EXAMINING THE PHYSICS CONCEPTIONS, SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN STEM

TitleEXAMINING THE PHYSICS CONCEPTIONS, SCIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN STEM
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsBahtaji, MAA
JournalJournal of Baltic Science Education
Volume22
Issue1
Start Page10-19
PaginationContinuous
Date PublishedFebruary/2023
Type of ArticleOriginal article
ISSN1648-3898
Other NumbersE-ISSN 2538-7138
Keywordsconceptual change, misconceptions, physics conceptions, science engagement
Abstract

Exploring students’ physics conceptions, science engagement and misconceptions in physics together with their association to certain variables (gender, educational background, and program of study) are essential in improving physics teaching and learning. However, few studies have been conducted to explore these three measures and almost none among STEM undergraduate students in the domain of Newtonian mechanics. To explore these measures, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Science Engagement Survey (SES) were administered to 281 STEM undergraduate students. Various statistical tools (ANOVA, t-test, correlations, etc.) have been utilized in the data analyses. The result revealed that gender and previous upper-secondary school strand have no significant effect on physics conceptions but have a significant effect on science engagement. The results also revealed a weak correlation between physics conceptions and science engagement, suggesting that interest becomes more effective when it was developed during the learning process. Finally, the results also revealed that more than 80% of the participants have a misunderstanding about the force direction of a thrown object, confirming that the dominant features of force and motion students have less conform to problems that involve non-contact force.

URLhttps://oaji.net/articles/2023/987-1676960251.pdf
DOI10.33225/jbse/23.22.10
Refereed DesignationRefereed
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