Cognitively activating instruction in secondary school physics
Researchers Ralph Schumacher Elsbeth Stern Andreas Vaterlaus Andreas Lichtenberger
Secondary school physics instruction is confronted with the problems of students’ deficient physics literacy in general and girls’ physics underachievement in particular. In this project, we investigate the potential of cognitively activating physics instruction that is focused on conceptual understanding to address exactly these two issues. Is a cognitively activating learning unit beneficial for all students when compared to conventional instruction in physics classrooms? Does cognitively activating instruction increase the students’ interest in physics, physics self-concept, and use of efficient learning strategies, as well as decrease the students’ learning amotivation and physics anxiety as compared to conventional instruction? Given that physics underachievement is defined by the systematic co-occurrence of high intellectual potential and low physics grades, can physics instruction based on the cognitively activating learning unit prevent underachievement as compared to conventional physics instruction?
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