Beyond knowledge. Learner characteristics influencing conceptual change.

We have painted a picture of the conceptual change process as complex, interactive, and at once cognitive, affective, and social. Key to understanding this multifaceted view is an examination of the role learner characteristics play in the interaction. Theories and models of conceptual change learning must account for the complexity of the process. Models that are strictly cognitive or strictly social will not ultimately succeed in explaining the complexity of learning that is conceptual change. A view of conceptual change as multifaceted affords an opportunity to bridge the gap between what is oft seen as competing explanations of the change process.