Overcoming Misconceptions in Religious Education: The Effects of Text Structure and Topic Interest on Conceptual Change

The aim of this study was to quantitatively measure refutation text\u27s power for conceptual change while qualitatively discovering students\u27 preference of refutation or expository text structures. This study also sought to examine if religious interest levels predict conceptual change. Participants for this study were 9th, 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade seminary students from the private religious educational system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The study was conducted in two sessions. Session 1 involved pretesting, interventions, and posttesting. Session 2 involved delayed posttesting and participant interviews. Results were predominately measured quantitatively with some qualitative interview analysis added to enrich the study. This research study provides insight into the refutation text effects in LDS religious education. Results of the study showed significant differences in conceptual change between participants reading refutation texts and those reading expository texts. In every case, the refutation text group performed higher on posttests than did the expository group. Results also showed participant preference toward refutation text structures. Furthermore, the study found significant correlations that verify topic interest as a possible predictor of conceptual change. Insights are valuable in aiding curriculum developers in implementing effective ways to teach doctrinal principles by utilizing refutation text interventions. The advantages of this research study add to educational research and identify areas for improvement and exploration in further research. This study of refutation text effects in religious education also broadens researchers\u27 understanding of refutation text\u27s power for conceptual change in subjects outside of K-12 science. Results of this study are of interest to researchers, teachers, curriculum writers, and LDS seminary teachers and administrators

More Bang for your Buck: Bolstering Learning Via Refutation Text with Refutation-based Elaborated Feedback

The current study examines the effects of refutation text and refutation-based elaborated feedback on conceptual understanding, self-efficacy, interest, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge, within the context of learning about climate change. The study also tests whether elaborated feedback moderates the refutation text effect through an interaction. One hundred and fifty nine undergraduate students were recruited to participate in this study, which was administered via computer. They completed measures of their self-efficacy and interest in learning about climate change, as well as climate change beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge. Approximately half of the participants read a refutation text and half read a comparison expository text. Participants then completed a series of multiple choice questions either with or without elaborated refutation-based feedback, creating four mutually exclusive groups based on type of text by type of feedback design. Participants then answered five open-ended questions as a measure of deep conceptual understanding before completing the self-efficacy, interest, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge measures again. There were no significant interaction effects of text and feedback by time on the variables of interest. However, there was a significant increase in overall interest, beliefs, and knowledge from pretest to posttest. Limitations and future research directions are discussed

The Pluto debate: Influence of emotions on belief, attitude, and knowledge change

In line with the warming trend (Sinatra, 2005), this study examined the influence of emotions during controversial conceptual change. Issues in science may trigger highly emotional responses (e.g., evolutionary theory). However, it is unclear whether these emotions facilitate or inhibit change; I investigated the nature of emotions engendered when learning about a controversial science topic, Pluto\u27s reclassification, including the valence (positive/negative) and activation (activating/deactivating) of emotions (Pekrun et al., 2002). I also investigated whether belief, attitude, and/or conceptual change could be facilitated through rereading a refutation text and/or rereading during small group discussions. Refutation texts directly state a common misconception, refute it, and provide the scientific explanation as a plausible alternative (Hynd, 2001). Participants were randomly assigned to a group (reread text; reread text plus small group discussions). Participants in both groups read the same refutational text regarding the recent change in the definition of planet and Pluto\u27s reclassification; The findings show that students\u27 experienced a range of emotions towards Pluto\u27s reclassification. Students reported experiencing more negative than positive emotions. Both positive and negative emotions were shown to be predictive of student\u27s attitudes and attitude change. Emotions were also predictive of students\u27 knowledge of planets and conceptual change. This suggests that emotions may have promoted deep engagement and critical thinKing Negative emotions may also be linked with resistance to attitude and conceptual change; The refutation text was effective in promoting belief change, attitude change, and conceptual change across both conditions. Students in both conditions reported more constructivist nature of science beliefs after rereading the text. Students also reported a greater level of acceptance about Pluto\u27s reclassification. Conceptual change was promoted through the text as students\u27 initial misconceptions about why scientists rewrote the definition of planet. Students in the reread plus discussion group showed greater conceptual change regarding the reasons for rewriting the definition of planet than those in the reread group; This study supports the warming trend (Sinatra, 2005) in conceptual change research because it shows the interplay between emotions and the change process. The findings also suggest that belief, attitude, and conceptual change can be fostered through small group discussions

Use of Metaconceptual Scaffolding in the Science Classroom to Promote Conceptual Change

