Running Head: ELEMENTARY SCIENCE INTERVIEW 1

Elementary Science Interview

Amanda Dunphy

Teaching Elem. School Science- SCE 4310

University of South Florida

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Introduction

While I prepared to conduct this insightful interview with my third-grade students, I

planned a list of 5 questions, that I felt are often challenged and misunderstood in the Elementary

school setting. As I conducted this interview, I had the pleasure of working with two, sociable

young-girls. These students attend Lakeview Elementary School (pseudonym) and are enrolled

in a third-grade, departmentalized classroom. Lakeview Elementary is known to be an A

school and is in North Tampa, where a diverse population of children are located. The girls I

worked with, specifically, are in Mrs. Petals (pseudonym) homeroom class, who teaches

science, social studies, and math. They begin their day within this classroom and eventually

switch to Ms. Lambs (pseudonym) classroom, where they then are taught reading and writing

skills.

The first student I interviewed, Sophie (pseudonym), is a sweet and kind-hearted 8-year-

old. She lives with both of her parents and has one younger sister, who is in kindergarten at the

same elementary school. Her father was diagnosed with cancer a few years back and this has

taken a huge toll on the family, while trying to keep everything running as normal as possible,

the mother of the two-girls often finds herself overwhelmed and not having much time to help

the girls with their school work. While conversing with Sophie on numerous occasions, I

learned that writing is her favorite subject, but she loves every subject because they are very

interesting. Despite their family troubles, Sophie is doing well in every subject and continues to

work her hardest while in school!

The second student I interviewed, Yani (pseudonym), is a very energetic and sociable 8-

year-old girl, as well. She expressed that she lives with her mother and two younger brothers,

one who attends Lakeview Elementary and another who is only a few months old. She does not
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live with her father and has never spoken of him to myself or her classmates. Yani has expressed

that she favors science because it is fast-paced and not boring like math and social studies.

Yani is struggling with maintaining a passing grade in math and reading (she is considered Tier

3), but is doing quite well with writing, social studies and science.

Interview/Interpretations

Question 1: Why do we have different seasons?

Student 1 (Sophie)- So That, for like, all the animals Like when it gets cold somewhere

and they have their time there, then they can go somewhere else.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Do you think something specific causes these seasons?

Sophie: Maybe the sun, a little bit.

Me: All right and if the sun did cause these seasons, how?

Sophie: Uh, because of its warmth.

Based off Sophies first answer, that the seasons are for the animals, I immediately

thought she was relating migration to the different seasons. The fact that animals, such as birds,

move from colder weather to warmer weather, can appear that seasons are primarily for animals

and nothing else. By following up with two questions, I then learned that she understands

Earths changing relationship with the sun, but she did not know that the tilt of the Earths

rotational axis caused the seasons. She stated that the sun causes the seasons because of its

warmth.

Student 2 (Yani)- Because Sometimes we have to, like, we dont have to keep winter all the

time so we can have different seasons. If we had winter all the time, we wouldnt be able to try

different things.
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Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Okay, I see. Do you think one specific thing causes this change in weather or seasons?

Yani: I think the atmosphere gets cold and this starts winter. Spring is about the sun and the sun

makes it hotter then flowers start to bloom. The summertime, the sun makes it warm and then

the fall, its not one specific thing, but basically all about the trees.

Yanis original answer showed that she had very little knowledge on what causes the

different seasons. She thought that the seasons changed for humans and the different

activities/interactions they can encounter during these times. She expressed that without

different seasons, we could not experience different things. By asking her if one specific thing

causes the weather or seasons, she further elaborated that the atmosphere gets colder and this will

begin the seasons we know of as winter. She then continued to explain the different seasons and

what she thinks they are in place for, such as spring being the time flowers start to bloom. I can

infer that she understands different characteristics of the seasons, however she does not

understand what causes the seasons.

Question 2: Why does our moon have different phases?

Student 1 (Sophie)- Im guessing, um, maybe the Earth rotates and this changes the size of the

moon because were going the other direction.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Since Sophie made sure to make it clear that she was guessing with her answer, I did

not follow up with any questions and/or comments. Sophie stated that the Earth was rotating and

that this changed the size of the moon, however, we can teach her that it is not the Earth that is

rotating, but instead the moon itself, orbiting our Earth. As the moon moves around Earth,

different sides/portions of the moon are visible due to the light illuminating it.
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Student 2 (Yani)- Phases because our Earth moves and rotates and one side can be on the

other and the full moon is when its facing us, but sometimes the half-moon, thats when the

other side of the moon faces the other side.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Yanis answer was very similar to Sophies, that the phases of the moon are actually

caused by Earths rotation, instead of the moons orbit around our Earth. They both understand

that Earth rotates, but they do not understand that the moon, along with the other planets and so

forth, have their own orbit as well.

Question 3: Can ONLY water melt, freeze, or boil?

Student 1 (Sophie)- No I dont think so.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Okay, what else can melt, freeze, or boil?

Sophie: Hmm, fish. You can boil fish and freeze it too!

Me: So you think we can melt, freeze, or boil other liquids, gases, AND solids?

Sophie: I think you can only do solids and liquids because gas is like flying everywhere

Based off Sophies answers, I can conclude that she understands different things can

melt, freeze, and/or boil. By referring to fish while specifically discussing boiling and freezing, I

inferred that this has been done before in her household or she may have seen it publicly while

out or on television. It was interesting to see that she jumped from comparing the changes of

state in regards to fish to then explaining that only solids and liquids can melt, freeze, or boil.

