This article was downloaded by:[University of Haifa]On: 31 January 2008Access Details: [subscription number 776572131]Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

European Journal of TeacherEducationPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713421837

A Longitudinal Study of Physics Students' Conceptionsof Force in Pre-service Training for High SchoolTeachersRicardo Trumper

Online Publication Date: 01 January 1999To cite this Article: Trumper, Ricardo (1999) 'A Longitudinal Study of PhysicsStudents' Conceptions of Force in Pre-service Training for High School Teachers',European Journal of Teacher Education, 22:2, 247 - 258To link to this article: DOI: 10.1080/02619768990202047URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02619768990202047

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf

This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction,re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expresslyforbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will becomplete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should beindependently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with orarising out of the use of this material.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

European Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 22, No. 2/3 247

A Longitudinal Study of Physics Students'Conceptions of Force in Pre-service Training forHigh School Teachers

RICARDO TRUMPER

SUMMARY Do physics students in pre-service training to be high-school teachers hold theaccepted scientific views that will eventually allow them to plan and implement instructionalstrategies, which, in turn, will lead their future students to achieve a scientific concept of feree?The results of a longitudinal study dealing with this issue will be discussed in this paper. Themost important findings of this study can be summarised as follows. Physics students inpre-service training for high school teachers: (1) mostly do not succeed in abandoning theirAristotelian 'impetus' misconception; (2) have difficulties in recognising reaction as a force;(3) are rather ambivalent when referring to the necessity of the forces to be balanced in staticsituations; (4) hold, to a great extent, the concept that an initial force exerted on an objectkeeps it going and gradually lessens--the 'fading-away' concept; (5) hold, to a great extent,the concept that a force (inertia), resisting a push, acts on moving objects; (6) tend to returnin 4th year in college to intuitive views of force, rather than holding the accepted scientificconcept.

RÉSUMÉ Les étudiants en physique suivant une formation d'enseignants du secondaire ont-ilsune connaissance suffisante de l'approche scientifique telle qu'elle est reconnue par la commu-nauté scientifique pour pouvoir planifier et mettre en pratique des stratégies pédagogiques quipermettront à leurs futurs élèves d'acquérir à leur tour une connaissance scientifique solide? Cetarticle présente les résultats d'une étude réalisée afin de répondre à cette question. Lesprincipales conclusions de cette étude montrent que ces étudiants: (1) ne réussissent pas, pourla plupart, à se détacher de leur conception aristotélicienne erronée de la force d'impulsion; (2)éprouvent des difficultés à identifier la réaction en tant que force; (3) sont plutôt ambivalentslorsqu'il s'agit dé faire référence à la nécessité d'équilibrer les forces en situations statiques; (4)croient, dans leur grande majorité, à l'idée qu'une force initiale exercée sur un objet le fait semouvoir et diminue graduellement--le concept de 'l'affaiblissement progressif; (5) soutiennentaussi, dans leur grande majorité, le concept selon lequel une force (celle d'inertie) résistant à unepoussée, agit sur les objets en mouvement; (6) tendent, en quatrième année d'études universi-taires, à revenir à des notions intuitives deforce, plutôt que d'en soutenir le concept scientifiquereconnu.

