Scientific Explanation of Phenomena and Concept Formation as Correlates of Students’ Understanding of Physics Concepts

Oluwatomisin Marvellous Ogundeji; Barnabas Chidi Madu; Clement Chizoba Onuya

doi:10.20308/ejpe.v10i3.240

Oluwatomisin Marvellous Ogundeji University of Nigeria-Nsukka
Barnabas Chidi Madu University of Nigeria-Nsukka
Clement Chizoba Onuya University of Nigeria-Nsukka

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20308/ejpe.v10i3.240

Abstract

The significant facet of Science Education is to make Science relevant in Students’ learning. This involves the ability to draw in examples from daily contexts to begin with the learning or to apply concepts learnt into familiar everyday phenomena. The main purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between scientific explanation of phenomena and concept formation on students’ understanding of physics concepts. The study adopted correlational research design. The sample size for this study consisted of 385 Senior Secondary 3 Physics Students for the 2015/2016 academic session in Government owned secondary schools in Akure Education Zone of Ondo State. The findings of the study revealed among others that there exists a statistically significant positive relationship and certain proportion of variation among students’ scientific explanation of phenomena, scientific concept formation and students’ understanding of physics concepts. Also, there was a statistically significant relationship between the linear combination of students’ scientific explanation of phenomena and concept formation on students’ understanding of physics concepts. The implication from the findings was that students’ scientific explanation of phenomena and concept formation are major factors in determining students’ understanding of physics concepts. The educational implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations were equally made. One of the recommendations is that; Physics teachers, the Authors and Publishers of physics textbooks should take illustrations by models beyond their physical limitations to involve application of physics concepts learnt into phenomena that students observe and experience around them.

References

Adeyemo, S.A. (2010). Teaching/learning of physics in Nigerian secondary schools: The curriculum transformation, issues, problems and prospects. International of Journal of Education Research and Technology, 1(1) 99-111.
Chance, P. (1994). Learning and Behaviour (Third Edition) California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Comp.
Colman, A. M. (2003). Oxford Dictionary of Psychology Oxford: University Press.
Girard, M., and Wong, D. (2002). An aesthetic (deweyan) perspective on science learning: case studies of three fourth graders. The elementary school journal, 102(3), 199-224.
Griffith.W. T., and Brosing J. W. (2009). The Physics of Everyday Phenomena: A Conceptual Introduction to Physics. 6th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York.
Grotzer, T. (1999). Cognitive issue that affects math and science learning: Understanding counts: Teaching depth in math and science, project zero. Math/science matter: resource booklets on research in math and science learning: Booklet 1: Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Kaur, R. (2014). Concept Formation Notes for B. Ed Class - IP University. Retrived from http://raman_deep_k@yahoo.co.uk 4 on 12/01/2014
Khan, A. S. (2011). Existing Level of Understanding of Concepts in the Subject of Chemistry Among Class IX Students and Effects of Teaching Chemistry Through Concept Formation Teaching Model On Students’ Achievement. International Islam University, Islamabad.
Kim, E. and Pak, S. (2001) Students do not overcome conceptual difficulties after solving 1000 traditional problems; American Journal of Physics 70 (7): 759.
Lawson, A. E., & Verah, M. P. (1993). The Role of Hypothetic deductive Reasoning and Analogous of Molecular interacting in conceptual change. Journal of research in science teaching,30 (9), 1073-1085.
Madu, B. C. (2009). Exploring students’ conceptions in wave concepts. Trends in Educational Studies Journal 4 (1), 18-24
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), (2005). Science Conceptual Understanding. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
Ng, W. and Nguyen, V. T. (2006). Investigating the Integration of Everyday Phenomena and Practical Work on Physics Teaching in Vietnamese High Schools. International Education Journal, 7(1), 36-50.
Nnachi, R. O. (2009). Advanced psychology of learning and scientific enquiries. Owerri: Totan publishers.
Oluwatelure T. A (2002). Children’s Explanation of Scientific Phenomena, Imagimation and Concept Formation: Topical Issues in Research and Education. University of Ado Ekiti, 9, 79- 90.
Orji, E. I. (2013). Relative effects of cognitive conflict instructional strategy and conceptual change pedagogy on students’ conceptual change and attention in temperature and heat. Unpublished Master in Education (Science Education) thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Ostergaard, E., Dahlin B., Hugo, A., (2007). From Phenomenon to concept: Designing Phenomenological science education. 6th IOSTE Symposium for Central and Bastern Europe.
Parker, W. C. (2008). Pluto’s demotion and deep conceptual learning in social studies. Social studies review spring /summer. Teachinghistory.org
Ugwuanyi, C. S. (2012). Assessment of senior secondary students conceptual understanding on force and motion. Unpublished M.ed thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Wilkinson, J. W. (1999). Teachers’ perceptions of the contextual approach to teaching VCE
Yao, Y. Y. (2003). A step towards the foundations of data mining in: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery: Theory, Tools, and Technology V, Dasarathy, B.V. (Ed.), The International Society for Optical Engineering, 254-263.