From Misconception to Mastery: How Conceptual Change Boosts Deep Learning
Hattie's Visible Learning Effect Size Series – #6 Conceptual Change Programs – Effect Size 0.99
To note: John Hattie's Visible Learning research brings together over 1,500 meta-analyses, covering more than 90,000 studies and millions of students. Its aim is to identify what works best in education by measuring impact using 'effect size'. In this context, an effect size of 0.4 is considered average progress over a year. Anything above 0.6 is seen as highly impactful. This blog is part of a 20-post series exploring the top-ranked influences in Hattie’s Visible Learning research, with a focus on practical strategies teachers can use to make a meaningful difference.
With an effect size of 0.99, Conceptual Change Programs are among the most effective ways to help students shift from surface understanding to deep, lasting learning. These approaches focus on identifying and challenging misconceptions, then guiding students to reconstruct their understanding.
Rather than layering new content on top of incorrect beliefs, Conceptual Change Programs help students confront gaps and conflicts in their thinking, so that they can rebuild more accurate and robust knowledge.
What Are Conceptual Change Programs?
Conceptual Change Programs are designed to help students replace existing misconceptions with scientifically accurate or logically sound alternatives. This is especially important in subjects where common-sense thinking or prior experience leads students astray — science, mathematics, and history are rich with examples.
At their core, these approaches:
Begin by eliciting existing student ideas
Create opportunities for cognitive conflict
Guide students to revise and refine their thinking
Consolidate new concepts through discussion, modelling, and reflection
These programmes aim to make thinking visible, confront inaccurate mental models, and replace them with more accurate, meaningful understanding.
Why Are They So Effective?
Students bring misconceptions with them. We cannot build on what is inaccurate
Directly addressing false ideas leads to greater retention
Cognitive conflict promotes attention, curiosity, and self-correction
It supports critical thinking and resilience in the face of challenge
When students are supported to reframe what they believe, learning becomes transformative. It sticks.
Practical Strategies for Conceptual Change in Your Classroom
1. Use Diagnostic Questions at the Start of a Unit
Rather than beginning with facts, start with a question that reveals prior understanding.
For example: "Does a heavier object fall faster than a lighter one?"
This helps surface misconceptions early.
2. Design Tasks That Challenge Incorrect Ideas
Provide experiments, stories, or puzzles that intentionally provoke dissonance.
One teacher used two different shaped containers of water to explore volume misconceptions, prompting students to question their assumptions.
3. Allow for Re-thinking and Re-drafting
Build time into lessons for students to revise their explanations after discussion, input, or peer challenge.
Use sentence stems like: "I used to think... but now I realise..."
4. Encourage Metacognitive Talk
Prompt students to reflect not just on the what, but on the why.
Ask: "What made you change your mind?" and "Which idea do you now think makes more sense, and why?"
5. Model Conceptual Shift Explicitly
Show your own changing thinking aloud, or share common misconceptions as part of your instruction.
For example: "I used to think seasons were caused by Earth’s distance from the sun, but then I realised it’s about tilt..."
Quick Wins to Try This Week
Use a "true or false" starter that is deceptively tricky and then unpack it
Create a reflection box in students’ books labelled “What changed in my thinking today?”
Share a misconception you used to hold and invite students to discuss theirs
Challenges and Considerations
Students may resist changing their ideas, especially when misconceptions feel intuitive. It’s important to create a classroom culture where rethinking is not a sign of failure, but a strength.
Time can also be a constraint. Conceptual change takes longer than content delivery, but the depth of understanding it creates is worth the investment.
This approach is not only about facts, but about shifting frameworks. It supports deeper thinking across the curriculum.
Reflections
Conceptual change is challenging, but powerful. When students move beyond remembering to truly reworking their understanding, learning becomes more resilient and transferable.
As you reflect, consider:
How often do you surface and address misconceptions in your classroom?
Are there areas of your curriculum where conceptual conflict could lead to deeper insight?
Do students see learning as something that evolves?
How might diagnosing misconceptions support teacher clarity — one of Hattie’s highest-impact influences — by helping us teach what students actually need, not just what the curriculum says?
Try This
At the end of your next lesson, ask students to complete:
“One idea I changed my mind about today was…”
Use this as a prompt to guide discussion, adjust teaching, or plan next steps.
Further Reading and Resources
Enhancing Learning Through Conceptual Change Teaching – NARST
This article outlines instructional strategies to facilitate conceptual change, emphasizing the importance of addressing students' alternative conceptions and providing opportunities for their ideas to evolve.
https://narst.org/research-matters/enhancing-learning-through-conceptual-change-teachingTeaching for Conceptual Change – The University of Akron
This resource discusses methods for helping students build understanding of complex scientific concepts by addressing their pre-existing misconceptions and guiding them toward accurate conceptual frameworks.
https://www.uakron.edu/polymer/agpa-k12outreach/best-teaching-practices/teaching-for-conceptual-change
Research Connections
Vosniadou, S. (1994) – Capturing and modeling the process of conceptual change
Chi, M. T. H. (2005) – Commonsense conceptions of emergent processes: Why some misconceptions are robust
Visible Learning Blog Series
This series explores the top influences on student achievement from John Hattie’s Visible Learning research, with practical strategies for applying each one.
From Misconception to Mastery: How Conceptual Change Boosts Deep Learning (0.99) (You are here)
Prior Ability
Strategy to Integrate with Prior Knowledge
Self-Efficacy
Teacher Credibility
Micro-Teaching
Classroom Discussion
Interventions for Learning Disabled Students
Teacher-Student Relationships
Spaced vs Massed Practice
Meta-Cognitive Strategies
Acceleration
Classroom Management
Vocabulary Programs
Repeated Reading Programs
In the next post, we’ll explore Prior Ability and how understanding starting points can help us plan smarter, more effective teaching.
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