Performance Of Students In Physics Research Articles

Influence of Spatial Ability Levels on the Performance and Attitude of Physics Students

The concept of spatial ability has been viewed within the boundary of technology and engineering by many researchers and education experts undermining its relevance to Physics at the secondary schools level. Spatial ability gives a wider ability to the use of higher order thinking skills which are accounted valuable for analysis, synthesis and evaluation needed in solving problems and has the tendency to influence students’ attitude. Therefore, the study examined the influence of spatial ability levels on the performance and attitude of Physics students in public secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population for the study consisted of all the students in public secondary schools in four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Ife in Osun State of Nigeria. A representative sample of 270 Physics students was selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Three instruments used for data collection are: Adapted Spatial Ability Test (ASAT), Performance Test in Physics (PTP) and Students’ Attitude Physics Questionnaire (SAPQ). Content validity of the three instruments was ensured by experts’ judgments. The reliability coefficient of 0.75, 0.85 and 0.82 were obtained for ASAT, PTP and SAPQ respectively. The results of the study classified students’ spatial ability to low, average and high levels and many students had low spatial ability. The results of the study further showed that that there is statistically significant influence of spatial ability levels on the performance of physics students in the study areas. The finding showed that there is no statistically significant influence of spatial ability levels on attitude of students towards Physics in the study areas. Consequently, it was recommended that there should be ongoing research on spatial ability to provide information for physics teachers and that Physics students should be encouraged to take lesson on various spatial ability activities.

A Review of Students’ Academic Performance in Physics: Attitude, Instructional Methods, Misconceptions and Teachers Qualification

This study aims at presenting a literature review on four factors; attitude, instructional methods, students’ misconception, and teachers’ qualification that contribute to low academic performance of students in physics. Physics is one of the most fundamental natural sciences which involves the study of universal laws, and of the behaviors and relationships among a wide range of physical phenomena. Research has shown that both teachers and students’ attitude towards physics is a major reason for low academic performance in subjects across the globe. Naki (2018) argued that attitudes such as procrastination have a greater impact on students’ achievement. The attitudes of students towards physics, the thoughts and beliefs about the course, the habits of studying and constantly postponing tendency are very influential. Boabeng et al. (2014) opine that the quality of the teachers implementing a curriculum has a greater effect on the academic performance of students. Regardless of how well-resourced the school is or how extensive the curriculum is, teaching methods also have a significant impact on students’ academic progress as well as how easier for a misconception is to be dispelled. When the finest teaching strategies are employed, physics teachers can have a significant positive impact on students’ knowledge hence good performance.

Effect of Class-Wide Peer Tutoring on Students’ Performance in Physics in Dekina, Nigeria

The study investigated the effect of Class-wide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) on students’ performance in physics in Dekina, Nigeria. Two co-education public secondary schools were purposively selected. A total of 64 (male = 31, female = 33) senior school two (SSII) students were randomly selected from the sampled school. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. The instrument used for this research was a 20-multiple-choice projective Motion Test (PMT) developed by the researcher. The treatment in the experimental group was the teaching of Projectile Motion using the CWPT strategy. Mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA was used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference between the performance of the experimental group and the control group in the favour of the experimental group and no significant difference in the performance of male and female students when both are taught Projectile Motion using CWPT. It is recommended among others that teachers should be trained to adopt classwide peer-tutoring in schools since it facilitates the academic performance of students in physics.

Effects of Using Mother Tongue as a Medium of Instruction for Physics Class

This study explored the impact of employing Mother tongue as an instructional medium in one of the Education Department’s programs at the university level. More specifically, it sought to find out the academic performance of General Physics students in mother tongue-based instruction in Visayas State University, Baybay City, Leyte. It specifically aimed to determine the gender and native language of the students, differentiate the academic performance of students in Physics in the mother tongue class and English class. More so, it adopted a quasi-experimental approach in which pre- and post-tests were administered to General Physics students enrolled in School Year 2017-2018. In the experimental group, Mother language was employed as the medium of teaching, whereas English was used in the control group. The lesson plans for both groups were identical, but the instructional medium was varied. Data were statistically treated using frequency, percentage, descriptive statistics, matching T-test, Z-test, and F-test. Findings revealed that the post-test academic performance of both groups in Physics was found to be superior than that of the pre-test. There is no significant difference in their academic achievement when grouped according to gender. The medium of teaching in Physics class has no impact on the academic achievement of pupils. Still, Physics was recommended to be taught with activities and instructional methodologies regardless of the language of education. Keywords: mother-tongue based multilingual education (MTBMLE)

Implications of cognitive abilities in students’ performance in physics using group dynamics and visual-clue strategies

