Investigating Grade 8 Students’ Conceptions of ‘Energy’ and Related Concepts

Abstract

This study intends to elicit grade 8 students’ understanding of ‘energy’ concept and explore the extent to which students can link their theoretical knowledge with the novel situations. The sample
consists of totally 171 grade 8 students drawn randomly from nine cohort primary schools in Erzurum. To collect data, researchers developed a concept test comprising of 18 multiple-choice
questions. The results revealed that because of the numerous related conceptions with regard to ‘energy’ concept, students had difficulty in comprehending the ‘energy’ concept and tended to
exploit these related concepts in place of ‘energy’ concept. Moreover, taking into consideration the students’ alternative conceptions drawn out by the current study, a sample conceptual change text is proposed to remedy them.