Munirah Shaik Kadir

We report our research findings on Singaporean student understandings of a topic in modern physics – the photoelectric effect, discuss the possible basis of their understanding, and suggest ways to improve their understanding of this topic. This on-going research involved four junior colleges (JC). The level of the treatment of this topic in JC is similar to that of an introductory undergraduate course. The research was done using pre-test, tutorial instruction and post-test on experimental and control groups in each JC. It was found that there is a significant improvement in the experimental group over the control group for both categories of questions i.e. conceptual questions which are less familiar to our students and questions which are typical of the GCE A-Level exams.

Studies of students’ perceptions and performance using the play-n-learn methods in Physics education are extremely scarce.

Research done on the effects of play on learning were mostly done on younger children below ten years of age. Studies have shown that play do have a significant role in the mental development and learning skills of a young child. Does play still have its benefits to learning when it comes to older, teenaged students?

This study was undertaken to examine secondary three students’ perceptions and performance in a play-n-learn physics workshop. The workshop employed play-nlearn strategies in the learning of Physics. The objectives of this study are to explore

(i) whether play experience in using hands-on kits enhances learning,
(ii) whether structured and free play promotes the acquisition of some Physics concepts,
(iii) gender differences in response to the play-n-learn workshop, and
(iv) the differences in the performance of high, middle and low ability students after experiencing the play-n-learn workshop.

The study employs the descriptive method of research and uses a survey approach to collect the data.

Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 100 secondary three students in the express stream who read Pure Physics in the secondary school curriculum. A pre- play questionnaire was distributed to them before they experienced a two- hour play-n-learn workshop where they were given free and structured play experiences. A post-play questionnaire was given at the end of the workshop experience.

The research instruments explored the following areas:

● Content knowledge of physics concepts on four topics (both pre and post play);
● Students’ perceptions of the play-n- learn workshop experience (post play) which included motivational input from play towards the learning of physics.

The response of the surveys came from the entire sample population of 100 students. This comprises 31% of the secondary three student population – that is, 7% of the total student population in the school.

The main results of the investigations show that the students felt that learning physics through the play-n-learn workshop was fun and interesting and that they learned easily by playing with hands-on kits. They enjoyed playing in groups and preferred learning physics through the play-n-learn workshop than just theory lessons. The students also mentioned that they preferred structured play to free play because they learnt better when they have worksheets to guide them through the learning processes of the play activities.

The video footages taken of the workshop clearly showed the students’ excitement and joy as they explored the play kits. There were many constructive discussions going on among them as they figured out the physics concepts behind the play. The students looked relaxed and there was much laughter heard during the workshop.

An analysis of the performance of the students also looks promising, with 85% of the students getting more marks in their physics MCQ test after experiencing the play- n-learn workshop.

The results of this study has provided interesting insights into the way in which secondary school students respond to play and made us educators understand one of the settings in which they enjoyed learning and acquiring Physics concepts.

It is hoped the results obtained in this study, the resultant concepts drawn and recommendations proposed will be useful to MOE curriculum planners, Physics teachers and researchers in education.

The science curriculum in Singapore promotes innovation in teaching and learning to encourage children to develop curiosity and the spirit of inquiry. It hopes to build the development of thinking and reflection into the everyday classroom processes and sets to understand the complexities and relate learning to application and alternatives. The end goal is pupils who enjoy and value science. In the area of physics, pupils find it difficult to enjoy and appreciate the subject because they are intimidated by the terminologies, calculations and concepts that require higher- order thinking. Teachers are always looking for new ways to make physics more appealing to the pupils. Past research has shown that when pupils play with concrete models and toys, it arouses curiosity and interest because it is a fun learning experience. Curricula in early childhood education programs throughout the world are built around play because young children respond very well to it and play has shown to contribute to the many aspects of a child’s psychological development. If the level of difficulty of the play activities is raised for older pupils, will play still be a stimulant for their learning and will the learning be effective? Will the pupils respond well to play or find the play experience too childish? These are some of the questions and concerns that have been addressed in the study. This paper reveals how the “play-n-learn” approach was implemented on a group of secondary three pure physics pupils and their response to the experience.

Studies indicate primary school students' interest and attitudes towards science decline as they progress into the secondary years. Experience shows that Singapore students are no exception. Knowing these students’ perceptions of science and understanding of science concepts should help in developing pedagogical approaches and lesson packages that will address the decline. Therefore, in our on-going study data are collected from students of six secondary one classes in a school in Singapore to learn of their views of science, reasons for liking or disliking science and their understanding of the topics in the science curriculum before and after instruction. This is done for a range of physics topics in their science syllabus. In this paper, we report the preliminary findings on the topic “Forces at Work” consisting of two sub-topics, ‘Moment of Force’ and ‘Work Done’. We group our findings into three main categories, ‘Students’ Perceptions’, ‘Students’ Preconceptions’ and ‘Students’ understanding of concepts’. Among the early findings are 1) students are confused between the two concepts of ‘Moment of Force’ and ‘Work Done’ 2) students are concerned about having to memorize a lot of information and solve many quantitative problems 3) students prefer to be given opportunities to carry out experiments as a means of verifying physics concepts to theory lessons where information is passed on to them verbally, and 4) students are good at using keywords as reasoning without actually understanding what they mean. This study surfaces key issues in understanding these young students’ learning journeys in the world of science. As such, the results from this research can guide curriculum development. We will be developing a curriculum that take into account these research results and the constraints of the school.