Students’ Misconceptions in Elementary School Science Courses and the Role of Teachers in their Identification and Correction

To improve the quality of student learning it is necessary to identify their misconceptions and find ways of correcting them. Such misconceptions in science, and especially at the elementary school level, could be of grave consequences if not remedied. In this study a group of elementary school teachers from four provinces of East Azerbaijan, Tehran, South Khorasan, and Hamedan participated in a short course on the essence of misconceptions and ways of correcting them. Then they reported on their observations and corrective actions over the period of one academic year. 336 such reports on students of first through third grades were collected. Data analyses revealed that most misconceptions are lexical, conceptual, and preconceived. Utilizing active learning strategies, teachers were able to both identify and remedy these misconceptions. All in all, results are indicative of participating teachers’ ability in identification and correction of their students’ misconceptions.