The Effective Use of an Interactive Software Program To Reduce Students' Misconceptions about Batteries

Researchers have claimed students bring misconceptions to science classes and these interfere with students' learning. In this study, college students enrolled in an introductory chemistry course were asked a series of open-ended questions about electrochemistry, flashlights, and batteries. This study investigated the impact that the instructional materials had on students' understanding of how batteries work to make a flashlight light. Misconceptions were identified, analyzed, and used to develop and test an Interactive Software Program (ISP). The ISP contained computer animations that simulated chemical processes, flow of ions, and movement of electrons at the particulate-nature-of-matter level. The ISP started with a discussion of how batteries work in a flashlight. One group of 364 students received a series of lecture presentations that included computer animations and still diagrams related to the inner workings of a battery. A second group of 26 students worked in pairs through the ISP. The results of the study imply that instructor-guided instructional materials utilizing a real-world context, such as batteries and a flashlight, may help students acquire scientifically accepted conceptions by helping them confront the conceptual discrepancy between what they think happens and what actually occurs.