The dissertation is submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy. The study sample consisted of 90 male and female students selected from a population consisting of 11th grade public school students from one of the major cities in the UAE.
Introduction
- Overview
- Background
- Problem Statement
- Purpose of the Study
- Research Questions
- Significance of the Research
- Limitations of the Study
- Operational Definitions
- Identification of Variables
- Organization of the Study
Moreover, this study is an attempt to fill the gap in the lack of research into the effectiveness of CSs in teaching physics specifically NSLOM within the context of scientific inquiry education and students' attitudes towards physics at the secondary school level in the UAE -context. Due to this increase, students can achieve better results in the field of physics.
Literature Review
Chapter Overview
Theoretical Framework
- Constructivist Approach
- Conceptual Change Approach
- Information Process Approach
The constructivist teaching method places greater responsibility in the hands of the student than the teacher (Hirshman & Bjork, 1988; . Dori & Belcher, 2005; Stieff, Bateman & Uttal, 2005). Therefore, when learning takes place, information from the environment is entered, processed, stored in memory, and released in the form of pedagogical skills (McLeod, 2008; Zhou & Brown, 2015).
Computer Simulations
- Impact of Computer Simulations on Students’ Learning
- Computer Simulations and Physics Instruction
- Computer Simulations and Inquiry- Based Learning
- Impact of Computer Simulations on Students’ Attitudes
The results showed that the use of CSs can effectively promote students' understanding of physics. The results of this study showed that the CS laboratory experience has a positive influence on students' attitudes towards physics. The results showed that computer-based laboratory applications and virtual applications had a positive impact on student attitudes.
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
As a result, these difficulties may affect students' understanding of how force concepts are applied in other situations (Sirait & Mursyid, 2018). The results showed that student teachers have clear weaknesses in understanding the basic knowledge of NSLOM. The results of the study showed that physics students-teachers have great difficulty with impulses and active force.
Studies Related to the UAE Context
The study used a mixed method approach involving a number of higher education institutions in the UAE and students from different geographical locations and disciplines in the country. The main purpose of the study was to examine the ability of CS to assist eleventh grade students in the UAE in learning facts, concepts and procedures related to uniform circular motion. Alneyadi (2019) conducted a study in the UAE to explore science teachers' views on the nature and frequency of virtual laboratory (VL) implementation by students in the UAE and their contribution to educational development.
Demerits of Computer Simulations
In the experimental group (N = 24), students were taught using the STAD (Student Teams Achievement Division) method with the integration of simulations on the topic of electricity, in the control group (N = 25) traditional learning supported by simulations. The results showed that the effect of simulation-based cooperative learning was not significantly different from the student's skill in scientific process skills. The analysis of the data showed that there is no significant difference in the attitude of the students of both groups towards physics.
Chapter Summary
There are many inconsistencies between the results of the relationship between CSs and the attitudes towards physics. The review of previous research findings revealed that very little research has been conducted on the impact of CSs on student learning in the UAE, specifically on NSLOM and on attitudes towards physics. Moreover, previous research studies in the context of the UAE are not significantly represented on the role of student performance and attitudes.
Methodology
Chapter Overview
Research Background and Setting
- The Emirati Context
- Research Setting
Schools in the UAE follow the national curriculum, teaching physics begins in tenth grade (before 2015) as separate subjects, and students must choose a science or art field (Balfakih, 2003). Upon completion of the ninth year, students may choose to remain in the general stream or join the advanced stream, depending on their performance. Compared to the general stream, students in the advanced stream will receive more education in mathematics and science (UAEG, 2019).
Materials
- Justifications for Choosing the Unit
- Newton’s Second Law of Motion Lab Simulation
- Inquiry Context
- PhET Simulation
NGSS (2013) describes NSLOM as "The motion of an object depends on the sum of the forces acting on it". According to NSLOM, the motion of the container depends on the friction (frictional force) caused by the load and the tensile force (applied force) exerted by the person. Activities based on interactive PhET simulations can be a way to improve students' perceptions, thereby giving people a deeper understanding.
Research Design
Then, the same test was administered after the intervention as a post-test to compare differences in achievement mean scores between students in the treatment group, who learned through CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment, and their peers in the control group, who learned NSLOM the use of face-to-face teaching. The same pre-test post-test intervention quasi-experiment was also used to assess the effects of using CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment on students. This survey design intended to determine the effects of the teaching and learning medium as the primary independent variable on the dependent variables, attitudes towards physics.
Population and Sampling
The study included four classes of students; In the girls' school there were three grade 11 classes; one of these three classes was randomly assigned to face-to-face instruction (Control Group [CG]), while another class was assigned to the CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment treatment (Experimental Group [EG]). The second school for boys has four grade 11 classes; one was randomly chosen to be a CG, while another class was chosen to be the EC. Pre-treatment testing of both instruments (NSLMAT and TOSRA subscales) was conducted before treatment to determine a student's prior knowledge of NSLOM and their level of attitudes towards physics.
Research Instruments
- Newton’s Second Law of Motion Achievement Test
- Survey of Physics Attitudes (TOSRA)
In this phase, the limits of the content and learning goals were first determined according to the purpose of the study. Test development is based on the final version of the proposed knowledge statement and concept map. Some lecturers also referred to changing the wording of some paragraphs and alternatives to make them clearer.
