Thesis ((M.Ed. (Science Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The new curriculum introduced in the Further Education and Training phase has had a great impact on the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences in the classrooms. The policy documents for Physical Sciences emphasis that practical work to be integrated with the teaching of Science. However, much remains desired on how teachers use their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) to conduct practical work in their classrooms. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of practical work in the context of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement. PCK was used as the theoretical framelens to understand teachers’ perceptions of practical work. Data in the study were collected through interviews and observations from four Grade 11 teachers. It was also collected by scrutinising teachers’ portfolios. Observations were used to discover the teachers’ actual classroom conduct of practical work. The sample of the study was drawn from Mankweng Circuit, in the Limpopo province. The findings of the study revealed that teachers conduct demonstrations which were structured and inquiry based practical work was not conducted. It was also found that they conduct practical work for promotional marks only. Furthermore, it was revealed that teachers appreciate the value of practical work in the teaching and learning of Physical Sciences but lack of resources and time constraints hinder them from conducting good practical work. It was also found that teachers do not have practical work lesson plans in their portfolios except those for reporting. However, apparatus in some instances were limiting teachers to conduct good practical work. Large classes, lack of time table for practical work and pressure to complete the curriculum were also mentioned by the teachers as limitations. It is recommended that subject specialists should help in developing teachers’ knowledge to conduct inquiry based practical work.

The purpose of this study was to gather information about how students learn the foundational concept of conservation of matter during a non-chemistry unit on the rock cycle. The unit covered the rock cycle, rock types, and the law of conservation of matter and took place in a sixth grade classroom of 30 students. A mixed methods, quasi-experimental, pre-post, delayed post design was used to measure student understanding of the concept of conservation of matter as it relates to the rock cycle. Students made significant learning gains from pre-test to post-test and showed mastery in less complex subject areas, but struggled to learn the more complex concept of conservation of matter. More research is needed in order to gain a greater understanding of how students learn difficult foundational concepts such as conservation of matter, and how they are able to apply their understanding across disciplines in science. This study offers suggestions for future work including a series of questions to assess student misconceptions about matter, and how to use those questions to measure students' ability to transfer knowledge to different learning contexts. The recommended questions ask students to transfer knowledge from the conservation of matter as it applies to the rock cycle to chemistry concepts including conservation of matter, mass and volume.

Many pre-health students are required to take introductory physics as undergraduates, though they often struggle to see the relationship between medicine and what they learn in these courses. In order to help students make that connection, reformed curriculum was adopted that teaches physics through the context of biomedicine. This dissertation will discuss the development, implementation, and assessment of the reformed curriculum for the introductory and intermediate level physics courses that targets the needs of pre-health students. The curriculum created during this project include laboratory activities, multimedia content, and other instructional materials all of which present physics in biomedical contexts. The laboratory activities focus on exploring the physical principles behind common medical devices or concepts such as body composition analyzers or computed tomography. This often required researching, designing, and building devices for use in the classroom. Videos interviews with biomedical experts detail how physics is used in their fields. The texts written for these courses serve as a fundamental scientific introduction to the physical concepts and technical discussions of their application in biomedicine. An online homework platform allows for the implementation of a flipped classroom. Homework integrates the material, probing both conceptual understanding and problem solving. Multiple forms of assessment have been used to improve the content and clarity of the curriculum. The research for this project includes a study of the impact of these course reforms on students' attitudes toward physics. Shifts in attitudes were assessed using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS), course surveys, student interviews, and conceptual quizzes. Data was collected from students in the reformed course and a concurrent course taught using a traditional physics curriculum that does not have a focus on biomedicine. The results show that students' attitudes were affected by the reforms in multiple ways including students' ability to contextualize physical phenomenon through biomedical applications. Direct responses from the students indicated that they appreciated that the course included biomedically relevant content. They stated that the course had helped them to make connections with physics that they were not able to make in previous physics classes. However, a portion of the students qualified their approval of the course reforms by stating, for example, that they felt they were missing out on other topics due to the biomedical focus. There is evidence that other factors such as class meeting time could have played a role in students' attitudes as well. Students were surveyed multiple times throughout the year. Results of these surveys show that students' attitudes tend to decrease during fall term, but improve after winter and spring term. These results suggest that greater gains in favorable attitudes could be achieved by course reforms in fall term, where positive attitudes are at a minimum. Illustration-based quizzes were administered to assess students' conceptual understanding and contextualization of different physical phenomena. The quizzes featured open-ended prompts about illustrations similar to those often seen in physics instruction. Few significant differences in conceptual understanding were found between students in the reformed and traditional courses. However, students in the reformed course were more likely to cite biomedical applications of the physical phenomena. These course reforms teach physical principles through their application to biomedical technology and have positively impacted students' appreciation for the relationship between physics and biomedicine.