What Influences Attitudes and Confidence in Teaching Physics and Technology Topics? An Investigation in Kindergarten and Primary-School Trainee Teachers

This study investigated the correlations of general knowledge, vocational interests, and personality with trainee teachers’ attitudes and perceived capabilities in teaching physics and technology topics in kindergarten and primary school. A quantitative survey was composed using the Nature–Human–Society questionnaire, the general knowledge test BOWIT, the general interest structure test AIST-R, and the 10-item Big Five Inventory. The sample consisted of 196 female trainee teachers for kindergarten and primary school, and the results showed that only a few trainee teachers favoured teaching physics and technology topics. The bivariate analyses indicated that investigative and realistic interests were highly correlated with their confidence in teaching physics and technology topics, followed by significant relationships with possessing general knowledge in science and technology. The relationships with personality, especially neuroticism and extraversion, were also evident, but they were not as strong. The results were further differentiated in various subgroups (i.e., a group who favoured teaching physics and technology topics versus a group who did not, as well as a group with the typical interest profile of kindergarten and primary-school teachers versus a group with a social and investigative interest profile), which provided additional insights.

APPROACHES TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A Blended LEARNING MODELOF METHODS OF TEACHING PHYSICS

Based on the generalization of the previously made reviews of the concept of blended learning technology, its essential features are identified and clarified. The models of blended learning are proposed: idealized, non-digital, implemented in an online format, and real, focused on given conditions and a given time. The author describes the experience of selecting and accumulating traditional and digital didactic materials for the subsequent construction of the proposed models. The conclusion is made about the priorities of using such models in the course of methods of teaching physics.

The Teaching of General College Physics in Jolo

The purpose of this study is to record, examine and describe the common teaching strategies employed by college faculty members teaching general college physics in the five colleges in Jolo and to know as well what combination of teaching strategy employed by physics teacher in Jolo enhances achievement scores of students. Likewise, the evaluation on the learning facilities used in teaching physics was also taken into consideration. The study utilized the descriptive method of research and the normative survey technique was used for data gathering Purposive sampling was utilized and the respondents taken were composed of all faculty members handling college physics subjects and their respective students enrolled during the second semester of school year 2010 to 2011. The findings showed that the top three most common teaching strategies employed by teachers in teaching general college physics in Jolo are: problem solving, lecture, and board work. These strategies enhanced achievement scores of students. On the other hand, as far as learning facilities are concerned they were inadequate as most important equipment and tools necessary in the teaching of physics subjects were not available and if existing they were not functioning. However, despite the inadequacy of learning facilities, majority of the students have higher probability of passing the course based on their midterm exam. It is highly recommended that physics teachers must be exposed to various teaching strategies in order for them to be abreast with the latest methods in teaching physics. Furthermore, administrators are urged to upgrade school laboratories by procuring equipment, materials and other learning facilities indispensably needed in the teaching of general college physics.

Formation of research competencies among students in the course of physics. Manipulative and dialogic strategies

В статье рассматриваются вопросы проектирования учебного процесса, с учетом наиболее оптимальных для достижения образовательных задач подходов, необходимости формирования профессиональных компетенций и профессиональной культуры при подготовке специалистов в области машиностроения, физико-технических наук и технологий, авиационной и ракетно-космической техники. Определяется возможность организации учебного процесса как некоторых этапов, на каждом из которых должна решаться определенная образовательная задача. Обосновывается необходимость пересмотра и внедрения новых форм взаимодействия участников образовательного процесса. Рассмотрены возможности курса физики и обоснована целесообразность использования манипулятивной стратегии для формирования исследовательских компетенций у обучающихся вузов. Материал представленный в статье является обобщением опыта преподавания физики в Военно-космической академии имени А.Ф. Можайского. Статья предназначена для преподавателей физики вузов. The article deals with the issues of designing the educational process, taking into account the most optimal approaches for achieving educational objectives, the need for the formation of professional competencies and professional culture in the training of specialists in the field of mechanical engineering, physical and technical sciences and technologies, aviation and rocket and space technology. The possibility of organizing the educational process as some stages is determined, at each of which a certain educational task must be solved. The necessity of revision and introduction of new forms of interaction of participants in the educational process is substantiated. The possibilities of the physics course are considered and the expediency of using a manipulative strategy for the formation of research competencies among university students is substantiated. The material presented in the article is a generalization of the experience of teaching physics at the Military Space Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky. The article is intended for university physics teachers.

Physics competitions in the time of a pandemic:3D printing as a new approach to the quantitativeinvestigation of Cartesian divers at home

Despite the difficult circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemics, physics students can tackle interesting questions that are part of physics competitions as the German Physicists' Tournament (GPT) 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemics in 2020, many competitions such as the GPT are held online. Furthermore, the usual options of equipment offered by the supervising university institutions could not be used by the students. The problems of the GPT 2020 therefore had to be chosen in such a way that they could be examined at home using simple means. One of these supposedly simple but profound experiments - the Cartesian diver - is described in this article. The Physics of the Cartesian diver has been discussed before [2, 3, 22], as well as various modications [21]. We present a new way of investigating Cartesian divers quantitatively by using 3D printing and common household materials. The paper is addressed to undergraduate students and educators teaching physics at university.

Reflections on Physics Education and Communication with Tibetan Monastics

Physics education research, a field that is now over 100 years old, has made it clear: the key to teaching physics successfully is to prioritize getting the concepts across, and the mathematical representation (“laws”) can come later. On the other hand, conceptual representations are steeped in culture and language, while the corresponding “laws” are universal. The ETSI program provided a unique opportunity to re-imagine conceptual physics for Tibetan monastic culture. This perspective describes the major challenges derived from this experience over multiple areas of physics, and addresses two central questions: 1) how does the translation and interpretation of key terms such as energy, motion, charge, and system change the connotations surrounding physical laws? 2) What are the practical strengths and weaknesses of teaching conceptual physics using well-developed methods in the United States, and what can educators learn about the emergence of understanding?