa Fernández Nistal Sergio Humberto Peña Boone |
| author_sort | María Teresa Fernández Nistal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <span>This study examines 80 elementary school teachers’ conceptions of the Planet Earth’s shape and the reference system determined by gravity. The information was collected through a semi-structured interview. A qualitative analysis of the answers identified four conceptions: a) The planet earth has an undefined shape; b) the planet earth is spherical in shape, in the interior of which the people live; c) the earth is spherical and the people live around the spherical surface oriented in an absolute system of reference, and d) scientific conception. The teachers’ frequency distribution in diverse conceptions showed that almost half of the teachers (49%) held alternative conceptions, the rest of the teachers maintained the scientific conception. The results offered relevant information for designing teachers’ courses using a constructivist approach.</span> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:48:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-544a1666b2be428e887a37ed3a3d7756 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1607-4041 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:48:28Z |
| publishDate | 2008-11-01 |
| publisher | Universidad Autónoma de Baja California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa |
| spelling | doaj.art-544a1666b2be428e887a37ed3a3d77562022-12-21T21:31:23ZengUniversidad Autónoma de Baja CaliforniaRevista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa1607-40412008-11-01102201Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science EducationMaría Teresa Fernández Nistal0Sergio Humberto Peña Boone1Departamento de Psicología Instituto Tecnológico de SonoraDepartamento de Psicología Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora<span>This study examines 80 elementary school teachers’ conceptions of the Planet Earth’s shape and the reference system determined by gravity. The information was collected through a semi-structured interview. A qualitative analysis of the answers identified four conceptions: a) The planet earth has an undefined shape; b) the planet earth is spherical in shape, in the interior of which the people live; c) the earth is spherical and the people live around the spherical surface oriented in an absolute system of reference, and d) scientific conception. The teachers’ frequency distribution in diverse conceptions showed that almost half of the teachers (49%) held alternative conceptions, the rest of the teachers maintained the scientific conception. The results offered relevant information for designing teachers’ courses using a constructivist approach.</span>http://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/205Concepcionesenseñanza de las cienciasdocentes de educación primariaconceptos científicos. |
| spellingShingle | María Teresa Fernández Nistal Sergio Humberto Peña Boone Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa Concepciones enseñanza de las ciencias docentes de educación primaria conceptos científicos. |
| title | Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education |
| title_full | Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education |
| title_fullStr | Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education |
| title_short | Elementary School Teachers’ Conceptions of the Planet Earth and Gravity. Implications for Science Education |
| title_sort | elementary school teachers conceptions of the planet earth and gravity implications for science education |
| topic | Concepciones enseñanza de las ciencias docentes de educación primaria conceptos científicos. |
| url | http://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/205 |
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