Insig van onderwysers in wanopvattings oor eenvoudige stroombane

Abstract

Hoewel daar heelwat internasionale navorsing gepubliseer is oor leerlinge se wanopvattings oor elektrisiteit, is daar weinig studies gedoen oor onderwysers se bewustheid van hierdie wanopvattings. Hierdie artikel doen verslag oor ’n gevallestudie om te ondersoek tot watter mate Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysers leerlinge se wanopvattings oor serie- en parallelstroombane verstaan, en tot welke mate dié insig geïntegreer word in onderwysers se pedagogiese inhoudskennis. Nege onderwysers uit staatskole is doelbewus geselekteer om aan die studie deel te neem. Kwalitatiewe data is uit vraelyste en onderhoude ingesamel. Daar is bevind dat onderwysers dikwels eenvoudige wanopvattings uitwys as oorsake van leerlinge se foute, maar dat wanopvattings wat verband hou met foutiewe analise, selde deur onderwysers genoem word. Verder is bevind dat onderwysers se kennis van wanopvattings gefragmenteerd is en nie met hulle begrip van basiese konsepte geïntegreer word nie. Die resultate toon dus dat hierdie onderwysers onvoldoende pedagogiese inhoudskennis betreffende wanopvattings oor serie- en parallelstroombane openbaar. Aanbevelings uit die studie is dat pedagogiese inhoudskennis rakende wanopvattings tydens onderwysersopleiding ontwikkel moet word.Many studies on learners’ misconceptions about electricity have been published internationally, but studies on teachers’ awareness of these misconceptions are few. This article reports on a case study to investigate to what extent South African teachers understand learners’ misconceptions about series and parallel circuits, and to what extent such understandings are integrated into their pedagogical content knowledge. Nine teachers from public schools were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Qualitative data were collected from questionnaires and interviews. It was found that teachers often indicate simple misconceptions as sources of learners’ mistakes, but that misconceptions related to incorrect analysis are seldom mentioned. Furthermore, it was found that these teachers’ knowledge about misconceptions was fragmented and not integrated with their understanding of basic concepts. The results indicate that these teachers display inadequate pedagogical content knowledge regarding misconceptions about series and parallel circuits. It is recommended that pedagogical content knowledge regarding misconceptions should be developed during teacher training.