Context-based learning for Inhibition of alternative conceptions: the next step forward in science education

The scientific literacy level of the whole population has long been focusing the researchers’ attention because of its direct impact on many aspects of our lives. As a matter of fact, studies in cognition have both been inspired by educational issues as well as by misconceptions of scientific ideas often based on irrational beliefs, old theories, unscientific reasoning, or unassimilated conceptual instruction. As a result, individual conceptions are now accurately described in many scientific fields, which has led to improvements in science teaching and learning. However, the community (scientists, academics, high school and primary school teachers, and educators) has not yet succeeded in solving all the issues, so some pre-existing misconceptions still persist in the population. In this paper, we argue that cognition studies must now focus on the origin of individuals’ conceptions and on their modes of acquisition and propagation. The goal is to provide educational tools for acting upstream, during early scientific instruction, before the very acquisition of scientific conceptions.