Teachers can begin the conceptual change process by trying to gauge the prior knowledge students have about scientific concepts. They would use oral communication, such as group or one-on-one interviews, and written communication, such as administering pretests and essays, to understand how each individual subject grasps certain ideas. Teachers should prod further in certain circumstances, asking students to observe components of a scientific process and ask what they think the explanation is for what they have observed. These tests would cover science concepts that should have been understood before the students' current grade level and the preliminary subjects to be covered in science class that year.
Teachers can also use the conceptual change model by putting their science students into groups. They can assign specific concepts and ask members of the group to explain how they work to other members of the group and take notes about the phrasing used and the questions or comments made in return.
When teachers begin regular science classes after this initial assessment period, they should use activities and lesson plans that "emphasize constructivist philosophies," explains the Akron Global Polymer Academy. They say to "de-emphasize cookbook-like activities in favor of open-ended investigations that engage students in discussions of scientific ideas in cooperative group work," such as team lab experiments. Students should have a variety of private instruction, group projects, laboratory activities and class discussions, and teachers should look for any opportunity for them to "confront their own beliefs with ways to resolve any conflicts between their ideas and what they are now experiencing."
Other useful tools and advice for using a conceptual change approach to learning science include having teachers find ways to relate the scientific concepts used to real-world applications and processes. Teachers can assign individuals a project on a concept they are having trouble explaining and ask them to show the mechanics of the process and how it functions in the world as they experience it. Science teachers can also use concept maps to get the students thinking critically about their explanations and use the end results as an assessment tool to guide the students' further instruction.