Physics Education Research

Promoting conceptual development in physics teacher education: cognitive-historical reconstruction of electromagnetic induction law

by Terhi Mäntylä

Terhi Mäntylä
Online First in Science & Education, DOI: 10.1007/s11191-012-9460-x

In teaching physics, the history of physics offers fruitful starting points for designing instruction. I introduce... more In teaching physics, the history of physics offers fruitful starting points for designing instruction. I introduce here an approach that uses historical cognitive processes to enhance the conceptual development of pre-service physics teachers’ knowledge. It applies a method called cognitive-historical approach, introduced to the cognitive sciences by Nersessian (Cognitive Models of Science. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 3–45, 1992). The approach combines the analyses of actual scientific practices in the history of science with the analytical tools and theories of contemporary cognitive sciences in order to produce knowledge of how conceptual structures are constructed and changed in science. Hence, the cognitive-historical analysis indirectly produces knowledge about the human cognition. Here, a way to use the cognitive-historical approach for didactical purposes is introduced. In this application, the cognitive processes in the history of physics are combined with current physics knowledge in order to create a cognitive-historical reconstruction of a certain quantity or law for the needs of physics teacher education. A principal aim of developing the approach has been that pre-service physics teachers must know how the physical concepts and laws are or can be formed and justified. As a practical example of the developed approach, a cognitive-historical reconstruction of the electromagnetic induction law was produced. For evaluating the uses of the cognitive-historical reconstruction, a teaching sequence for pre-service physics teachers was conducted. The initial and final reports of twenty-four students were analyzed through a qualitative categorization of students’ justifications of knowledge. The results show a conceptual development in the students’ explanations and justifications of how the electromagnetic induction law can be formed.

Preliminary investigation of instructor effects on gender gap in introductory physics

by Burrow Kreutzer

Co-authored with Andrew Boudreaux, Accepted to PRST-PER on April 03, 2012

Gender differences in student learning in the introductory, calculus-based electricity and magnetism course were... more Gender differences in student learning in the introductory, calculus-based electricity and magnetism course were assessed by administering the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism pre- and post-course. As expected, male students outgained females in traditionally taught sections as well as sections that incorporated interactive engagement (IE) techniques. In two of the IE course sections, however, the gains of female students were comparable to those of male students. Classroom observations of the course sections involved were made over an extended period. In this paper, we characterize the observed instructor-student interactions using a framework from educational psychology referred to as Wise Schooling. Results suggest that instructor practices affect differential learning, and that Wise Schooling techniques may constitute an effective strategy for promoting gender equity in the physics classroom.

Parental concerns in facilitating children's physical activity participation in Hong Kong.

by Bonnie Pang

Journal of Physical Education and Recreation (Hong Kong)

This study examines the parental concerns in facilitating their children's physical activity participation in Hong... more This study examines the parental concerns in facilitating their children's physical activity participation in Hong Kong. By adopting a qualitative approach, 22 parents (10 fathers and 12 mothers), randomly chosen from in a larger study examining 802 (aged 9 to 16) children's physical activity engagement, were invited for a semi-structured interview. It is believed that these parents could represent the typicality of Hong Kong parents in increasing our understanding of the study's focus. Interview data were analyzed by using an open coding system to identify meaningful pieces of information within the comprehensive text segment (Tesch, 1990). Three themes emerged from the interview data and results in relation to Confucianism showed that parental long working hours, safety issues and over emphasize in children's academic pursuits were found to be their major concerns in facilitating children's further engagement in physical activities. Specifically, fathers and mothers were found to differ in their safety concerns for their children's physical activity involvement. Future interventions aiming at solving the suggested parental concerns could increase children's physical activity participation.

Reflections on methodological issues: Lessons learned from the Life Activity projects

by Bonnie Pang

Physical activity and Confucianism: Relationships between Hong Kong children and their parents

by Bonnie Pang

Comparison of perceived support for physical activity and physical activity related practices of children and young adolescents in Hong Kong and Australia

by Bonnie Pang

European Physical Education Review

Physical activity in the lives of Hong Kong Chinese children

by Bonnie Pang

Sport, Education and Society

Subjective task value in physical activity participation: The perspective of Hong Kong schoolchildren

by Bonnie Pang

European Physical Education Review

Teaching Physics Using Appropriate Technology Projects

by Joshua Pearce

The Physics Teacher, 45, pp. 164-167, 2007.

