D.Phil. / Reading constitutes a major part of academic activities especially at tertiary level where acquisition of knowledge depends on written texts. For university students in particular, key sources of new knowledge in domains of science, for example, are often textbooks, reference books, journal articles and laboratory manuals. In reading the texts, students are expected either to develop or to review information on their own. Unfortunately many first-year university students have difficulties understanding and acquiring knowledge from texts effectively and efficiently. This problem is often more pronounced among students who have to read through English second language (ESL). This study was prompted by complaints from the University of the North first-year physics lecturers that their first-year students were experiencing serious problems with accessing information from their prescribed texts. A provisional assumption made is that lack of reading strategies combined with lack of cognitive skills made worse by poor English language proficiency are to a great extent responsible for this failure. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore the reading behaviour of the University of the North first-year students in as far as the learning of physics is concerned. Results show that these students do indeed lack cognitive and metacognitive strategies and that their English proficiency level is below what is expected of them at first year. They are therefore ill-prepared to deal with their prescribed text (physics) through this medium. This study recommends that students should be given explicit instruction in strategy selection and use but that these should be sufficiently flexible to be utilized in a variety of contexts and must eventually be owned by the students themselves for later use. The ultimate goal is for students to use the strategy without guidance from their lecturer

This study explored if there are differing beliefs and attitudes regarding working with students of multicultural backgrounds based on the content area specialties (i.e. biology, chemistry, Earth science and physics) of in-service secondary science teachers. The study was mixed methods and conducted in two parts. The first part focused on the use of quantitative statistical analysis to review the results of 152 respondents to a 54 Likert questions on the Survey on Multiculturalism in the Science Classroom (SMSC). The statistical analysis was followed up with qualitative analysis of interviews with 12 in-service science teachers representing the different content areas. Quantitative findings indicated that biology and Earth science teachers demonstrated similar patterns of responses in terms of comparative statistical analysis, network correlation diagrams, and general responses to the Likert items from the SMSC. Of the four content area groups, physics teachers demonstrated the greatest difference in their responses regarding multiculturalism. The results also showed that the beliefs and attitudes of chemistry teachers were correlated with those of physics teachers; this was not the case for biology teachers and Earth science teachers. Themes emerging from a qualitative analysis of the interviews included the following: a) In-service teachers have received little formalized training in regard to working with multicultural students; and b) Differences in teacher beliefs and attitudes reported in this study could be the result of diminishing representation of students from multicultural backgrounds in the different sciences, particularly as students move through a traditional progression from biology, to Earth science, to chemistry, to physics.

Educators are increasingly focused on the process over the content. In science especially, teachers want students to understand the nature of science and investigation. The emergence of scientific inquiry and engineering design teaching methods have led to the development of new teaching and evaluation methods that concentrate on steps in a process rather than facts in a topic. Research supports the notion that an explicit focus on the scientific process can lead to student science knowledge gains. In response to new research and standards many teachers have been developing teaching methods that seem to work well in their classrooms, but lack the time and resources to test them in other classroom environments. A high school Physics teacher (Bradford Hill) has developed a unit called Patterns in Nature (PIN) with objectives relating mathematical modeling to the scientific process. Designed for use in his large public school classroom, the unit was taken and used in a charter school with small classes. This study looks at specifically whether or not the PIN unit effectively teaches students how to graph the data they gather and fit an appropriate mathematical pattern, using that model to predict future measurements. Additionally, the study looks at the students' knowledge and views about the nature of science and the process of scientific investigation as it is affected by the PIN unit. Findings show that students are able to identify and apply patterns to data, but have difficulties explaining the meaning of the math. Students' show increases in their knowledge of the process of science, and the majority develop positive views about science in general. A major goal of this study is to place this unit in the cyclical process of Design-Based Research and allow for Pattern in Nature's continuous improvement, development and evaluation. Design-Based Research (DBR) is an approach that can be applied to the implementation and evaluation of classroom materials. This method incorporates the complexities of different contexts and changing treatments into the research methods and analysis. From the use of DBR teachers can understand more about how the designed materials affect the students. Others may be able to use the development and analysis of PIN study as a guide to look at similar aspects of science units developed elsewhere.

