ABSTRACT
Conceptions of learning are an important element of a student’s make-up. As Vermunt (1998) demonstrated, they are one of the learner’s attributes that are associated with his or her learning approach. While we can expect someone’s subject knowledge to matter, the impact of misconceptions is often relatively localized. Thinking that electricity comes from one terminal of a battery, through the wire to a bulb where it is consumed will tend to matter in the topic of electricity. Learning about sound, light, erosion or the causes of the Great War is not likely to be adversely affected.
