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International studies, such as the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, reveal that most teachers rely on textbooks as the basis of their instruction. This is particularly true for new curriculum components. Thus a good alignment between the official curriculums and textbooks is necessary for the classroom implementation of the official curriculums. However, the study of the translation of official curriculums into textbooks is missing in the education literature. The Nature of Science (NOS) content in the Physics curriculums in Mainland China and Hong Kong serves as the context of this exploratory research on official curriculum-textbook translation. In this study, the extent and manner of the translation of the NOS content in the official curriculums into the text book was first investigated through the analysis of the NOS content found in the official Physics curriculums and the Physics text books in Mainland China and Hong Kong respectively. Two sets of textbooks that were widely adopted by schools in each of the two sites were studied against the corresponding Physics curriculum. The findings of the investigation then paved the way for the subsequent identification of the factors that affect the translation of the NOS content in the official curriculums into the textbook content through interviews with the authors, consultants and editors who assisted in determining the content in the textbooks of the two sites. It was found that the major NOS ideas found in the official Physics curriculums at both sites were thoroughly included in the corresponding textbooks, yet the translation of the official curriculums into textbook content was not perfect. In some cases, the textbooks nicely illustrated and elaborated upon the NOS ideas with relevant contexts intended by the official curriculums. In other cases, the alignment was simply are-statement of the curricular specifications onto the textbooks. A number of factors influencing the official curriculum-textbook translation of the NOS content were found in the study. These include authors’ and editors’ belief regarding the benefits brought about by students’ learning of NOS content, students’ background knowledge and reading skills, textbook approval systems and selection practices, teachers’ acceptance towards new NOS content, the absence of NOS-related questions in high-stake examinations and the academic and vocational background of the authors and editors. In addition, the study also revealed other factors that operate differently in the two sites. These include teachers’ criteria of textbook selection, the trial and revision system of textbooks, teachers’ reluctance towards the teaching of new content, and the demand for examination-oriented materials in textbooks. Through synthesizing the factors that influence curriculum implementation found in the literature and the factors that influence the official curriculum-textbook translation as reported by the informants, a model of the factors that affect the translation of official curriculums into textbook content was proposed. The model builds upon and could be analogously compared to the existing model of classroom-level curriculum implementation. Through an enhanced understanding of the official curriculum-textbook translation, the current study provides the missing link in the existing literature on curriculum implementation. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A RESEARCH REPORT submitted to the School of Science Education in the Faculty of Science of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. South Africa in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE / The purpose of the research was to investigate South African teachers' understandings of Newton's third law of motion, and their perceptions regarding the teaching of it. The treatment of the law by South African, British and American textbooks was also examined. Teachers' ideas were investigated qualitatively by interviewing sixteen teachers and teachers-in-training. Alternative ideas found by other researchers were evident in some of the interviewees. and further alternative ideas were uncovered The research showed that the form in which a teacher stated the law correlated to their understanding of the law, Furthermore, experience in teaching the law can result in improvement in the understanding and/or teaching methods of a teacher. American textbooks contain the best presentation of the law; South African textbooks are adequate in their treatment. though containing errors. Recommendations have been made regarding teacher training. textbooks and education department policy. / Andrew Chakane 2019

The purpose of this study was the assessment of physics reasoning on the basis of students' understanding of motion on an inclined plane. Subjects were presented with a video tape showing a motion experiment in steps and were asked to formulate hypotheses and design an experiment to test these. Subjects thought aloud while specifying the designs and goals of an experiment. Protocols were analyzed by an original method using schema representation techniques. Adequancy of subjects' reasoning was evaluated by comparison to a composite model built from physics domain principles. As more information was presented to subjects, processing differences were observed. Using a hierarchy of processes from recognition to generation, five groups of subjects were defined. Subjects differed in recognition and inclusion processes, use of incoming information, ability to generate experimental designs, and responses to falsification. Concepts of average velocity and differences in directionality of reasoning were analyzed.

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From introduction: The main purpose of the present study is to give a detailed critical survey of possible teaching approaches to fundamental physical ooncepts and principles which could reasonably be taught at sohool, and to consider the implications of this survey for the teaching of physical science in South Africa

There is growing awareness in the physics education research community about the importance of using representations in physics teaching and the need for lecturers to reflect on their practice. This research study adopted a design-based research approach in an attempt to design a reliable, valid and practically useful artefact (framework/strategy) that could be used to trigger introductory physics lecturers’ reflections on their instructional use of representations. The artefact, which was instantiated with physics lecturers, comprised an observation protocol, an accompanying definitions key, a communication platform, and an instrument to assess the outcome (the levels of reflection). The video-data of lecturer practice were analysed using a priori codes to generate profiles of teaching practice. The resulting profiles were used to trigger individual video-stimulated reflection. The levels of reflection were assessed using a purpose-designed ‘Expectations of Reflection’ taxonomy. Thereafter a set of design guidelines and design principles were generated to guide further similar design-based educational studies. The process was validated via interview data but, while it was deemed a valid and reliable solution to the research problem, there were varying levels of perceived value of the artefact among the participating lecturers.