0261-9768/99/020247-12 © 1999 Association for Teacher Education in Europe

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

248 Ricardo Trumper

RESUMEN Los estudiantes en profesorado de fisica a nivel secundario cuentan con elconocimiento cientifico necesario que les permitirá pianificar y llevar a cabo estrategias deensenanza, que a su vez guten a sus futuros aiumnos en la construcción del concepto cientificode Fuerza? En este articulo se presentan y se discuten los resuhados de un estudio longitudinalal respecte. Los resuhados mâs importantes de este estudio son los siguientes: Los estudiantes enprofesorado de fisica a nivel secundario: (1) no logran abandonar, en su mayoria, laconcepción aristotólica errónea de 'impetu'; (2) tienen dificultades en reconocer una reaccióncorno fuerza; (3) son ambivalentes cuando se refieren a la necesidad de un equilibrio defuerzasen situaciones estâticas; (4) creen en gran parte que una fuerza inicial ejercida sobre undeterminado objeto, lo mantiene en movimiento y va disminuyendo gradualmente; (5) creenen gran parte que una fuerza (inercia), que se resiste al empuje, actua sobre objetos enmovimiento; (6)tienden a retornar, en su 4to. ano de Universidad, a ideas intuitivas acercadel concepto fuerza, en lugar de adquirir el conocimiento cientifico.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Im Laufe mehrerer Jahre haben wir Physikstudenten als zukuenfiigeGymnasiallehrerwaehrend ihres paedagogischen Praktikums begleitet und das folgende Prob-lem untersucht: Hat sich der Physikstudent eine gut begruendete wissenschaftliche Auffassungvom Begriff der Kraft angeeignet, so dass er seinen zukuenftigen Schuelem helfen kann, denrichtigen Begriff der physikalischen Kraft zu erwerben? Die wichtigsten Resultate unsererUntersuchungen koennen wie folgt zusammengefasst werden: (1) waehrend des paedagogischenPraktikums gelingt es dem Studenten meistens nicht, sich von der falschen Aristotebchen'impetus' Auffassung zu befreien; (2) es faellt dem Studenten schwer, die Gegenwirkung(Reaktion) als Kraft zu erkennen; (3) wenn man ueber die Notwendigkeit des Gleichgewichtesder Kraefte in der Statik spricht, sind die Studenten oft ambivalent; (4) die Studenten sindauch oft der Meinung, dass eine innere Kraft, die auf ein Objekt wirkt, dessen Bewegungunterstuetzt; (5) dass eine einem Druck wiederstehende Kraft (Traegheit) auf einen sichbewegenden Koerper wirkt; (6) es scheint, die Studenten kehrten im vierten Studienjahr zu derintuitiven Auffassung der Kraft zurueck, anstatt den wossenschaftlichen Begriff der Kraft vollund gar zu akzeptieren.

In junior high schools in Israel, the subjects of physics and chemistry are taughttogether according to the Curriculum of Physics and Chemistry (1989) published by theMinistry of Education. In the 7th Grade, the main topic taught is 'the paniculate natureof matter'; in the 8th Grade, there are two main topics: 'heat and temperature' and'chemistry and electricity'; and in the 9th Grade, there are also two main topics: 'mass,force and weight' and 'transformation and conservation of energy'.

In senior high schools, the compulsory physics topics are optics, mechanics andèlectromagnetism. In addition, there are a series of elective topics, which includemodern physics, relativity, rigid body and alternating current among others. Thisextensive array of physics topics demands that teachers, both at the junior and seniorhigh school level, be competent in physics, both in subject matter and in instructionalstrategies. This paper examines how student teachers' understanding of such a basicconcept as force develops during their pre-service training.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

Students' Conceptions of Force 249

High School Students' Conceptions of Force

The results of a great deal of research have shown that prior to any formal instructionin physics, high school students hold scientifically incorrect conceptions about physicsconcepts in general, and about the force concept in particular. Gilbert & Watts (1983)summarised the general conclusions that can be derived from these studies as follows:(a) if a body is not moving there is no force acting on it, (b) if a body is moving thereis a force acting in the direction of the motion, and (c) constant motion requires aconstant force. Later research in different countries (e.g. Finegold & Gorsky, 1988,1991; Sequeira & Leite, 1989; Kuiper, 1991) have confirmed such findings. Moreover,Finegold & Gorsky (1988) found in their study of Israeli secondary high schoolstudents that "the idea that a chair or table could exert an upward force when there wasno motion was generally not accepted by the pupils.... All the pupils noted thegravitational force, but less than half indicated the upward force exerted by the table"(p. 253). Marioni (1989) noted also that: (a) for many students, uniform motion andrest are basically not equivalent, and (b) common experience tells us that things slowand then stop after we have pushed them or thrown them, and this is generallyperceived as "the force in them getting used up".

