Identifying and reconstruction common cold misconceptions among developing K-12 educators

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Publication Title

American Journal of Health Education

Volume

44

Issue

3

First page number:

169

Last page number:

175

Abstract

Background

Common cold misconceptions may contribute to ill-informed decisions and recommendations made by K–12 educators who often encounter infected students. Understanding the structure of educators' misconceptions can be used to improve health instruction in teacher professional preparation programs.

Purpose

The purposes of this project were to (1) identify prevalent common cold misconceptions held by preservice educators and (2) test the effectiveness of a refutational text meant to promote the adoption of scientifically appropriate common cold conceptions.

Study 1

An assessment concerning the common cold was completed by 44 preservice teachers. Misconceptions, such as cold weather triggering the common cold, were prevalent.

Study 2

A total of 86 participants completed the same assessment as used in study 1 before and after reading a common cold refutational text. Participants demonstrated gains in scientifically appropriate common cold conceptions.

Discussion

Identifying common cold misconceptions among preservice teachers can be used to build instructional materials (i.e., refutational text).

Translation to Health Education Practice

Teacher preparation programs and health educators may find it useful to identify common cold misconceptions prior to instruction as a way of confirming the underlying structure of their students' misconceptions and utilize refutational texts to facilitate reconstruction of students' common cold conceptions.

Keywords

Cold (Disease); Elementary school teachers; Health education teachers; High school teachers; Medical misconceptions; Teachers; Teachers--Training of

Disciplines

Communication | Community-Based Research | Diseases | Education | Elementary Education and Teaching | Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching | Medicine and Health | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

UNLV article access

Search your library

Share

COinS