Appropriate technologies able to be easily and economically constructed from readily available materials by local... more Appropriate technologies able to be easily and economically constructed from readily available materials by local craftspeople have a central role in the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. However, research and development of these technologies are generally apportioned relatively modest support by the developed world’s institutions, in part because the operation of many of these appropriate technologies is dependent on relatively well-under-stood science accessible even to introductory college physics students. This paper describes a project-based assignment used to capitalize on this opportunity to motivate students to learn physics by offering them a chance to make concrete contributions to the optimization of appropriate technologies for sustainable development.

Didactical reconstructions for organizing knowledge in physics teacher education

by Terhi Mäntylä

Doctoral disertation (article-based)

Physics teachers are in a key position to form the attitudes and conceptions of future generations toward science and... more Physics teachers are in a key position to form the attitudes and conceptions of future generations toward science and technology, as well as to educate future generations of scientists. Therefore, good teacher education is one of the key areas of physics departments education program. This dissertation is a contribution to the research-based development of high quality physics teacher education, designed to meet three central challenges of good teaching. The first challenge relates to the organization of physics content knowledge. The second challenge, connected to the first one, is to understand the role of experiments and models in (re)constructing the content knowledge of physics for purposes of teaching. The third challenge is to provide for pre-service physics teachers opportunities and resources for reflecting on or assessing their knowledge and experience about physics and physics education. This dissertation demonstrates how these challenges can be met when the content knowledge of physics, the relevant epistemological aspects of physics and the pedagogical knowledge of teaching and learning physics are combined.

The theoretical part of this dissertation is concerned with designing two didactical reconstructions for purposes of physics teacher education: the didactical reconstruction of processes (DRoP) and the didactical reconstruction of structures (DRoS). This part starts with taking into account the required professional competencies of physics teachers, the pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning, and the benefits of the graphical ways of representing knowledge. Then it continues with the conceptual and philosophical analysis of physics, especially with the analysis of experiments and models role in constructing knowledge. This analysis is condensed in the form of the epistemological reconstruction of knowledge justification. Finally, these two parts are combined in the designing and production of the DRoP and DRoS. The DRoP captures the knowledge formation of physical concepts and laws in concise and simplified form while still retaining authenticity from the processes of how concepts have been formed. The DRoS is used for representing the structural knowledge of physics, the connections between physical concepts, quantities and laws, to varying extents. Both DRoP and DRoS are represented in graphical form by means of flow charts consisting of nodes and directed links connecting the nodes.

The empirical part discusses two case studies that show how the three challenges are met through the use of DRoP and DRoS and how the outcomes of teaching solutions based on them are evaluated. The research approach is qualitative; it aims at the in-depth evaluation and understanding about the usefulness of the didactical reconstructions. The data, which were collected from the advanced course for prospective physics teachers during 20012006, consisted of DRoP and DRoS flow charts made by students and student interviews. The first case study discusses how student teachers used DRoP flow charts to understand the process of forming knowledge about the law of electromagnetic induction. The second case study discusses how student teachers learned to understand the development of physical quantities as related to the temperature concept by using DRoS flow charts.

In both studies, the attention is focused on the use of DRoP and DRoS to organize knowledge and on the role of experiments and models in this organization process. The results show that students understanding about physics knowledge production improved and their knowledge became more organized and coherent. It is shown that the flow charts and the didactical reconstructions behind them had an important role in gaining these positive learning results. On the basis of the results reported here, the designed learning tools have been adopted as a standard part of the teaching solutions used in the physics teacher education courses in the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki.

Learning Kinematics in Elementary Grades Using Agent-based Computational Modeling: A Visual Programming Based Approach.

by Pratim Sengupta

Sengupta, P., & Farris, A.V. (2012). Learning Kinematics in Elementary Grades Using Agent-based Computational Modeling: A Visual Programming Based Approach. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Interaction Design & Children.