Teachers' Conceptions of Force

Knowing more about teachers' preconceptions in science has become increasinglyrecognised as essential, and some important research has been carried out in this field(Weinstein, 1989). According to a constructivist perspective, humans are seen assubjects who actively construct understanding from experiences, using their alreadyexisting conceptual frameworks (Wubbels, 1992). A constructivist way of teachingassumes the existence of learners' conceptual schemata and the active application ofthese when responding to and making sense of new situations. Applied to scienceeducation, this constructivist approach supports teachers who are concerned with theinvestigation of students' ideas and who develop ways that incorporate these viewpointsinto a learning-teaching dialogue. Do teachers, however, hold the accepted scientificview of the force concept themselves and are they, in fact, aware of their students'alternative conceptual frameworks?

Berg & Brouwer (1991) carried out a study on Canadian high school physicsteachers' awareness of students' alternate conceptions about rotational motion andgravity. They found that the teachers were mainly unaware of students' alternateconceptions about gravity. They also saw that over one third of the teachers held oneor more alternate conceptions themselves. They claimed that "it is likely that some ofthose alternate conceptions have been passed on to students, as they were related tophenomena commonly discussed during a high school physics course" (p. 16).

In a recently published cross-college age study, Trumper & Gorsky (1996) foundthat physics students: (a) hold the Aristotelian 'impetus' misconception to a greatextent, (b) think to a great extent that a force (inertia) acts on moving objects resistinga push, (c) have difficulties in knowing the direction of weight and are inconsistent inidentifying the concepts of gravity and weight, and (d) believe to a great extent that theinitial force keeping an object going gradually lessens.

How does physics student teachers' understanding of force develop during theirpre-service high-school teacher programs? Do they finally hold the accepted scientificviews that will eventually allow them to plan and implement instructional strategies

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

250 Ricardo Trumper

which, in turn, will lead their future students to achieve a correct scientific concept offorce? The results of a longitudinal study dealing with this issue will be discussed below.

A Longitudinal Study

Participants in the present study were drawn from the college in Israel with the most4-year pre-service training students in a program for future physics high-school teach-ers. The study was conducted over four consecutive years and the sample comprised 25students. This population included more than 90% of the students who studied in thefour last years in an Israeli university programme, which was intended to lead them toa BSc degree in physics, together with a high-school teaching certificate.

Students study the basics of the force concept in their first year. In the third year,in addition to their studies, they observe physics lessons in a secondary school, and theyalso practise some teaching. In the fourth year, they already work as teachers in asecondary school. In these two last years, they study both physics and methods ofteaching physics.

The force conceptions held by the physics students were analysed by means of atwo-part written questionnaire, which was presented during the first day of class. Thefirst part of the questionnaire included seven questions in which students were pre-sented with different pictures and were asked to draw arrows showing each of the forcesacting on the objects in question and to name each force (see Appendix A for someexamples). This part of the questionnaire was developed and validated by Finegold &Gorsky (1991).

The second part of the questionnaire consisted of 44 statements, together withdrawings of different situations (see Appendix Β to illustrate the nature of this part).Participants were asked to respond to each statement with one of the followingresponses: true, false, don't understand or not sure. This part of the questionnaire wasdeveloped and validated by Kruger, Palacio & Summers (1992).

