The effect of dialogic-practical work on secondary school students mechanics achievement
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effects of dialogic-practical work on secondary school students‘ mechanics' achievement. It also examined whether the students‘ mechanics achievement would vary with achievement levels. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test research design was used. The study participants were 91 students from two secondary schools in Bahir Dar town, Ethiopia. The treatment group conducted dialogic-practical work and the comparison group carried out recipe-based practical work. A 25-item Mechanics Achievement Test was used for data collection. A paired- and independent sample t-tests were performed to analyze the data. It was found that there was a statisitcally significant difference in mechanics achievement between the dialogic-and recipe-based practical work groups, t (76) = 7.80, p < .001, d= 1.76. It also indicated that the dialogic-practical work resulted more improvements in mechanics achievement of the different achievement levels as compared to the recipe-based practical work. This suggests that students who engaged in dialogic practical work enhanced their mechanics achievement more than students who simply follow prescribed recipes. It is important to raise physics teachers’ awareness about the benefits of dialogic-practical work to enhance students’ mechanics' achievement.
References
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Andersson, J., & Enghag, M. (2017). The relation between students’ communicative moves during laboratory work in physics and outcomes of their actions. International journal of science education, 39(2), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1270478.
Ateş, Ö., & Eryilmaz, A. (2011). Effectiveness of hands-on and minds-on activities on students' achievement and attitudes towards physics. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). The Bildungsroman and its Significance in the History of Realism. Speech genres and other late essays, 10, 21.
Baloyi, V. M. (2017). Influence of guided inquiry-based laboratory activities on outcomes achieved in first-year physics. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Bani-Salameh, H. N. (2016). How persistent are the misconceptions about force and motion held
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Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences New York. Academic.
Daba, T., Anbassa, B., Oda, B., & Degefa, I. (2016). Status of biology laboratory and practical activities in some selected secondary and preparatory schools of Borena zone, South Ethiopia. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(17), 1709-1718. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2016.2946.
Demircioglu, T., & Ucar, S. (2015). Investigating the Effect of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Laboratory Instruction. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(1), 267-283. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.1.2324.
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Gambari, I. A., & Yusuf, M. O. (2016). Effects of computer-assisted Jigsaw II cooperative learning strategy on physics achievement and retention. Contemporary Educational Technology, 7(4), 352-367.
García-Carrión, R., López de Aguileta, G., Padrós, M., & Ramis-Salas, M. (2020). Implications for social impact of dialogic teaching and learning. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 140.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00140.
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Han, S., Capraro, R., & Capraro, M. M. (2015). How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) affects high, middle, and low achievers differently: The impact of student factors on achievement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(5), 1089-1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9526-0.
Hestenes, D., & Wells, M. (1992). A mechanics baseline test. The Physics Teacher, 30(3), 159-166.
Hestenes, D., Wells, M., & Swackhamer, G. (1992). Force concept inventory. The Physics Teacher, 30(3), 141-158.
Holmes, N., Olsen, J., Thomas, J. L., & Wieman, C. E. (2017). Value added or misattributed? A multi-institution study on the educational benefit of labs for reinforcing physics content. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1), 010129. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.010129.
Husin, A. H., Hairan, A. M., & Abdullah, N. (2019). Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian mechanics among Afghan Students. European Journal of Physics Education, 10(1), 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.20308/ejpe.v10i1.213.
Irungu, M. N., Nyagah, G., & Mercy, M. (2019). To examine the Influence of Gender Interaction on Academic Achievement of learners. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(7), 126-156. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.67.6761.
Meltzer, D. E. (2002). The relationship between mathematics preparation and conceptual learning gains in physics: A possible “hidden variable” in diagnostic pretest scores. American journal of physics, 70(12), 1259-1268. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1514215.
Mercer, N., & Dawes, L. (2014). The study of talk between teachers and students, from the 1970s until the 2010s. Oxford review of education, 40(4), 430-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.934087.
Ministry of Education (MoE, 2017). National Educational Assessment and Examinations Agency (NEAEA). Second National Learning Assessment of Grade 10 and 12 students. Addis Ababa.
Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (2003). Meaning Making In Secondary Science Classrooms aa: McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Naser, I. A. S. (2018). The Degree of Including International Standards of Science Education in the Physics Syllabus of Palestinian Secondary Schools, World Journal of Education, Vol. 8 (3), 18-30.
NRC. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core
ideas: National Academies Press.
Nigussie, A., Mohammed, S., Yimam, E., Wolde, W., Akalu, N., Seid, A., . . . Mulaw, S. (2018). Commenting on Effective Laboratory Teaching in Selected Preparatory Schools, North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia. Educational Research and Reviews, 13(4), 543-550. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2015.2286.
Radulović, B., Stojanović, M., & Županec, V. (2016). The effects of laboratory inquire-based experiments and computer simulations on high school students ‘performance and cognitive load in physics teaching. Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja, 48(2), 264-283. https://doi.org/10.2298/ZIPI1602264R.
