This study explored students’ conceptual understanding and conceptual growth regarding
classical mechanics in the natural context of a Grade-level 10 science classroom. The purpose of the study
was to determine the pervasiveness of a pattern observed in an earlier study in which learners initially gave
evidence of scientifically valid knowledge structures but then returned or regressed to an earlier, primitive
level of understanding. In the current study, concept mapping and interview methods were used to capture
students’ construction of knowledge patterns across a survey course designed to focus on some big ideas
in physics. The analyses of mean ratings of student-generated concept maps and interview transcripts over
three data collections did not consistently reveal the progression–regression patterns across the instruction
as observed in the earlier study. The students’ knowledge structures remained stable across the 10 weeks
and remained unchanged 4 weeks after instruction ceased, suggesting that very little construction or re-
structuring of knowledge was taking place, and possibly worse, that the students’ existing knowledge was
not challenged sufficiently to promote the construction or reconstruction process. Implications of the al-
ternative interpretations are discussed