Abstract
Students’ understanding of introductory electricity concepts can be fragmented even after instruction. Several reasons for this have been identified: electricity is an abstract and complex topic and traditional instruction frequently fails to meet students’ learning needs. As a consequence, conceptual change is not triggered and misconceptions prevail. Research findings show that the concept of voltage, in particular, presents many difficulties for students. This paper presents a research project from four working groups whom are collaborating to develop a teaching strategy for introductory electricity at lower secondary schools which is based on the electron gas model. Additionally, research finding from one project partners’ implementation of this teaching approach in a pilot study are reported. The concept of voltage is introduced as an electric pressure difference across a resistor in an electric circuit. The evaluation of this approach with more than 700 high school students shows very promising results. Based on these findings, a Design-Based Research project has been jointly developed between two German and two Austrian Universities. The aim of this study is to find out whether the significantly better performance of students instructed according to the electron gas model can be replicated with a wider sample of teachers and students across the project partners’ locations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
McDermott, L.C., van Zee, E.H.: Identifying and addressing student difficulties with electric circuits. In: Duit, R., Jung, W., Rhöneck, C. (eds.) Aspects of Understanding Electricity, pp. 39–48 (1985)
Wilhelm, T., Müller, S., Burde, J.-P.: Vergleich von Schülervorstellungen zur Elektrizitätslehre in Hessen und Weißrussland. In: PhyDid B-Didaktik der Physik-Beiträge zur DPG-Frühjahrstagung, Wuppertal (2015). www.phydid.de. Accessed 30 Sep 2017
Burde, J.-P., Wilhelm, T.: The electron gas model as an introduction to electricity in middle school science. In: Lavonen, J., Juuti, K., Lampiselkä, J., Uitto, A., Hahl, K. (eds.) Science Education Research: Engaging Learners for a Sustainable Future: Proceedings of ESERA 2015 (Part 1: Strand 1: Learning Science: Conceptual Understanding), pp. 26–36, Helsinki, Finland (2016). ISBN 978-951-51-1541-6
Herrmann, F., Schmälzle, P.: Das elektrische Potential im Unterricht der Sekundarstufe I. MNU 37(8), 476–482 (1984)
Schumacher, M., Wiesner, H.: Erprobung des Potentialansatzes in der Elektrizitätslehre in Form einer Akzeptanzbefragungssequenz. In: DPG-Tagung (ed.) Vorträge Physikertagung, pp. 573–578 (1997)
Clement, J.J., Steinberg, M.S.: Step-wise evolution of mental models of electric circuits: a “learning-aloud” case study. J. Learn. Sci. 11(4), 389–452 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327809JLS1104_1
Gleixner, C.: Einleuchtende Elektrizitätslehre mit Potenzial. Dissertation, LMU München (1998)
Schwedes, H., Dudeck, W.G., Seibel, C.: Elektrizitätslehre mit Wassermodellen. Praxis der Naturwissenschaften–Physik 44(2) (1995)
Koller, D.: Einführung in die Elektrizitätslehre. Konzept Lehrer, München. https://www.didaktik.physik.uni-muenchen.de/archiv/inhalt_materialien/einf_elektrizitaet/index.html. Accessed 30 Sep 2017
Burde, J.-P., Wilhelm, T.: Concept and empirical evaluation of a new curriculum to teach electricity with a focus on voltage. In: Ding, L., Traxler, A., Cao, Y. (eds.) 2017 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, Cincinnati (2017)
Rhöneck, C.: Vorstellungen vom elektrischen Stromkreis und zu den Begriffen Strom, Spannung und Widerstand. Naturwissenschaften im Unterricht-Physik 34(13), 10–14 (1986)
Burde, J.-P., Wilhelm, T.: Das Elektronengasmodel im Anfangsunterricht. Praxis der Naturwissenschaften-Physik 65(8), 18–24 (2016)
Burde, J.-P., Wilhelm, T.: Ein Unterrichtskonzept auf Basis des Elektronengasmodells. In: PhyDid B-Didaktik der Physik-Beiträge zur DPG-Frühjahrstagung, Hannover (2016)
diSessa, A.A.: Toward an epistemology of physics. Cogn. Instruct. 10(2–3), 105–225 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.1985.9649008
diSessa, A.: A bird’s-eye view of the “pieces” vs “coherence” controversy (from the pieces “side of the fence”). In: Vosniadou, S. (ed.) International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York (2013)
Burde, J.-P., Wilhelm, T.: Hilft die Wasserkreislaufanalogie? In: Wilhelm, T. (ed.) Stolpersteine überwinden im Physikunterricht. Anregungen für fachgerech-te Elementarisierungen, pp. 100–104. Aulis Verlag, Seelze (2018)
Burde, J.-P.: Konzeption und Evaluation eines Unterrichtskonzepts zu einfachen Stromkreisen auf Basis des Elektronengasmodells. In: Studien zum Physik- und Chemielernen: Vol. 259. Logos Verlag, Berlin (2018)
Barab, S., Squire, K.: Design-based research: putting a stake in the ground. J. Learn. Sci. 13(1), 1–14 (2004)
Ejersbo, L.R., Engelhardt, R., Frølunde, L., Hanghøj, T., Magnussen, R., Misfeldt, M.: Balancing product design and theoretical insights. In: Kelly, A.E., Lesh, R.A., Baek, J.Y. (eds.) Handbook of Design Research Methods in Education: Innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Learning and Teaching, pp. 149–163. Routledge (2008)
Schreiner, C., Sjøberg, S.: The Relevance of Science Education. Sowing the Seed of ROSE. Acta Didactica, Oslo (2004)
Urban-Woldron, H., Hopf, M.: Entwicklung eines Testinstruments zum Verständnis in der Elektrizitätslehre. Zeitschrift für Didaktik der Naturwissenschaften 18(1), 201–227 (2012)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Haagen, C., Burde, JP., Hopf, M., Spatz, V., Wilhelm, T. (2019). Using the Electron Gas Model in Lower Secondary Schools—A Binational Design-Based Research Project. In: McLoughlin, E., van Kampen, P. (eds) Concepts, Strategies and Models to Enhance Physics Teaching and Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18137-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18137-6_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18136-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18137-6
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)