According to national standards, eighth graders should possess appropriate understandings regarding groundwater and its role in the hydrologic cycle. This article describes a study of eighth-grade students to determine what types of ideas eighth graders actually possess regarding groundwater. The students completed a survey that consisted of one multiple-choice item and a drawing prompt. The results of this survey, along with videotaped class discussions about goundwater, revealed that students of this age group hold naive conceptions concerning groundwater. In addition, the students' spatial reasoning was identified as contributing to their conceptions.

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Publisher: nagt@gordonvalley.com
National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)
Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE)
http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/index.html

Author: Daniel Dickerson
Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education
College of Charleston

Author: Karen Dawkins
Director, Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education
East Carolina University