Megan Quigley 10/16/13 Misconceptions Interview The topic that I chose to interview a student on was that of what the

cause for the seasons and for the phases of the moon. The reason I selected this topic was because the student that I interviewed is a fifth grade student who is only five weeks in to the fifth grade. One of the Virginia Standards of Learning for fourth grade involves relationships among Earth, the moon, and the sun, specifically the cause of Earths seasons and the causes for the phases of the moon. Since the class has not been in a new class for very long, I thought I would interview the student on something she might be somewhat familiar with. The true cause of the seasons on Earth is due to its tilt. Since the Earth is on a tilt, as it goes around the sun, the direct rays of the sun touch different parts of the Earth causing it to be colder or warmer for us. According to NASA, summer falls in June in the Northern Hemisphere because the Suns rays hit that part of Earth more directly than at any other time of the year (Netting, 2013) In December, it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere because that is when it is the South Poles turn to be tilted toward the sun (Netting, 2013) Furthermore, the Earth is farthest from the sun during a time called Aphelion, and is closest during Perihelion. Contrary to many beliefs, Aphelion occurs during our summer and Perihelion occurs during our winter, which shows that the distance from the Sun has no effect on the seasons. The second topic that I interviewed my practicum student on was the cause for the phases of the Moon. The valid explanation for the cause of the phases of the Moon is because the Moon orbits around the Earth while the Earth rotates around the Sun. When the Moon is directly between the Earth and the Sun, it will be a New Moon, meaning that all of the Suns

light is shining on the side of the Moon that is opposite the Earth. When there is a Full Moon, it is because the Moon is on the side of the Earth opposite the sun, and the Suns light reaches the part of the Moon that faces the Earth, so on Earth we can see one whole side of the Moon. The student that I interviewed is a ten-year-old student. She is in the fifth grade at Clymore Elementary School. From talking with the child and interacting with her during my practicum, I understand that she likes to read. She has been reading multiple books throughout the few weeks that I have been visiting Clymore. She also likes baseball and frequently wears a baseball jersey to school. When I interviewed this student about the two science concepts, she seemed very confident with her answers. I asked her if I could ask her a few questions and she was very thrilled to be able to answer them. First, I asked if she knew what the cause of the seasons was. She answered almost immediately saying that the Earth rotates around the sun and that the Earth gets closer and farther away from the Sun when it orbits and that is why we have seasons. I then asked, if that was the case, what season it would be when the Earth is closest to the Sun, and she replied with summer. I asked the same for which season it would be when the Earth was farthest from the Sun and she replied with winter. I then moved on and asked her if she knew about the cause of the phases of the Moon. Her belief was very similar to the correct answer. She once again mentioned the orbit of the Moon around the Earth and the Earth around the sun. She then pointed to me and told me that I was going to represent the Sun, she would represent the Moon and then in front of where I was standing, there would be an imaginary Earth. She then stood between me and the Earth and then walked in a circle

around the Earth, while explaining that the Sun shines on one side of the Moon and we see the part that is not being illuminated by the Sun. I then asked her that if she were the Moon and I was the Sun, where would she (the Moon) be if people on Earth could see a Full Moon. She stood between the Earth and I (the Sun). I then asked about where the Moon would be if there was no moon seen from people on Earth. She stayed in the same spot as she was standing in when she said there would be a Full Moon and said that the Moon would still be there. I did the same thing for a Crescent Moon and a First Quarter Moon and she stood in the correct area as if she were looking at this diagram. The student has some misconceptions or alternative conceptions about the topics of the Moon and the seasons. At first, I was sure that she would hold all of the misconceptions that most people do, because I was not sure if she had actually learned the correct explanations in the past. Her answer to the question about the seasons was in line with the misconception that most people hold. Although she had likely learned the correct reason for the seasons in the fourth grade, somewhere along the way she must have picked up the conception that when the Earth is close to the Sun it is warmer and cooler when it is farther from the Sun. The student surprised me by almost knowing the correct reason for the phases of the Moon. One of the misconceptions that people hold about the phases of the Moon is that it is a shadow cast by the Earth onto the Moon. The student that I interviewed did not mention the word shadow in her explanation which is what surprised me the most. Some of the answers that the student gave me about her beliefs about the seasons and the Moon were accurate, while some were not.

Her understanding of the reason for the seasons was not at all accurate, but she gave an almost completely accurate explanation for the reason for the phases of the Moon. At the age of ten, the student that I interviewed about misconceptions should be in Piagets Concrete Operational Stage of Development. In her description of the phases of the Moon, the student made a sort of diagram by using herself to represent the Moon, me to represent the Sun, and an imaginary object to represent the Earth. In the Concrete Operational Stage, children think logically about topics if they are able to manipulate it. She was only able to answer me by setting up a diagram and showing me how it worked. Reversibility shows up somewhat in the students description of the phases of the Moon. With reversibility, when things are changed, children in this stage can see that they are still the same, but only look differently. The Moon in this case would be the thing that is changing its appearance based on position, but is still the same Moon each time it appears in the sky. The student knew that the Moon wasnt actually changing, but it appeared differently to people on Earth. Based on the students beliefs about the cause of seasons on Earth, I believe that she could use a bit more instruction. To address her misconception that the seasons are caused by the Earths distance from the Sun I would first explain that the belief that she had about the cause of the seasons is very common. I would then conduct a lesson focusing on the simplest aspect of this topic, and gradually work up to the student fully explaining the valid cause for the seasons which can be complicated. The simplest aspect of the topic in my opinion is that the Earth is on a tilt rather than straight up and down. I would start with explaining this and then move on to explaining the Hemispheres and the way that the Earth rotates. I think that it would

be best to instruct a hands-on type lesson in which the student could actually see the tilt of the Earth and how the rays of the sun are indirect at certain times on certain Hemispheres and direct at others. To assess the students understanding, an enjoyable and engaging act ivity would be to have the student use materials to construct the Earth and the Sun and then physically show the way that the Earth rotates and the way that the seasons happen. A constructivist would likely say that the student likely developed her conception because of an experience that she had, and in order to change this belief, there must be some sort of cognitive disequilibrium in order for the child to see that what she thought contrasts to what actually happens. To further develop the childs thinking about the accurate beliefs that she held about the reason for the phases of the Moon, I would also design a lesson that looks even deeper into the phases of the Moon. For example, the student is familiar with the different phases, New Moon, Full Moon, Crescent Moon, etc. but it would challenge her a bit more and develop her thinking a little more if she followed the phases of the Moon for a whole month and really paid attention to the time of the month and the way the Moon looked at that time. Although she understood the commonly known phases, it would be a good time to introduce Waxing and Waning and the Gibbous Moon. A constructivist might agree with this instructional plan because it will be an experience that the student could then base her beliefs about the moon off of. After a lesson such as this, she will hopefully erase all misconceptions and be able to point at the time when she looked at the sky and noticed the moon each night to explain her understanding of the phases of the Moon.

References
Keating, C. & Miller, P. & Sidhwa, A. (2011). Phases of the moon. Retrieved from http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=490 Netting, R. (2013). What causes the seasons? Retrieved from http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/