This interpretive case study was designed to describe the classroom goals and roles of two high school students enrolled in a physics course. The interpretation also consisted of the participating students' views of their teacher's classroom roles. Goals and roles were examined in light of the participating students' perceived and preferred classroom learning environments. / Qualitative data were constructed from 95 hours of classroom observations and 18 hours of audio recorded interviews with the two participating students. The interviews focused on classroom goals and roles, the teacher's role in the classroom, and other salient issues which emerged in the physics classroom. / Student stories were constructed from the interview and observation data. Data were organized with the aid of a qualitative computer software program. Emerging thematic patterns were woven into storylines focusing on: (1) understanding mechanics, (2) ethics, and (3) gender. These three themes were interpreted in the context of the participating students' perceived and preferred physics classroom learning environments. / It was problematic for one of the participating students, named Sally (a pseudonym), to understand the mechanics associated with the assigned textbook word problems. Sally was a novice physics learner who did not make the connection between the mathematical solutions to the word problems and mechanics. However, Sally excelled in the mousetrap car and egg drop container physics projects. The other participating student, named Frank (a pseudonym), wanted the teacher to illustrate how to solve the word problems and lecture over the mechanics. / At the beginning of the trimester, Sally's classroom goals were to learn physics and earn a good grade. Learning physics became a secondary goal for Sally as the term progressed. Frank's primary goal was to learn physics. His secondary classroom goals were to earn a good grade and be entertained. / Ethical issues which emerged in this study centered upon Sally's honesty and Frank's courage in the classroom. A significant gender issue was that Sally sought a caring relationship with the male teacher to facilitate her understanding of mechanics. Frank considered caring relationships less important to facilitate his learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4339. / Major Professor: Kenneth G. Tobin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77585 |
| Contributors | Robinson, Scott David., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 249 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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