Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Force and energy--Study and teaching (Secondary); Motion--Study and teaching (Secondary); Physics--Study and teaching (Secondary); Academic theses;
Abstract
The focus of this study was to determine whether the use of Ranking Tasks during study of physics could improve conceptual understanding for introductory high school physics students. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by analyzing student performance on the Force Concept Inventory, and the Physics Class Attitudes Survey. As enrollment in introductory physics courses increases, and the variety of students studying physics broadens, instructors will be increasingly tasked with finding new instructional strategies that can benefit these student populations. Results of this study indicate promise for the implementation of Ranking Tasks for identifying student conceptual understanding in Newtonian mechanics. Qualitative data collected during the study provided direct evidence for misconceptions possessed by individual students. Analysis of student scores on the Force Concept Inventory did not reveal any significant differences between classes using Ranking Tasks and classes using traditional equation-based problems for homework assignments. By addressing concerns over sample population and group size, statistically significant data could be collected for future studies. Student reasoning level may have a measurable impact on FCI gain scores and effort should be put towards identifying student reasoning levels and incorporating strategies that can positively affect increased conceptual understanding in introductory physics.
Year of Submission
2010
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Department of Physics
First Advisor
Lawrence Escalada
Second Advisor
Jeff Morgan
Third Advisor
Jody Stone
Date Original
2010
Object Description
1 PDF file (108 leaves)
Copyright
©2010 Matthew Joseph Harding
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Harding, Matthew Joseph, "Investigating the Use of Ranking Tasks to Improve Student Conceptual Understanding in an Introductory High School Physics Course" (2010). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2132.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2132
Comments
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