Enhancing Students’ Learning of Physics Concepts with Simulation as an Instructional ICT Tool

Elizabeth Darko Agyei,Douglas Darko Agyei

doi:10.30935/ejimed/11259

Elizabeth Darko Agyei, Douglas Darko Agyei

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.30935/ejimed/11259

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Abstract

The dwindling interest and perceived difficulty experienced by science students in learning physics at the senior high school level of education in Ghana speak to the need for the creation of authentic instructional platforms that promote enhanced learning as well as motivate students’ interest in physics. This study used an explanatory case study design to examine the affordances of Physics Education Technology simulations (PhETs) as an instructional tool with the intent to explain how enhanced students’ learning of physics concepts with simulations through implementation processes are possible in the context of Ghana. Nine pre-service physics teachers were engaged as learners to mimic the role of senior high school science students in witnessing simulation-based physics lessons. Questionnaires, pre- and post-tests and focus group interviews were the data sources employed in this study. The results showed that the learners’ learning enhanced with the use of PhETs because their learning outcomes improved and also, they had positive experiences with the simulations. Consequently, the study advocates that enhanced learning of concepts in physics with simulations are possible through interactive implementation processes that are exploratory and demonstrative in nature and context-sensitive.

Highlights

Physics as a subject, though described as a fundamental science in general, is mostly perceived to be a difficult and non-interesting science especially, at the high school level of education in Ghana, but internationally
After the Physics Education Technology simulations (PhETs) simulation-supported lesson, they all answered the same question correctly as indicated in Figure 1b and Figure 2b. These suggest that the intervention helped Learner 3 to clear his misconception about the name of the force that overcomes the Results from the focus group discussions with the learners after the implementation of the Deformation of Solids (DOS) and Frictional Force (FF) lessons confirmed this finding
In relation to the FF lesson, learners believed that with the PhET simulation entitled: Force and Motion: Basics (Friction), they learned and understood the concepts under the topic: Frictional Force better— suggesting that learning was enhanced because their learning outcomes in relation to the topic had improved

Summary

Introduction

Though described as a fundamental science in general, is mostly perceived to be a difficult and non-interesting science especially, at the high school level of education in Ghana, but internationally. The aforementioned potentials of simulations to a large extent, seem not to have been exhausted at all in Ghanaian physics classrooms at the senior high school level; as teachers are not using ICT in their teaching practices (Agyei & Agyei, 2019) In light of these gaps, the present study, through implementation processes, explored the affordances of Physics Education Technology simulations (PhETs), which are developed on research basis at the University of Colorado, Boulder (http://phet.colorado.edu), as an instructional ICT tool with the intent to provide an account of how enhanced students’ learning of physics concepts are possible in the context of Ghana.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion