IDENTIFICATION OF MISCONCEPTIONS IN NOVICE BIOLOGY TEACHERS AND REMEDIAL STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING BIOLOGY LEARNING

a new instrument was devised to identify! misconceptions in biology an d probe into the causes of misunderstanding in a relatively quick way. It revealed that novice biology teachers held a number of conceptual errors which were prevalent among secondary school students. They show ed serious misunderstandings in cellular metabolism the nutritional pr ocess, gaseous exchange, the circulatory system, homeostasis, reproduc tion and variation. The problem has been attributed to inadequate mast ery of subject knowledge and imprecise use of terminology. Specific te aching strategies were suggested to prevent the propagation of these m isconceptions in students. Teacher education programmes should aim at promoting the awareness of teachers as to children's learning difficul ties and del eloping their professional skills in facilitating childre n's conceptual development.