Research
Differences in Brain Activation Between Novices and Experts in Science During a Task Involving a Common Misconception in Electricity
ABSTRACT
Science education studies have revealed that students often have misconceptions about how nature works, but what happens to misconceptions after a conceptual change remains poorly understood. Are misconceptions rejected and replaced by scientific conceptions, or are they still present in students' minds, coexisting with newly acquired scientific conceptions? In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activation between novices and experts in science when they evaluate the correctness of simple electric circuits. Results show that experts, more than novices, activate brain areas involved in inhibition when they evaluate electric circuits in which a bulb lights up, even though there is only one wire connecting it to the battery. These findings suggest that experts may still have a misconception encoded in the neural networks of their brains that must be inhibited in order to answer scientifically.
Citing Literature
Number of times cited: 26
- Christopher J. Davis, Alan R. Hevner, Élise Labonte-LeMoyne and Pierre-Majorique Léger, Expertise as a Mediating Factor in Conceptual Modeling, Information Systems and Neuroscience, 10.1007/978-3-319-67431-5_10, (85-92), (2017).
- Lucia Mason, Sonia Zaccoletti, Barbara Carretti, Sara Scrimin and Irene-Anna N. Diakidoy, The Role of Inhibition in Conceptual Learning from Refutation and Standard Expository Texts, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, (2018).
- Melinda Messineo, 2017 Hans O. Mauksch Address: Using the Science of Learning to Improve Student Learning in Sociology Classes, Teaching Sociology, 46, 1, (1), (2018).
- Patrice Potvin and Guillaume Cyr, Toward a durable prevalence of scientific conceptions: Tracking the effects of two interfering misconceptions about buoyancy from preschoolers to science teachers, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54, 9, (1121-1142), (2017).
- K. Brooke Stafford‐Brizard, Pamela Cantor and L. Todd Rose, Building the Bridge Between Science and Practice: Essential Characteristics of a Translational Framework, Mind, Brain, and Education, 11, 4, (155-165), (2017).
- lgnatius John and Saalih Allie, DC circuits: II. Identification of foothold ideas in DC circuits, European Journal of Physics, 38, 1, (015702), (2017).
- Panayiota Kendeou, Reese Butterfuss, Martin Van Boekel and Edward J. O’Brien, Integrating Relational Reasoning and Knowledge Revision During Reading, Educational Psychology Review, 29, 1, (27), (2017).
- Michael P Ryan, Paula L Costa and Aubrey B Cruz, Under what conditions can a nonprescription drug label serve as refutation text? The role of directed attention and processing strategy, Health Psychology Open, 4, 2, (205510291773067), (2017).
- Christa S. C. Asterhan and Aviv Dotan, Feedback that corrects and contrasts students’ erroneous solutions with expert ones improves expository instruction for conceptual change, Instructional Science, (2017).
- Andrew K. Tolmie, Zayba Ghazali and Suzanne Morris, Children's science learning: A core skills approach, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 3, (481-497), (2016).
- Andrew Shtulman and Kelsey Harrington, Tensions Between Science and Intuition Across the Lifespan, Topics in Cognitive Science, 8, 1, (118-137), (2015).
- Irene-Anna N. Diakidoy, Thalia Mouskounti, Argyro Fella and Christos Ioannides, Comprehension processes and outcomes with refutation and expository texts and their contribution to learning, Learning and Instruction, 41, (60), (2016).
- Amélie Lubin, Sandrine Rossi, Céline Lanoë, Julie Vidal, Olivier Houdé and Grégoire Borst, Expertise, inhibitory control and arithmetic word problems: A negative priming study in mathematics experts, Learning and Instruction, 45, (40), (2016).
- Denis Mareschal, The neuroscience of conceptual learning in science and mathematics, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, (114), (2016).
- Christine Johanna Thorn, Kerstin Bissinger, Simon Thorn, Franz Xaver Bogner and Francesco Pappalardo, “Trees Live on Soil and Sunshine!”- Coexistence of Scientific and Alternative Conception of Tree Assimilation, PLOS ONE, 11, 1, (e0147802), (2016).
- Chen Chen, Matthew H. Schneps and Gerhard Sonnert, Order Matters: Sequencing Scale-Realistic Versus Simplified Models to Improve Science Learning, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 25, 5, (806), (2016).
- Patrice Potvin, Érik Sauriol and Martin Riopel, Experimental evidence of the superiority of the prevalence model of conceptual change over the classical models and repetition, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52, 8, (1082-1108), (2015).
- Andrew Shtulman, How Lay Cognition Constrains Scientific Cognition, Philosophy Compass, 10, 11, (785-798), (2015).
- Reuven Babai, Enav Shalev and Ruth Stavy, A warning intervention improves students’ ability to overcome intuitive interference, ZDM, 47, 5, (735), (2015).
- Lorie-Marlène Brault Foisy, Patrice Potvin, Martin Riopel and Steve Masson, Is inhibition involved in overcoming a common physics misconception in mechanics?, Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 10.1016/j.tine.2015.03.001, 4, 1-2, (26-36), (2015).
- Patrice Potvin, Steve Masson, Stéphanie Lafortune and Guillaume Cyr, PERSISTENCE OF THE INTUITIVE CONCEPTION THAT HEAVIER OBJECTS SINK MORE: A REACTION TIME STUDY WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTERFERENCE, International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13, 1, (21), (2015).
- Gale M. Sinatra, Dorothe Kienhues and Barbara K. Hofer, Addressing Challenges to Public Understanding of Science: Epistemic Cognition, Motivated Reasoning, and Conceptual Change, Educational Psychologist, 49, 2, (123), (2014).
- Steve Masson and Lorie-Marlène Brault Foisy, Fundamental Concepts Bridging Education and the Brain, McGill Journal of Education, 49, 2, (501), (2014).
- Reuven Babai, Nahed Younis and Ruth Stavy, Involvement of inhibitory control mechanisms in overcoming intuitive interference, Neuroeducation, 3, 1, (1), (2014).
- Kylie Peppler, Karen Wohlwend, Naomi Thompson, Verily Tan and AnnMarie Thomas, Squishing Circuits: Circuitry Learning with Electronics and Playdough in Early Childhood, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10.1007/s10956-018-9752-2, (2018).
- Lucian Nenciovici, Geneviève Allaire-Duquette and Steve Masson, Brain activations associated with scientific reasoning: a literature review, Cognitive Processing, 10.1007/s10339-018-0896-z, (2018).
