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Fostering functional understanding in students through the use of physics demonstrations
Citation
Ning, H. T., & Subramaniam, R. (2004). Fostering functional understanding in students through the use of physics demonstrations. In L. C. Chew (Ed.), Innovation & enterprise: Education for the new economy: Proceedings for the ERAS Conference (pp. 248-265). Educational Research Association of Singapore.
Author
Ning, Hwee Tiang
•
Subramaniam, R. (Ramanathan)
Abstract
The topic of Electrostatics in Physics was used to study the effectiveness of demonstrations in promoting functional understanding among secondary school students. One class of secondary school students was used as the test group while another class of students served as the control group; the latter group was taught the topic via the conventional chalk-and-talk approach. Analyses of students' responses to survey instruments as well as of another instrument to gauge content acquisition and functional understanding show that the use of demonstrations promotes a learning climate which is conducive for the acquisition of key concepts and also helps to scaffold students' thinking in a more pronounced manner as compared to the traditional approach. Despite having a better academic standing, the control group performed only slightly better than the demonstration group. Some implications of this study are discussed.
Date Issued
2004
Description
This paper was published in the Proceedings of ERAS Conference held in Singapore from 24-26 November 2004