Alternative conceptions about soil

Students do not arrive in the classroom as blank slates. They’ve been exposed to the world around them and may have created their own explanations for how the world works. Educational research shows that, as students learn more about their physical environment, they tend to interpret any new information from the viewpoint of these existing ideas and beliefs. These existing ideas and beliefs may be significantly different from accepted scientific viewpoints (Palmer, 2001).

Osborne (1981) writes, “We believe that children’s non-scientific ideas are not loosely held, isolated misconceptions but are part of a firm and self-consistent viewpoint. If we wish to modify children’s views to make them more scientific then it would appear to us that we need to focus children’s attention very clearly on the differences between their views and the scientific viewpoint.”

This resource introduces common student alternative conceptions about soil. It is important that teachers are aware of these during a sequence of lessons so students have a chance to begin changes in their thinking as the sequence progresses.

Simply telling the student the correct answer will not lead to lasting change. Research has found that children are capable of holding parallel explanations for scientific events – one explanation for the classroom and a second for the ‘real world’. It is suggested that students are given time and the opportunity to conduct repeated hands-on experiences for conceptual change to occur.