She understands that gases are substances that expand freely, since she stated gas is like flying

everywhere. Therefore, she believes only solids and liquids can melt, freeze, or boil.

Student 2 (Yani)- Um Yes.

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Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Why?

Yani: Because the water Well if you like try to freeze a liquid, like water, you can freeze it

and boil it. Usually we use water, not like oil. We dont want to freeze oil because we dont use

it much. Like coconut oil, we use that to cook with and we wouldnt want to freeze that. But

water we would freeze and boil

Me: Okay, is there anything else you can melt, freeze, or boil?

Yani: You could freeze saltwater!

When Yani first answered my misconception question, she was on the right track, by

saying yes. I quickly got confused when she began comparing water to oil. I understand that

she was trying to think of another thing that can freeze, melt and/or boil, but using coconut oil in

her explanation caught me off guard. This was very specific, like how Sophie tied in fish while

answering her question. She could list another thing that was able to melt, freeze, or boil, which

was saltwater. Clearly, she understands numerous things can change between these different

states of matter, but she does not understand as to why.

Question 4: Is there a difference between heat and temperature?

Student 1 (Sophie)- I dont really think so because, like, heat is temperature. Temperature is

how hot it is and how cold it is.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

With Sophies answer, I was quite stumped on how to continue this conversation without

guiding her to the correct conception involving heat and temperature. She was correct by saying

that temperature is how hot or cold it may be, but she did not state that it is a form of measuring

how hot or cold something is. One can assume that she thought heat was the same as
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temperature because as we know, heat is the quality of being hot or a high temperature, therefore

she related the two concepts to one another.

Student 2 (Yani)- Yeah, the difference is that heat is really I dont know how to explain it

really.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Do you think heat gets measured?

Yani: Yeah, heat actually gets measured by temperature. Temperature measures heat or how

cold it is.

This question seemed to confuse Yani from the very beginning. I tried to break apart the

question, that way she could give me a brief explanation on her thinking and I could see what

knowledge she possessed on the two concepts, without guiding her to the correct answer. By

asking whether she thought heat gets measured she then explained to me that heat gets measured

by temperature and that temperature measures heat or how cold it is. By saying temperature

measures heat, while listening to the interview, I assumed she meant to say how hot or cold

something was.

Question 5: How did dinosaurs become extinct?

Student 1 (Sophie)- There were kids talking about this and saying that there was a big flood that

knocked them out.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: Oh wow! Humans didnt cause it?

Sophie: No, all dinosaurs are gone because of the flood Except alligators because they live in

water and made it through the flood and changed to what we see now.
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Sophies answer was not what I expected, whatsoever. I had assumed that all third-

graders had discussed what happened to dinosaurs whether it be recently or in previous years.

When she began explaining that dinosaurs became extinct from a flood, I tried to question other

causes that may be common misconceptions involving dinosaurs extinctions, like did humans

cause it? She continued to explain that a big flood caused this mass extinction and this is due

to her listening to her peers and believing what was said, as she expressed, There were kids

talking about this.

Student 2 (Yani)- Because a meteor struck.

Interpretation/Follow-Up:

Me: So humans didnt cause it?

Yani: No! A meteor struck and killed all of the dinosaurs on Earth. We have all of their skin

and bones in museums.

Yani was correct while answering that a meteor struck and this caused the extinction of

dinosaurs. When asking if humans caused it, to further challenge her answer, she explained that

a meteor struck and killed all the dinosaurs on Earth and that we have their skin and bones in

different museums. I believe Yani knew this because of learning it whether it was at home or in

previous years, by stating that their bones are in museums she has knowledge on their extinction

and the fact that we can still see their structure and continue to learn about them to this day.

Summary

By interviewing two different third-grade students, I could see that I assumed students in

not only the same grade, but same classroom have similar ways of thinking and understanding

difficult concepts, however this is not the case. While they may be learning content, the same

way, while in Mrs. Petals and Mrs. Lambs class, they have not received the same education
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throughout the past few years. These two girls have not had the same teachers and have not been

taught content similarly until this year. One must keep a students prior knowledge in mind

while teaching them new content or even while assessing what they do and do not know.

I had previously thought that their answers would be somewhat similar and this occurred

only for certain questions. I also noticed that it was extremely difficult for the girls to explain

how or why something was the way it was. For example, when I asked Yani why while

discussing only water melting, freezing, or boiling, she then jumped to comparing water to oil

and saltwater. Sophie did something quite similar while discussing the same question and began

discussing fish and how fish can be boiled and frozen. While it is a necessary skill to be able to

elaborate on a concept and explain how you arrived at your given answer/opinion, one first must

comprehend the overall concept. Throughout interning in this third-grade classroom, my

collaborative teacher continues to remind me that while you want to help your students and guide

them to a goal, it is a skill they must acquire.

After conducting this interview and interpreting both students answers to my common

misconception questions, I can conclude that every student learns differently and more often than

assumed, children hold on to preconceived beliefs/thoughts. They are also easily persuaded

while conversing about a topic that is unknown or questionable to them. I cannot wait to become

a teacher and incorporate engaging, interactive lessons into my daily routine that way I can help

foster critical thinking and comprehension within my classroom!