The Korean Elementary Students' Conceptions of the Simple Electric Circuit

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' conceptions of the simple electric circuit using a battery and a bulb. 19 fourth grade students from a rural elementary school in Korea participated in this study. Data on the children's understandings of electric circuit were collected through three sources; prediction tests, drawing tests and individual interviews. The prediction tests were paper and pencil tests composed of 10 problems, predicting whether bulbs in 10 simple circuit diagrams would light. For each prediction, the children were asked to provide a written explanation of their thinking. The drawing tests consisted of 6 problems. One was to draw the inside of the bulb base, and the others were to make the wire connections between a battery and a bulb in the diagrams, to light the bulb. The interviews were conducted with seven children who showed differing degrees of understanding. No student was aware of the wire connections inside the bulb base. Many students stated whether the bulb would light or not, according to the tip of the bulb contacting the positive battery terminal and an end of wire contacting the negative battery terminal. Most of them thought that the tip of the bulb should contact the positive battery terminal, so that the bulb would light. In short, students did not use a scientific conception of electric current to predict and explain the electric circuit.