I detta arbete så vill jag studera hur praktisk fysikundervisning och bedömning i några svenska gymnasieskolor överensstämmer med modern forskning om fysikpedagogik. Denna forskning spänner över ett brett spektrum av metoder och teorier, varav jag har fokuserat på om lärarnas undervisning kan beskrivas som -elevaktiv eller inte, -mer eller mindre baserad på bokstudier, -inriktad på konceptuell förståelse eller mer förmågan att räkna specifika uppgifter. Dessa aspekter diskuteras även i relation till de inblandade lärarnas utbildning. För att kunna jämföra de olika klasserna och lärarna har jag använt ett test av konceptuell förståelse (FCI, se sektion 3.2) samt enkäter till lärare och elever. Ur ett tyvärr skevt urval av klasser och lärare framgår att det finns stora skillnader på hur lärarna ser på undervisningen och vilka undervisningsmetoder de använder, samt hur styrt de upplever sitt arbete. Korrelationerna mellan elevernas resultat på FCI och på ordinarie prov på motsvarande mekanik är små, vilket tyder på att reguljära prov mäter konceptuell förståelse i liten utsträckning. Det finns även skillnader i resultaten i form av elevernas konceptuella förståelse mellan skolorna, i linje med tidigare forskningsresultat att nyare metoder faktiskt ger bättre resultat, även om denna preliminära studie inte förmår ge underlag för direkta slutsatser. Resultaten tyder även preliminärt på att manliga elever lyckas få en bättre konceptuell förståelse än kvinnliga elever i skolan.

The purpose of this study is (1) to investigate the characteristics of ideal physics textbooks, (2) to investigate the students, teachers, textbook writers, book committee members and science education instructors&rsquo / opinions whether the 9th grade physics textbooks, used in TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), possess the characteristics of an ideal physics textbook, and (3) to investigate how physics textbooks should be used and how they are being used. In this study, &ldquo / Physics Textbooks Evaluation Questionnaires&rdquo / , which were prepared for physics teachers, 9th grade students, National Ministry of Education book committee members, science education instructors and physics textbook writers separately, were used as measuring instruments. The study was conducted with 591 students, 18 physics teachers, 4 book committee members, 3 science education instructors in Magosa and LefkoSa cities in TRNC, and 4 physics textbook writers in 2005-2006 spring semester. The data were analyzed by using frequency analysis. Results revealed that most of the opinions of the participants matched with the literature review in terms of ideal physics textbooks characteristics. In addition, according to most of the textbook writers and book committee members, textbooks, that were analyzed, possessed most of the characteristics of ideal physics textbooks in the nine determined categories. However, according to most of the teachers&rsquo / and students&rsquo / opinions, analyzed physics textbooks possessed most of the ideal physics textbook characteristics in all categories except instructional approach category. Students&rsquo / views on usage of physics textbooks indicated that most of the teachers and students&rsquo / levels of using physics textbooks were almost similar. In addition, all groups of the participants stated that it is necessary to support textbooks with other sources.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Conceptual Approach and Combined Reading Study Strategy on 9th grade private high school students&rsquo / achievement and attitudes towards optics at &Ccedil / ankaya district of Ankara. For Conceptual Approach, Conceptually Based Instruction was developed. Combined Reading Study Strategy is the integration of reading strategies of the KWL and SQ3R. For the study, two measuring tools / Physics Achievement Test, Physics Attitude Scale and various Teaching/Leaning Materials were developed. The study was conducted with 124 ninth grade private high school students in &Ccedil / ankaya district in the spring semester 2006-2007. The study was conducted with three teachers with their 6 classes. For the study factorial design was used to investigate the partial and combined effects of Conceptual Approach and Combined Reading Study Strategy. Physics Attitude Scale and Physics Achievement Tests were administered as pre-test. Two classes instructed by conceptual approach with combined reading study strategy, two classes instructed by conceptual approach without combined reading study strategy and the left two classes were instructed by traditional instruction with combined reading study strategy. After two months treatments, Physics Attitude Scale and Physics Achievement Test were administered as post-test. The data obtained from the administration of post-tests were analyzed by statistical techniques of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA). According to the results of this study the conceptual approach and combined reading strategy methods have greater affect on the students&rsquo / achievement compared to other conceptual approach without combined reading study strategy and traditional instruction with combined reading study strategy.