On the one hand, this part of the questionnaire was intended to identify students'views in terms of those currently accepted by scientists. Students' views were cate-gorised into two broad areas: (a) recognising or identifying forces, and (b) forces andmotion. On the other hand, it also intended to reach a broader understanding ofstudents' intuitive views of force. Toward this end, students' views were divided intofive main categories: (a) the 'impetus' theory, which involved different possibilities suchas the belief that a force from a hit, push, etc. is put into a moving object and keeps itgoing; the view that movement itself is a force, and the idea that a net force acts in thedirection of motion; (b) the 'fading away' concept (diSessa, 1983);(c) a force (inertia)resisting a push; (d) friction relates only to moving objects; and (e) gravity depends onair/atmosphere.

Students' responses corresponding to their conceptions in terms of the acceptedscientific view were categorised in the following way:

(a) never/hardly ever (students with correct responses in the range between 0% and24% of the statements);

(b) sometimes (the range between 25% and 75% of the statements);(c) always/nearly always (the range from 76% and above).

Students' responses corresponding to their intuitive views were categorised in thereverse way: students with correct responses in the range between 0% and 24% of thestatements were classified as always/nearly always holding an intuitive view, and so on.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

Students ' Conceptions of Force 251

Results

Responses of Students to the First Part of the Questionnaire

Tables I and II show the results obtained in the first part of the questionnaire.These results show a major distinction between students' responses to static and

dynamic situations. We may see in Table I that, in the two static situations presented

TABLE I. Distribution of physics students' responses tothe four first questions on the first part of the

questionnaire, by year (%)

Pendulum at restCorrect (Mg + T)Incorrect—Mg (no tension)Moving pendulum (at edge)Correct (Mg + T)IncorrectMoving pendulum (equilibrium point)Correct (Mg + T)Incorrect—Mg (no tension)Book at rest on tableCorrect (Mg + N)Incorrect—Mg (no normal)Book moving on fiictionless tableCorrect (Mg + N)Incorrect

1st

928

8020

928

928

5644

Year

2nd

928

5248

8020

928

2476

3rd

928

6436

928

1000

3268

4th

1000

6832

1000

1000

4852

TABLE II. Distribution of physics students' responses tothe three last questions on the first part of the

questionnaire, by year (%)

Book moving on table with frictionCorrect (Mg + Ν friction)IncorrectCannon shooting, 6a and 6cCorrect (Λί̂ )Incorrect—Mg + ImpetusCannon shooting, 6bCorrect (Mg)Incorrect—Mg + ImpetusBall thrown up, ΒCorrect (Mg)Incorrect—Mg + ImpetusBall thrown up, CCorrect (Mg)Incorrect—Mg + Impetus

1st

4456

3664

3664

4456

7624

Year

2nd

2476

4060

4852

4852

964

3rd

3268

4060

6040

4852

1000

4th

4852

6832

8416

6733

8416

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

252 Ricardo Trumper

to the students, a great majority answered correctly and that there is some improvementthrough the years. However, we also see that some students do not recognise thereaction force (the tension on the string or the normal force exerted by the table), aswas found by Finegold & Gorsky (1988) among secondary students.

In the dynamic situations, the findings are different, and also here there is adistinction between different positions of the moving object. For example, when the'moving pendulum' is at one of its edges (maximum amplitude of oscillation), between20 and 48% of the students drew an arrow showing a force in the direction ofmovement (impetus), as was noted by all previously mentioned researchers. Some ofthe students do not recognise the existence of tension in the string.

In contrast, when the moving pendulum is at its equilibrium position (in the middleof its oscillation), the students' responses are very similar to those obtained in the'pendulum at rest'. It seems that students may confuse the equilibrium position of thependulum with a temporary rest state.

A similar result is observed in the case of the 'ball thrown up' (see Table II). In themiddle of its movement (point B), though there is some improvement through theyears, between 33 and 56% of the students drew an arrow in the direction of movement(impetus). In contrast, when the ball is at the peak of its movement (point C), moststudents gave a correct answer, and only a minority continued to draw the 'impetus'force. There may also be some confusion between the peak of the movement (where thevelocity is temporarily zero) and a rest state, or, as Clement (1982) stated, students maybelieve that such a force 'dies out' or 'builds up' to account for changes in an object'sspeed.

