Kwan Arayathanitkul

The effectiveness of peer instruction and structured inquiry on conceptual understanding of force and motion: a case study from Thailand

This study proposed to investigate the effectiveness of learning activities based on a conceptual change theoretical framework by embedding a peer instruction method with structured inquiry (PISI) on tenth grade students’ understanding of force and motion concepts. This teaching method was compared to the existing traditional instruction (TI). Alternative conceptions of force and motion were determined through related literature and a preliminary study, carried out prior to instruction, was used for designing the teaching plans. A standardized test, Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE), was used to probe students’ conceptual understanding of the subject. The data were obtained from 156 students in the treatment group taught with the PISI and 119 students in the control group taught with the TI. Hake’s normalized gain indicated that the effectiveness of the TI was low (0.14) while the effectiveness of the PISI was medium (0.45). The Repeated Measures ANOVA comparing the pre‐ and post‐test change in each and overall scales of the FMCE between the two groups was significant (p<0.01). The results suggested that teachers with a similar school setting could adopt the PISI into their classroom in order to promote the learning of physics with conceptual understanding of the subject.

Developing specialized guided worksheets for active learning in physics lectures

As universities attempt to integrate active learning into their lectures, a range of strategies is emerging. Amongst the strategies is pre-prepared worksheets which students work through, facilitated by the lecturer. Despite the fact that worksheets have not yet been the subject of much research activity, there are instances of their use. Once such instance is by a pair of physics lecturers at Mahidol University, Thailand. The worksheets, called guided worksheets as they provide structure for students to take notes as the content in the lectures progresses, are prepared by the lecturers and have been in use since 2004. Evaluations showed that the guided worksheets met their intent but there were issues around certain topics which students found challenging. Concerted effort lead to the development of research based specialized guided worksheets for those topics that had issues. These specialized guided worksheets requiring substantially more interactions and student problem solving in line with active learning strategies, have been in use since 2012. This paper aims to describe the design of the specialized guided worksheets for the topic of electric field, and its evaluation. Pre- and post-tests were implemented over 2 years. The first was with guided worksheets with 260 students in 2011, and the second included specialized guided worksheets with 163 students in 2012. Gains on student understanding were higher in 2012 and students who were interviewed indicated that they found the specialized guided worksheets helpful for learning. The results indicate that the specialized guided worksheets made a difference in topics that students find challenging.

A low-cost celestial globe for hands-on astronomy

A low-cost celestial globe is developed to support astronomical coordinate learning. It is used for demonstrating how stars are positioned and to analyse the motion of celestial bodies or diurnal motion. The model was implemented at a weekend astronomy camp provided for students from schools in the northeastern region of Thailand. A series of activities required the students to describe the position of celestial objects and their motion due to the rotation of the Earth.

Effective of diode laser on teeth enamel in the teeth whitening treatment

This research purpose is to investigate the changing of teeth color and to study the surface of teeth after treatment by laser diode at different power densities for tooth whitening treatment. In the experiment, human-extracted teeth samples were divided into 7 groups of 6 teeth each. After that laser diode was irradiated to teeth, which were coated by 38% concentration of hydrogen peroxide, during for 20, 30 and 60 seconds at power densities of 10.9 and 52.1 W/cm2. The results of teeth color change were described by the CIEL*a*b* systems and the damage of teeth surface were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the power density of the laser diode could affect the whiteness of teeth. The high power density caused more luminous teeth than the low power density did, but on the other hand the high power density also caused damage to the teeth surface. Therefore, the laser diode at the low power densities has high efficiency for tooth whitening treatment and it has a potential for other clinical applications.

A Simple Apparatus for Demonstrating How Light Rays Emanate From a Point Source

A point source of light sends out light rays in all directions and in straight lines. This is an important concept for all students who study elementary optics at the high school level. Most physics textbooks discuss this topic only briefly.1–6 They usually explain the concept by using two-dimensional diagrams even though a three-dimensional discussion may be more instructive. Much of the commercial demonstration equipment that can be used to explain this concept is very expensive (e.g., the optics kit from Suksapan Panit Company7 in Thailand costs approximately

A Magnetic Set-Up to Help Teach Newton's Laws.

70 U.S.). This and similar optics kits show that light propagates in straight lines but do not represent where the light beams come from. Because it is an abstract idea, most students still have considerable misunderstanding about this concept.8–14 This paper describes an effective but inexpensive (approximately

Developing, Evaluating and Demonstrating the Use of a Conceptual Survey in Mechanical Waves

20 U.S.) apparatus to illustrate the behavior of light rays emitted isotropically from a point source of light. The apparatus is simple...

Thai high-school students' misconceptions about and models of light refraction through a planar surface

A set-up comprising a magnetic disc, a solenoid and a mechanical balance was used to teach first-year physics students Newtons third law with the help of a free body diagram. The image of a floating magnet immobilized by the solenoids repulsive force should help dispel a common misconception of students as regards the first law: that stationary objects are not being acted on by any force at all. Dropping the magnet onto the electrified solenoid, which can change polarity, can lead to more sophisticated elaboration of the second law.