Undergraduate Physics Students’ Conceptual Understanding in the Learning of Kinematics Using a Blended Approach

Abstract

Undergraduate students' understanding of physics concepts plays a significant role in the students' interest in the subject and its content. Kinematics as an introductory concept at first year level can be used to stimulate and develop students' interest in the subject. Undergraduate will have more ambition to pursue careers in physics or to be competent in the subject knowledge in their different study fields. The study was conducted with 1 st year B. Ed (SP and FET) Natural Science specialization students at Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) in Bloemfontein. The study investigated how blended learning enhance 1 st year physics students teachers' conceptual understanding of 1-D Kinematics. Physics Education Research (PER) groups emphasized the significance of "active engagement" of students with the concepts to be fully comprehended or known. An open-ended question paper on kinematics from high school exam was administered as a pre-test to introductory physics students. The results showed that more than 70 % of the students could not remember and or recall what they did in high school. A mixed feeling of opinions was obtained and somehow majority of them were even discouraged from this research pre-test and wanted to drop out if that's what is expected of them at university. The researcher had to allay their fears and they were put into an intervention programme through blended learning to gain their self-confidence. A follow-up questionnaire was administered to them and the results indicated an improved performance and competence of over 85% due to understanding the concept than learning to pass.

Self-organized learning environments (SOLEs) pedagogy as a conduit to learners’ metacognitive skills and conceptual understanding of “S” in STEM: The South African study

“…As a result, it can be conjectured that the results of the study validate the constructivist view that the pedagogy that improves metacognitive skills can also enhance conceptual understanding (Dagar & Yadav, 2016). Moreover, SOLEs pedagogy yielded desirable results in terms of the development of conceptual understanding because it bears all the characteristics of ideal pedagogical strategies that foster understanding as prescribed by Phage (2018). Therefore, it can be argued that SOLEs pedagogy instigates cooperative learning, encourages learner-to-learner interaction, and integrates technology in the form of the internet, improving conceptual understanding.…”

“…In order to develop learners' conceptual understanding in physical sciences classrooms, some factors need to be considered (Phage, 2018). These factors are pedagogical strategies, approaches, cooperative learning, learner-to-learner interaction during the lessons, frequent assessment, technology integration, and timeous feedback.…”

“…These factors are pedagogical strategies, approaches, cooperative learning, learner-to-learner interaction during the lessons, frequent assessment, technology integration, and timeous feedback. Mitra and Crawley (2014), Phage (2018), andTorrijo et al (2021) found that learners' conceptual understanding is enhanced when they learn collaboratively and cooperatively rather than when they learn as individuals. Torrijo et al's (2021) finding is in line with Hadwin et al's (2011) socially shared regulated learning (SSRL) theory and Vygotsky's (1968) social constructivism, which view social interaction as a precondition to effective physical sciences learning.…”

Analisis Pemahaman Konsep Gelombang Mekanik Melalui Aplikasi Online Quizizz

“…Pemanfaatan teknologi dalam pendidikan dapat menjadikan pembelajaran fisika menjadi lebih efisien dan dapat mengubah kualitas pemahaman konsep siswa (Gunawan dkk., 2019;Husain, 2014). Physics Education Research (PER) menunjukkan bahwa pembelajaran konsep fisika dengan menggunakan aplikasi teknologi dalam soal-soal latihan memberikan dampak yang signifikan dalam keaktifan siswa memahami konsep (Phage, 2018). Penelitian yang dilakukan Phage (2018) juga menunjukkan bahwa aplikasi soal dengan menggunakan teknologi dengan blended learning dalam pembelajaran fisika mampu menaikkan tingkat kompetensi siswa lebih dari 85% dan mampu membuat siswa lebih tertarik untuk memahami konsep fisika daripada belajar untuk lulus.…”