[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Artificial Intelligence Tools in Physics Teaching and Physics Education Research.] Artificial intelligence-based chatbots are increasingly influencing physics education because of their ability to interpret and respond to textual and visual inputs. This study evaluates the performance of two large…

This study investigates the effect of using the history of science in teaching geometrical optics on the motivation and conceptual understanding of first year university students. For this purpose, 54 students were randomly selected, then divided into two groups: the experimental group was taught by using history of science before traditional…

In this study, the intuitive physics of free fall was explored using Information Integration Theory and Functional Measurement. The participants had to rate the speed of objects differing in mass and height of release at the end of an imagined free fall. According to physics, falling speed increases with height of release but it is substantially…

A brief overview of the 2007 National Federation of the Blind-Jernigan Institute Youth Slam Chemistry Track, a course of study within a science camp that provided firsthand experimental experience to 200 students who are blind and low-vision, is given. For many of these students, this was their first hands-on experience with laboratory chemistry.…

This pilot study documents the design and evaluation results of an innovative teaching approach with the use of ICT regarding the optics concepts of light reflection and diffusion, and vision in Greek primary school. First there was a survey of 140 students to ascertain their initial ideas regarding these concepts. On the basis of the results of…

In this study, we discuss the scaffolded design of ODRES (Observe, Discuss, and Reason with Evidence in Science), a computer tool that was designed to be used with elementary school children in science, and report on the effects of learning with ODRES on students' conceptual understandings about light, color, and vision. Succinctly, dyads of…

This paper is focused on primary trainee teachers' conceptualization of the vision process and image formation in a plane mirror. The study involved 55 non-specialist, undergraduate trainee primary teachers on a 4-year programme of initial teacher training. The process incorporated tracking trainees' ideas during university-taught sessions through…

This study examines the relationship between student misconceptions and learning by focusing on six fifth-grade students as they attempt to make sense of classroom instruction on light and seeing. Pretests, posttests, and classroom observation narratives served as student data. Pretests indicate that students held the misconception that sight is…

Explores high school students' and preservice teachers' knowledge of light, vision, and related topics before and after commonly practiced instruction. Suggests a hierarchical structure to represent the collective conceptual knowledge of students and teachers in terms of facets and schemes of knowledge. Makes suggestions for designing instruction…