Changing Students Perceptions of Matter through the Educational Model of Microcosm

In this paper we investigate whether a teaching intervention based on the model of the microcosm can help students of elementary school recategorize substances based on their molecular structure instead of based on their physical state and whether this recategorization is related to the change of students' perceptions of matter. The sample consisted of 36 students of 5th grade divided into two groups (control-experimental). They were administered a categorization task and a conception of matter task. The results confirm our hypothesis for the recategorization of substances after the intervention, which affected positively students? concepts about matter, supporting our view that the microscopic approach helps students acquire a better understanding of the macroscopic concepts.