Alternative conceptions

A topic in Learners' conceptions and thinking

What are conceptions?

This simply means ways of thinking about (conceptualising) something. So people may have conceptions of force, conceptions of heating, conceptions of dissolving, conceptions of flowering plants, and so forth.

So are conceptions the same as concepts?

All the terms in this field tend to have somewhat fluid meanings – at least in the sense that not everyone uses them in exactly the same way. So these terms may be used to mean much the same thing sometimes.

In my work I've tended to use 'conception' to refer to the thinking of an individual, and 'concept' to refer to the more abstract idea of formalised notions – the concepts of science. So there is a scientific concept of, say, aromaticity, and a student may have their own personal understanding (their own version) of that concept – which is their aromaticity conception. (Read about concepts here.)

So do you think the concepts of science can exist independently of someone conceptualising them?

Actually, I do not, but that needs some unpacking. I think the idea of there being formal canonical concepts that we refer to – the chemist's concept of compounds for example – does useful work for us when we talk about teaching and learning, and about the curriculum. These concepts are useful referents, even if I actually think they are useful fictions! (Just as we can talk about ideal gases even though there are no ideal gases as no real gases perfectly match the essential properties of an ideal gas.)

(For anyone interested in exploring this idea more, it is discussed in some depth in the book 'The Nature of the Chemical Concept: Constructing chemical knowledge in teaching and learning'.)

Are alternative conceptions and alternative frameworks the same thing?

Often the terms alternative conception and and alternative framework are used interchangeably. However, it is useful to distinguish between a single conception (such that substances melt at a higher temperature than that at which they freeze, or that Summer occurs when the earth is nearest the sun) and a network of linked conceptions that tend to be used together and reinforce each other. The term conceptual framework is best reserved for that structure of linked ideas.

Read about 'The octet rule conceptual framework – a common alternative conceptual framework in chemistry'

For example, phrenology was popular practice in the nineteenth century, when it was widely considered a science. The theory underpinning phrenology was a series of conceptions, some of which would be clearly seen as misguided today. This was then an historical conceptual framework that today we would see as an alternative conceptual framework.

Read about phrenology

So what makes some conceptions, alternative conceptions?

Strictly if there are two or more different conceptions of the 'same' phenomenon then these are alternative conceptions. So, if two people have different conceptions of, say, the gene, then these are alternative conceptions. And a person may have more than one way of thinking about the same phenomenon – so that person has alternative conceptions of that phenomenon.

"conceptualisations entertained by people that are alternative to what is considered canonical knowledge"

Taber, 2019, p.450

However, most commonly, conceptions are referred to as alternative if they are judged to be inconsistent with canonical concepts. So for example, in current biological theories of the classification of living things there are five kingdoms, including plants and fungi. Often children and lay adults think of fungi, such as toadstools and mushrooms, as being plants. In canonical science, fungi are not plants so the idea that mushrooms and toadstools are plants would be considered an alternative conception.

Some alternative conceptions are naive compared with the scientific account, but this is not always so, students' alternative conceptions can have their own logic, be self-consistent and quite sophisticated.

Figure 1: Two conceptions of orbital motion (one linked to the curriculum, the other a common understanding offered by students).
From Taber, K. S., & Brock, R. (2018). A study to explore the potential of designing teaching activities to scaffold learning: understanding circular motion.

Are alternative conceptions common?

Alternative conceptions are very common in science topics: some times many learners share 'the same' (or, at least, very similar) alternative conceptions.

Read about widely shared alternative conceptions.

Are alternative conceptions always strongly believed?

People's conceptions vary across a range of dimensions, and their significance for teaching and learning therefore varies.

"What I hold fast to is not one proposition but a nest of propositions."

Ludwig Wittgenstein
Some dimensions on which a person's conceptions can vary (based on a figure from Taber, 2014)

Among these dimensions are

  • canonicity – the extent to which a person's conceptions match or are inconsistent with the canonical account specified in curriculum;
  • acceptance – how strongly committed the person is to the idea (do they strongly believe it, or just think it may be the case?)
  • connectedness – to what extent is it linked with other conceptions, especially strongly committed ones; is it part of an extensive conceptual framework
  • multiplicity – is it their only way of making sense, or just one among several possibilities?
  • explicitness – is it open to conscious reflection or only operating as an intuition they may not even be aware of?

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Aristotle

Strictly, science is NOT about believing in the theoretical entities and explanations of science, but understanding why they are currently considered the best available accounts, whilst being open to new evidence that may change this (Taber, 2017)

Can I learn about learners’ alternative conceptions from this website?

The site is not intended to provide a systematic or comprehensive account of students' alternative conceptions (which would be a mammoth task!), but

a) teaching and learning issues related to some concept areas are discussed;

Conceptions of chemical bonding

Conceptions of atoms

Conceptions of chemical stability

Conceptions of energy

b) and I discuss many specific examples, often from my own work with learners, in the posts.

Some examples:

Atomic structure:

Chemical bonding:

Conservation of energy:

Conservation of mass:

Metabolism:

Natural selection:

Nature of science:

Particular nature of matter:

Some of the most common science topics/concepts I discuss are shown in the list of popular 'tags'. If you want to find examples relating to other particular science topics/concepts, you can try using the site search facility.

It is not just learners who may have alternative conceptions – here are some examples from science in the media

Work cited:

The book  Student Thinking and Learning in Science: Perspectives on the Nature and Development of Learners' Ideas gives an account of the nature of learners' conceptions, and how they develop, and how teachers can plan teaching accordingly.

It includes many examples of student alternative conceptions in science topics.

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