A-level Teachers Research Articles

Exploring A-level mathematics teachers’ teaching practices and use of technology

<p><span lang="EN-US">Student-centered teaching methods and technology are often viewed as effective tools to raise students’ performance and interest in mathematics learning. Limited research exists on discussion of teaching methods and the use of technology on the general certificate of education (GCE) A-level mathematics. The purpose of this qualitative research where data were collected using semi-structured interviews was to explore how A-level mathematics teachers used teaching methods and technology for the delivery of mathematics instruction. Convenience sampling was applied, the participants were seven A-level teachers from a private college in Johor, Malaysia. The gathered responses were analyzed using thematic analysis based on the approaches suggested by Braun and Clarke. The findings of this research reported that while mathematics teachers revealed they made some attempts in incorporating technology and student-centered teaching approaches to their classes, traditional teaching approaches such as chalk-and-talk and drill-and-practices remained to be the dominant teaching approaches they would use in their classes. In order to have a closer examination between the relationship of students’ interest and students’ performance in mathematics, the researcher suggests the future direction of study on the development of a teaching module which serves as a reference guide to alleviate the mentioned teachers’ concerns.</span></p>

Exploring Errors and Misconceptions in Differentiation: A Case Study of Advanced Level Students in Zimbabwe

Students’ errors help teachers to tease out misconceptions and decide on what intervention strategies to adopt and use to challenge these alternative conceptions. The purpose of the study was to explore A-Level students’ errors and misconceptions when solving problems in differentiation. A largely qualitative case study strategy was adopted. The case was made up of Two A-Level teachers and 25 students. After covering the topic differentiation, a test was administered. Qualitative data was collected using the test scripts and syllabus documents, questionnaire and focus group discussions. Content analysis was used to reveal errors and misconceptions when solving problems in differentiation. The common errors and misconceptions displayed by A-Level students were largely procedural when they failed to use the quotient rule, chain rule and power rule in finding derivatives. Our study found out that errors and misconceptions when using the power rule were adding a one to the power part instead of subtracting, bringing down the power and mistakenly adding a one to the power, failure to integrate functions, failure to separate variables correctly, failure to find the required derivative and using wrong laws to solve problems in differentiation. These errors and misconceptions were, possibly originating from students’ lack of prior knowledge of differentiation, laws of logarithms, proportionality and integration and rate of change. We recommend further research using larger population and samples.

A teaching guide of nuclear physics: the concept of bonds

We propose discussions and hands-on activities for GCSE and A-level students, covering a fundamental aspect of nuclear physics: the concept of bonds and the energy released (absorbed) when a bond is created (broken). This is the first of the series of papers named A teaching guide of nuclear physics, whose main goal is to provide teaching tools and ideas to GCSE and A-level teachers, within a consistent and complete curriculum.

To what extent does A-level physics prepare students for undergraduate laboratory work?

This paper is a summary of a small-scale research project carried out to investigate the transition from A-level to university physics, with a specific focus on practical or laboratory skills. A brief description of the methods used precedes the headline findings of the research. A non-evidential discussion of the possible reasons behind any shortcomings found and some ideas for A-level teachers to help with a smoother transition are also included.

Great Expectations

This article feeds into the discussion of transitional issues begun in Volume 2 of Arts and Humanities in Higher Education. It draws on research into A-level students' expectations of university English and how these compare to the experiences of first-year students, university lecturers and A-level teachers. The data presented are drawn from innovative focus group sessions which gave pre-higher education and first-year university students a range of exercises to encourage them to focus on their expectations and experiences of studying English. These data were supplemented with teacher and lecturer interviews. The article concentrates on students' expectations of independent study and the experience of reading. The findings show that there is a mismatch between student expectations and the realities of university study. It is hoped that the outcomes of this research will contribute to a more informed transition from school to university by informing students' expectations before they enter university.

Utilisation of Resources at Science and Mathematics Centres in Zimbabwe

This paper reports on a research carried out to obtain information on the usefulness of Science and Mathematics Centres (SMCs) in Zimbabwe. Interviews and questionnaires administered to the regional directorate andA-kvel teachers addressed the following aspects: accessibility of SMCs, use of materials at the SMCs, SMC workshops attendance, support to access the SMCs, networking and development of curriculum materials. 73.8% of the respondents indicated that the SMCs were easily accessible. Those in rural areas found the centres not to be accessible in terms of distance. The A-level teachers mainly come to the SMCs when invited for workshops. Only 47.1% of the respondents are using the resources at the centre, and it is mainly the photocopier which is used. There is no deliberate move to enhance teacher networking in the regions. It is recommended that the SMCs be made more accessible, teachers be afforded a chance for computer literacy courses, and SMC management committees should have aggressive advocacy campaigns so that intended users are aware of what is offered at the centres and the resources that are available.

Developing resources for astrophysics at A-level: the TRUMP Astrophysics project

After outlining the astrophysical options now available in A-level physics syllabuses, this paper notes some of the particular challenges facing A-level teachers and students who chose these options and describes a project designed to support them. The paper highlights some key features of the project that could readily be incorporated into other areas of physics curriculum development.

Numerical solution of the Schrodinger equation for a quantum harmonic oscillator (for teachers)

This exposition is for the use of A-level teachers. In the Nuffield course differential equations are solved graphically by numerical methods, i.e. the Schrodinger equation ground state wavefunction of the hydrogen atom. This technique is applied to obtain the wavefunction of the quantum harmonic oscillator and is at a more sophisticated level than elsewhere in the course. For the able student this can be a worthwhile extension to the work on hydrogen.