A Longitudinal Study of Physics Students' Conceptions on Energy in Pre-Service Training for High School Teachers

Abstract

How physics students teachers' understanding of energy develops during their pre-service high school teacher university program? How do their physics and Didactics courses influence their energy conceptions? Do university physics students in pre-service training to be high-school teachers finally hold correct scientific views that will eventually allow them to plan and implement instructional strategies that, in turn, will lead their future high school students to achieve a scientific concept of energy? The results of a longitudinal study dealing with this issues will be discussed in this manuscript. The energy conceptions of the Physics students were analyzed by means of a two-part written questionnaire that was presented to the same group on their first day of class for four years running. The most important findings of this study can be summarized as follows. Despite their pre-service training, future physics high school teachers: Hold a number of different alternative conceptual frameworks when describing physical situations, instead or besides the accepted scientific concept. Mostly think that energy is a concrete entity and not an abstract idea. Mostly do not accept the idea of energy degradation. Mostly confuse the concepts of energy and force.