PRIMARY STUDENTS’ ALTERNATIVE IDEAS ABOUT WATER

Abstract

Alternative ideas in knowledge refer to the situations where student’s understanding of a certain concept differs from the scientific concept. During this investigation we were focused on identification and analysis of the most common students’ alternative ideas about water in early science education. The sample consisted of 76 first and third grade students from three primary schools in Sombor, Serbia. The semi-structured interviewing technique was used for data collection. The proportion of mixed and scientific answers was higher among third-graders, while the spontaneous answers were more frequent among first-graders. These findings could be attributed to developmental differences and the impact of teaching. Our investigation can be useful starting point for the process of transformation of students’ alternative ideas about water in everyday school practice.