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the nature of thinking styles as it relates to style value and style malleability through examining the relationships between thinking styles, motivational orientations, and academic achievement in learning physics among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Specifically, the research aimed to determine whether or not teaching styles change students’ thinking styles, and if so, the association of these changes on students’ motivational orientations; and to determine the extent to which motivational orientations and thinking styles link academic achievement in physics. This quantitative research employed a quasi-experimental longitudinal design and was composed of one pilot study and one main study. The pilot study purposed to evaluate the two inventories used in the main study: the Motivational Orientation Scales in Learning Physics (MOSLP) and the Thinking Styles Inventory Revised II (TSI-R2). A total of 76 secondary school students participated in the pilot study. Results revealed that the MOSLP and the TSI-R2 were applicable to Hong Kong school students. The main study was an experimental study aimed at determining the impact of teaching styles on students’ thinking styles, motivational orientations, and academic achievement in physics. A total of six teachers and 449 secondary students constituted the experimental group, and five teachers and 347 students constituted the control group. The intervention, involved students in physics lessons instructed under Type I teaching styles, was implemented in each participating teacher’s school for one semester. Pre-and post-tests were conducted, in which students’ thinking styles and motivational orientations were measured by the TSI-R2 and the MOSLP respectively. Students’ physics examination results were also collected at the time of the post-test. A series of statistical analyses were conducted to reveal the effects of thinking styles on motivational orientations, to identify changes in students’ thinking styles, and to determine their relationships with academic achievement in both the experimental and control groups. Overall results demonstrated that Type I thinking styles were positively associated with task orientation and negatively connected with work avoidance orientation, thus which indicated adaptive value of Type I styles; Type II styles were not particularly associated with any of the motivational orientation scales, which suggested that they were value-differentiated; and Type III styles were found to be associated with ego orientation (in the pre-test), which suggested that they had less adaptive value. Moreover, students in the experimental group unexpectedly demonstrated a decreasing trend in their use of some Type I styles, some maladaptive Type II styles, and some Type III thinking styles for learning physics, whereas students in the control group decreased their use of some Type III thinking styles. Also, reduction in ego orientation among students in the experimental group was found to be greater than that of the control group. Finally, results demonstrated that teaching styles played a mediating role in boosting academic achievement. Students in the experiment and control groups studying in different forms modified either their thinking styles or motivational orientations. The magnitudes of these changes positively associated with students’ levels of achievement in physics. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

The study investigated the attitudes of high school learners towards Physics and Chemistry. The learners were in Sastri College, a high school in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The study also investigated the relationship between attitude and performance. The sample consisted of 50, Grade 12, Physical Science learners. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire, a semi-structured and individual interviews and the matriculation results from the Department of Education and Culture. The SPSS package was used to analysis the quantitative data. The interviews were used to qualify and elaborate on the statistical findings. The findings showed that majority of the learners had a positive attitude towards Physics while few learners had positive attitude towards Chemistry. It was also found that attitude did not affect the performance of the learners and there was no gender difference between attitudes and performance. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

