Research into Students’ Views About Basic Physics Principles in a Weightless Environment

Gürel, Zeynep; Acar, Hatice

doi:10.3847/aer2003004

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The term free fall has also been recognized as problematic by several researchers [11,12], and laden with its own semantic difficulties and conceptual pitfalls for learners. 3 In our class discussions and throughout the manuscript, the terms "scale force," "scale contact force," and "contact force" have been used interchangeably.…”

Section: A Accelerated Systems: Weight Weightlessness and Free Fallmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research studies have focused on students' and teachers' ideas about weight and related terms and concepts, including gravitational force and scale force in various situations, and the condition of weightlessness in free fall [8,9,12]. These are reported and discussed in detail by Taibu [14] and, more concisely, in a recent study of textbooks' presentations of weight [1].…”

Section: B Previous Studies On Students' and Teachers' Ideas About Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such responses indicated that after this instructional approach most students understood both the physics and the terminological issues. Physics educators have noted that students have problems conceptualizing various situations as being free fall [12], and this module seems to have been successful in addressing such difficulties.…”

Section: Students Awareness Of Language Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching weight to explicitly address language ambiguities and conceptual difficulties

Taibu

Schuster

Rudge

2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Language ambiguities in concept meanings can exacerbate student learning difficulties and conceptual understanding of physics concepts. This is especially true for the concept of "weight," which has multiple meanings in both scientific and everyday usage. The term weight has been defined in several different ways, with nuances, but in textbooks and teaching the term is almost always defined in one of two ways: operationally either as the contact force between an object and a measuring scale or as the gravitational force on an object due to some other body such as Earth. The use of the same name for different concepts leads to much confusion, especially in accelerating situations, and to conflicting notions of "weightlessness" in free fall situations. In the present paper, we share an innovative approach that initially avoids the term weight entirely while teaching the physics of each situation, and then teaches the language ambiguities explicitly. We developed an instructional module with this approach and implemented it over two terms in three sections of an introductory physics course for preservice elementary teachers. Learning gains for content understanding were assessed using pretests and post-tests. Participants achieved remarkably high gains for both static and accelerating situations. Surveys pre-and postinstruction showed substantially improved appreciation of language issues and ambiguities associated with weight, weightlessness, and free fall. Interviews with instructors teaching the module provided additional insight into the advantages and teaching demands of the new approach.

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Section: A Accelerated Systems: Weight Weightlessness and Free Fallmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Previous Studies On Students' and Teachers' Ideas About Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Students Awareness Of Language Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teaching weight to explicitly address language ambiguities and conceptual difficulties

Taibu

Schuster

Rudge

2017

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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“…The second scheme was "weight is the amount of matter"-the bigger the object is, the more weight it possesses and the harder it is to move. Galili and Kaplan (1996); Gurel and Acar (2003); and Kucuk (2005) explored the pertinent knowledge of high school and college students. Ruggiero, Cartelli, Dupr e, and Vincentini (1985) and Noce, Torosantucci, and Vicentini (1988) explored elementary and middle schools students' views on weight and gravity after standard gravitational instruction of weight.…”

Section: Weight In Students' Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Palmer (2001) explored students of grade 6 and grade 10 regarding "gravity" close to the Earth's surface and found their knowledge contextdependent. Gurel & Acar (2003) and Gonen (2008) reported on the weight-gravitation views among preservice teachers in Turkey, while Kruger, Summers, and Palacio (1990) investigated teachers in the UK. Sharma, Millar, Smith, and Sefton (2004) elaborated on this knowledge among university students in Australia, and Lehavi (2003, 2006) did the same addressing experienced inservice teachers in Israel.…”

Section: Weight In Students' Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching a new conceptual framework of weight and gravitation in middle school

2015

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Empirical studies have reported difficulties, confusion, and lack of understanding among students at all levels of instruction regarding the issue of weight-gravitation-weighing relationships. This study examined the impact of a new conceptual framework of weight, on a small group of 7th-grade students (N ¼ 14) in a middle school in Israel. This conceptual framework, which defined weight operationally as weighing results, implied a natural distinction between weight and gravitational force, in contrast to the gravitational definition of weight, which identifies these two concepts. The new framework not only better fits modern scientific epistemology but also matches the common intuitive conception of weight as representing the heaviness of objects. This coherence promises innovative teaching leading to easier and more meaningful learning. The applied pedagogical method included a historical excurse and knowledge mediation through a discursive mode of teaching using images of different environments (Thinking Journey). The collected data of students' knowledge were structured in terms of scheme-facets of knowledge, which allowed qualitative evaluation of knowledge changes due to the instruction. We found that discussion of the lunar environment led students to appreciate the universality of gravitational attraction and to develop operational meaning for the up-down direction. Considering the environment of a coasting satellite encouraged students to distinguish between the gravitational force causing the orbiting around the Earth, and weight as the force that objects naturally exert on their support. It appeared that falling served as an anchoring concept leading students to the operational definition of weight. #

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The Impact of an Operational Definition of the Weight Concept on Students’ Understanding

Stein

Galili

2014

Int J of Sci and Math Educ

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Research into Students’ Views About Basic Physics Principles in a Weightless Environment

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Teaching weight to explicitly address language ambiguities and conceptual difficulties

Teaching weight to explicitly address language ambiguities and conceptual difficulties

Teaching a new conceptual framework of weight and gravitation in middle school

The Impact of an Operational Definition of the Weight Concept on Students’ Understanding

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