The Daily Bulletin Archive

By Mary A. Durlak

Magnetism and electricity are not the same thing. So why do so many high school students think they are?

Back when David Henry, associate professor of elementary education, was a high school physics teacher working on his Ph.D., he started to answer that question by asking another one: “If so many high school students think that,” he wondered, “where does the misperception start?” His research has shown that, by fourth grade, students’ false ideas about physics-related subjects such as electric current were already cementing.

Henry, who teaches methods of teaching science and mathematics in elementary school, used his sabbatical to investigate students’ mental models of how electric current works. He revised and validated an assessment tool, the Path of Electric Current Assessment (PECA), to measure fourth-graders’ understanding of electric current. Working with colleague Michael Jabot, professor of science education curriculum and instruction at SUNY Fredonia, Henry revised the PECA as a multiple-choice questionnaire that is easier for teachers to use than an earlier version. The PECA can also be used to assess student understanding of the topic beyond fourth grade, through high school.

“PECA is not a quiz with right or wrong answers,” said Henry. “Instead, it enables us to figure out the mental model students use to think about the topic.”

In addition to administering the PECA, Henry interviewed students to verify that the answers they gave indeed reflected their thought processes. The revised instrument was given to students in grades four, five, and six, and the interviews helped Henry refine the PECA. Students from other grades, including high school, have also taken it. Data collection and interpretation are ongoing.

The data gathered to date enabled Henry to developed two curriculum-design projects that teachers can use when introducing their students to electricity. The larger point, however, is that the curricular units also introduce students to scientific thinking. “What we really want to develop is scientific literacy,” said Henry. “The authority in science is the evidence, not the teacher.”

For example, Henry developed a curriculum unit, “Electricity and Energy.” The method of instruction includes classroom activities involving batteries, wires, motors, and light bulbs. Also, it introduces students to the idea of making predictions, discussing those predictions in small groups, and explaining their rationale to the class.

“We know this works,” said Henry. “Students learn about science and scientific thinking this way.” As a result, students can avoid a misunderstanding that can persist into high school and beyond.

“Much of what makes this kind of work possible,” said Henry, “is the Professional Development Schools Consortium that Buffalo State has developed with area schools. Participating schools provide us with real teachers in real classrooms, where we can test ways of teaching science and incorporate the most successful into our teacher training programs at the college.”

------------------------------------------------------------------

Read previous Focus on Sabbatical stories:

Felix Armfield
Betty Cappella
Ann Colley
Rob Delprino
Musa Abdul Hakim
Wendy Paterson
Stephen Phelps
John Song
Carol Townsend
Jonathan Thornton