Action research to improve students’ problem solving using multiple modes of representation

Abstract

Physics students, especially those who are newly introduced to the subject, usually face difficulties in solving real life problems because of most of them are unable to make the accurate mental representation of the problems. This action research aims to improve a teacher’s classroom instruction to develop students’ problem solving skills by incorporating the use of multiple modes of representation. A class of 30 Form 4 students from a secondary school in Johor, Malaysia involved in the research. A pre-test and a post-test were given to the students to measure their level of achievement in Physics problem solving and the use of representations. Mean scores obtained from the tests were analysed and the result showed that there is a significant increment (p<.05) for the achievement in problem solving before and after the instructions. However, a Pearson correlation analysis indicates that there is no significant relation (p>.10) between the scores on representation and achievement in problem solving. The implication of this research is that instructors must develop a new plan of action to enable the students to use representations in problem solving. Further research must be carried out to investigate whether a new course of action can improve the result in improving the problem solving skills for Physics students using multiple representations.