Teacher Opinions About the Conceptual Challenges Experienced in Teaching Physics Curriculum Topics

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the teacher opinions about the conceptual challenges experienced in teaching the topics of the physics curriculum. Qualitative research methods were used in the study, which was conducted with 38 physics teachers teaching at 28 different Anatolian High Schools in Ankara during 2012 - 2013 spring and 2013 - 2014 fall semesters. The semi-structured teacher interview form developed by the researchers was used as the data collection tool. The form consisted of seven open-ended questions. The data obtained during the interviews were analyzed through the descriptive statistic method. As a result, teachers mentioned that students had difficulties in the conceptual understanding of motion, torque and simple harmonic motion in the "Force and Motion" unit, the particle nature of light and the wave nature of particles in the "Modern Physics" unit as well as variable current, capacitors, coils, transformers and electronic circuit elements in the "Electricity and Electronic" unit. It was concluded that the challenges that were experienced in general stemmed from various factors such as students' lack of knowledge in terms of concepts, existence of misconceptions, difficulties in comprehending abstract concepts, deficiencies in mathematical operations and insufficiency of time allocated to the course leading to incomplete teaching tasks. Published by Elsevier Ltd.