This study investigated if prospective secondary science teachers enhance their argumentation skills and the interaction of the change in their argumentation skills with their conceptual knowledge during an argumentation-based guided inquiry course. 37 prospective secondary science teachers constituted the study sample. They were grouped according…

Reflection has recently been emphasized as a constructive pedagogical activity. However, little attention has been given to the quality of reflections that students write. In this study, we explored the reflections that students make about their knowledge organization as part of a formative learning activity. More specifically, we assessed the…

Science teaching and learning require knowledge about how learning takes place (cognition) and how learners interact with their surroundings (affective and sociocultural factors). The study reported on focussed on learning for understanding of Newton's second law of motion from a cognitive perspective that takes social factors into account. A…

Concepts relating to outer space are difficult to grasp because we lack direct experience of this environment. We analysed students' understanding of gravitation on Earth and beyond by testing the effect of training on it. In a pretest (T1), 28 seventh graders answered a questionnaire about space concepts. They all then underwent the same formal…

Solving the position of a simple pendulum at any time is apparently one of the most simple and basic problems to solve in high school and college physics courses. However, because of this apparent simplicity, teachers and physics texts often assume that the solution is immediate without pausing to reflect on the problem formulation or verifying…

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of pre-service science teachers about using vee diagrams and preparing electronic portfolios in physics laboratuary course. 103 first grade pre-service science teachers who took general physics laboratuary course were the participants of the study. Pre-service teachers constructed vee…

This paper examines the knowledge construction processes involved when grades 7 and 8 South African students learnt about the concept of gravity while visiting an astronomy-related science centre. The literature on students' understanding of gravity identifies a number of alternative conceptions prevalent, several of which are mirrored in this…

There is ongoing interest in how and what we teach in physics courses for non-science students, so-called "physics for poets" courses. Art Hobson has effectively argued that teaching science literacy should be a key ingredient in these courses. Hobson uses Jon Millers definition of science literacy, which has two components: first, "a basic…

The law of conservation of mass can be counterintuitive for most students because they often think the mass of a substance is related to its physical state. As a result, students may hold a number of alternative conceptions related to this concept, including, for example, the believe that gas has no mass, that solids have greater mass than fluids,…

Reports on a study of student understanding of the wave nature of matter in the context of the pattern produced by the diffraction and interference of particles. Errors made by students after standard instruction indicates the presence of similar conceptual and reasoning difficulties at three different educational levels. (Contains over 20…

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of learning activities based on conceptual change conditions and traditionally designed physics instruction on tenth-grade students' understanding of static electricity concepts and their attitudes toward physics as a school subject. Misconceptions related to static electricity concepts…

Administered a laboratory process skills test to 147 year-5 students to assess their investigations, performance, and reasoning in biology, chemistry, and physics. Reports significant correlation between performance and amount of homework done and students' perceptions of several aspects of the classroom environment including personalization,…

This publication provides an introduction to teaching and learning approaches for the extension topics within GCSE Physics. It highlights some specific ideas that teachers can adopt and where to find further information. It also outlines issues for managing the change. This guide contains sevens sections: Section 1 presents the policy context;…