The Weizmann Institute's Science Teaching Department will develop 150 diagnostic questions which will help physics teachers diagnose and address student difficulties
The average size of a physics class at the beginning of the matriculation track in 10th grade is 23 students, while by the end of the 12th grade; approximately half of the classes have less than 10 students remaining. A fast-paced teaching method which is not customized to individual students is apparently significant in causing this high dropout rate. The fact that classrooms are diverse, comprised of students with varying abilities and difficulties, and different styles and paces of learning, is an additional obstacle.However, there are difficulties which stem from the particular nature of key concepts of physics. These concepts are not understood intuitively by many students and sometimes even contradict their previous knowledge or daily experience. When faced with such contradictions, students make typical errors and misconceptions. If these errors are diagnosed in a timely manner by the teachers, then they are able to assist their students in overcoming the difficulty.
This issue has been at the forefront of research worldwide, which has enabled the development of diagnostic assessments of common errors and learning material. These aids however have not yet been systematically translated to Hebrew, nor adapted to the Israeli physics curriculum. The Weizmann Institute’s Science Teaching Department is now seeking to meet this gap, by creating a database of common errors assessments and of adaptive learning objects, which will cover the Israeli physics curriculum. They propose that the database includes:
An expert in psychometrics will be incorporated into the project, to examine a combination of performance assignments, to assist in validating, and to check feasibility for collecting student performance data for the sake of comparison according to norm and standard.
However, key to the success of this project is the physics teachers themselves, who will have to be convinced that these tools and aids provide them with added-value, and that they are able to integrate them into their ongoing teaching and learning routines. To this end, expert teachers will be part of the development team, and will pilot test the products in their classrooms. The 150 teachers who participate in the Institute’s learning communities will also be engaged and provide feedback.
In a second stage, the diagnostic tools will be introduced to additional teachers, in professional development seminars and workshops, with an aim of implementing this methodology on a large scale and by doing so, influencing the dropout rate in physics classes on a national level. The database will be open for free use and will be built using existing technological tools, which will be chosen in consultation with the foundation.