Preconceptions Must Be Engaged

Definition

Learners construct new knowledge by building upon what they already know and believe. When instruction ignores or conflicts with existing preconceptions—including false beliefs—students may reinterpret new information to fit their current mental models rather than revising those models. Effective instruction must make these prior beliefs visible, address misconceptions directly, and help learners construct more accurate understandings.

In the Book

The NRC report emphasizes this principle as fundamental to learning science. The book presents the story of children trying to understand that the earth is spherical: when told "the earth is round," many children pictured a flat pancake rather than a ball. They had incorporated the new information into their flat-earth model by imagining a pancake floating in space. This illustrates how "Fish Is Fish" (Lionni, 1970)—a story of a fish constructing representations of land creatures as fish-like forms—shows that "people construct new knowledge based on their current knowledge" with both creative opportunities and dangers.

Similarly, college students often hold sophisticated-sounding but scientifically incorrect beliefs about physical and biological phenomena. The book notes that "these preconceptions must be addressed in order for them to change their beliefs." Research on sixth-graders receiving inquiry-based physics instruction showed they outperformed eleventh and twelfth graders taught conventionally, because the inquiry approach attended to initial understandings and helped students revise them.

Why It Matters

This concept fundamentally changes how teaching is designed. It moves beyond the "transmission model" (teacher tells facts, students memorize) to a constructivist understanding where learners are active sense-makers. Recognizing that preconceptions are obstacles that must be addressed—not bypassed—allows educators to anticipate difficulty and scaffold revision. In professional and technical domains, this principle explains why smart, experienced people sometimes resist or misunderstand new information: their prior knowledge actively shapes how they interpret it. The concept also applies beyond education: it suggests how to communicate change, influence thinking, or introduce innovation in any context where people's existing mental models shape what they see.