Sani, S. S. (2014). Teachers’ purposes and practices in implementing practical work at the lower secondary school level. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 1016-1020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.338.
Shana, Z., & Abulibdeh, E. S. (2020). Science practical work and its impact on high students' academic achievement. JOTSE, 10(2), 199-215. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.888.
Singh, C., & Rosengrant, D. (2003). Multiple-choice test of energy and momentum concepts. American Journal of Physics, 71(6), 607-617.
Teferra, T., Asgedom, A., Oumer, J., Tassew, W., Aklilu, D., & Berhannu, A. (2018). Ethiopian education development roadmap (2018–30): an integrated executive summary: Ministry of Education, Education Strategy Center.
Uchenna, O. A (2021). Comparative Effect of Three Innovative Instructional Strategies on Academic Achievement of Students in Biology. Journal of Critical Reviews, 8(3), 123-130.
Vilaythong, T. (2011). The role of practical work in physics education in Lao PDR. Institutionen för fysik, Umeå universitet.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes: Harvard university press.
Walker, J. P., Sampson, V., Grooms, J., Anderson, B., & Zimmerman, C. O. (2012). Argument-driven inquiry in undergraduate chemistry labs: The impact on students’ conceptual understanding, argument skills, and attitudes toward science. Journal of college science teaching, 41(4), 74-81.
Walker, J. P., Van Duzor, A. G., & Lower, M. A. (2019). Facilitating argumentation in
the laboratory: The challenges of claim change and justification by theory. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(3), 435-444. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00745.
Zavala, G., Tejeda, S., Barniol, P., & Beichner, R. J. (2017). Modifying the test of understanding graphs in kinematics. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(2), 020111. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.020111.
Yaduvanshi, S., & Singh, S. (2019). Fostering achievement of low-, average-, and high-achievers students in biology through structured cooperative learning (STAD method). Education Research International, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1462179.
Adonu, C.J., Nwagbo, C.R., Ugwuanyi, C.S., & Okeke, C.I.O. (2021). Improving Students’ Achievement and Retention in Biology using Flipped Classroom and Power point Instructional Approaches: Implication for Physics Teaching. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 25(2), 234-247.
Agube, C. C., Ntibi, J. E. E., & Neji, H. A. (2021). Towards Enhancing Physics Students’ Academic Achievement through Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy. European Journal of Social Sciences, 61(4), 250-259.
Alexander, R. (2018). Developing dialogic teaching: Genesis, process, trial. Research Papers in Education, 33(5), 561-598. https://doi/10.1080/02671522.2018.1481140.
Andersson, J., & Enghag, M. (2017). The relation between students’ communicative moves during laboratory work in physics and outcomes of their actions. International journal of science education, 39(2), 158-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1270478.
Ateş, Ö., & Eryilmaz, A. (2011). Effectiveness of hands-on and minds-on activities on students' achievement and attitudes towards physics. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching.
Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). The Bildungsroman and its Significance in the History of Realism. Speech genres and other late essays, 10, 21.
Baloyi, V. M. (2017). Influence of guided inquiry-based laboratory activities on outcomes achieved in first-year physics. Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria.
Bani-Salameh, H. N. (2016). How persistent are the misconceptions about force and motion held
by college students? Physics Education, 52(1), 1-7. https:// 10.1088/1361-6552/52/1/014003.
Belay, E. B., Alemu, M., & Tadesse, M. (2022). The Effect of Dialogic Practical Work on Secondary School Students' Attitudes towards Physics. Science Education International, 33(2), 232-241. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v33.i2.11.
Buchs, C., Wiederkehr, V., Filippou, D., Sommet, N., & Darnon, C. (2015). Structured cooperative learning as a means for improving average achievers' mathematical learning in fractions. Teaching Innovations, 28(3), 15-35. https://doi:10.5937/inovacije1503015B.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences New York. Academic.
Daba, T., Anbassa, B., Oda, B., & Degefa, I. (2016). Status of biology laboratory and practical activities in some selected secondary and preparatory schools of Borena zone, South Ethiopia. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(17), 1709-1718. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2016.2946.
Demircioglu, T., & Ucar, S. (2015). Investigating the Effect of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Laboratory Instruction. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(1), 267-283. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.1.2324.
Diana, N., Khaldun, I., & Nur, S. (2020). Improving high school students’ physics performance using science process skills. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1460, No. 1, p. 012127). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.21009/1.05105.
Eshetu, F., Gebeyehu, D., & Alemu, M. (2017). Effect of cooperative learning method on secondary school students' physics achievement. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current research, 5, 669-676.
Gambari, I. A., & Yusuf, M. O. (2016). Effects of computer-assisted Jigsaw II cooperative learning strategy on physics achievement and retention. Contemporary Educational Technology, 7(4), 352-367.
García-Carrión, R., López de Aguileta, G., Padrós, M., & Ramis-Salas, M. (2020). Implications for social impact of dialogic teaching and learning. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 140.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00140.
Gbre-eyesus, M. T. (2017). Achieving Universal General Secondary Education in Ethiopia in line with the middle-income country vision: a reality or a dream? Africa Education Review, 14(1), 171-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2016.1224570.