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of providing metaconceptual awareness questions on the conceptual change and metaconceptual awareness of students in the chemistry classroom. This quasi-experimental study with a repeated-measures design analyzed the effects of providing metaconceptual awareness questions on the conceptual change and metaconceptual awareness of high school chemistry students. The intervention consisted of providing metaconceptual awareness questions nine times to the experimental group over a three-week period. The chemistry conceptual knowledge of both groups was assessed three times: pretest, posttest, and a delayed retention test. The metaconceptual awareness of the students was assessed twice with a pretest and a posttest. An ANOVA with repeated-measures was performed for both the chemistry conceptual knowledge data and the metaconceptual awareness data. A significant between subject-effect of F(1,98) = 10.17, p = .002, ηp2 = .10 indicates that 10% of the variance in chemistry scores was explained by the intervention. The average posttest scores were significantly higher for the experimental group with a Cohen’s d of .63. The retention test scores were also significantly higher with a Cohen’s d of .85. The ANOVA with repeated-measures did not indicate a significant effect of the intervention on metaconceptual awareness scores. These findings indicate more research is warranted for the intervention of providing metaconceptual awareness questions in the science classroom

Investigating Individual Differences in the Conceptual Change of Biology Misconceptions Using Computer-Based Explanation Tasks

The current study examined the effects of computer-based self-explanations (i.e., generated by the learner) and instructional explanations (i.e., provided to the learner) on undergraduate biology students’ revision of photosynthesis and respiration misconceptions. Individual differences, particularly students’ prior knowledge, significantly impact the effectiveness of instructional tasks. Oftentimes, an instructional task is effective only for learners at a particular prior knowledge level. Cognitive Load Theory suggests that too much or too little instructional support can overwhelm a learner’s working memory. When used for building knowledge, self-explanations and instructional explanations, like those employed in the current study, both interact with prior knowledge. Prior research has indicated that instructional explanations may only benefit students with low prior knowledge, and self-explanations may only benefit students with high prior knowledge. The current study addressed whether such effects extend to the use of explanation tasks to facilitate knowledge revision, in which existing misconceptions are revised. Four hundred and thirty eight undergraduate major and non-major biology students completed an online activity for course credit. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (self-explanation, instructional explanation, or no explanation) and then prompted with a set of photosynthesis questions, each of which was followed by their assigned instructional task and a cognitive load measure. One week later, participants returned to the activity to take a posttest. Results indicated students entered the activity with high rates of photosynthesis and respiration misconceptions. Further regression analyses indicated that only self-explanations, not instructional explanations, increased learning compared to no explanations. Trends in effect sizes suggest self-explanations only benefited students with sufficient prior knowledge. Higher cognitive load was associated with less learning in both explanation conditions, but not in the no explanation condition. The current results suggest that self-explanations may effectively promote knowledge revision, assuming students are familiar with the content, while instructional explanations may not foster knowledge revision in a computer-based setting. Implications for adaptive instruction that targets knowledge revision are addressed

PENERAPAN CONCEPTUAL CHANGE MODEL (CCM) BERBANTUAN REFUTATIONAL TEXTS UNTUK MENGUBAH KONSEPSI SISWA PADA MATERI GELOMBANG BUNYI

