AN EXPLORATION OF THE CONCEPT MAP AS AN INTERVIEW TOOL TO FACILITATE THE EXTERNALIZATION OF STUDENTS UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CHANGE

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two different types of interviews-one that did (POSTICM) and one t hat did not (POSTI) embed a concept-mapping process-to elicit students ' postinstructional understandings about chlorofluorocarbons and their role in global atmospheric change (GAC). A chief criterion measure wa s accordance, the degree to which students held the ideal postinstruct ional understanding set forth in a teacher-expert concept map. After G AC instruction that included concept-mapping activities, 34 eighth-gra de science students were assigned randomly to groups and completed eit her POSTICM or POSTI. These students and their leacher also completed relatedness ratings of central concepts from the teacher-expert map. T he Knowledge Network Organizing Tool(TM) was used to transform related ness ratings to Pathfinder networks and compare nets to yield a studen t to teacher similarity index (Pathfinder index). Regression analysis revealed that type of interview did not predict accordance. However, m ost POSTICM students perceived the concept-mapping interview component to be helpful and affect positively their answers to the interview qu estions. The Pathfinder index did predict (p = .003) accordance-the Pa thfinder index was a reliable confirmatory measure of the degree to wh ich students held the ideal postinstructional understanding.