Interactive engagement models in pre-services science teacher understanding of mecahnics

Abstract

The study was conducted to first year pre-service physics teachers at the Central University of Technology, Free State. The pilot Force Concept Inventory tests results conducted in 2007 indicated that students did not master Newtonian mechanics from high school. The Physics Education Research community internationally, suggested the use of interactive engagement models to bridge the students’ conceptual gap in Newtonian mechanics. It is against this background that this study was conducted to explore the impact of interactive engagement models, Whole Class Discussions and Computer simulations on the students’ conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. The findings of this study suggest that the interactive engagement models used had a positive impact on students’ conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics. The findings imply that using more than one interactive engagement models of instruction can have a greater chance of enhancing students’ conceptual understanding of Newtonian mechanics.