The use of conceptual maps followed by an interview as a research tool in finding student misconceptions

Abstract

The article illustrates creation and reflection of conceptual maps (= CM) in the research published in this issue of Envigogika (“Children’s conception of selected environmental concepts in pupils of the primary and lower-secondary school”). Here, conceptual maps and a follow-up interviews were used to analyze the understanding of the importance of selected phenomena. Every pupil should first understand what a conceptual map is, and could try to create it. For the purpose of the research, he then elaborated his own conceptual map, always around the selected central phenomenon (in total there were 8). In the following interview with the researcher, this pupil explained his CM's thought operations, or continued to analyze them using guiding questions. The related article is more relevant to understand the method used; here we present an example of creating conceptual maps and the course of an interview with one of the pupils and generalizing all the interviews.