Keywords
misconceptions
climate change
education
ozone layer
How to Cite
Abstract
Misconceptions are deep-seated and erroneous thought processes that resist change even when addressed through teaching. In the field of climate change and environmental education, misconceptions have been studied in order to rectify the misunderstanding of the topic, especially in students, who will be the decision makers of a future world that will experience the greatest impacts of climate change. Some of the most dominant misconceptions are related to the misunderstanding of the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect and the concept of global warming. However, very little is known about how thse misconceptions relate to each other, and whether there are different levels of importance between them. Here we demonstrate those particular misconceptions about climate change and specific interactions between misconceptions function as predictors of general misunderstanding of the topic. To do so, we analyze college students' responses to surveys on climate change concepts using random forest methods. Unlike previous studies that have provided a categorical list of climate change misconceptions, this study finds levels of relative importance among misconceptions, revealing that the belief that the ozone hole is the primary cause of climate change and that the greenhouse effect has been caused by humans are significant misconceptions that also act as predictors of general misunderstanding of the topic. These results allow us to identify the key ideas with which students have the most difficulty. This study could serve as a starting point for understanding the interrelationship of ideas that make climate change a complex field of study.
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