The impact of authentic learning on students' engagement with physics

Abstract

The changes in the statutory science curriculum specification for all students aged 14–15 in England and Wales in 2006 herald a shift in how curriculum content is organized, and the purposes for science learning. In a curriculum for scientific literacy the selection of social situations and scientific controversies determines the knowledge that is required. The goal for students' learning is to enable them to participate competently in a world permeated by science and technology. Such changes involve recognition of the situated nature of science and the situated nature of learning; hence authenticity is at the core of students' curriculum experiences. To support students as they learn about the nature of science and the communities and situations where science is created and used requires a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Energy Foresight1 is a set of multimedia resources to support the teaching and learning of ‘Radioactive materials’ in the new curriculum. The article describes and discusses the main evaluation findings of the impact of the Energy Foresight resources on students' engagement and learning, noting in particular the impact of the approach to authenticity in the resources. 279 students were involved in various aspects of the national implementation of the resources. The findings showed that students enjoyed the opportunities to engage with physics in the context of relevant social and personal issues and professional practices. The impact on girls' views of the relevance and interest of physics was dramatic, as was the increase in their learning. The impact on boys, though positive, was much smaller in effect. The findings also revealed some unintended effects, particularly for some boys and for students new to the approach, as they moved from certainty about what they believed they understood about science, to more reflective awareness of the complexity of using scientific evidence to make judgements about risks and benefits.