The study examined the implications of cognitive abilities of students on their academic performance when taught Physics using group dynamics and visual clue strategies. The quasi-experimental research design was adopted. The study population was 1,920 SSII students from 48 Secondary Schools in Makurdi metropolis from where the sample of 157 was drawn. The instruments: Physics Students’ Performance Test (PSPT) and Students’ Cognitive Ability Test (SCAT) were used for data collection. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). There was significant difference between the mean academic performance of students taught Physics using group dynamics strategy, visual strategy and demonstration method; there was significant difference among the mean abilities of students when group dynamics strategy was used and also when visual clue strategy was used in teaching Physics; there is significant difference between the interaction effect of strategies and cognitive abilities on academic performance of students in Physics. The study recommended among others that since the interaction effect of strategies and cognitive abilities on academic performance of students in Physics was significant, the use of both strategies could be useful in fostering the academic performance of students of high ability groups while use with low and moderate ability groups should be with caution

An Investigation of Difficult Topics Encountered by Students in Interaction of Matter, Space and Time in Senior Secondary School Physics Curriculum

Despite the description of curriculum on what, why and how well students should learn in a systematic way. Physics curriculum has not been said to have actualize such description when compared with students’ performance in physics. The performance of students in physics has been on the decline over the years. Decline in Physics students’ performance as highlighted by the chief WAEC examiners report should not be a thing of neglect by both teacher and researchers in science education. Thus, this paper investigated difficult topics encountered by students in interaction of matter, space and time in senior secondary school Physics. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. 21,974 senior secondary school one to three (SSS1-3) physics students in 292 senior secondary schools in Anambra state made up the population of the study. The sample size of the study comprised of 393 drawn from the population (that is; 290- urban and 103- rural; 238- male and 155- female). The sample size was drawn using Yaro Yamane formular. Multi stage sampling procedure were used to compose the sample size. Researchers developed instrument titled, ‘Interaction of Matter, Space and Time Difficulty Identification Questionnaire (IMSTDIQ)’ was used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validity by experts from research measurement and evaluation unit, physics education unit, physics and astronomy unit. Cronbach Alpha formula (α) was used to obtain reliability index for IMSTDIQ at 0.79. The reliability index obtained indicated that the instrument is reliable. Research questions 1 & 2 were answered using mean and standard deviation. Independent sampled t-test was used to test hypotheses 1 & 2. All the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that speed and velocity, rectilinear acceleration, equation of uniformly accelerated motion, and simple harmonic motion are the specific difficult topics encountered in interaction of matter, space and time in senior secondary school physics curriculum based on gender and school location. Keywords: Physics, Interaction of Matter, Space and Time DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-18-12 Publication date: June 30 th 2022

Influence of ILA and RTM on the Achievement of Students on the Topic: Cells and Simple Circuits Based on the Type of School

Physics concepts and skills are very useful in manipulating a wide range of tools in life in the home, Industry, Medicine, Aviation and Agriculture. Physics is a science subject that is part of the secondary school curriculum in many countries. In Kenya, Physics is studied by all Form one and two students. At forms three and four, Physics is studied as an optional subject. The performance of students in Physics at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination is generally poor. The methods that encourage direct and student concentrated involvement have been in vogue. Integrated Learning Approach (ILA) promises better engagement than the Regular Teaching Method (RTM) through: provision of hands- on activities, short assignments, opportunity to acquire skills, development of attitudes towards Physics and ensuring that concepts are applied in life. The study was quantitative, utilizing quasi experimental design of pre- test, post- test, and non-equivalent groups. This study was done in Nandi County in the Rift valley province. This study compared ILA and RTM teaching methods. The objectives of the study were: to find out the achievement of students in Physics, determine the skill acquisition and investigate attitude development after instruction using ILA and RTM on the topic of cells and simple circuits. The target population was form two students who study Physics in sub county and county schools. A sample of 395 respondents from ten schools was selected using multi stage and simple random sampling techniques. A questionnaire was used to determine students’ attitude development towards Physics. A checklist was used to gauge the acquisition of skills. Two Physics Assessment Tests (PAT) gauged students’ achievement in Physics. PAT 1 was administered at the beginning of the study to determine the students entry behavior while PAT 2 established the students’ achievement after instruction using ILA and RTM. The instruments were piloted for validity and reliability in two secondary schools in Nandi County. The validity determined by three Physics- subject experts was classified as good. Reliability coefficients of 0.803, 0.791, 0.910 and 0.715 for PAT1, PAT2, SOC, and AOC respectively were obtained using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. Data from PAT1 and questionnaire was collected by the researcher during the second visit to the schools. The second questionnaire, skill acquisition checklist and PAT 2 were collected during the final visit to the schools. Data analysis utilized t- test, ANOVA and chi square. The results of the study showed that students in county schools obtained better grades than those in sub county schools when ILA and RTM were used during instruction.

