Remediation of chemistry teachers' misconceptions about covalent bonding using cognitive conflict interviews: A case study

Abstract

Research has shown that most chemistry teachers have misconceptions about covalent bonding. This study investigates whether the cognitive conflict interview technique could persuade teachers to revise their possible misconceptions of covalent bonding. Eight chemistry teachers from different schools participated in this study. Two validated instruments, cognitive conflict technique interview guidelines and the open-ended covalent bonding test, were employed for the data collection. The results showed that the cognitive conflict interviews could facilitate respondents to overcome their misconceptions about covalent bonding. Five of the eight respondents experienced a conceptual change from misconceptions to scientific conceptions, and three others experienced a partial conceptual change. Six concepts which previously caused misconceptions were eliminated and turned into a scientific concept instead. Of the 46 cases of misconceptions, 41 cases turned into scientific conceptions. The result of this study serves as an initial perspective for exploring the effectiveness of cognitive conflict interviews more broadly.