Turku, Finland – This year’s EARLI SIG 03 & 20 Conference in Turku hosted an international symposium titled “Coexisting conceptual resources and contextual triggers: rethinking mobilisation of learned concepts.” Researchers from Canada (Université du Québec à Montréal – UQAM, Université de Montréal) and Germany (Institute of Science Education, Physics Education and Technical Education Research Group, RPTU) discussed challenges in knowledge activation in science and physics education.

Four presentations highlighted current studies and research:

• François Thibault (UQAM) examined how formal instruction can lead to misconceptions in biology and physics. Title:Instruction-Driven Misconceptions: Cross-Sectional Evidence from Biology and Physics Education 
  Authors: François Thibault, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada; Patrice Potvin, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada; Steve Masson, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
• Genevieve Allaire-Duquette (Université de Montréal) demonstrated how metacognitive prompts facilitate the transition from intuitive to scientific reasoning. Title:Impact of metacognitive prompts on learner’s transition from intuitive to scientific reasoning 
  Authors: Genevieve Allaire-Duquette, Université de Montréal, Canada; Reuven Babai, Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Yannik Ott (RPTU) analyzed the effect of metacognitive prompts on solving physics problems (Force Concept Inventory). 
  Title:The impact of metacognitive prompting on solving the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) 
  Authors: Yannik Ott, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany; Eva Cauet, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany; Alexander Kauertz, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany
• Eva Cauet (RPTU) presented a theoretical model explaining the mechanisms behind physics task completion. 
  Title:The mechanism behind the completion of physics tasks – A theoretical description 
  Authors: Eva Cauet, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany; Alexander Kauertz, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany; Yannik Ott, RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany

Following the presentations, Patrice Potvin (UQAM) led an in-depth discussion reflecting on the findings and their implications for teaching practice.

 

Organized by François Thibault and Yannik Ott, the symposium provided valuable insights into the intersection of learning psychology and subject-specific pedagogy. The results emphasize the importance of teaching methods that not only convey content but also critically consider their timing and methodological integration. The conference attendance of Dr. Eva Cauet and Yannik Ott was supported by the RPTU Center for Early Career Researchers (REaCh) through mobility funding.

For more information on the conference: EARLI SIG 03 & 20