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According to national standards, eighth graders should possess appropriate understandings regarding groundwater and its role in the hydrologic cycle. This study identifies what types of ideas eighth graders actually possess, providing invaluable information for high school and post-secondary science teachers in addressing students' prior conceptions. Students completed surveys composed of one multiple-choice item and one drawing prompt. The multiple-choice items were scored using a rubric and each drawing was analyzed for evidence of understanding of groundwater formation, movement, and storage. Class discussions regarding a groundwater model were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Results indicate students hold naive conceptions concerning groundwater, however, the natures of those conceptions are not easily recognized due to students' conflicting use of vernacular and scientific language. Additionally, students' spatial reasoning plays a significant role in the development of their conceptions of groundwater as they construct mental models of materials and environments directly unobservable with the naked eye.
Dickerson et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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