Acompanha: Unidades didáticas: A cinemática do atletismo; A física do paraquedismo, p. 74 / Esta dissertação estuda o uso da lousa digital interativa no ensino de Física do Ensino Médio, especialmente através do curso de formação para professores de Física da rede pública estadual da região Norte do Paraná. No início desta investigação, 36 professores atuantes no ensino de Física na Educação Básica responderam a um questionário inicial composto de dez perguntas. A maioria dos professores entrevistados manifestou interesse em participar de um curso de formação continuada – que se destinava a promover a inserção da lousa digital nas aulas de Física –, por se sentirem inseguros para trabalhar com essa ferramenta didática. Após a análise do questionário inicial, um grupo de 28 professores de Física participou de um curso de formação continuada sobre o uso da lousa digital interativa envolvendo a aplicação de um produto educacional, que consistiu em duas Unidades Didáticas de Física elaboradas para professores que trabalham com alunos do 1º ano do Ensino Médio. Após o curso de formação, os professores responderam a um questionário final, cuja análise levou a três categorias, à semelhança com a análise realizada em um estudo de Glover e Miller (2002), em escolas do Reino Unido. Foram revelados três perfis dos docentes frente ao uso da lousa digital interativa: os interessados, os parcialmente interessados e os docentes pouco interessados. Seis meses depois, foi feita uma única e última pergunta aos professores, sobre o uso efetivo da lousa digital em sala de aula, e os resultados corroboram as análises feitas anteriormente, reforçando a classificação em três categorias. / This dissertation studies the use of the interactive whiteboard in the teaching of Physics in Secondary Education, especially through a Physics teacher-training course on the State schooling network of northern Paraná. In the beginning of this research, thirty-six active teachers of Physics in Basic Education answered an initial survey that consisted of ten questions. Most of the teachers surveyed expressed interest in being part of a continuing education course – that aimed to promote the use of the interactive whiteboard in Physics classes –, due to their lack of confidence to work with such didactic tool. After an examination of the initial survey, a group of twenty-eight Physics teachers attended a continuing education course about the use of the interactive whiteboard concerning the implementation of an educational product, which consisted of two Didactic Units of Physics designed for teachers who work with students on the first year of Secondary School. After the training course, the teachers answered a final survey that resulted in three categories after analysis, resembling the scrutiny from a study conducted by Glover and Miller (2002) in schools from the United Kingdom. Three teacher profiles were unveiled about the use of the interactive whiteboard: the interested ones, the partially interested ones, and the ones lacking interest. Six months later, one question only was asked to the teachers about the effective use of the interactive whiteboard in classrooms, and the results validate the analyses previously done, reinforcing the ranking in three categories.

Submitted by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-11T16:26:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FERRAZ_Anderson_2017.pdf: 40829920 bytes, checksum: 302e75ea285b072e44d2af2114222f09 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-11T16:26:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FERRAZ_Anderson_2017.pdf: 40829920 bytes, checksum: 302e75ea285b072e44d2af2114222f09 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-11T16:26:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 FERRAZ_Anderson_2017.pdf: 40829920 bytes, checksum: 302e75ea285b072e44d2af2114222f09 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-11T16:26:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FERRAZ_Anderson_2017.pdf: 40829920 bytes, checksum: 302e75ea285b072e44d2af2114222f09 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22 / Não recebi financiamento / The main purpose of this research was to investigate the peer instruction. Focusing in the Radiations teaching the aim was to make easier discursive interactions in physics classes. Through the socio-interactionist theory (Mortimer and Scott) the study was carried on in a public school of the São Paulo State with students (n=12) that aiming a preparation to enter a college. During the eight teaching activities, the data were collected through open and closed questionnaires (pre-post test) and audio recording. In each teaching activities, after a brief conceptual presentation, a question was designed to the students. Bardin's content analysis and the discursive interactions of Mortimer and Scott were used to examine the data. The results indicate that peer instruction is an effective strategy to promote interactions between students themselves and students-teacher interactions. / O objetivo principal da pesquisa de caráter qualitativo foi investigar o potencial do peer instruction como facilitador das interações discursivas nas aulas de Física, especialmente no ensino de radiações em uma escola pública do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Acreditando que o estímulo às interações entre alunos e destes com o professor possa contribuir para um ensino mais próximo da realidade do estudante, procuramos responder a seguinte questão: “Quais os limites e as possibilidades do uso do peer instruction enquanto estratégia facilitadora dos processos interativos aluno-aluno e aluno-professor nas aulas de Física do Ensino Médio?” Para responder a essa pergunta, estabelecemos os seguintes objetivos específicos: delimitar através da literatura o potencial educativo do peer instruction; investigar o papel das interações nas aulas de física; analisar o papel do peer instruction nos processos interativos aluno-aluno; delimitar as possibilidades de construção do conhecimento científico na relação entre professor e aluno com a utilização do peer instruction e, analisar as possíveis limitações educativas inerentes ao uso do peer instruction nas aulas de física do Ensino Médio. Como aporte teórico utilizamos a teoria sociointeracionista de Mortimer e Scott (2002). Os dados que compõem a pesquisa provêm de questionários abertos e fechados e de gravações em áudio das atividades de doze (12) alunos de um cursinho social oferecido pela escola. Foram desenvolvidas oito (8) atividades de ensino sobre tópicos de radiações, com duração de 50 minutos cada, em que se utilizou uma versão modificada do peer instruction de Eric Mazur (2015). Os dados foram analisados à luz da análise de conteúdo de Bardin (2011) e das interações discursivas de Mortimer e Scott (2002). Os resultados indicam que o peer instruction, com algumas adaptações, além de tornar as aulas mais dinâmicas, propicia mais liberdade para os alunos externalizarem suas conclusões perante o professor. Constitui-se, também, em uma estratégia eficaz na promoção das interações aluno-aluno e alunoprofessor durante os processos de construção do conhecimento científico.