The post-pandemic classroom dealt with not only the mental health struggles of educators and students, but also the technological and virtual learning dependence in a time ridden with misinformation. At this time, it was important to not only consider the purpose and intent of science education as a learning experience, but also pedagogical approaches that seek to actualize this very intent. The pedagogy of science has at its foundation the experience of inquiry beginning from self and expanding to the natural world. Explained by educationalists like John Dewey and Thomas Kuhn and in theory, implemented into classrooms through the Next Generation Science Standards, the potential of inquiry is to expand from a first-person experience to the wellbeing of community and society. Moreover, contemplative philosophies, such as Yoga, Vedanta, and Buddhist mindfulness, provide novel, yet ancient approaches to teaching this awareness through their pedagogical framework. Contemplative or spiritual pedagogies are those whose approach involves the exploration of subjectivity through introspection and empathy practices like meditation, journaling, and activism. In all, as the practitioner of these traditions and the educator-researcher in the classroom, I performed a qualitative study in phenomenology. I taught an AP Physics C class influenced by the lens of this contemplative paradigm, although this was not detached from the usual curriculum or interventional by nature. From emergent themes in the past student work and evaluation of their experience, I discovered the following: when an educator applied the approach of these wisdom traditions into the classroom curriculum, the resulting environment impacted a positive learning experience as it pertained to engaging science as inquiry. This study had an ambition to provide a novel approach to teaching and learning inquiry informed by the above-mentioned traditions.

Acompanha: Radiações e telescópio: uma proposta para o ensino médio: caderno de sugestões de atividades educacionais / Este trabalho apresenta características e discussões pertinentes à pesquisa desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Formação Científica, Educacional e Tecnológica da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR – Campus Curitiba/PR. Esta pesquisa é constituída de elementos que permeiam a problematização do ensino de Física para o 3º ano do Ensino Médio das escolas públicas em geral e em particular do Colégio Estadual Paulina Pacífico Borsari, em Curitiba/PR. A referida pesquisa apresenta estratégias de ensino para abordar Radiações no Ensino Médio, tendo como objeto motivador os telescópios espaciais, dentro da perspectiva do agir comunicativo de Jürgen Habermas, do uso do discurso no âmbito explicativo com o intuito de atingir a estrutura cognitiva do aluno, para que este consiga relacionar os conceitos aprendidos com os demais âmbitos: objetivo, social e subjetivo. Ao fazer as relações nos três âmbitos citados, espera-se que aluno tenha conseguido estabelecer na sua estrutura cognitiva inter-relações entre os conhecimentos prévios e os novos conceitos. Esse processo envolve a assimilação e retenção de novos conhecimentos, de acordo com os modelos teóricos estabilizados, para aprendizagem significativa, de acordo com a Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa de David Ausubel e colaboradores. Os dados desta pesquisa foram constituídos por meio de: registros escritos em diário de campo, elaborados pelo pesquisador; gravações em áudio das atividades educacionais desenvolvidas; mapas conceituais elaborados pelo professor e pelos alunos; questionários respondidos pelos discentes. Esses dados foram analisados por meio de Análise de Conteúdo. Entre os resultados, podem ser destacados indícios de assimilação de conceitos científicos para a ampliação de âmbito explicativo e estabelecimento de relações entre ciência e tecnologia em referência aos âmbitos objetivo, social e subjetivo. / This study presents characteristics and relevant discussions on research conducted at the Postgraduate Program in Scientific, Educational and Technological Formation in Federal University of Technology-Parana- UTFPR-Campus Curitiba / PR. This study consists of elements that permeate the questioning of the teaching of Physics for the 3rd year of high school in public schools in general and in particular the State College Paulina Pacific Borsari, in Curitiba / PR. This research presents teaching strategies to address radiation in high school, with the space telescopes as motivating objects, from the perspective of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas, considering the speech use in explanatory domain in order to achieve student cognitive structure, so that this learner can relate the learned concepts with other domains: objective, social and subjective. By making the relationships in the three mentioned domains, it is expected that the student has been able to establish interrelationships in their cognitive structure between prior knowledge and new concepts. This process involves the assimilation and retention of new knowledge, according to stabilized theoretical models, aiming a meaningful learning, according to Meaningful Learning Theory by David Ausubel and colleagues. Data from this study were constituted by: written records in field diary, made by the researcher; audio recordings of the developed educational activities; conceptual maps made by the teacher and students; questionnaires answered by students. These data were analyzed by means of Content Analysis. Among the results, it can be highlighted some evidence of assimilation of scientific concepts for the expansion of explanatory domain and of establishment of relations between science and technology in reference to objective, social and subjective domains.

