An Investigation of Secondary Pupils’ Misconception about Electric Current and Voltage Concepts

The current study intends to identify Moroccan pupils' level of understanding of electric current and voltage concepts and their numerous misconceptions about these two concepts. The targeted sample was collected using a purposive sampling technique, and the sample size attained 172 pupils from three Moroccan secondary schools. The research followed a non-experimental approach with a quantitative research method. The data was gathered with a questionnaire administered to pupils in the first year of the baccalaureate. The results revealed that most students had a low level of understanding of electricity concepts due to various misconceptions. Specifically, nearly three-quarters of the pupils confused electric current with voltage, and almost half demonstrated sequential reasoning. For the nature of electric charge, third of the pupils perceived electricity as a material that is consumed. Additionally, the current consumed misconception was significantly more prevalent among males than females. Regarding the pupils’ views, several barriers to learning electricity have been identified, including lack of sufficient learning activities, perceived inadequacy of the teaching methods used and the absence of motivation for learning electricity. These findings provide insights for future research to investigate whether serious games, as an innovative teaching tool, can improve learning outcomes and eliminate misconceptions.