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040			_aLB-BrCRDP
100	1		_aSantourian, Garine Kevork _gMaster Education
245	1	4	_aThe effect of using thought experiments on grade 8 students' physics achievement and views of nature of science
260			_aBeirut _bAmerican University of Beirut. Faculty of Arts and Sciences _c2009
300			_a95 pages
500			_aالنوع : Mémoire
520	3		_aThis study aimed at investigating the effect of the use of thought experiments (TEs) on Grade 8 students' physics achievement as well as their understanding of some of the elements of the nature of science (NOS), specifically tentativeness, subjectivity and the role of human inference, imagination and creativity. Fifty-eight Grade 8 students taking a physics course in a private school in Beirut participated in this study which lasted for four months. Both the experimental and control groups were taught three units (motion and speed, forces, and energy) with one difference that nine pedagogical TE worksheets were used with the experimental group only. The TE worksheets were followed by whole group class discussions about the outcome of the TE and an explicit reflective historical approach to discuss the target NOS aspects using the contexts of the TEs. Whole group class discussions were also used with the control group while explaining the same concepts addressed in the TEs without the use of TEs and without discussing NOS aspects. Data sources included the Physics Achievement Test which was used as a post-test to assess students' achievement regarding the target concepts addressed in the TE worksheets. In addition, an open-ended NOS Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used before and after instruction to detect changes in students' views of the NOS. Although no significant differences were found in the total achievement test score between the two groups, the experimental group's relativity of motion score was significantly higher than that of the control group. Qualitative analysis of the NOS data showed no differences in the pre-instructional views between the experimental and the control group students. The post-instructional views of the experimental group substantially improved as compared to those of the control group regarding the target NOS aspects except the subjective aspect which showed no differences. These findings suggest that TEs can be effectively used to teach relativity concepts and some aspects of NOS, namely the tentative aspect and the role of human inference, creativity, and imagination. Educational implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.
650		4	_a طبيعة العلم
650		4	_aCycle moyen L’enseignement des Sciences
650		4	_aIntermediate Education Sciences education
650		4	_aLes Attitudes et conceptions des étudiants
650		4	_aNature de la science
650		4	_aNature of Science
650		4	_aStudents Attitudes and Conceptions
650		4	_aالمرحلة المتوسطة تعليم العلوم
650		4	_aمواقف الطلبة وتصوراتهم
856			_zShamaa _uhttp://search.shamaa.org/FullRecord?ID=27480
942			_cLAESDATA _2ddc
999			_c20060 _d20060