Development of an enriched method for introductory physics laboratory work and its effects on students learning outcomes

Abstract

In this study, an Enriched Method (EM) for Introductory Physics Laboratory Work (IPLW) which incorporates students’ active engagement in pre-laboratory, inlaboratory, and post-laboratory activities to improve students’ learning of physics was developed by the researcher. The EM enhances and extends the learning outcomes in physics Practical Assessment in accordance to the requirements of the Malaysia Qualification Agency (MQA) in preparing the students for university level laboratory work. Construction of concept maps in groups was a major pre-laboratory activity that attempted to bring about understanding of related concepts relevant for the ensuing experiments so that the students’ experimentation will be meaningful. The EM was guided by a constructivist paradigm directed at cognitive restructuring based on social learning principle as promoted by scientific teaching. In order to determine the effectiveness of EM, the achievement of students’ learning outcomes of the treatment (EM) group and the control (traditional) group (TM) were compared. Two instruments were used in this study: (1) the 33-item IPLW-Learning Outcomes Inventory (LOI) developed by the researcher that measured 5 categories of learning outcomes, namely, Category 1 – Measurement, Category 2 – Numerical Significance, Category 3 – Concepts and Applications, Category 4 – Graph Linearization and Category 5 – Uncertainty; (2) the 18-item IPLW-Attitude Survey (AS) adapted to determine the effects of EM and TM on the students’ attitude towards physics and physics laboratory work. The results of IPLW-LOI and IPLWAS pilot tests indicated reliability coefficients of 0.71 and 0.86 respectively. The study was conducted on 66 students in Semester 1 (July – October 2008) and 62 students in Semester 2 (January – April 2009) enrolled in an introductory physics course at a branch campus of a Malaysian public university who were randomly assigned into four respective Solomon Groups (SG). Analysis of the IPLW-LOI mean scores between pre-test and the post-test of the SGs showed no significant effect from the pre-test. The students’ IPLW-LOI mean scores and Normalised Learning Gain (NLG) for both Semester 1 and Semester 2 showed a consistent trend that there was a significant improvement in the EM scores as compared to that of the TM groups in Category 1 to 4. There is no significant difference between the EM and TM groups in Category 5 – Uncertainty. As for the IPLW-AS, there is no significant different between the mean scores of the EM and TM groups for both semesters. This study shows that EM manage to improve only certain aspects of the students’ learning outcomes, hence further research can be done to identify effective methods to enhance students’ understanding of uncertainties in physical measurement as well as their attitude towards physics laboratory work.