Page 58 - ATENEO SERVED 2020 E-BOOK_Neat

Ateneo Science Educators and Researchers in Virtual
Engagement (SERVE) 2020 Ateneo de Manila University
School of Science and Engineering
MS Science Education Program of Biology Department

Preconceived Ideas on Forces and Motion of In-Service Science Teachers

a b c
Mary Maffi P. Delos Santos , Ivan B. Culaba, MSc, and Cornelia C. Soto, PhD.

a
Department of Biology, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University
b
Department of Physics, School of Science and Engineering, Ateneo de Manila University
c
Department of Education, School of Social Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University
* Corresponding Author: mary.delossantos@obf.ateneo.edu

ABSTRACT

K to 12 Science Curriculum is designed to be learner-centered and inquiry-based to highlight the importance
of evidence in the understanding of science concepts. Since it follows the spiral approach, science teachers
have to teach all the sciences in a particular grade level, including those subjects which are outside of their
field of specialization/expertise. Therefore, there is a need for retraining of the science teachers. Developing
a good training program requires knowledge of the preconceptions of the teacher-participants. This study
aims to determine the preconceptions of the in-service teachers about the concept of forces and motion. In
this study, the 47-item, multiple choice Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE), developed by R.
Thornton and D. Sokoloff, was used as the diagnostic tool. Microsoft Excel was used in the processing of the
raw data and the analysis. The thirteen participants in the study were in-service teachers coming from
different high schools, majority have backgrounds in Biology. Analysis of the participants’ responses in the
FMCE showed the following preconceptions on motion and force:
a. A force in the same direction as the motion, is necessary to move an object even at constant
velocity; constant acceleration requires a constantly increasing force.
b. An object momentarily at rest has no acceleration and therefore is not acted upon by a force.
c. The action-reaction forces between two objects depend on the masses of the objects and their initial
relative speeds.
These results showed that the teachers’ concepts of motion and force are still Aristotelian rather than
Newtonian. These deep-seated preconceptions exist due to the fact that everyone builds his/her own
theories about the world based on experience. The design of an effective teacher-training program in
mechanics should, therefore, be built upon these results and similar studies in Physics education research.

Keywords: Preconceptions, In-service teachers, Curriculum, Training, FMCE, Forces and motion

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