Color Me Chameleon

When someone says that a person has chameleon-like behavior, people usually take this to mean that the subject being discussed is one who changes in some way based on who he or she is around.  This comparison derives from the misconception that chameleons change color based on the environment that surrounds them.  In other words, they change color in order to “blend in” or “hide from predators”.  Although chameleons can, in fact, change colors, “the color change is involuntary, contrary to common belief, and is brought about by light, temperature, and nervous stimulation” (“Lizards: Chameleon”).

 

Through interviews and research, we have learned that this misconception often derives from one’s childhood.  For example, if children read Eric Carle’s The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1984), they would enjoy a story about a chameleon that dislikes that he constantly changes color to match his surroundings.  Another example is an article published by the Presbyterian Publication Committee called “Nature’s Wonders, or, God’s Care Over All His Works” which mentions a chameleon that is “perpetually varying in color when in motion; and when at rest looks so like the foliage under which it shelters, that we might easily overlook it.”  A final example is Disney.com’s “Chameleon Colour Challenge” game where children are asked to match the sequence of the quick color-changing chameleon featured in the movie “Tangled”.  Although some chameleons do have the ability to change into these bright colors, as mentioned above, they do so based on a change in light, temperature, or nervous stimulation, and the chameleon in the game does not move off its branch, nor does it ever change the emotion on its face.

 

Similar to the chameleon misconception, our students often come to class with many naïve ideas that can, indeed, interfere with what they are being taught in school.  In completing this project, we hoped to not only research and learn about one popular misconception but also apply what we learn about misconceptions into our classrooms in order to enhance student learning.