Role of physics lecture demonstrations in conceptual learning

Miller, Kelly; Lasry, Nathaniel; Chu, K.R.; Mazur, Eric

doi:10.1103/physrevstper.9.020113

Cited by 69 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Students who were encouraged to predict and discuss the demonstrations ex-plained the physics better than both the control and observation group, but the difference was small. In a different study, Miller et al conducted multiple choice and short answer surveys at the end of the demonstration and again at the end of the semester [12]. They concluded that it is very important for student understanding that students make predictions before the demonstration takes place, even if the prediction is incorrect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden value: Investigating the physics demonstration as aesthetic experience

Seese¹,

Halpern²,

Hinko³

2020

2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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Physics demonstrations have a rich history both in and outside the classroom. Evaluations of physics demonstrations have traditionally focused on their ability to facilitate comprehension and retention of information; however, John Dewey's theory of aesthetic experience allows us to instead examine them as meaningful interactions between demonstrators and audiences. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of aesthetic experience as a model for science communication by investigating an undergraduate student group that performs physics demonstrations at family science events. Using observations and interviews, we found that the performers were engaged in expressive acts alongside their intention to explain the physics content correctly. Thus, this work shows that the experience model of science communication has the ability to reveal the significance of these demonstrations and also may be applicable to many informal learning and public engagement interventions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden value: Investigating the physics demonstration as aesthetic experience

Seese¹,

Halpern²,

Hinko³

2020

2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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show abstract

“…), if we know that they have considerable difficulties to establish coherence of MRs in general (from school to university)? Or should we rather suppose that coherent understanding of MRs is one of the obstacles which leads to the often unsatisfactory learning effects of experiments [40][41][42]?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving learners’ representational coherence ability with experiment-related representational activity tasks

Scheid

Müller

Hettmannsperger

et al. 2019

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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Proper understanding of and learning from physics phenomena and experiments requires-among other competencies-flexible and coherent use of multiple representations (MRs). These can include everything from the "enactive" or "operational" manipulation of the experimental devices and materials to the most abstract level of a mathematical formulation of the phenomenon investigated in a given experiment. An essential prerequisite for effective work with MRs is the ability to achieve coherence between different representations. However, research indicates that the level of representational coherence ability of learners across various age groups is low. In order to improve this state of affairs, an intervention study about the use of MRs related to physics experiments was carried out (content area geometrical optics). Specific learning tasks (representational activity tasks, RATs) were designed which explicitly require various types of coherent connections, such as comparing, completing, and correcting representations. In a quasiexperimental repeated measurement study (N ¼ 302) using a multilevel analysis for measuring changes, a comparison of a treatment group learning with RATs vs a control group learning with conventional tasks was carried out (with identical content, lesson plans, and duration of the intervention in both groups; moreover, each of the four schools had corresponding classes of both groups. They were taught by the same teacher). Results showed a highly significant and practically relevant effect on students' representational coherence ability (p < 0.001; d ¼ 0.69). The positive effect of RATs could still be found six weeks after the end of the intervention (p < 0.001; d ¼ 0.43). Several covariates (gender, pre-instructional knowledge in physics, mathematics, three facets of intelligence) were analyzed, with no or small influence on these effects. Finally, some limitations and implications of the study for classroom practice and further research are discussed.

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“…Instructional agenda Instruction should elicit, confront, and resolve misconceptions [15,16,24,27,[34][35][36][37][38].…”

Section: Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

University student conceptual resources for understanding energy

Sabo

Goodhew

Robertson

2016

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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We report some of the common, prevalent conceptual resources that students used to reason about energy, based on our analysis of written responses to questions given to 807 introductory physics students. These resources include, for example, associating forms of energy with indicators, relating forces and energy, and representing energy quantitatively. This research responds to a need for large-scale, resourcesoriented research on students' conceptual understanding and has the potential to support the development of an underexplored dimension of pedagogical content knowledge-knowledge of student resources for understanding energy. Our aim is to promote instructor take-up of the resources theory of knowledge, and we suggest a number of ways in which instructors might capitalize on the resources we report.

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Role of physics lecture demonstrations in conceptual learning

Cited by 69 publications

References 15 publications

Hidden value: Investigating the physics demonstration as aesthetic experience

Hidden value: Investigating the physics demonstration as aesthetic experience

Improving learners’ representational coherence ability with experiment-related representational activity tasks

University student conceptual resources for understanding energy

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