Submitted by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-27T12:21:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CARMO_Rodrigo_2017.pdf: 2234714 bytes, checksum: 3ab51ffaa79e5c6edf2ddbde9dd2ae46 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-27T12:21:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CARMO_Rodrigo_2017.pdf: 2234714 bytes, checksum: 3ab51ffaa79e5c6edf2ddbde9dd2ae46 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Milena Rubi (milenarubi@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-27T12:21:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CARMO_Rodrigo_2017.pdf: 2234714 bytes, checksum: 3ab51ffaa79e5c6edf2ddbde9dd2ae46 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-27T12:21:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CARMO_Rodrigo_2017.pdf: 2234714 bytes, checksum: 3ab51ffaa79e5c6edf2ddbde9dd2ae46 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-15 / Não recebi financiamento / In this work we discuss two important movements that are part of the curriculum of the physical discipline of physics in high school, wich are classified as part of a set of phenomena that constitute as an Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM). Namely, the pendulum movement and the projection of uniform circular motion on one of the cartesian axes. In both situations we have a SHM. We have developed dynamic simulations of these phenomena using GeoGebra software. This approach allows user’s, teacher and student, the establish a visual connection between geometry, algebra and the physical concepts present in the studied subjects, it allows interactions that go beyond the conventional simulators, such as having full access to the programming used, allowing user’s to control it at will. We also elaborated two routes of usage, one for each simulator. We applied the simulators in the environment a suggestion of didactic application of our simulators. / Neste trabalho abordamos dois importantes movimentos que fazem parte do currículo da disciplina de Física no ensino médio e são classificados como parte do conjunto de fenômenos que se constituem como um Movimento Harmônico Simples (MHS) . A saber, o movimento pendular e a projeção do movimento circular uniforme sobre um dos eixos cartesianos. Nas duas situações temos um MHS. Desenvolvemos simulações dinâmicas desses fenômenos utilizando o software GeoGebra. Tal abordagem permite ao usuário, professor e estudante, uma conexão visual entre a geometria, a álgebra e os conceitos físicos presentes nos temas estudados, possibilitando interações que vão além dos simuladores convencionais como, por exemplo, ter acesso total à programação utilizada, permitindo ao usuário adaptações e alterações que julgar pertinente. Elaboramos também dois roteiros de utilização, um para cada simulador. Realizamos a aplicação dos simuladores em sala de aula e aqui apresentamos uma sugestão de aplicação didática dos nossos simuladores.

Orientador: Roberto Nardi / Banca: Maria José Pereira Monteiro de Almeida / Banca: Eliana Marques Zanata / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar, nos discursos de licenciandos em Física, elementos considerados específico para o ensino de Física na Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA), buscando evidenciar o imaginário desses futuros professores em relação a esta temática, como também o desenvolvimento de saberes docentes necessários para atuar na referida modalidade. Para isto, foi introduzida uma problemática para licenciandos dos último ano do curso de Física, que deveriam realizar seus estágios curriculares em classes de EJA no ensino médio e planejarem atividades de ensino adequados à realidade destas classes, a partir das observações e reflexões realizadas sobre este contexto. Posteriormente, tais atividades foram conduzidas pelos futuros professores durante o estágio de regência. Os dados coletados a partir deste processo foram analisados por meio de princípios e pressupostos da Análise de Discurso. O estudo mostrou que o imaginário dos licenciandos sobre a EJA se aproxima do senso comum, ou seja, os futuros professores não apresentaram saberes necessários para atuar em classes de jovens e adultos, de acordo com as características específicas que esta modalidade exige. Tendo em vista que os sujeitos estudados estavam prestes a concluir a formação inicial como docentes, as lacunas apresentadas mostram a necessidade de maior investimento nos estudos sobre a EJA, ainda na graduação, de forma que os futuros docentes conluam esta etapa de sua formação tendo desenvolvido saberes iniciais sobre o tema / Abstract: The objective of this research was to identify in future physics teachers' discourses elements considered specific for teaching for youth and adults (YAT), trying to reveal the imaginary of them about this subject, as well the development of teacher's knowledge necessary to teach in this education modality. For that, a problem was introduced to the last year undergraduate