Student conceptions of groundwater

Students come to formal science instruction with prior knowledge about natural phenomena. This phenomenographic study identified concepts students have about the structures and processes that define the concept of groundwater. Semi-clinical interviews of 18 high school seniors and two soil scientists were conducted. The interview involved responding to five different tasks. The interview was designed to elicit a broad range of concepts about how water interacts with and below the surface. Concept maps were developed for each respondent, and interview text was analyzed to identify the concepts respondents used to define the concept of groundwater.; Students used 23 categories to express concepts related to groundwater. Students expressed the concepts of pipes (N=2), bricks (N=4), open space (N=4), body of water (N=5), a drain (N=2), a water facility (N=1) and soil pore space (N=2). Students identified that the origin of groundwater as rain (N=13), a lake or river (N=4), and trucks (N=1). The study also identified concepts students used to express water properties, the transmission of water from the surface and soil properties.; Student concepts were compared to the scientifically accepted perspective, as analyzed by interviews with two soil scientists and groundwater literature. Only two students agreed with the soil science concept that groundwater is stored in soil pore space. Scientists' concepts were also more focused and had a more limited range of ways of expressing groundwater than the students. Comparisons of student groups showed no trends, with advanced science students and students with less science holding similar concepts.; Implications of the results of this study for science education suggest that most students are not graduating understanding the scientifically accepted concept of groundwater, which will have implications for students' future decision making about their environment, especially since 51% of the United States accesses groundwater for drinking. This study provides information about the student's prior knowledge about groundwater so science education can design instruction and curriculum to accommodate changes to the concepts identified in the study.