Goshu, B. S., & Woldeamanuel, M. M. (2019). Education quality challenges in Ethiopian secondary schools. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, 1-15. https://doi. 10.9734/JESBS/2019/v31i230147.
Han, S., Capraro, R., & Capraro, M. M. (2015). How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) affects high, middle, and low achievers differently: The impact of student factors on achievement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(5), 1089-1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9526-0.
Hestenes, D., & Wells, M. (1992). A mechanics baseline test. The Physics Teacher, 30(3), 159-166.
Hestenes, D., Wells, M., & Swackhamer, G. (1992). Force concept inventory. The Physics Teacher, 30(3), 141-158.
Holmes, N., Olsen, J., Thomas, J. L., & Wieman, C. E. (2017). Value added or misattributed? A multi-institution study on the educational benefit of labs for reinforcing physics content. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1), 010129. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.010129.
Husin, A. H., Hairan, A. M., & Abdullah, N. (2019). Conceptual Understanding of Newtonian mechanics among Afghan Students. European Journal of Physics Education, 10(1), 1-12.
https://doi.org/10.20308/ejpe.v10i1.213.
Irungu, M. N., Nyagah, G., & Mercy, M. (2019). To examine the Influence of Gender Interaction on Academic Achievement of learners. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(7), 126-156. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.67.6761.
Meltzer, D. E. (2002). The relationship between mathematics preparation and conceptual learning gains in physics: A possible “hidden variable” in diagnostic pretest scores. American journal of physics, 70(12), 1259-1268. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1514215.
Mercer, N., & Dawes, L. (2014). The study of talk between teachers and students, from the 1970s until the 2010s. Oxford review of education, 40(4), 430-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.934087.
Ministry of Education (MoE, 2017). National Educational Assessment and Examinations Agency (NEAEA). Second National Learning Assessment of Grade 10 and 12 students. Addis Ababa.
Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (2003). Meaning Making In Secondary Science Classrooms aa: McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Naser, I. A. S. (2018). The Degree of Including International Standards of Science Education in the Physics Syllabus of Palestinian Secondary Schools, World Journal of Education, Vol. 8 (3), 18-30.
NRC. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core
ideas: National Academies Press.
Nigussie, A., Mohammed, S., Yimam, E., Wolde, W., Akalu, N., Seid, A., . . . Mulaw, S. (2018). Commenting on Effective Laboratory Teaching in Selected Preparatory Schools, North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia. Educational Research and Reviews, 13(4), 543-550. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2015.2286.
Radulović, B., Stojanović, M., & Županec, V. (2016). The effects of laboratory inquire-based experiments and computer simulations on high school students ‘performance and cognitive load in physics teaching. Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja, 48(2), 264-283. https://doi.org/10.2298/ZIPI1602264R.
Sani, S. S. (2014). Teachers’ purposes and practices in implementing practical work at the lower secondary school level. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 1016-1020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.338.
Shana, Z., & Abulibdeh, E. S. (2020). Science practical work and its impact on high students' academic achievement. JOTSE, 10(2), 199-215. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.888.
Singh, C., & Rosengrant, D. (2003). Multiple-choice test of energy and momentum concepts. American Journal of Physics, 71(6), 607-617.
Teferra, T., Asgedom, A., Oumer, J., Tassew, W., Aklilu, D., & Berhannu, A. (2018). Ethiopian education development roadmap (2018–30): an integrated executive summary: Ministry of Education, Education Strategy Center.
Uchenna, O. A (2021). Comparative Effect of Three Innovative Instructional Strategies on Academic Achievement of Students in Biology. Journal of Critical Reviews, 8(3), 123-130.
Vilaythong, T. (2011). The role of practical work in physics education in Lao PDR. Institutionen för fysik, Umeå universitet.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes: Harvard university press.
Walker, J. P., Sampson, V., Grooms, J., Anderson, B., & Zimmerman, C. O. (2012). Argument-driven inquiry in undergraduate chemistry labs: The impact on students’ conceptual understanding, argument skills, and attitudes toward science. Journal of college science teaching, 41(4), 74-81.
Walker, J. P., Van Duzor, A. G., & Lower, M. A. (2019). Facilitating argumentation in
the laboratory: The challenges of claim change and justification by theory. Journal of Chemical Education, 96(3), 435-444. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00745.
Zavala, G., Tejeda, S., Barniol, P., & Beichner, R. J. (2017). Modifying the test of understanding graphs in kinematics. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(2), 020111. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.020111.
Yaduvanshi, S., & Singh, S. (2019). Fostering achievement of low-, average-, and high-achievers students in biology through structured cooperative learning (STAD method). Education Research International, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1462179.
Authors
Belay, E. B., Alemu, M., & Tadesse, M. (2023). The effect of dialogic-practical work on secondary school students mechanics achievement. Momentum: Physics Education Journal, 7(2), 207–219. https://doi.org/10.21067/mpej.v7i2.7686
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