Students' responses to the question of the 'book moving on a frictionless table' (seeTable I) show that many students (between 44 and 66%) drew an arrow mostlyshowing a force in the direction of movement (impetus), as was noted by all previouslymentioned researchers, or a force acting against the direction of motion. Some of them(up to 36% of them in the 2nd and 3rd years) also did not recognise the existence ofthe normal force exerted by the table. Similar results were observed in students'responses to the question of the 'book moving on a table with friction' (see Table II).Moreover, several students in the 1st year do not recognise friction as a force, andseveral in the 2nd year drew the friction in the direction of the movement.

Students' responses to the question of the 'cannon shooting' (see Table II) showedan improvement in students' answers. However, during all the years a considerablenumber of students drew an arrow in the direction of motion (impetus), with someimprovement in 4th year.

Students' Views of Force in Terms of the Accepted Scientific Concept

As pointed out earlier, in the second part of the questionnaire, students' views aboutforce were analysed in two different areas: (a) recognising/identifying forces, and (b)forces and motion. Tables III and IV show the results obtained.

The main findings are that physics students in pre-service training for high schoolteachers:

1. mostly recognised weight as a force and improved their performance in knowingits direction through all the years;

2. improved their identification of the concepts of gravity and weight, through allthe years;

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

Students' Conceptions of Force 253

3. had difficulties in recognising the reaction as a force, through all the years;4. mostly recognised friction as a force, through all the years;5. mostly recognised a simple push or pull as a force, through all the years;6. were mostly uncertain about the acceptance of the notion of a resultant force,

through all the years, though they improved their performance in 4th year;7. were ambivalent when referring to the necessity of the forces to be balanced in

static situations, through all the years;8. failed considerably to affirm that the forces acting on an object are balanced

during uniform motion through all the years, mainly in 4th year;9. had great difficulties in affirming that motion and force need not be in the same

direction, through all the years;10. improved their distinction between uniform and changing motions, through all

the years.

TABLE III. Physics students' conceptions on force, by year (%)—recognising/identifying forces.

Year

Weight recognised as a force

Knowing the direction of weight

Gravity identified with weight

Recognising reaction as a force

Friction recognised as a force

Recognise a simple push orpull as a forceAcceptance of the notionof a 'resultant force'

Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

1st

762420802080128872285248

496

2nd

8020485240602872802080202080

3rd

1000

643668321684841664361684

4th

84166832683216845248524832

TABLE IV. Physics students' conceptions on force, by year (%)—forces and motion.

Year

Distinguish uniform fromchanging motionAffirm that motion and forceneed not be in the same directionAffirm that the forces on astationary object are balancedAffirm that the forces on anobject are balanced duringuniform motion

Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly everAlways/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

1st

16844

9612883268

2nd

4060208012881684

3rd

564416848

923664

4th

68328

928

928

92

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

254 Ricardo Trumper

TABLE V. Physics students' intuitive views on force, by year (%)

Year

1st

445632685644

496247fi

2nd

326848525248

4961684

3rd

247616843268

4964

96

4th

76248416841616841684

The 'impetus' theory Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

'Fading away' concept Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

A force (inertia) resisting a push Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

Friction relates only to moving objects Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

Gravity depends on air—atmosphere Always/nearly alwaysSometimes or never/hardly ever

Students' Intuitive Views of Force

Table V shows the results concerning students' intuitive views of force.The main findings are that physics students in pre-service training for high school

teachers:

1. mostly held the Aristotelian 'impetus' misconception, through all the years,especially in 4th year, far removed in time from their Newtonian mechanicsstudies;

2. mostly held the 'fading-away' concept (the initial force exerted on an object, keepsit going and gradually lessens) through all the years, especially in 4th year;

3. mostly held the concept that a force (inertia) acts on moving objects resisting apush, through all the years, except an unexpected improved performance in 3rdyear;

4. mostly denied the incorrect view that friction relates only to moving objects,through all the years, though they were ambivalent in 4th year;

5. mostly denied the incorrect idea that gravity depends on air or on atmosphere,through all the years.

