ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 43, Number 6
JKCSEZ 43(6)
December 20, 1999 

The purpose of this study was to investigate high school students' conceptions and conceptual types on molecular kinetic theory of gases. Data was collected by a series of semi-structured and in-depth interviews, and has been analyzed. This study showed that the students came to science classes with various prior conceptions of many disciplinary topics. Their conceptual types of their prior knowledge were distinguished as superficial terms-speaking, partial sense-making, and causal sense-making by the degrees of organization and elaboration of conceptual networks. These conceptual types had influence on the ways students understand and think of science, a stability of their conceptions, a tendency to distinguish school science from everyday science, and building a meaning of concept in contexts. It was referred that the students didn't have proper understanding on the nature of scientific knowledge and had been limited their participations as active learners. Therefore, in order for students to experience conceptual change, they must have opportunities of manifesting their own thinking, taking part in discussions, and promoting their motivations and metacognition of knowing and learning science.