Misconceptions (or as some would prefer to call them, alternative conceptions) are probably natural and always with us. We may all harbour them, even for topics that we think we understand. The article. "Teaching Scientific thinking' in the attached news letter gives one experience with a mis/alternative conception. The full series, if the wider context is required, can be found at http://www.icaseonline.net/news.html - news letters 2011, 1 to 4.

Some possible lessons from this experience?

1) Students may research and make correct notes on a topic, but ignore these and still defend their mis/alternative conception.

2) This sort of mis/alternative conception was made more open (it probably existed in previous groups but was unnoticed) by using a teaching method involving student inquiry and debate. So that may be one answer to your question.

3) It was possible to use the mis/alternative conception as an aid to furthering the students understanding of the process of science itself, while also showing that evidence favoured the conception they had in their notes.

Also interesting on misconceptions is the following work, although with much younger students.

Mantzicopoulos, P., Samarapungavan, A. & Patrick, H. (2009). “We Learn How to Predict and be a Scientist”: Early Science Experiences and Kindergarten Children's Social Meanings About Science. Cognition and Instruction, 27(4), 312-369.

Samarapungavan, A., Patrick, H. & Mantzicopoulos, P. (2011). What Kindergarten Students Learn in Inquiry-Based Science Classrooms. Cognition and Instruction, 29(4), 416-470.

These authors argue that, over time, inquiry-based science education will lead to the elimination of conceptions which do not meet the evidence and adoption of those that do - something they argue occurs in science itself. They imply that we should not worry too much about mis/alternative conceptions but ensure engagement with the process of science. The key to that is to find a way to create a genuine inquiring community among the students - easier said than done though in many educational systems.

Testing and evaluation (by oral and written methods) would be the usual means to diagnose misconceptions. However, I encourage my students to prevent misconceptions (or minimize them) by constantly checking if they are on the right track. Far better to correct a misconception by nipping it in the bud.

So, I get my students to study in groups of 4. I believe that regular discussions within a cooperative learning (CL) group in an informal atmosphere will help students to get a correct and clear understanding. When in doubt (within the CL group), my students refer to international text books (Biology 9th edition, by Solomon et al. and Biology 9th edition, by Reece et al.)

During tutorial classes, the students will also ask me if they do not understand what they have read, because many of my students have some difficulty with English. They prefer asking questions at tutorial classes because they feel more comfortable asking questions in a tutorial class of 25, rather than in a lecture room of 200 students.

As teachers, we must provide the small group situations so that the remedies may be applied. All questions will be entertained, and no one feels uncomfortable or embarrassed. All this is done before the final exams!

Have students create concept maps of the topic you want them to learn about. These are good tools for identifying students' misunderstandings.

There is a very helpful book that describes how this technique can be used by J. D. Novak and D. B. Gowin titled "Learning How to Learn".