A History of Conceptual Change Research

In this chapter the evaluation of “Conceptual Change Research” in education science is being investigated. In the article that clearly stated that many areas in the sciences, from elementary school through university level, have this characteristic, including, in physics, concepts of matter and density, Newtonian mechanics, electricity, and relativity; in biology, evolution and genetics. To learn such topics, students must go through a conceptual change. Conceptual change contrasts with less problematic learning such as skill acquisition and acquisition of facts, where difficulty may be evident, but for more apparent reasons such as sheer mass of learning, or the necessity of practice to produce quick, error free, highly refined performance.

Conceptual change is among the most central areas in the learning sciences for several reasons. First, many of the most important ideas in science seem to be affected by the challenges of problematic learning. Conceptual change also engages some of the deepest, most persistent theoretical issues concerning learning. What is knowledge in its various forms? When and why is it difficult to acquire? What is deep understanding; how can it be fostered? Conceptual change is important not only to education but also to developmental psychology, epistemology, and the history and philosophy of science.

1) Is there any benefits, come from misconceptions during education?

2)Is it possible to use the misconceptions like anchor?