Investigating the Interplay of Practical Work and Visual Representations on Students’ Misconceptions: The Case of Seasons

Abstract

The paper aims at investigating to which extent the interplay between practical work activities and visual representations is effective in addressing with students’ misconceptions about seasonal changes. To this aim, we designed a 10 h teaching sequence in which the students: (i) explore the radiation flow using a photovoltaic panel as a function of the incidence angle and distance from the source and (ii) use specially designed visual representations about seasonal change. A sample of about 88 prospective primary teachers was involved in this study. Analysis shows a significant impact of the practical activities but almost no effect of the different kind of the used images. Implications for future research are briefly discussed.