Physics Teachers’ Perceptions of the Difficulty of Teaching Electricity

Abstract

As part of a project concerned with developing a better understanding of the detail of appropriate teaching of direct current (DC) electricity concepts, extensive individual interviews were conducted with a number of experienced senior high school physics teachers. These interviews explored teachers' perceptions of difficulties in student learning and their own teaching of DC electricity, their uses of models and analogies in this teaching, and their own understandings of the concepts of DC electricity. Eight high school physics teachers from the Australian state of Victoria were interviewed: three who had a strong focus on student understanding in their classrooms and five who used more traditional approaches. We also interviewed three authors of textbooks then currently used in senior high school physics in Victoria, all of whom were also teachers of high school physics. All but one of these eleven interviewees was a very experienced teacher of DC electricity at the senior high school level. The interview data are summarized and implications for curriculum and teaching/learning of electricity are considered. There was a wide range of views among the teachers about the difficulties of both the concepts of DC electricity and the teaching of these concepts, and about the nature of physics knowledge. A number of the interviewees revealed levels of conceptual understanding that we see as of concern. Some of the teachers whose understanding causes us concern made clear early in the interview their view that the concepts of DC electricity were essentially straight forward; in all cases these interviewees had by the end of the interview reconsidered this position.

Creating a Culture of Inquiry in the Classroom While Fostering an Understanding of Theoretical Concepts in Direct Current Electric Circuits: A Balanced Approach

“…However, the lessons also demonstrated it is not easy for teachers to create classroom norms of inquiry and foster conceptual understanding. Demands are made with respect to classroom management and pedagogical content knowledge, encompassing the topic of electricity (Gunstone, Mulhall & McKittrick, 2009), as well as the local instruction theory and the nature of the desired classroom norms. Mr. Adler and the researcher could evaluate and adapt each lesson directly after the enactment.…”

From Teaching Physics to Teaching Children: Beginning teachers learning from pupils

“…For example, the teachers here did not report using a large number of metaphors or analogies when they taught electricity. There is a lack of agreement about the best way to teach electricity, see Mulhall, McKittrick, & Gunstone (2001) and Gunstone, Mulhall, & McKittrick (2009). There is scope to explore the metaphors, analogies and models which teachers use in the classroom.…”

“…Some of the areas which have been identified as particularly difficult for secondary school pupils and university students, and which permeate the curriculum in both sectors, are electricity energy (Halloun & Hestenes, 1985;Planinic, 2006) and forces (Halloun & Hestenes, 1985;Mualem & Eylon, 2010). These areas have also been found to be conceptually difficult for physics teachers, see for example Gunstone, Mulhall and McKittrick (2009), Halloun & Hestenes (1985) and Singh and Rosengrant (2003). Other authors have found that PGDE students can also find it difficult to reconceptualise physics topics to teach them to pupils.…”

“…Other studies have documented teachers' difficulties in specific sectors: in primary schools Heller and Finley (1992)and in middle schools Pardhan and Bano (2001). Many authors have also discussed the difficulties that teachers have with electricity in the secondary school, including Cohen, Eylon and Ganiel (1983), Stocklmayer & Treagust (1996), Borges and Gilbert (1999), Kücüközer & Demirci (2008) and Gunstone, Mulhall and McKittrick (2009). These studies have all shown that teachers in a number of countries hold similar misconceptions to one another and to pupils.…”

Active and spontaneous learning in a small group – a case of learning DC-circuit phenomena in the 3rd grade

“…According to the extensive research literature on learning DC-circuit phenomena, pupils in general have serious learning problems with understanding DC-circuit phenomena and distinguishing the main concepts from each another (Gunstone et al, 2009;McDermott & Shaffer, 1992;Shipstone et al, 1988;Duit & von Rhöneck, 1997;Millar & King, 1993). This study focuses on young pupils, whose learning of DC-circuit phenomena has not been studied to any great extent.…”