Technology Support for Conceptual Change

Conceptual change has been among the most important aspects in education for the last few decades. There is no specific definition of conceptual change given its complex and unpredictable nature. However, from the learning perspective, conceptual change can be generally referred to as the process whereby learners change or alter their initial understandings or beliefs to become more closely aligned with scientifically held understandings of the concepts. From a broader perspective, conceptual change can also be referred to as the change in the understanding of the concepts learners have and the conceptual framework that encompasses these concepts. Conceptual change can take different forms, from ordinary change such as weak restructuring to more radical change, which usually requires change across ontological categories. This entry discusses how conceptual change occurs, the role of technology in conceptual change, the use of modeling to support conceptual change, and the implications of modeling for conceptual change.

Although conceptual change can occur unintentionally, researchers argue that meaningful learning takes place when conceptual change is intentional. When learners are guided by their awareness of a need to change, knowing what to change, and wanting to change, conceptual change becomes a learning goal. In the recent developments in the field of conceptual change, there has been a shift away from regarding conceptual change as a personal cognitive process change arising from specific instruction such as cognitive conflict strategy as the main mechanism for conceptual change. There is now more of an emphasis on examining the implications of the design of instruction and curricula on conceptual change and investigating how contextual influences such as motivation, epistemological beliefs, and sociocultural perspectives influence and impact the change to account for the complex nature of conceptual change. Traditionally, conceptual-change research focused on science education, documenting [Page 753]and describing the process of change in students’ misconceptions toward more scientifically held understandings. In recent years, most researchers have argued that for conceptual change to occur, what needs to be changed are not isolated misconceptions but the naive and domain-specific theories embedded in larger theoretical frameworks from which they obtain their meaning.