Abstract
The aim of this study was to detect primary students’ conceptions about the origin of the electric current, the way it is conveyed and the connection of the household electric appliances. In total, 383 students (11–12), from the town of Volos-Greece, participated in this research. 213 took part in the experimental groups and 170 comprised the traditional classes. The results presented here derived from the elaboration of one writing/drawing activity included in a written questionnaire, which was answered by the students before and after teaching. The analysis showed that primary-grade children draw, before instruction, the electric current “coming” with one cable from the electricity pylons to our house and they represent each electric device working independently and having its own wire connected with a socket in the wall. After a nine-hour constructivist didactical intervention the students’ representations of the experimental classes have been improved substantially. Children seem to have understood the notion of circuit, they draw two cables from the electricity factory up to our house and they represent the parallel connection of three household electrical appliances. The drawings of the traditional classes have not evolved after teaching.
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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Pilatou, V., Stavridou, H. (2003). The Electric Current on Its Way to Our House and the Parallel Connection of the Electric Appliances: Primary Students’ (11–12) Representations. In: Psillos, D., Kariotoglou, P., Tselfes, V., Hatzikraniotis, E., Fassoulopoulos, G., Kallery, M. (eds) Science Education Research in the Knowledge-Based Society. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0165-5_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0165-5_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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