Main aim of this study is to examine the influence of computer-assisted roundhouse diagrams on high school 9th grade students' academic achievements in the subjects of "Force and Motion". The study was carried out in a public high school in Diyarbakir the province in the Southeast of Turkey. In the study, the…

The present study was carried out with 46 teacher candidates taking the course of "Thermodynamics" in the Department of Physics Teaching. The purpose of the study was to determine the difficulties that teacher candidates experienced in explaining the heat, work and internal energy relationships in the processes of adiabatic compression…

The aim of this study was to determine the salient beliefs of pre-service primary school teachers (PPSTs) about why they like or dislike physics and to explore whether these beliefs predict their teaching beliefs about physics. A total of 267 PPSTs (Male = 137, Female = 130) participated in the study. Qualitative data analyses were used and the…

This study examined the effect of learning the history of physics on the epistemological beliefs of pre-service physics teachers. The research was conducted with 25 pre-service physics teachers using a single-group pre-test/post-test experimental model. The quantitative data of the research were collected using the Turkish version of the…

This paper presents results of a survey among school children aged 10 to 14 years, who participated in science or mathematics workshops. It particularly relates to their interest and motivation determined immediately after the workshop had finished. A total of 70 workshops were held in elementary schools of Rijeka, Croatia, involving the…

In view of the current debate in Malaysia about the teaching of science and mathematics in English, a qualitative study was undertaken involving a purposeful sampling of three non-physics teachers to ascertain how well equipped they were with the necessary pedagogical content knowledge relating to the teaching of the topic of "heat energy" in the…

In view of student shift away from science at advanced levels, and gender and locale based divergence in interest in studying physics, chemistry and biology, this study explores experience categories that significantly contribute to interest in science on a sample of upper primary school students from Kerala, India. A series of multiple regression…

The purpose of the present study was to examine how the use of V-diagrams one of the learning techniques used in laboratory studies in experiments conducted regarding the 10th grade lesson unit of "waves" influenced students' achievements. In the study, a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and posttest control group was used. The study was…

This article presents the results of a comparative study of two groups of learners--group 1 (25 non-science students) and group 2 (25 A-level physics students). It explores the extent to which their feelings and emotions in conjunction with their knowledge about nuclear energy impacts and influences their views and feelings about the use of…

This paper investigates physics teacher class planning and its consequences during implementation in class mainly focusing the contradictions emerged among teacher's and students' expectations of the class. This situation is analysed from a socio-cultural-historical point of view mainly supported by Activity Theory. We highlight the components of…

Students' understanding of energy has been primarily within the domain of physics. This study sought to examine students' understanding of concepts relating to energy and the human body using pencil and paper questionnaires administered to 610 students in Years 8-12. From students' responses to the questionnaires, conceptual patterns were…

This paper describes the development of different lesson plans dealing with authentic and controversial socio-scientific issues in the framework of climate change. These lesson plans orient themselves along the socio-critical, problem-oriented approach to science teaching. They deal with the use of bioethanol as an alternative fuel and with the…

The study investigated tenth-, eleventh-, and twelfth-grade students' alternative ideas relating to the motion of a body travelling in the field of gravity with an initial horizontal velocity. The sample of the study consisted of 40 tenth-grade students, and 33 and 40 eleventh-grade students that attended different sections of upper secondary…

Informs teachers about using concept maps as a learning tool and alternative assessment tools in education. Presents research results of how students might use concept maps to communicate their cognitive structure. (Author/KHR)

Describes the features of and assessment instruments for a new conceptual physics course for non-science majors called 'Wonders of Technology', developed at the Virginia Commonwealth University. (Author/KHR)