Penerapan Conceptual Change Model (CCM) berbantuan Refutational Texts pada materi gelombang bunyi diharapkan dapat mengubah konsepsi siswa yang tidak diharapkan menjadi konsepsi ilmiah. Metode yang digunakan adalah mixed method dengan desain explanatory sequential design. Perangkat penunjang untuk memperoleh data adalah Sound Wave Four Tier Diagnostic Test (SOFT) yang dikembangkan berdasarkan alternatif konsepsi siswa pada materi gelombang bunyi, LKPD CCM berbantuan Refutational Texts, lembar observasi keterlaksanaan pembelajaran, dan pedoman wawancara. Partisipan penelitian berjumlah 36 orang siswa kelas XI MIPA di salah satu SMA Negeri Kota Bandung. Pengolahan dan analisis data hasil penelitian keterlaksanaan pembelajaran menggunakan skala likert, profil konsepsi siswa menggunakan Wright maps dan persentase, karakteristik pengubahan konsepsi siswa menggunakan nilai N-change, persentase pengubahan konsepsi, serta menggunakan gambar simbol dan kode, efektivitas pembelajaran dihitung dengan Effect size Cohen’s d, dan persepsi siswa terhadap pembelajaran menggunakan analisis tematik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa CCM berbantuan Refutational texts berperan dalam mengubah konsepsi siswa dengan nilai N-change keseluruhan sebesar 0,62 yang diinterpretasikan peungubahan pada kategori sedang, persentase keterlaksanaan model pembelajaran sebesar 97% dengan interpretasi sangat baik, dan nilai effect size sebesar 1,84 dengan interpretasi besar. Kuantitas perubahan persentase konsepsi secara keseluruhan bertipe Positive Change (PoC) dengan kategori pengubahan konsepsi Acceptable change (ACh) 63%, Not Acceptable (NA) 9%, No change (NCh) (+) 24%, dan No change (NCh) (-) 4%. Persepsi siswa terhadap pembelajaran menunjukkan kesan yang baik dan dapat membantu siswa untuk memahami konsep secara utuh. Hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa CCM berbantuan Refutational Texts dapat mengubah konsepsi siswa pada materi gelombang bunyi. Implementation of Refutational Texts assisted Conceptual Change Model (CCM) on sound waves material is expected to change students' unexpected conceptions into scientific conceptions. The method used is a mixed method with an explanatory sequential design. The supporting tools for obtaining data are the Sound Wave Four Tier Diagnostic Test (SOFT) which was developed based on alternative conceptions of students on sound waves, LKPD CCM assisted by Refutational Texts, observation sheets on the implementation of learning, and interview guidelines. The number of research participants was 36 students of class XI MIPA at one of the Bandung City State Senior High Schools. Processing and analysis of research data on the implementation of learning using a Likert scale, profiles of students' conceptions using Wright maps and percentages, characteristics of changing students' conceptions using N-change values, percentages of changing conceptions, and using images symbols and codes, learning effectiveness is calculated by Effect size Cohen's d, and students' perceptions of learning using thematic analysis. The results showed that CCM assisted by Refutational texts played a role in changing students' conceptions with an overall N-change value of 0,62 which was interpreted as a change in the medium category, the percentage of implementation of the learning model was 97% with very good interpretation, and an effect size value of 1,84 with great interpretation. The quantity of changes in the percentage of conception as a whole is of the Positive Change (PoC) type with the category of change in conception Acceptable change (ACh) 63%, Not Acceptable (NA) 9%, No change (NCh) (+) 24%, and No change (NCh) (-) 4%. Students' perceptions of learning show a good impression and can help students understand the concept as a whole. The results of the study can be concluded that CCM assisted by Refutational Texts can change students' conceptions of sound waves

Penerapan Strategi 3-2-1 Berbantuan Refutation Text Untuk Mereduksi Miskonsepsi Siswa Pada Materi Fluida Statis

This pre-experimental research was aimed to investigate the use of 3-2-1 reading strategy assisted by refutation text to reduce students\u27 misconceptions on subtopic static fluid in SMA Negeri 1 Teluk Keramat. Sample of this research was students from XI IPA 1 class who choosen by intact group random sampling technique. Diagnostic test which consist of 18 multiple choice question with open reasoning was used as research instrument to asses students conceptions. Based on the results, the highest students\u27 misconceptions in pretest (100%) and posttest (20,51%) was that the concept of buoyant force. The average decrease of misconceptions for each concepts were 82,56%. Students\u27 conceptions had changed statistically significant after the instruction. Students achieved average normalized gain 0,82 (relatively high). The 3-2-1 reading strategy assisted by refutation text is expected to be used as an alternative remediation activities to overcome the misconceptions that experienced by students

Argumentation Mining in User-Generated Web Discourse

The goal of argumentation mining, an evolving research field in computational linguistics, is to design methods capable of analyzing people's argumentation. In this article, we go beyond the state of the art in several ways. (i) We deal with actual Web data and take up the challenges given by the variety of registers, multiple domains, and unrestricted noisy user-generated Web discourse. (ii) We bridge the gap between normative argumentation theories and argumentation phenomena encountered in actual data by adapting an argumentation model tested in an extensive annotation study. (iii) We create a new gold standard corpus (90k tokens in 340 documents) and experiment with several machine learning methods to identify argument components. We offer the data, source codes, and annotation guidelines to the community under free licenses. Our findings show that argumentation mining in user-generated Web discourse is a feasible but challenging task.Comment: Cite as: Habernal, I. & Gurevych, I. (2017). Argumentation Mining in User-Generated Web Discourse. Computational Linguistics 43(1), pp. 125-17