Integrating computational modeling and programming with learning and teaching physics is a non-trivial challenge for... more Integrating computational modeling and programming with learning and teaching physics is a non-trivial challenge for educational designers. In this paper, ¬¬we attempt to address this challenge by presenting ViMAP, a new visual-programming language and modeling platform for learning kinematics, and its underlying design principles. We then report a study conducted with 3rd and 4th grade students which shows that using ViMAP, they were able to develop a) deep conceptual understandings of kinematics and b) relevant programming and computational modeling practices. We also identify how the design principles supported the development of these understandings and practices as students engaged in learning activities that integrated modeling, programming and physics.

The Use of History of Science as a Cultural Tool to Promote Students’ Empathy with the Culture of Science*

by Halil Eksi

Burcu G. GÜNEY Hayati ŞEKER
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 12(1) • Winter • 533-539

It is difficult for students to understand historical settings, connect to today’s world, interpret and appreciatemore It is difficult for students to understand historical settings, connect to today’s world, interpret and appreciate
scientists’ efforts within current perspectives. Empathizing with historical characters and events can mediate
understanding nature of physics for students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of history
of science on students’ empathy with the historical characters and the events. With regards of socio-cultural
theory, empathy was defined as a cultural tool, which mediates between students and the science society. The
study was conducted in a private high school with participation of twenty-one 9th grade students in physics class
for the unit of The Nature of Physics. A qualitative case-study method was employed. Data resources were video
and audio recordings, field notes, students’ tasks, interviews, and surveys. After transcribing and categorizing,
the data were analyzed and patterns were organized. The findings supported eight aspects of empathy: Making
Personal Connections, Imagination, Identification, Humanization, Understanding the Events, Understanding Different
Perspectives, Understanding the Tentativeness of the Conclusions and Taking Perspectives. The results
supported that students could interact with the culture of science with the use of the aspects of historical
empathy. The use of the aspects of empathy attracted students’ interest in physics lesson. The results are also
promising for students’ understanding nature of science.

Scientific Inquiry Based Professional Development Models in Teacher Education

by Halil Eksi

Mehmet Ali ÇORLU M. Sencer ÇORLU
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice - 12(1) • Winter • 514-521

Scientific inquiry helps students develop critical thinking abilities and enables students to think and constructmore Scientific inquiry helps students develop critical thinking abilities and enables students to think and construct
knowledge like a scientist. The study describes a method course implementation at a major public teachers college
in Turkey. The main goal of the course was to improve research and teaching abilities of prospective physics
teachers (N=48) by developing scientific inquiry skills. The impact of the course was measured in two-folds: (a)
The results obtained from pre- and post-course scientific inquiry self-evaluations of student teachers, which
showed a statistically significant improvement, (b) independently measured scientific inquiry levels, which were
found highly correlated with student grades from practical courses. Qualitative data indicated that the student
teachers were having difficulties in applying mathematical formula into physics applications.

Didactical reconstruction of processes in knowledge construction: Pre-service physics teachers learning the law of electromagnetic induction

by Terhi Mäntylä

Terhi Mäntylä, online first in Research in Science Education, DOI: 10.1007/s11165-011-9217-6

In physics teacher education, two central goals are first to learn the structures of physics knowledge, and second the... more In physics teacher education, two central goals are first to learn the structures of physics knowledge, and second the processes of its construction. To know the structure is to know the framework of concepts and laws; to know the processes is to know where the knowledge comes from, how the framework is constructed, and how it can be justified. This article introduces a way to approach these goals in the form of a graphical tool called the didactical reconstruction of processes (DRP), where knowledge is constructed to the extent that experiments and models have an equally important role in the construction process. In practice, the DRP is a graphical network representation or a ‘flow chart’ with a specific structure, which aims to give an image of the processes of physical concept formation, while at the same time bearing in mind the educational goals. The DRP was tested in an instruction unit for pre-service physics teachers, where students drew flow charts for representing how the law of electromagnetic induction is formed. In addition to flow charts, students also wrote essays clarifying the content of the flow charts. The flow charts and essays were analysed through a qualitative categorisation of structural and knowledge claim patterns. The results show that the DRP helps students in arguing how to form the electromagnetic induction law and that the experiments and models have a distinct role in supporting students’ knowledge claims.

