May 15, 2016
Attention to Student Thinking
By: Brent A. Ford
When queried about volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain ranges, students rarely offered the response “I don’t know,” instead suggesting answers ranging from partially correct to wildly imaginative and completely fabricated. Knowing what incorrect (or naive) ideas students bring to the classroom, and why they might have such ideas, is important to ensure that teachers help students replace those incorrect ideas with correct ones. This article provides examples from a middle-school unit on plate tectonics, but its focus can be employed in all types of teaching.
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