Misconceptions and Conceptual Changes concerning Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics among Portuguese Students Aged 16‐17

Abstract

The study investigates the misconceptions of Portuguese students aged 16‐17 in an area of science education, earth science education, which is insufficiently researched. Students’ ideas of the following concepts were probed: continent, ocean, permanence of ocean basins, continental drift, the Earth's magnetic field, and plates and plate motions. Interviews were carried out and a questionnaire was administered to a total of 270 students after normal specialist teaching. A teaching‐learning model was designed based on a constructivist approach which was underpinned by resources and strategies planned and trialled with an experimental group of volunteer students. The results reveal that the students held a substantial number of misconceptions. The resources and strategies designed to remediate the misconceptions proved to be effective and enjoyable in use.