STUDENTS’ ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS ABOUT “ENERGY” AND “LIVING”AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR CONCEPTUAL CHANGE TEACHING

This article reports the results of the investigations of alternative conceptions of students about ‘Energy’ and ‘Living’ and the effectiveness of short term training of science teachers in the use of instructional strategies for changing students’ conceptions. The alternative conceptions of 184 students of 6th, 8th, and 10th classes from four Government high schools of Quetta regarding ‘Energy’ and ‘Living’ were investigated through Interview about Instances (IAI) approach. The alternative conceptions of the sample students about ‘Energy’ and ‘Living’ were found to be similar to alternative conceptions held by students of different nationalities / regions as reported in international research literature. The alternative conceptions of the sample students were found to be at variance with the scientists’ conceptions as stated in the standard textbooks of science. The socio economic background of students did not have any relation with their alternative conceptions. No significant differences were found in the alternative conceptions of the students of different ages or classes. It was found that the alternative conceptions of the experimental group students about ‘Energy’ and ‘Living’ were similar to the alternative conceptions of the control group students. These findings call for developing and using diagnostic techniques to elicit students’ alternative conceptions and for developing a repertoire of context based effective science instructional strategies.