Acompanha: Radiações e telescópio: uma proposta para o ensino médio: caderno de sugestões de atividades educacionais / Este trabalho apresenta características e discussões pertinentes à pesquisa desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Formação Científica, Educacional e Tecnológica da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR – Campus Curitiba/PR. Esta pesquisa é constituída de elementos que permeiam a problematização do ensino de Física para o 3º ano do Ensino Médio das escolas públicas em geral e em particular do Colégio Estadual Paulina Pacífico Borsari, em Curitiba/PR. A referida pesquisa apresenta estratégias de ensino para abordar Radiações no Ensino Médio, tendo como objeto motivador os telescópios espaciais, dentro da perspectiva do agir comunicativo de Jürgen Habermas, do uso do discurso no âmbito explicativo com o intuito de atingir a estrutura cognitiva do aluno, para que este consiga relacionar os conceitos aprendidos com os demais âmbitos: objetivo, social e subjetivo. Ao fazer as relações nos três âmbitos citados, espera-se que aluno tenha conseguido estabelecer na sua estrutura cognitiva inter-relações entre os conhecimentos prévios e os novos conceitos. Esse processo envolve a assimilação e retenção de novos conhecimentos, de acordo com os modelos teóricos estabilizados, para aprendizagem significativa, de acordo com a Teoria da Aprendizagem Significativa de David Ausubel e colaboradores. Os dados desta pesquisa foram constituídos por meio de: registros escritos em diário de campo, elaborados pelo pesquisador; gravações em áudio das atividades educacionais desenvolvidas; mapas conceituais elaborados pelo professor e pelos alunos; questionários respondidos pelos discentes. Esses dados foram analisados por meio de Análise de Conteúdo. Entre os resultados, podem ser destacados indícios de assimilação de conceitos científicos para a ampliação de âmbito explicativo e estabelecimento de relações entre ciência e tecnologia em referência aos âmbitos objetivo, social e subjetivo. / This study presents characteristics and relevant discussions on research conducted at the Postgraduate Program in Scientific, Educational and Technological Formation in Federal University of Technology-Parana- UTFPR-Campus Curitiba / PR. This study consists of elements that permeate the questioning of the teaching of Physics for the 3rd year of high school in public schools in general and in particular the State College Paulina Pacific Borsari, in Curitiba / PR. This research presents teaching strategies to address radiation in high school, with the space telescopes as motivating objects, from the perspective of communicative action by Jürgen Habermas, considering the speech use in explanatory domain in order to achieve student cognitive structure, so that this learner can relate the learned concepts with other domains: objective, social and subjective. By making the relationships in the three mentioned domains, it is expected that the student has been able to establish interrelationships in their cognitive structure between prior knowledge and new concepts. This process involves the assimilation and retention of new knowledge, according to stabilized theoretical models, aiming a meaningful learning, according to Meaningful Learning Theory by David Ausubel and colleagues. Data from this study were constituted by: written records in field diary, made by the researcher; audio recordings of the developed educational activities; conceptual maps made by the teacher and students; questionnaires answered by students. These data were analyzed by means of Content Analysis. Among the results, it can be highlighted some evidence of assimilation of scientific concepts for the expansion of explanatory domain and of establishment of relations between science and technology in reference to objective, social and subjective domains.

