This document discusses a science assessment question that tested students' ability to apply observations and identify the appropriate context for a "no honking" sign. Less than 50% of students chose the correct answer of a hospital. The document analyzes possible reasons for incorrect answers and emphasizes the importance of developing students' observation and critical thinking skills from an early age. It provides suggestions for classroom activities to help students better understand signs and symbols and improve their observation abilities.

1. Students Misconception Series – Science (Part 1)

2. Do your Student Learn or Mug up ?Students of all ages seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to responding to any situation or performing any task.As teachers, most of us go back home thinking that our students have understood every concept that we teach them. It is only when we test them that we find that some concepts have not been understood as clearly as they should have been.It is this desire to understand student thinking that prompted us to examine ASSET questions of the past rounds, in Science, examining the most common wrong answers to understand what could have made students select the options they did.

3. Scientificliteracy & ScientificmethodsClass 3

5. 1. Why was the Question asked?This question was asked to test whether students are able to apply their observations and identify the setting in which the sign above should be used.2. What did students answer?Less than 50% chose the correct answer A, whereas around 24% of the students chose option B.Possible reason for choosing B: Strangely, these students are choosing an option where a 'no-honking' sign is not really required. They may not have understood the meaning of the sign given above or they may have been disturbed by loud honking while standing at a railway crossing and are therefore choosing this option.Possible reason for choosing C: Very few students have chosen this option and are probably making a random guess.Possible reason for choosing D: Students choosing this option may be aware of the need for a sign like this one outside schools, as they may have been disturbed by the sound of traffic at some point. Moreover, they may never have observed conditions within a hospital and therefore may be unaware of the need for silence outside a hospital. They are, however, ignoring the term 'MUST' in the question.

6. 3. LearningsLess than half of the students have chosen the correct answer to this question. This suggests that the rest of the students are either not relating the sign appropriately or have never observed or noticed such signs outside hospitals.While a 'no-honking' sign may not be essential to know, it is important that students are aware of different signs and symbols, especially the signs that denote high voltage, danger, etc. They should also be aware of how to relate those signs in practical settings and take decisions based on the information given by different signs.The skill of observation and the ability to relate observations to various situations need to be developed from an early stage among students as it is essential for the development of the other science process skills. Once students start making good observations, they will be encouraged to start noticing and questioning things that they hadn't thought about earlier.

7. 4. How do we handle this?Signs and symbols:Give students a simple map of a city (or make one, with various places like a bank, school, hospital, factories, etc. mentioned in the map). Tell them that they are going to be in charge of putting up signs in a city where there are no signs. Explain to students that signs are used for the safety and convenience of people. Then give them a bunch of relevant signs (in the form of cut-outs) that they will have to place at appropriate spots on the map. This activity can be done in groups if you make enough copies of the map. After students have finished placing the signs at different places on the map, ask each group to explain why they have placed a sign at a particular place. Although most signs will be obvious to the students, some may not be apparent and hence, the students may have questions about them. Take this opportunity to discuss and revise the meanings of different important signs and symbols.Skill of observation: Ask students to write down descriptions of objects in their playground/art class/ lunch room without explicitly naming the objects. They can write about the shape of the objects, their location, their uses etc. After they have finished, let each student read out their descriptions and see if the rest of the class can guess the objects. This exercise will help students recall and relate previous observations.

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