an innovative approach

In addition to observation and individual interview with four
students, the finding supported that the students incompletely corrected the
misconceptions. The correcting possibly depended on students’ opportunities for
participating in discussion and evaluation. S07, the girl who often was asked to
participate in the practices could correct her misconceptions about plant food. The
misconception that “… mineral and fertilizer were plant food…” was not longer
found. She now understood that plants produced C6H12O6 as carbohydrate, this was
plant food. Plants use H2O and CO2 as two materials of photosynthesis. However,
this study found that some misconception was limited by holding of some
misconception unorganized in the teaching unit. For example, the conceptions of
light that supplied energy for photosynthesis, was confused with the conceptions
about energy for respiration. She appeared to hold misconception that light indirectly
supplied the energy for photosynthesis. She thought that plant food, which supplied
energy for respiration, directly supplied the energy for photosynthesis;
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In addition to S06 and S08, the students who received less
opportunities in the teaching participation, incompletely corrected the misconceptions.
S06, who studied biology for everyday living, still had difficulty to understand plant
food. Although his misconception that soil was plant food because it provided
mineral for plants, was corrected, he unclearly understood where the food came from.
S06 thought that C6H12O6 was plant food, but perceived that C atom of C6H12O6 was
mineral that plants sucked from atmosphere. Also, new misconception about plant
material was found. He understood that CO2 and H2O were materials of plant
photosynthesis, but he thought that plants did not need H2O when photosynthesis took
place in dark. In addition to plant and light energy concept, his scientific conception
was changed into misconceptions. He thought that sunlight supplied heat, in stead of
energy, for photosynthesis.
S08, the student who disliked lecturing but believed that learning
biology was remembering all content of biology, incompletely corrected the
misconception about plant food, plant material and plant and light energy. S08
understood that sugar was plant food; H2O, O2, mineral, fertilizer and CO2 were not.