Identifier

etd-07072010-140653

Degree

Master of Natural Sciences (MNS)

Department

Natural Sciences (Interdepartmental Program)

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The following paper explores the possible relationship between the manner in which a student is taught vocabulary in a high school physics classroom and the ability of those students to correctly answer physics conceptual questions. Two high school physics classes taught by the same teacher (eight or nine students in one and seventeen in the other) received identical instruction throughout multiple units with the exception of vocabulary instruction. Differences were observed in the students’ ability to correctly answer conceptual questions in only one topic, heat. The students did not get better at answering a question concerning a phase change or another question that the direct instruction group already knew (80% of the students got the right answer on the pretest and kept that same answer on the posttest).

Date

2010

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Browne, Dana

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.4114

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