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This paper considers some of the reasons why motivated students in suitable learning environments may fail to learn from competent teachers.

...the constructivist perspective that learning is a process of knowledge
construction in the mind of the learner (Pope 1982; von Glaserfeld 1989, Fensham, Gunstone &
White 1994), and assumes that we are concerned with ‘meaningful’ rather than ‘rote’ learning
(Ausubel 1961).



The primary distinction is between situations when the intended learning does not take place
because
(a) the learner can not make sense of the presented material in terms of existing ideas; or
(b) the learner interprets the new material in terms of existing, but alternative, ideas.

The first option encompasses two possible impediments to learning. They are collectively referred
to as null learning impediments, as the problem is related to the apparent absence of relevant
prerequisite knowledge.
...
The second main category of learning impediment (labelled substantive) is more problematic, as
the intended learning is restricted not by the absence of relevant ideas in cognitive structure, but
their presence. A pupil suffering from a null learning impediment is likely to be aware that she does
not understand the teacher. However, the outcome of a substantive learning impediment is to
understand differently.

Although some alternative frameworks can be very tenacious, the types of factors that are
considered to encourage pupils to ‘change their minds’ are well documented (Hewson & Hewson, 1984; Strike & Posner, 1992), as are exam- ples of teaching schemes that demonstrate these
approaches in practice (Brook & Driver, 1986; Johnston & Driver, 1991).



Keith S. Taber, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, U.K. 2000.
https://science-education-research.com/downloads/publications/2001/Taber-2001-TheMismatchBetweenAssumedPriorKnowledge-AMV.pdf