of the students through formative assessment as the instruction proceeds. Beginning inquiry activities should develop from simple concrete examples to more abstract. As students progress through inquiry, opportunities should be included for students to generate, ask, and discuss challenging questions. According to Magnusson and Palincsan, teachers should allow multiple cycles of investigation where students can ask the same questions as their understanding of the concept matures. Through strategies that apply formative assessment of student learning and adjust accordingly, teachers can help redirect scientific misconceptions. Research has shown that science teachers have a wide repertoire to deal with misconceptions and report a variety of ways to respond to students' alternative conceptions, e.g., attempting to induce a cognitive conflict using analogies, requesting an elaboration of the conception, referencing specific flaws in reasoning, or offering a parallel between the student's conception and a historical theory. However, approximately half of the teachers do not address students' misconceptions, but instead agree with them, respond scientifically incorrect, or formulate the correct scientific explanation themselves without addressing the specific student conception. See also List of common misconceptionsCommon misconceptions, including scientific ones Superseded theories in science Wiley Bad Science Series of books: Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax" Badastronomy.com blog Footnotes References Barker, V. 2004. Beyond appearances : students' misconceptions about basic chemical ideas. 2nd edition (accessed on-line 9 Sept. 2008) Charles, E.S. & S.T. d'Apollonia. 2003. A systems approach to education. PEREA report. How Students Learn. 2005. A National Academy of Sciences Report. Fuchs, T.T., & Arsenault, M. (2017). Using test data to find misconceptions in secondary science. School Science Review 364(98) 31-36. Science education Misconceptions