Mechanisms for Conceptual Change in Physics

The purpose of this book is to examine students perception of their conceptual change in physics. Using in-depth interviews and a grounded theory approach, the concerns and opinions of thirteen high school physics students are the basis for a discussion on the mechanisms for conceptual change in physics. It was found that the students valued: 1) Making what they were learning real to themselves by connecting their everyday worlds to what they were learning in class; 2) Being given responsibility for their own learning; 3) Repetition of the core concepts in different contexts; 4) Timely feedback from the teacher on whether their answers are right or wrong and why; and 5) The newer conceptual initiatives they were exposed to like online Java applets and related practical work. By contrasting the relevant literature with observation of the participants, it was found that the most reasonable explanation for the students responses and differences in conceptual understanding were differences in the students motivation, rather than ineffective conceptual change strategies.

Autorentext
Hirschkorn, Mark Mark Hirschkorn, Ph.D.: High school physics teacher who went on to study science education at the University of Alberta. Currently a Professor of Science Education at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada.