This study analyses the effectiveness of directed vs. minimally directed inquiry-based instructional approaches in improving students' attitudes toward physics. It specifically compares the impacts of cognitively guided instructional strategy (CGIS) and Cubing instructional strategy (CIS) on student attitudes. Using a pretest--post-test…

Inquiring about students' learning and their difficulties understanding the concepts and models of physics is a familiar challenge in physics education research. Researchers have developed various methodologies, such as phenomenography, to address it. Phenomenography is an empirical approach to determining how people experience and understand…

This study investigates if a force-based teaching approach, based on quantum mechanical principles and developed in a lesson study, would enhance the understanding of chemical bonding among upper secondary school students. The teaching approach was based on research on the teaching and learning of chemical bonding. The study included first-year…

We develop the notions of "resistance" and "points of entry" in the context of alternative written textual formats used in physics teacher education. Studies point out that textbooks have played an important role in undergraduate physics courses, which can be part of the initial training of physics teachers. On the foundation…

Perhaps the most commonly cited student idea about forces in the literature is the notion of an impetus force, defined as the "belief that there is a force inside a moving object that keeps it going and causes it to have some speed," that can then "fade away as the object moves along." According to the literature, even after…

This study employed a case study methodology to investigate students' misconceptions about solid, liquid, and atmospheric pressure. The research included 36 8th-grade students from various middle schools in Giresun, comprising 19 girls and 17 boys. Data collection involved a test consisting of 14 concept cartoon questions, and the concept cartoons…

Large language models, such as ChatGPT, have great potential to enhance learning and support teachers, but they must be used with care to tackle limitations and biases. This paper presents two easy-to-implement examples of how ChatGPT can be used in physics classrooms to foster critical thinking skills at the secondary school level. A pilot study…

Conceptual approaches to contemporary physics topics pose many learning challenges. One factor influencing knowledge integration is a student's epistemological framing. Epistemic frames provide a context within which a particular situation is perceived, interpreted, and judged. The utility of an epistemic frame is context dependent, and the…

Storytelling has the potential to successfully convey knowledge, understanding and experiences in an unintimidating and exciting way to experts as well as non-experts in almost all fields. Storytelling's utility as an information transmission medium makes it an attractive choice for use in classrooms where knowledge sharing, and the construction…

This research aims to design immersive virtual reality with cognitive conflict to support practical learning of quantum physics. This type of research is design research through the stages of needs analysis, product design, validity test, and practicality test. The needs analysis used questionnaire sheets distributed with Google Forms and obtained…

Although there has been extensive research on students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter (PNM), there is still a lack of research on contexts that can be used to teach this challenging topic. In a previous design-based research study, the authors developed a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) on the PNM in the context of crystal…

The Augmented Reality (AR)-based learning environment not only provides educators with novel ways to present learning materials but also give learners the opportunity to spontaneously interact with the material. Previous studies have shown that AR has many advantages in education; however, few focuses on the mechanisms behind promoting inquiry…

The purpose of this study is to consider Superman's acts against impulse-momentum and conservation of momentum principles. Superheroes as fantasy fiction characters attract the attention of not only children and teenagers but also adults. Superheroes can be useful in explaining a phenomenon, as well as overcoming conceptual difficulties that may…

A common task when problem solving in quantum mechanics, including in a spins-first curriculum, involves changing the basis of a given state. Our research in undergraduate quantum mechanics courses at three institutions explores student thinking about basis, basis expansion coefficients, and change of basis in the context of spin-½ systems. Our…

Conceptual understanding is one of the most difficult issues in teaching physics. This study investigated the effect of adopting cooperative learning and Internet reciprocal teaching (IRT) on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) literacy (physics) in secondary school by comparing the cooperative method with the IRT strategy and…