Discussion

The most important findings of this study can be summarised as follows. Physicsstudents in pre-service training for high school teachers:

1. mostly do not succeed in abandoning their Aristotelian 'impetus' misconception.This may be the reason why they fail considerably to affirm that the forces actingon an object are balanced during uniform motion. Moreover, they have greatdifficulties in seeing that motion and force need not be in the same direction.

2. have difficulties in recognising the reaction as a force, mainly while referring tomoving objects on solid surfaces (like 'a book moving on a table');

3. are ambivalent when referring to the necessity of the forces to be balanced in staticsituations;

4. hold, to a great extent, the concept that an initial force exerted on an object keepsit going and gradually lessens—the 'fading-away' concept.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

Students' Conceptions of Force 255

5. hold, to a great extent, the concept that a force (inertia) acts on moving objectsresisting a push;

6. tend to return in 4th year to intuitive views of force, rather than holding theaccepted scientific concept.

There is clearly a need for student teachers' ideas about force to be moved fromthese perspectives toward the scientific view if they are to lead children toward acoherent perception of the force concept and assess their level of understanding.

The student teachers' difficulties outlined above are not surprising and can, in part,be explained by their firm roots in the long experiences that they have had as studentsin the education system and, perhaps, by the influence of the mass media. The researchhas shown that there is a serious discrepancy between student teachers' understandingof force and the accepted scientific concept. If this fundamental concept is to be taughtwell in the secondary school, then every effort must be made to help teachers be awareof their own conceptions and develop their understanding, both in their physics andmethodology lessons.

Many student teachers hold the firm belief that good teaching involves explainingthrough lecturing. Wubbels (1992) claimed:

Student teachers often think that the real job of a teacher is to explain thingsclearly and for years and years they have experienced this when they werestudents themselves. Teacher educators, however, want them often to realisethat the primary aim of education is that students learn and understand. Thisnotion is nearly totally absent in many student teachers' conceptions aboutteaching (Weinstein, 1989). Thus, educators must stimulate student teachersto use group work or class discussions, if appropriate, to create learningopportunities for students, (p. 140)

Adopting this teaching and learning model for pre-service student teachers' educationwould involve breaking new ground, extending ideas about the teaching and learning ofchildren to adult learners. One possible way of improving future teachers' understand-ing would be to adopt the constructivist or generative learning model in designingpre-service teacher education (Driver & Oldham, 1986). This has been extensivelydescribed in science education literature in recent years and is now widely valued as atheoretical basis for developing children's ideas in science (Driver, 1989). Morespecifically, Scholium, Hill & Osborne (1981) have proposed some constructivistapproaches for teaching the force concept to high school students, Summers, Kruger &Palacio (1993) have done so for in-service teacher education in primary schools, andMcDermott (1996) has proposed some very interesting inquiry activities related toseveral basic physics concepts, including force.

A program of pre-service education for high school teachers adopting similarstrategies would be, to that extent, an innovation. In the state of our current under-standing of children's learning of science, there are good grounds to suggest that thedevelopment and evaluation of such a program would be a worthwhile undertaking.

REFERENCES

BERG, T. & BROUWER, W. (1991) Teacher awareness of student alternate conceptionsabout rotational motion and gravity, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28,pp. 3-18.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

256 Ricardo Trumper

CLEMENT, J. (1982) Students' preconceptions in introductory mechanics, AmericanJournal of Physics, 50, pp. 66-71.

Curriculum of Physics and Chemistry (1989) Physics and Chemistry, curriculum for the juniorhigh school (Ministry of Education, Jerusalem).