students, that should do their supervised teaching practice activities in YAT classes and planning appropriate activities for teaching according to the reality of these classes, from previous observations and reflections taken about this context. Subsequently, these activities were analyzed using principles and assumptions of Discourse Analysis. It was found that the imaginary of the student teachers about the youth and adults education mach to the common sense, that is, they did not demonstrate knowledge proper to teach in youth and adults classes, according to the specific features that this education modality requires. Taking into consideration that the students analyzed were up to conclude their initial teachers education program, the gaps presented show the necessity to improve the studies about YAT, still during the initial education, in order they may conclude this stage having developed initial knowledge about this eductation modality / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-02-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:42:25Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 viveiros_er_dr_bauru.pdf: 3065043 bytes, checksum: 8a4a9934e79408a0f77efe3839a0a313 (MD5) / Uma interface cérebro-computador (ICC) foi pesquisada com o objetivo de se tornar um recurso assistivo para facilitar o processo de conceitualização de pessoas com deficiência visual e física, em aulas de Física. Para avaliar esta tecnologia na práxis didática, utilizou-se a Teoria dos Campos Conceituais para sustentação epistemológica, aplicando-se estratégias multissensoriais de ensino-aprendizagem em aulas de Física, empregando-se uma unidade robótica como ferramenta didática. A análise técnica operacional dda ICC levou em consideração três aspectos que se constituíram os corpora de pesquisa: configuração didática, ergonômica cognitiva e neurociência cognitiva. Como resultado, mostramos que a ICC facilitou o mecanismo de elaboração dos esquemas cognitivos e o processo de conceitualização (invariantes operatórios, conceitos e teoremas-em-ação). Assim sendo, logrou-se o uso da ICC como 'tecnologia assistiva' para ampliação sensório-motora (controle da unidade robótica 'através do pensamento' nas aulas de Física). Com isto assegurou-se o processo de inclusão, acessibilidade e empowerment da pessoa dificiente visual e física. Além disso, a pesquisa trouxe outro resultado inédito na pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências, mostrando que a tecnologia da ICC foi funcional para o registro e acompanhamento das funções neurocognitivas em tarefas didáticas, através da análise da atividade elétrica cerebral via eletroencefalograma (EEG) e ritmos cerebrais. Para isto, realizamos quase-experimentos comparando-se uma tarefa com uma única estimulação sensorial, com outras tarefas utilizando-se estratégias multissensorias. A análise estatística dos dados neurocogntivos do EEG e ritmos cerebrais evidenciou que a aplicação das estratégias multissensoriais produziu correlação acima de 70% (com p<0,05)... / A brain-computer interface (BCI) was investigated with the objective of becoming a assistive resource for facilitate the process of conceptualization of blind and physically handicapped, in Physics classes. To evaluate this technology in teaching practice, we used the conceptual fields theory to support epistemological applying multisensory strategies for teaching and learning in physics classes, using a robotics kit as a teaching tool. Operational technical analysis of BCI considered three aspects that formed the research corpora: setting didactic, cognitive ergonomics and cognitive neuroscience. As a result, we show that the BCI mechanism facilitated the devolopment of cognitive schemas and conceptualization process (operational invariants, concepts and theorems-in-action). Thus, succeeded to the use of the BCI as 'assistive technology to increase sensorimotor (robot control 'by thinking' in Physics classes). With this assured the process of inclusion, accessibility and empowerment of the blind and physically handicapped. Furthermore, the research brought another result unprecedented in research in Science Teaching, showing that the BCI's technology was functional for the registration and monitoring of neurocognitive functions in learning tasks, through the analysis of brain electrical activity via electroencephalogram (EEG) and brain rhythms. For this, we conducted quasi-experiments comparing a task with a single sensory stimulation with other tasks using multisensory strategies. The statistical analysis of EEG and neurocognitive brain rhythms suggested that the use of multisensory strategies produced correlation above 70% (p<00,5). The use of multisensory learning strategies led to the occurrence of significant events in the range of waves Alpha, Beta and Theta indicating strong participation of the mechanism of attention, memory and cognition with emotional positive valence... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)