The main aim of this study was to analyze the implementation of problem-based instruction in electrical-electronics engineering education from the perspectives of tutors and students. Secondary aim of the study was to compare engineering students&rsquo / motivation and their use of learning strategies who received their first year curriculum in problem-based learning (PBL) format, in comparison to those who received their curriculum in a conventional lecture format. A multi-method research design that incorporated case study and causal comparative designs were employed in this study. Fourteen electrical-electronics engineering students and four tutors working as instructors at this department were selected for the case study. Observations, interviews, and document analysis were used to collect qualitative data. For the causal comparative study, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire was administered to 452 freshman engineering students twice as a pre-test and after a three months period as a post-test. Multivariate Analyses of Covariance was used to compare the two groups on the dependent variables of the current study. The findings of the case study indicated students&rsquo / and tutors&rsquo / perceptions and opinions about the implementation of PBL, its strengths and weaknesses, factors affecting tutors&rsquo / and students&rsquo / performance and their improvement suggestions. The results of the causal comparative study indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups in favor of the group receiving PBL curriculum with respect to students&rsquo / extrinsic goal orientation and test anxiety / their use of elaboration strategy / their management of effort regulation, and time and study environment.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of instruction based on problem-based learning (PBL) on 7th grade students&rsquo / science achievement, attitude toward science course and scientific process skills. The study was conducted in May 2007 with 141 students and four science teachers from four middle schools in G&ouml / lbasi district of Ankara. A total of eight classes were participated in the study. Four of them were assigned randomly to control group and four of them were assigned randomly to experimental group. There are two different experimental groups. One of the experimental groups was given the PBL instruction through individual work (PBL-I). The other group took the PBL instruction by making group work (PBL-G). Two classes were assigned randomly to PBL-I group and the remaining two were assigned randomly to PBL-G. Before starting the treatments a needs analysis was conducted to develop scenarios so that they can address students&rsquo / interests. Moreover, a pilot study was conducted in the previous academic year for the instructional materials and instruments developed by the researcher. Treatments, given by the teachers, continued up to five weeks. The control group was given traditional instruction, whereas, the PBL-I group took the PBL instruction through individual work, the PBL-G group took the PBL instruction via group working. The dependent variables of the study were attitude toward the course, scientific process skills, and academic achievement. The collected data were analyzed through MANCOVA. The analyses yielded that there is no statistically significant mean difference between groups on the scores of attitude, scientific process skills and academic achievement. In addition, aptitude-treatment interaction analysis was conducted. This analysis indicated that effect of the PBL instructions differ with respect to covariates. In other words, the PBL instructions work well in some levels of the covariates, while in other levels, traditional instruction yields better results. Qualitative data were obtained through students&rsquo / self-evaluations and interviews made with students and teachers. Document analysis was conducted for the data collected through self-evaluation form. This analysis showed that PBL students mostly engaged with doing research, designing and making experiments. However, students in the control group usually, listened to their teachers, write down definitions, formulas, graphs from their teachers, and solved problems requiring mathematical operations. According to the interviews, students in general are enthusiastic about the PBL instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of WebQuest based instruction on ninth grade students&rsquo / achievement in and attitude towards force and motion subject. Force and Motion Achievement Test, Attitude towards &ldquo / Force and Motion&rdquo / Scale, Attitude towards the Internet Scale, Observation Checklist, and Out-Class Activities Survey were used as measuring tools. Teacher handouts and WebQuests were prepared as teaching/learning materials for this study. The study was conducted with 226 ninth grade students from eight classes of four high schools in Etimesgut district of Ankara in the spring semester of 2009-2010. There were four teachers and two classes of each teacher in this study. Force and Motion Achievement Test, Attitude towards &ldquo / Force and Motion&rdquo / Scale, and Attitude towards the Internet Scale were administered as pre-test to all groups in order to determine students&rsquo / prior achievement and attitude level before the treatment. The students in the experimental group received WebQuest based instruction and the students in the control group received traditional physics instruction. The instruction in both groups took eight weeks. After the treatment, Force and Motion Achievement Test, Attitude towards &ldquo / Force and Motion&rdquo / Scale, and Out-Class Activities Survey were given to both the experimental and control groups. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were carried out with the data obtained from the pre and post-tests. The descriptive statistics showed that the distribution of the data at each variable was approximately normal. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used as inferential statistics. The results of the MANCOVA showed a significant mean difference of the achievement in favor of the experimental groups. However, no significant difference was found for attitude towards force and motion between the groups.

The aim of this study is to investigate undergraduate students&rsquo / scientific inquiry processes in a physics laboratory designed using problem-based learning. Case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was employed for this aim. Sixteen undergraduate students were participated in this study. Participants conducted inquiry activities for five weeks. The data sources were the observations of participants while they were doing inquiry activities and the laboratory work sheets filled by the participants. A framework suggested by Klahr and Dunbar (1988) in Scientific Discovery as Dual Search model was used to gain better understanding of scientific inquiry process. In this framework, inquiry process consist of three phases / hypothesis formation, designing and conducting experiments, and evidence evaluation. The variations on the participants&rsquo / scientific inquiry processes were analyzed and categorized for each phase of inquiry. Participants&rsquo / hypothesis formation processes were categorized based on the nature of sources used by the participants and how these sources were used. The emerging categories were labeled as &ldquo / concept-based hypothesis formation&rdquo / , &ldquo / equation-based hypothesis formation&rdquo / , and &ldquo / context-based hypothesis formation&rdquo / . Participants&rsquo / designing and conducting experiment processes were categorized into two types: &ldquo / Systematic manipulations&rdquo / and &ldquo / unsystematic manipulations&rdquo / . &ldquo / Haphazard manipulation of variables&rdquo / and &ldquo / using two manipulated variable simultaneously&rdquo / were the two different types of observed unsystematic manipulations. Lastly, participants&rsquo / evidence evaluation processes were categorized based on the driving sources: &ldquo / Data-driven evidence evaluation&rdquo / and &ldquo / prior knowledge-driven evidence evaluation&rdquo / . Detailed descriptions of these categories were presented with examples.