DISESSA, A. (1983) Phenomenology and the evolution of intuition, in: D. GENTNER &

A. STEVENS (Eds) Mental Modeh (Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum).DRIVER, R. (1989) The construction of scientific knowledge in school classrooms,

Doing Science: Images of Science in Science Education (London, Falmer Press).DRIVER, R. & OLDHAM, V. (1986) A constructivist approach to curriculum develop-

ment in science, Studies in Science Education, 13, pp. 105-122.FINEGOLD, M. & GORSKY, P. (1988) Learning about force: simulating the outcomes of

pupils' misconceptions, Instructional Science, 17, pp. 251-261.FINEGOLD, M. & GORSKY, P. (1991) Students' concepts of force as applied to related

physical systems: a search for consistency, International Journal of Science Education,13, pp. 97-113.

GILBERT, J. & WATTS, D. (1983) Concepts, misconceptions and alternative concep-tions: changing perspectives in science education, Studies in Science Education, 10,pp. 61-98.

KRUGER, C , PALACIO, D. & SUMMERS, M. (1992) Survey of English primary teachers'conceptions of force, energy and materials, Science Education, 76, pp. 339–351.

Kuiper, J. (1991) Ideas of Force. A study of the understanding of the concept of 'force' ofsecondary school students in Zimbabwe (Amsterdam: Free University Press).

MARIONI, C. (1989) Aspects of students' understanding in classroom settings (age10-17): case study on motion and inertia, Physics Education, 24, pp. 273-277.

MCDERMOTT, L. (1996) Physics by Inquiry (Wiley, New York).SCHOLLUM, B., HILL, G. & OSBORNE, R. (1981) Teaching about Force, Working paper

No. 34, Learning in Science Project (Hamilton, New Zealand: University ofWaikato).

SEQUEIRA, M. & LEITE, L. (1989) Qualitative versus quantitative physics and theconceptual understanding of Newton's laws, in: Proceedings of the 14th ATEEConference, Kristiansad, Sweden.

SUMMERS, M., KRUGER, C. & PALACIO, D. (1993) Long Term Impact of a New Approachto Teacher Education for Primary Science (Oxford: Oxford University, Department ofEducational Studies and Westminster College).

TRUMPER, R. & GORSKY, P. (1996) A cross-college age study about physics students'conceptions of force in pre-service training for high school teachers, PhysicsEducation, 31, pp. 227-236.

WEINSTEIN, C. (1989). Teacher education students' preconceptions of teaching, Jour-nal of Teacher Education, 39, pp. 53-60.

WUBBELS, T. (1992) Taking account of student teachers' preconceptions, Teaching andTeacher Education, 8, pp. 137-149.

Correspondence: Ricardo Trumper, Kibbutz Hahoterim, Doar Na Hof Hacarmel 30870,Israel. E-mail: < r.trumper@uvm.haifa.ac.il >

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

Students' Conceptions of Force 257

APPENDIX A

FIG. 5. Ball thrown up.

Dow

nloa

ded

By:

[Uni

vers

ity o

f Hai

fa] A

t: 09

:54

31 J

anua

ry 2

008

258 Ricardo Trumper

APPENDIX Β

These pictures [see Fig. 6] show a golfer who has driven a golf ball falling 6eely onto the green. Thestatements refer to the ball during its flight.

12. The rut force on the golf ball is always in the same directionas the ball is moving.

true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )13. The various forces on the ball can't be thought of as onesingle net force.

true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )14. The only forces on the ball, once it's been hit by the dub, areits weight and air resistance.

true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )15. The force from the golf club acts on the ball until it stopsmoving.

true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )16. The force which he has put into it by striking the ball is beingused up as it travels through the air.

true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )

17. The force from his drive wore off at the point where the ball started to drop.true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )18. On the way up, the force he has put into the ball is greater than gravity, at the top of its flightthey're equal, and the ball will start to fall when gravity becomes greater.true ( ) false ( ) don't understand ( ) not sure ( )