Although the merits of practical work in physics are often questioned, it remains part of physics curricula world-wide. In distance education the incorporation of practical work into the curriculum is considerably complicated by the unique logistics of the setting and the high cost involved. The research reported in this thesis emanated from the need to improve the practical work module for first year physics at the University of South Africa, one of the largest distance education universities in the world. Specifically, the home-based component which, up to the commencement of the research had been entirely text-based, needed to be addressed. To this end it was necessary to identify a valid and attainable set of objectives and to determine the characteristics, abilities and needs of the students in the target group. A survey polling the viewpoints of South African physics lecturers and students about the objectives of practical work was conducted and an extensive student profile comprising a biographic, cognitive and affective component was compiled. Biographically, the target group is unique in the sense that it consists mainly of adult learners, a large percentage of whom study in a second language. The cognitive component of the profile covered aptitude, proficiency in English, mathematics and the integrated science process skills and level of cognitive development, all of which were investigated for possible influence on performance in practical work. On an affective level, students displayed a very positive attitude towards practical work, seated mainly in their need for concrete exploration of the theory. A practical work module structured around an experiential learning cycle adapted to the distance education environment was subsequently designed. The study material developed for the module comprised an interactive study guide on data processing and experimental procedure, a home experiment kit with accompanying workbook and a laboratory manual. From the pilot study forming part of the development process, it was found that students performed significantly better in an assignment based on home-experimentation than in any of the pen- and paper assignments preceding it. Based on the results of the pilot study, a full home experiment kit was designed, evaluated, refined and implemented. / Physics / D.Phil. (Physics)

Practical work is regarded as an essential part of learning; hence most tertiary institutions have included a practical component in their physics courses. There is a concern about the effectiveness of the practical work in most universities. The present study is a case study that assessed the contributions of simulations on Foundation Physics students’ practical work. In assessing the contribution of simulations, two tests, Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) and the Test of Integrated Science Process Skills (TISP) were used. A class test, observations and worksheets from students’ practical work were analyzed and interviews with a selected group were conducted. There were 20 Foundation Physics students participating from the University of Limpopo. Results indicated that the simulations contributed positively on students’ understanding of electric circuits. However the study revealed that the students who did simulations do not differ from those who did not do the simulations with regards to the development of process skills. / Institute of Science and Technology Education / M.Sc. (Physics Education)

Mathematics plays a pertinent role in physics. Students' understanding of this role has significant implications in their understanding of physics. Studies have shown that some students prefer the use of mathematics in learning physics. Other studies show mathematics as a barrier in students' learning of physics. In this study the role of mathematics in students' understanding of electricity problems was examined. The study undertakes a qualitative approach, and is based on an intepretivist research paradigm. A survey administered to students was used to establish students' expectations on the use of mathematics in physics. Focus group interviews were conducted with the students to further corroborate their views on the use of mathematics in physics. Copies of students' test scripts were made for analysis on students' actual work, applying mathematics as they were solving electricity problems. Analysis of the survey and interview data showed students' views being categorised into what they think it takes to learn physics, and what they think about the use of mathematics in physics. An emergent response was that students think that, problem solving in physics means finding the right equation to use. Students indicated that they sometimes get mathematical answers whose meaning they do not understand, while others maintained that they think that mathematics and physics are inseparable. Application of a tailor-made conceptual framework (MATHRICITY) on students work as they were solving electricity problems, showed activation of all the original four mathematical resources (intuitive knowledge, reasoning primitives, symbolic forms and interpretive devices). Two new mathematical resources were identified as retrieval cues and sense of instructional correctness. In general, students were found to be more inclined to activate formal mathematical rules, even when the use of basic or everyday day mathematics that require activation of intuitive knowledge elements and reasoning primitives, would be more efficient. Students' awareness of the domains of knowledge, which was a measure of their understanding, was done through the Extended Semantic Model. Students' awareness of the four domains (concrete, model, abstract, and symbolic) was evident as they were solving the electricity questions. The symbolic domain, which indicated students' awareness of the use of symbols to represent a problem, was the most prevalent. / Science and Technology Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (Physics Education)))

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education