When different disciplines that physics lesson is related are examined, it is seen that mathematics becomes prominent as one of the most used fields. Physics textbooks are the most significant resources to clarify this relationship. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to analyze the involvement of mathematical knowledge in physics textbooks used…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a model-based introductory physics curriculum on conceptual learning in a Physics First (PF) Initiative. This is the first comparative study in physics education that applies the Rasch modeling approach to examine the effects of a model-based curriculum program combined with PF in the United…

Physics educators around the world often need reliable diagnostic materials to measure students' understanding of physics concept in high school. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new diagnostic tool on High School Optics concept. Test of Conceptual Understanding on High School Optics (TOCUSO) consists of 25 conceptual items that measures…

In the study of science topics especially in physics students are expected to move between different modes of representation when dealing with a particular concept as any science concept can be represented in several different modes. The difficulty for students is that they are often unable to move between these multi-modal representations and…

Background: Cooperative learning may help students elaborate upon problem information through interpersonal discourse, and this may provoke a higher level of thinking. Interaction stimulates students to put forward and order their thoughts, and to understand the ideas or questions of their peer learner. However, partner gender is an important…

This article reports the use of a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) instruction designed to help students develop understanding of image formation by lenses. The study aims to investigate how students, working in dyads and mediated by multimedia Computer-assisted learning (CAL) programs, construct shared knowledge and understanding.…

Presents a logical analysis of three vector concepts (position, displacement, velocity) in terms of their constituent characteristics and shows how they can be used to structure an empirical investigation into students' prior knowledge about these characteristics. Reports results of students' (N=20) conceptions about the vector characteristics…

Investigated relationships between physics achievement and language of instruction where instruction was in the second language of both students and teachers. Grade 10 subjects (N=176) studied light/sound in either Chinese (N=90) or English (N=86). No differences in achievement, students' motivation, and time spent in physics were found.…

This paper is about a study into the nature of analogies recorded from three Form 2 (Grade 10) classes in Kenya, instructed by three physics teachers. Through a case study method involving classroom observation, several analogies were recorded and analysed. These analogies were predominantly "environmental" (drawn from students'…

Investigates the conceptual-change process in grade 10 students during a computer-supported physics unit. Finds that many students vacillated between alternative and scientific conceptions from one context to another during instruction, and those few students who did exhibit context-independent and stable conceptual change appeared able to accept…

This case study describes 1 teacher's implementation of a modified version of Glynn's Teaching-with-Analogies model with a grade-10 optics class on refraction of light. (PR)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' conceptions of the nature of science and their reactions to evidence that challenged their beliefs about socio-scientific issues. The study used 248 students from 9th and 10th grade general science classes, 11th and 12th grade honors biology, honors science, and…

A study found first-year physics students at the University of Namibia (UNAM), considered to be a select group of students, to be as prepared for laboratory work as Australian tenth-graders. Comparison with students of Potchefstroom University (South Africa) found UNAM students deficient in both cognitive and affective aspects of laboratory work.…

This study utilized the flow theory of intrinsic motivation to evaluate the subjective experience of 78 academically talented high school sophomores participating in an 8-day summer research apprenticeship program in materials and nuclear science. The program involved morning lectures on such topics as physics of electromagnetic radiation, energy…

When the fossil fuels unit was first designed for Science 101 (the currently approved provincial guide for grade 10 science in Manitoba), Canadian support materials were very limited. Since students are asked to interpret data concerning energy consumption and sources for certain fossil fuels, the need for appropriate Canadian data became obvious.…