Pilot Study
Data Collection Procedures
The letter stated that participation in this study is voluntary and the data will be confidential. First, on November 3, 2019, all students on the EGs and CGs participated in a pretest and survey, taking approximately 45 minutes and 20 minutes respectively. In addition, their participation in the test is voluntary and the result will not affect their grades.
Research Questions
To study the second, third and fourth research questions (i.e. for the second research question, which focused on determining whether there was a difference in student performance in NSLMAT between students who studied through CSs in the context of scientific research education and students who studied through traditional face-to-face instruction For the third and fourth research questions, which focused on comparing students' achievements regarding conceptual and procedural understanding in NSLOM, among students who studied through CSs in an inquiry-based learning environment and students who studied through CS in an inquiry-based learning environment and students who studied through traditional face-to-face instruction). For the fifth and sixth research question, which aimed to determine the impact of CSs on students' attitudes towards physics when taught within an inquiry context, and to compare students' attitudes towards physics, between students studying through CSs in an inquiry-based learning environment and students studying through traditional face-to-face instruction data were examined using the TOSRA subscale survey to collect data on students' attitudes towards physics and were also used to comparing the two groups.
Data Analysis
Second, the independent sample t-test was used to determine the initial comparison of the two groups before the intervention. A paired t-test was conducted to determine if there was any statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores in NSLMAT for each of the two groups. A paired t-test was conducted to determine if there was any statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores in NSLMAT for each of the two groups and genders.
Ethical Considerations
Finally, regarding the control for outliers, the data were divided into two halves and the linear regression Mahalanobis distance test was performed to find out the critical values of the data. This was planned as students in the study have the right to be informed of the aims, purposes and consequences and the likely publication of the results. In addition, the students reported that the school names, students' names, nationalities, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds would not be revealed to the public to prevent any threat that may cause harm.
Conclusion
In addition, all students were informed that their participation was voluntary, and no one would be harmed by participating in this study. The instruments that were used and their validity and reliability, the research questions of the study, and how the data was collected and analyzed were discussed. This chapter also detailed the ethical and legal procedures followed in this research to prevent any invasion of privacy and any type of harm to participants.
Findings
Chapter Overview
In addition, a paired sample t-test was used to compare the NSLMAT mean and student attitudes in each group. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to further examine the significant results obtained from the MANOVA analysis to test whether there were differences between the different response categories and whether they were significant. Finally, a post-hoc test was then used to examine the pairwise mean comparisons resulting from the analysis of variance.
Results of Research Question One
Likewise, the pretest and posttest results were analyzed for the second level (responses). To identify the NSLMAT means of eleventh graders using CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment and those using face-to-face instruction, means and standard deviations for CGs and EGs were calculated. Effect sizes were calculated on knowledge gains (Table 16) to compare the effect of CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment on NSLMAT comprehension performance in each group.
A paired-sample t-test was performed to check whether there was a significant difference between the mean of the pre-test and post-test scores for EGs in the procedural domain. An independent sample t-test was performed to check whether there was a significant difference between the mean of the male and female students.
Results of Research Question Two
Results of Research Question Three
The conceptual questions of the test are designed to verify students' understanding of the concept. The conceptual pretest and posttest means, and the standard deviations of the two groups are shown in Table 23. The graphical comparison of the conceptual mean scores of the CGs and the ECs is shown below in Figure 20.
Results of Research Question Four
In addition, Levene's test for equality of variances was used to assess homogeneity of variance, and the result was not significant p > 0.05. Likewise, findings in the male group indicated that not using CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment did not improve that of males. Moreover, when CSs are used within an inquiry-based learning environment, the difference in procedural knowledge performance of male students is greater than the difference between female students and compared to not using CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment. in search. The differences when using CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment are more substantial.
Results of Research Question Five
It can be said that the physics attitudes of the male and female students were similar before the experiment. At the end of the intervention (4 weeks later), to determine if there was a significant significant difference between the attitude scores as measured by the three scales TOSRA of the ECs and the CGs in the post-test scores, the independent t-test was used . Effect sizes were calculated to compare the effect of the CSs in each gender on their attitudes towards physics (see Table 38 above).
Results of Research Question Six
A statistically significant Box's M test at the p > 0.05 level showed unequal variance-covariance matrices of the dependent variables across levels of treatment and sex. Since Levene's F-test indicated that the error variances of the dependent variables were equal in the three groups, Bonferroni for multiple comparisons was used to perform the post-hoc analysis (see Table 42). Since Levene's F-test showed that the error variances of the dependent variables were equal in the three groups, Sidak was used for multiple comparisons to perform the post-hoc analysis (see Table 44).
Summary
It can be said that CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment has a positive effect on students' attitudes towards the TOSRA subscales. It can be considered that CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment had significantly influenced the level of ASI, ESL and CIS. However, CSs within an inquiry-based learning environment did not influence the attitudes of students in both genders regarding CIS.
Discussion and Conclusion
- Chapter Overview
- Discussion of Research Question One and Two
- Discussion of Research Question Three and Four
- Discussion of Research Question Five and Six
- Conclusion
- Implication and Recommendations
- Future Research Opportunities
In addition, these results revealed that the use of CSs as an interactive demonstration tool in the classroom for teaching and learning of the NSLOM was effective. The results of this study are also similar to the study by Sarı, Hassan, Güven and Şen (2017), in which their research showed that the 5E teaching model integrated in the CSs has the potential to make 11th grade students to help improve their physics academic performance. Results of this research show that students in the OBs performed better than students in the CGs.