The purpose of this study was to investigate four in-service physics teachers&rsquo / beliefs related to Turkish High School Physics Curriculum (THSPC) and to what extent these beliefs are reflected in their instructional practices. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and an open-ended questionnaire. Teachers&rsquo / responses to interview questions showed that they believed that teaching physics according to the THSPC helped students use their skills, become interested in physics lessons, relate physics to their daily life and have a permanent knowledge. Besides, teachers believe that they can teach physics according to the THSPC generally by giving examples from daily life and creating a discussion environment. The data obtained from classroom observations showed that the beliefs of teachers about how to teach physics according to the THSPC were reflected in their instructional practices. Teachers&rsquo / responses to open-ended questionnaire showed that teachers believed the necessity of attainment of majority of the skill objectives in the THSPC by students. However, they do not consider that students can attain many of the problem solving and information and communication skills. The data obtained from classroom observations showed that they seldom attempted to help students attain them or they never attempted. The data gathered from interviews and an open questionnaire showed that there were some factors that influence teachers&rsquo / instructional practices according to the THSPC. For example, they believe that students&rsquo / interest in physics lessons and teacher&rsquo / s opportunity to give more examples about daily life made their teaching physics according to the THSPC easy. However, they believe that university entrance exam, inadequacy of laboratory environment and lesson hours, students&rsquo / low economic status and lack of information and communication technologies affected their teaching physics according to the THSPC negatively.

<p>I detta arbete så vill jag studera hur praktisk fysikundervisning och bedömning i några</p><p>svenska gymnasieskolor överensstämmer med modern forskning om fysikpedagogik.</p><p>Denna forskning spänner över ett brett spektrum av metoder och teorier, varav jag har</p><p>fokuserat på om lärarnas undervisning kan beskrivas som</p><p>-elevaktiv eller inte,</p><p>-mer eller mindre baserad på bokstudier,</p><p>-inriktad på konceptuell förståelse eller mer förmågan att räkna specifika uppgifter.</p><p>Dessa aspekter diskuteras även i relation till de inblandade lärarnas utbildning.</p><p>För att kunna jämföra de olika klasserna och lärarna har jag använt ett test av</p><p>konceptuell förståelse (FCI, se sektion 3.2) samt enkäter till lärare och elever. Ur ett</p><p>tyvärr skevt urval av klasser och lärare framgår att det finns stora skillnader på hur</p><p>lärarna ser på undervisningen och vilka undervisningsmetoder de använder, samt hur</p><p>styrt de upplever sitt arbete. Korrelationerna mellan elevernas resultat på FCI och på</p><p>ordinarie prov på motsvarande mekanik är små, vilket tyder på att reguljära prov</p><p>mäter konceptuell förståelse i liten utsträckning. Det finns även skillnader i resultaten</p><p>i form av elevernas konceptuella förståelse mellan skolorna, i linje med tidigare</p><p>forskningsresultat att nyare metoder faktiskt ger bättre resultat, även om denna</p><p>preliminära studie inte förmår ge underlag för direkta slutsatser. Resultaten tyder även</p><p>preliminärt på att manliga elever lyckas få en bättre konceptuell förståelse än</p><p>kvinnliga elever i skolan.</p>

This study explores how racial differences may influence achievement and persistence in physics by using data provided by the Persistence Research in Science and Engineering (PRiSE) project, which surveyed college students throughout the United States about their backgrounds, high school science experiences, and science attitudes. This study draws upon previous studies to first determine the factors that predict achievement and persistence in physics by using hierarchal linear multiple regression analysis. Once statistically significant factors of persistence and achievement were determined, the study determines whether those variables are significantly different among students of determine races. The study found that race was ultimately not a good predictor of both achievement and persistence in physics; however, this does not necessarily mean that race was an insignificant component. Due to the nature of hierarchal regression analysis, the component of race may have been accounted for in other predictors. However, the analyzed predictors for could not fully account for the variance in either achievement or persistence. This may be due to the limited scope of the PRiSE survey, which did not include socioeconomic factors. The study concludes with a proposal for future research.