UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICS STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE LEARNING OF KINEMATICS USING A BLENDED APPROACH

Itumeleng Phage
Mr., Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa, iphage@cut.ac.za

Abstract

Undergraduate students’ understanding of physics concepts plays a significant role in the students’ interest in the subject and its content. Kinematics as an introductory concept at first year level can be used to stimulate and develop students’ interest in the subject. Undergraduate will have more ambition to pursue careers in physics or to be competent in the subject knowledge in their different study fields. The study was conducted with 1st year B. Ed (SP and FET) Natural Science specialization students at Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) in Bloemfontein. The study investigated how blended learning enhance 1st year physics students teachers’ conceptual understanding of 1-D Kinematics. Physics Education Research (PER) groups emphasized the significance of "active engagement" of students with the concepts to be fully comprehended or known. An open-ended question paper on kinematics from high school exam was administered as a pre-test to introductory physics students. The results showed that more than 70 % of the students could not remember and or recall what they did in high school. A mixed feeling of opinions was obtained and somehow majority of them were even discouraged from this research pre-test and wanted to drop out if that’s what is expected of them at university. The researcher had to allay their fears and they were put into an intervention programme through blended learning to gain their self-confidence. A follow-up questionnaire was administered to them and the results indicated an improved performance and competence of over 85% due to understanding the concept than learning to pass.

Keywords: kinematics, subject knowledge, conceptual understanding, blended learning, Physics Education Research