Research on teaching and learning in Physics and Chemistry in NorDiNa Papers

Peer reviewe

Motivaatio-orientaatiot fysiikan opiskelussa: Itsemääräämisteorettinen lähestymistapa

The first objective of the present study was to test the factorial validity of the inventory designed to measure students’ motivation to study physics in school. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), it was hypothesised that the four factors of External Regulation, Introjected Regulation, Identified Regulation and Intrinsic Motivation account for the covariances among the items of the inventory. It was also expected that gender moderates the factorial validity of the inventory. A sample of 3626 Finnish comprehensive school students was used. A multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MLCFA) was used to investigate the fit of the hypothesised four-factor model. The second objective of the present study was to investigate different educational correlates of the four motivation factors. Girls had a statistically higher mean score than did boys for all four factors. Otherwise only minor gender differences were found. Implications for physics teaching are discussed.Peer reviewe

Adoption of ICT in Science Education : a case study of communication channels in a teachers' professional development project

Peer reviewe

Problem Solving with an Icon Oriented Programming Tool: A Case Study in Technology Education

In 1995, the authors started the Empirica Control for Technology Education (ECTE) project in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki with the purpose of widening the possibilities for creative problem solving in technology education. First, an icon-oriented visual programming tool was developed to teach computer control technology, along with an appropriate computer interface. Authors developed the new programming tool to minimize the need for direct guidance from the teacher and to reduce the need for rote memorization of programming rules. It was also designed to allow for constructive and creative activities by the students. Along with the software and hardware, handbooks for creative problem solving in control technology were written and in-service training was organized to support teachers in their efforts to develop creative problem solving through technology education programs in Finnish comprehensive schools. The development of this new computer control..

Problem Solving with an Icon Oriented Programming Tool: A Case Study in Technology Education

In 1995, the authors started the Empirica Control for Technology Education (ECTE) project in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki with the purpose of widening the possibilities for creative problem solving in technology education. First, an icon-oriented visual programming tool was developed to teach computer control technology, along with an appropriate computer interface. Authors developed the new programming tool to minimize the need for direct guidance from the teacher and to reduce the need for rote memorization of programming rules. It was also designed to allow for constructive and creative activities by the students. Along with the software and hardware, handbooks for creative problem solving in control technology were written and in-service training was organized to support teachers in their efforts to develop creative problem solving through technology education programs in Finnish comprehensive schools. The development of this new computer control system led to an interest among the authors in finding out how pupils learn the basics of control technology and programming and how they creatively solve problems within the context of computer control. Target Audience: 2-4 Year College Faculty/Administrator

Pupil interest in physics: A survey in Finland

Factors interrelating with interest in physics learning are gender, perceived relevance, contents and contexts of physics, and teaching methods. Finnish ninth grade secondary school pupil interest in physics in different contexts was investigated with a survey conducted in connection with the international ROSE project. The sample consisted of 3626 pupils (median age 15) in 61 schools. Means of all items that belong to school physics context for both girls and boys were under the middle of the scale. The most interesting things (especially for girls) were connected with human being and the less interesting (especially for girls) were connected in artefacts and technological processes. Astronomical context was rather interesting for both genders. The main message of the study is that interesting new curricular approaches and textbooks can be developed by combining technological and human or astronomical contexts

Eliot - an Algorithm Animation Environment

Eliot is an interactive animation environment, for visualizing algorithms written in the C programming language. Eliot provides a library of visual data types which are ordinary data types with a set of pre-defined visualizations. The user picks one visualization for each data object he wants to animate. Based on these selections, Eliot constructs an animation where the objects as well as their operations are animated. Examples of the use of Eliot is given and its implementation is described. Eliot has applications in algorithm design, visual debugging, and learning to program. The preliminary results of using Eliot in the data structures laboratory have been promising. Computing Reviews (1991) Categories: K.3.2, I.3.7, D.2.5 Key Words and Phrases: animation, visualization, algorithm design, teaching of programming, debugging i Acknowledgements We thank Arne Dybdahl, Timo Lamminjoki, Kjell Lemstrom, Sami Lilja, Jari Litola, Janne Markkanen, Teemu Mottonen, Vesa Ollikainen, Seppo Pekk..