The purpose of the study was to forecast the actual performance of five extracurricular educational activities by 128 first year university Physics students using Fishbein's model for the prediction of behavior and behavioral intention. The effectiveness of achievement measures and measures of attitude toward various instructional objects in the prediction of behavior and behavioral intention was also investigated. Consideration of Fishbein's model led to the investigation of several specific problems: (a) the relationship between variables internal to and those external to the model; (b) the relationship between behavior, behavioral intention, and the attitudinal and normative variables of the model; (c) the accuracy with which behavioral intention and behavior could be predicted, and the relative importance of the predictors in the prediction equation; (d) the use of behavioral intention measures as predictors of behavior in specific educational situations; and (e) the detection of possible measurement effects. A Likert attitude scale was used to obtain measures of attitude toward fourteen different aspects of Physics and Physics instruction. Estimates of Grade 12 Mathematics and Grade 12 Physics achievement were obtained from self- reports. Fishbein's model was applied to measures of: students' attitudes toward performing each activity (A act), their social normative beliefs (NB s), personal normative beliefs (NBp),motivation to comply with certain referents (Mc ), and behavioral intention (BI). Behavioral intentions were also predicted for three of the voluntary activities, using measures of A act, NBs and NBp as predictor variables. The measures of normative beliefs were taken with respect to the referents: self, closest friends, parents, majority of the class, lecturer, and religious group. The model for predicting behavioral intention was given by Fishbein in the form of a multiple regression equation, where the criterion variable is BI and the predictor variables are Aact and the summation (over all referents) of NBs multiplied by Mc. Most of the obtained results tended to agree with expectations based on Fishbein's theory. Variables external to the model were, for the most part, poorly correlated with behavioral intention and with overt behavior (B) unless they were significantly correlated with at least one of the predictors given in the model. Statistically significant correlations were consistently found between measures of BI and NBp, Aact, and the normative belief with respect to students' 'best friends'. The magnitudes of correlations between measures of BI and the other social normative beliefs varied considerably across activities, several correlations reaching statistical significance. Correlations between B and measures of BI were generally low, although three out of five were significantly greater than zero. Correlations between behavior and the predictor variables were also small, and were frequently not statistically significant. High multiple correlations obtained in the prediction of BI indicated predictive validity of the predictor variables. In all predictions of BI, NBp had, by far, the greatest weight as a predictor. Beta weights of Aact, and NBs varied greatly across activities. Low multiple correlations were obtained in the prediction of behavior from the predictor variables, substantiating the low product moment correlations obtained between BI and B. The observation that significant positive correlations between behavior and the predictor variables were reduced to nonsignificance when behavioral intention was held constant, tended to substantiate the theoretical expectation that BI is an intervening variable between behavior and the predictor variables. An unexpected result was the detection of significant measurement effects in the prediction of voluntary performance of three activities. These effects were substantiated by means of χ²tests of the independence of behavioral responses obtained under different measurement conditions: administration of the research instrument, a placebo instrument, and no instrument. It was concluded that with the application of Fishbein's theory, the prediction of behavioral intention with respect to performing free-choice activities in an educational setting could be made with considerably better than chance accuracy. The prediction of actual performance of the activities from measures of behavioral intention, however, posed serious difficulties. It was recommended that the possibility of measurement effects influencing the prediction of behavior be given careful consideration in future educational applications of the model. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

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The necessity of students’ engagement with the subject matter for successful learning is welldocumented in education research in general, and in physics education research in particular. This study examines the merits of two different programs designed to improve student learning through enhanced student engagement with the material. The target populations of the two programs are different: One is the group of students taking a physical science class as part of the general curriculum required of non-science, non-engineering majors; the other is the group of students, mostly in engineering disciplines, who must take the calculus-based introductory physics sequence as part of their majors’ core curriculum. The physical science class is required for non-science majors due to the importance of having a science-literate public. To improve this group’s engagement with the subject matter, Physics in Films approaches the subject in the context of scenes taken from popular Hollywood films. Students’ learning in the class is evaluated by comparison between performance on pre- and post-tests. The students are also polled on their confidence in their answers on both tests, as an improved belief in their own knowledge is one of the goals of the class. For the calculus-based physics group, a large issue is retention within the major. Many students change to non-science majors before the completion of their degree. An improved understanding of the material in the introductory physics sequence should help alleviate this problem. The Physics Suite is a multi-part introductory physics curriculum based on physics education research. It has been shown to be effective in several studies when used in its entirety. Here, portions of the curriculum have been used in select sections of the introductory physics classes. Their effectiveness, both individually and in conjunction, is studied. Students’ mastery of concepts is evaluated using pre- and post-tests, and effects on class performance and retention within the major are examined. Input from both groups of students in the study was obtained through interviews and surveys.