TY - JOUR
T1 - High school students' approaches to learning physics with relationship to epistemic views on physics and conceptions of learning physics
AU - Chiou, Guo Li
AU - Lee, Min Hsien
AU - Tsai, Chin-Chung
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this research work was supported by National Science Council, Taiwan, under grant numbers NSC 100-2511-S-110-010-MY3, NSC 99-2511-S-008-009, NSC 101-2511-S-009-002-MY2, NSC 100-2511-S-009-001-MY2, NSC 100-2511-S-011-004-MY3.
PY - 2013/4
Y1 - 2013/4
N2 - Background and purpose: Knowing how students learn physics is a central goal of physics education. The major purpose of this study is to examine the strength of the predictive power of students' epistemic views and conceptions of learning in terms of their approaches to learning in physics. Sample, design and method: A total of 279 Taiwanese high school students ranging from 15 to 18 years old participated in this study. Three questionnaires for assessing high school students' epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics and approaches to learning physics were developed. Step-wise regression was performed to examine the predictive power of epistemic views on physics and conceptions of learning physics in terms of their approaches to learning physics. Results and conclusion: The results indicated that, in general, compared to epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics are more powerful in predicting students' approaches to learning physics in light of the regression models. That is, students' beliefs about learning, compared with their beliefs about knowledge, may be more associated with their learning approaches. Moreover, this study revealed that the higher-level conceptions of learning physics such as 'Seeing in a new way' were more likely to be positively correlated with the deep approaches to learning physics, whereas the lower-level conceptions such as 'Testing' were more likely to positively explain the surface approaches, as well as to negatively predict the deep approaches to learning physics.
AB - Background and purpose: Knowing how students learn physics is a central goal of physics education. The major purpose of this study is to examine the strength of the predictive power of students' epistemic views and conceptions of learning in terms of their approaches to learning in physics. Sample, design and method: A total of 279 Taiwanese high school students ranging from 15 to 18 years old participated in this study. Three questionnaires for assessing high school students' epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics and approaches to learning physics were developed. Step-wise regression was performed to examine the predictive power of epistemic views on physics and conceptions of learning physics in terms of their approaches to learning physics. Results and conclusion: The results indicated that, in general, compared to epistemic views on physics, conceptions of learning physics are more powerful in predicting students' approaches to learning physics in light of the regression models. That is, students' beliefs about learning, compared with their beliefs about knowledge, may be more associated with their learning approaches. Moreover, this study revealed that the higher-level conceptions of learning physics such as 'Seeing in a new way' were more likely to be positively correlated with the deep approaches to learning physics, whereas the lower-level conceptions such as 'Testing' were more likely to positively explain the surface approaches, as well as to negatively predict the deep approaches to learning physics.
KW - approaches to learning physics
KW - conceptions of learning physics
KW - epistemic views on physics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84877293461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84877293461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02635143.2013.794134
DO - 10.1080/02635143.2013.794134
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84877293461
SN - 0263-5143
VL - 31
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Research in Science and Technological Education
JF - Research in Science and Technological Education
IS - 1
ER -