Influence of Time-of-Day of Instruction on the Performance of Senior School Students in Physics in Ilorin, Nigeria

Influence of Time-of-Day of Instruction on the Performance of Senior School Students in Physics in Ilorin, Nigeria

Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) on the Academic Achievement in Secondary Physics

The study aims to determine the effect of implementing a Computer-Assisted Instruction on secondary physics students’ academic achievement. The research utilized the quasi experimental pretest-posttest control group design that is participated by 157 Grade 10 students of a private school in the Philippines. The experimental group was taught using the Computer-Assisted Instruction while the control group was instructed using the conventional method of teaching Physics. Mann-Whitney test with a significance level of 0.05 was used in comparing the difference between pretest scores of the control and experimental groups, the difference between the pretest and posttest scores of the control group and experimental group, and Z test with a significance level of 0.05 was utilized in comparing the mean gain scores of both groups to determine the effect of the CAI. The findings of the study show that both CAI and conventional methods of teaching improve the level of performance of students in physics significantly. However, when the effectiveness of the two methods is compared, there is no significant difference between their effects on academic achievement. Therefore, CAI could be used as an alternative teaching method.

Comparative Effectiveness of Self-Instructional Print Media and Conventional Teaching Method on Secondary School Students Achievement in Physics in Osun State

The current decline in the performance of secondary school students in Physics in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) has become a major concern for the stakeholders in the field of education. This may perhaps, be partly due to the strict adherence of Physics teachers to the use of conventional teaching method in teaching Physics. This study was therefore carried out with the aim of evaluating the comparative effectiveness of Self-instructional Print Media and the conventional teaching method on secondary school students’ achievement in Physics in Osun State. A non-randomised control group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. Self-Instructional Printed Material in Physics (SIPMP), Lesson Plan in Physics (LPP), Entry Behaviour Test in Physics (EBTP) and Achievement Test in Physics (ATP) were the research instruments used in this study. One hundred and seventy three (173) SSS II students from six intact classes of six purposively selected secondary schools in Osun State constituted the sample of the study. These students were randomly assigned into the three quasi-experimental groups, namely: Self-instructional Print Media alone (SIPM alone), Self-instructional Print Media with the conventional Teaching Method (SIPM with CTM) and the Conventional Teaching Method alone (CTM alone). The three groups were tested prior to and after their exposure to the experimental treatment. The data collected were analysed to answer the five research questions and test the four hypotheses raised for the study using mean scores, t-test, ANOVA and ANCOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study indicated that the three groups were equivalent or homogeneous prior to the application of the experimental treatment. The three groups also recorded significant improvement in their achievement in physics after being exposed to the experimental treatments. However, the students that were exposed to the self-instructional print media (whether independently or conjointly with the conventional teaching method) significantly outshone their counterparts that were taken through the conventional teaching method alone. Based on these findings, secondary school physics teachers were admonished to embrace the use of self-instructional print media to promote effective and efficient teaching and learning of Physics. They were also encouraged not to completely abandon the use of the conventional teaching method.

Development and Validation of a Hybrid Active Learning Strategy for Teaching Direct Current Electricity Concepts for Secondary Schools in Nigeria

The study was carried out to develop and validate a Hybrid Active Learning Strategy (HALS) for teaching direct current electricity concepts (DCEC) in physics for secondary schools in Nigeria. The relevant literature reviewed revealed that the inappropriate use of relevant teaching strategies and the non-use of modern innovative technology in the teaching of physics result in lack of better understanding of concepts and hence, the poor performance of students in physics. In view of this, the HALS package which is a combination of active learning strategies including computer simulation was developed to help teachers to be more effective and students to understand DCEC concepts better. The developmental platform for the package is Microsoft visual basic 6. Other applications used during the design process include Adobe (macromedia) Director, Flash 8, Fireworks and Flash Player for animation, construction and display. The validation of HALS Package was done applying: subject content validation, computer expert validation, educational technology expert validation, personalized validation and group validation. The HALS package is generally perceived as very educative, comprehensive, adequate, relevant, user friendly and loaded with a lot of ingenuity.

Effect of Teacher’s Qualification on the Performance of Senior Secondary School Physics Students: Implication on Technology in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of teacher’s qualification on the performance of Senior Secondary School students in Physics. The purpose was to determine whether the status of the teacher has any impact on the performance of the students in Physics. The survey type of descriptive research design was adopted. The sample for the study consisted of 100 Senior Secondary Schools Physics students in Ekiti State and the teachers that prepared and presented the students in each school for 2009/2010 West African School Certificate Examination. The year’s result summary for each school was collated with the bio-data of their respective Physics teachers. Four hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 significance level. The data collated were analysed using inferential statistics. The results revealed that students taught by teachers with higher qualifications performed better than those taught by teachers with lower qualifications. It was also showed that students performed better in physics when taught by professional teachers. The result also showed that teacher’s gender has no effect on their ability to impact knowledge on the students, much as he/she is a skilled teacher in that field of study. However, the experience of the teacher is significant at impacting the students’ academic performance in Physics. Based on the findings, it was recommended that experienced teachers with professional qualifications in higher level should teach Physics at the certificate class.