Article Review

One thing I learned from this article is that children and teachers have very different views about animals. I read this article prior to teaching so I as a teacher could have a better unde... See More

One thing I learned from this article is that children and teachers have very different views about animals. I read this article prior to teaching so I as a teacher could have a better understanding on how children interpret animals. This article stated that when students were given a task of naming 10 animals they listed mammals over any other kind of animal. This is important because it shows that students need to be taught other kinds of animals other than just the most common ones we see in zoos or in out and about in the wild. the author shows a need to address these misconceptions but doesn't provide examples of how to help.

Filling the Gap

What I found interesting about this article is that there is a difference in what students know about animals and what we as educators think they know. It starts with us as educators not kno... See More

What I found interesting about this article is that there is a difference in what students know about animals and what we as educators think they know. It starts with us as educators not knowing ourselves exactly what animals are and what makes them an animal. When we think about what animals students know we may be able to guess, but we don't think like they do as to why they are animals. To teach students about animals I think it is important to understand what you know first and understand your own biases before trying to teach your students.

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral???

This article describes how a university professor tested her early education students to see what preconceptions her students had about teaching the subject of animals. They found out that ... See More

This article describes how a university professor tested her early education students to see what preconceptions her students had about teaching the subject of animals. They found out that adults have different ideas about animals from young children. This helped them to know how to approach an animal unit with young students.

Addressing Misconceptions About Animals

Children have many naïve conceptions about major science concepts. This article deals with several related to animals. One such example is that if something doesn’t move it is not alive. ... See More

Children have many naïve conceptions about major science concepts. This article deals with several related to animals. One such example is that if something doesn’t move it is not alive. Another one is to say that all living things are animals. This article describes how an educator addresses these alternative conceptions with a series of activities. Unfortunately these activities are described but in very general terms. There is a short taxonomy chart provided. The author presents a need to address these misconceptions but doesn’t provide concrete help.

Article Review

This article discusses how many teachers have misconceptions about what they think their student may or may not know about animals. There were a few things I found interesting about this art... See More

This article discusses how many teachers have misconceptions about what they think their student may or may not know about animals. There were a few things I found interesting about this article like learning about the results of the study, where they asked 15 people to list 20 different animals. It discussed how most people listed mammals over other types of animals. I think that doing something like this is helpful to understand the differences between what people consider as animals. What I wish this article had more information about though, would be on how to incorporate this research into the classroom.

Understanding Student Misconceptions of Animals

A professor describes how she uses an assessment probe with her preservice teachers to stimulate awareness of how children view animals. The outcome establishes an understanding of children’... See More

A professor describes how she uses an assessment probe with her preservice teachers to stimulate awareness of how children view animals. The outcome establishes an understanding of children’s misconceptions regarding animals. These misconceptions include children are not likely to view invertebrates as animals and things that do not move are not alive. Although this article provides the template for a useful exercise for preservice teachers and raises awareness of misconceptions, it has lacks specific actions that could be transferred to the classroom.