Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions
This study focuses on elucidating and explaining reasons for the stability of and interrelationships between students’ conceptions about Light Propagation and Visibility of Objects using contextualized questions across 3 years of secondary schooling from Years 7 to 9. In a large-scale quantitative s...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Springer
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19338 |
| _version_ | 1848750004894695424 |
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| author | Chu, Hye-Eun Treagust, David |
| author_facet | Chu, Hye-Eun Treagust, David |
| author_sort | Chu, Hye-Eun |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This study focuses on elucidating and explaining reasons for the stability of and interrelationships between students’ conceptions about Light Propagation and Visibility of Objects using contextualized questions across 3 years of secondary schooling from Years 7 to 9. In a large-scale quantitative study involving 1,233 Korean students and 1,149 Singaporean students, data were analyzed from responses to the Light Propagation Diagnostic Instrument consisting of four pairs of items, each of which evaluated the same concept in two different problem situations. Findings show that only about 10–45 % of students could apply their conceptions of basic optics in contextualized problem situations giving rise to both stable and unstable alternative conceptions. Students’ understanding of Light Propagation concepts compared with Visibility of Objects concepts was more stable in different problem situations. The concepts of Light Propagation and Visibility of Objects were only moderately correlated. School grade was not a strong predictive variable, but students’ school achievement correlated strongly with their conceptual understanding in optics. The teaching and learning approach and education systems in the two countries may have had some influence on students’ conceptual understanding. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:29:57Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-19338 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:29:57Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Springer |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-193382017-09-13T13:44:34Z Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions Chu, Hye-Eun Treagust, David Contextualized questions Stable alternative conceptions Optics concepts Unstable alternative conceptions This study focuses on elucidating and explaining reasons for the stability of and interrelationships between students’ conceptions about Light Propagation and Visibility of Objects using contextualized questions across 3 years of secondary schooling from Years 7 to 9. In a large-scale quantitative study involving 1,233 Korean students and 1,149 Singaporean students, data were analyzed from responses to the Light Propagation Diagnostic Instrument consisting of four pairs of items, each of which evaluated the same concept in two different problem situations. Findings show that only about 10–45 % of students could apply their conceptions of basic optics in contextualized problem situations giving rise to both stable and unstable alternative conceptions. Students’ understanding of Light Propagation concepts compared with Visibility of Objects concepts was more stable in different problem situations. The concepts of Light Propagation and Visibility of Objects were only moderately correlated. School grade was not a strong predictive variable, but students’ school achievement correlated strongly with their conceptual understanding in optics. The teaching and learning approach and education systems in the two countries may have had some influence on students’ conceptual understanding. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19338 10.1007/s10956-013-9472-6 Springer restricted |
| spellingShingle | Contextualized questions Stable alternative conceptions Optics concepts Unstable alternative conceptions Chu, Hye-Eun Treagust, David Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title | Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title_full | Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title_fullStr | Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title_short | Secondary Students’ Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions |
| title_sort | secondary students’ stable and unstable optics conceptions using contextualized questions |
| topic | Contextualized questions Stable alternative conceptions Optics concepts Unstable alternative conceptions |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19338 |