Understanding the Role of Measurements in Creating Physical Quantities: A Case Study of Learning to Quantify Temperature in Physics Teacher Education

by Terhi Mäntylä

Terhi Mäntylä and Ismo T. Koponen, published in Science & Education (2007) Vol. 16, p. 291-311.

Learning to understand the content and meaning of physics’ concepts is one of the main goals of physics education. In... more Learning to understand the content and meaning of physics’ concepts is one of the main goals of physics education. In achieving this understanding, the creation of quantities through quantitative measurements, or rather through quantifying experiments, is a key process. The present article introduces a didactical reconstruction for understanding the construction of the meaning of physical quantities from a network point of view, where the quantities are part of networks and the quantifying experiments build up these networks. As a practical example, we discuss how the quantity temperature is constructed in an instructional unit designed for student teachers and what the learning outcomes are.

Evaluating College Students' Conceptual Knowledge of Modern Physics: Test of Understanding on Concepts of Modern Physics (TUCO-MP)

by Bayram Akarsu

Science Education Research vs. Physics Education Research: A Structural Comparison

by Bayram Akarsu

The main goal of this article is to introduce physics education research (PER) to researchers in other fields. Topics... more The main goal of this article is to introduce physics education research (PER) to researchers in other fields. Topics include discussion of differences between science education research (SER) and physics education research (PER), physics educators, research design and methodology in physics education research and current research traditions and trends (e.g. current research ideas) within PER.

An empirical approach to interpreting card-sorting data

by Steven Wolf

Co-authored with Daniel P. Dougherty and Gerd Kortemeyer.

Published in Phys. Rev. ST-PER

Since it was first published 30 years ago, Chi et al.'s seminal paper on expert and novice categorization of... more Since it was first published 30 years ago, Chi et al.'s seminal paper on expert and novice categorization of introductory problems led to a plethora of follow-up studies within and outside of the area of physics [Chi et al. Cognitive Science 5, 121 - 152 (1981)]. These studies frequently encompass "card-sorting" exercises whereby the participants group problems. While this technique certainly allows insights into problem solving approaches, simple descriptive statistics more often than not fail to find significant differences between experts and novices. In moving beyond descriptive statistics, we describe a novel microscopic approach that takes into account the individual identity of the cards and uses graph theory and models to visualize, analyze, and interpreting problem categorization experiments. We apply these methods to an introductory physics (mechanics) problem categorization experiment, and find that most of the variation in sorting outcome is not due to the sorter being an expert versus a novice, but rather due to an independent characteristic that we named "stacker" versus "spreader." The fact that the expert-novice distinction only accounts for a smaller amount of the variation may explain the frequent null-results when conducting these experiments.

How Does Visual Attention Differ Between Experts and Novices on Physics Problems?

by Lester Loschky

Research in many disciplines has used eye-tracking technology to investigate the differences in the visual attention... more Research in many disciplines has used eye-tracking technology to investigate the differences in the visual attention of experts and novices. For example, it has been shown that experts in art and chess spend more time than novices looking at relevant information. Thus, it may be helpful to give novices more direct insight into the way experts allocate their visual attention, for example using attentional cueing techniques. However, not much is known about how experts allocate their attention on physics problems. More specifically, we look at physics problems where the critical information needed to answer the problem is contained in a diagram. This study uses eye movements to investigate how the allocation of visual attention differs between experts and novices on these types of physics problems. We find that in several problems tested, those who answered a question correctly spend more time looking at thematically relevant areas while those who answer incorrectly spend more time looking at perceptually salient areas of the diagram.

Common Concerns About the Force Concept Inventory

by Charles Henderson

Henderson, C. (2002). Common Concerns About the Force Concept Inventory, The Physics Teacher, 40, 542-547.