The introductory phase of studying physics poses a wide range of challenging problems to new students. One of them is learning physics on a new, more abstract and highly mathematised level, at high speed, in a lowly regulated learning environment. While several German universities have taken action to mitigate these problems, much knowledge about…

The use of spaced repetition within a physics higher education thermodynamics module has been analysed for: its pattern of use by students; its effect on memory and performance in the end of module exam; and performance in a delayed test after the summer vacation. A custom-built web app with the facility to generate a personalised repetition…

The aim of this study was to determine the preferred cognitive learning patterns among secondary students and their effect on their achievement in physics. To achieve the objective of the study, the researcher designed a scale of cognitive learning patterns (VAK) that consisted of (16) items, and after verifying its validity and reliability, it…

This article demonstrates how an adaptive instructional design for a physics module can be realized in a standard learning management system. We implemented a didactic design with physics-specific online exercises that were accompanied by either detailed or non-detailed instructions, depending on the results of the previous task (or a prior…

Although there is considerable interest in learning spaces in higher education, the relationship between spaces and learning is complex and not well-understood. Despite challenges, such as the lack of comparability between studies, we need to learn more about the interaction of space design and learning. A crucial step towards this is the creation…

The relevance of the investigated problem is caused by the need for monitoring the impact of the Unified State Examination (USE) on the level of mathematical culture and the level of geometric literacy of applicants and students of modern engineering universities of Russia. The need to determine the position of Descriptive Geometry in the…

This article examines the possibility of supporting craft education by incorporating knowledge students have gained via science lessons: such knowledge largely refers to the mathematics and physics taught in Estonian comprehensive schools. Results were gleaned from interviews with craft teachers in Estonia, in order to establish their attitudes to…

Systematic changes to higher education curriculum typically occur within the extended timeframes of formal curriculum review processes. Programmes need to be reviewed periodically for internal and external accountability or to determine whether the curriculum has lost its coherence due to the accumulative effect of continual small-scale changes.…

Academic achievement and student participation in physics are lower than desired. Research has shown that there is a shortage of college students entering science and technology fields such as physics. E-learning may provide the technology-oriented Net Generation learner an option for taking courses such as physics in a course modality with which…

The purpose of this study is to introduce a problem-based learning material, the Satellite Module, that has integrated some of the subjects included in the disciplines of physics and mathematics at an introductory level in undergraduate education. The reason why this modular and problem-based material has been developed is to enable students to…

Describes the development and assessment of instructional materials intended to improve student understanding of the concept of time in special relativity, the relativity of simultaneity, and the role of observers in inertial reference frames. Demonstrates the effect of the curriculum and illustrates the intense cognitive conflict as students are…

Addresses the influence that science and learning concepts have when teachers are submitted to assessment in an academic program. Reports changes shown by teachers in their epistemological and learning conceptions during the process of instruction. (Author/CCM)

Explains differences between evaluation and assessment as used at the LEAD (Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination) Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Highlights include researcher evaluation efforts; faculty assessment of students; the Learning through Technology (LT2) Web site; and a case study of assessment and…

The Physics Education Research Group at the University of Minnesota has developed an interview tool to investigate physics faculty views about the learning and teaching of problem solving. In the part of the interview dealing with grading, faculty members were asked to evaluate a set of five student solutions and explain their reasons for the…

This paper reports the transition of the researcher's teaching before and throughout teaching innovation, including one year traditional teaching (1996) and three years constructivist teaching (1999-2001). Based on the constructivist view of learning, an innovative teaching program was designed and implemented by the author in a university physics…