Physics Teachers' Perceptions about Diagnostic Assessment of Students' Physics Misconceptions: A Phenomenological Study

TL;DR

This phenomenological study explores physics teachers' perceptions and practices in diagnosing student misconceptions, highlighting their experiences, knowledge, and reflections on assessment methods to improve physics education.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into teachers' personal experiences and reflections on diagnostic assessment of misconceptions across diverse teaching contexts.

Findings

Teachers' personal experiences influence misconception diagnosis.

Knowledge about misconceptions varies among teachers.

Reflections suggest future improvements in assessment practices.

Abstract

Misconception is the difference between a student's idea and his scientific concept. Physics learning needs to be designed by teachers to minimize misconceptions. Different diagnostic tools have been developed and used by researchers to identify student misconceptions. This study addressed to uncover the experiences of eight physics teachers on how they apply diagnostic tools to detect misconceptions experienced by students investigated through phenomenological studies. Physics teachers are invited to volunteer to participate in this research. Physics teachers involved in this research have diversity based on the period of experience teaching physics, geographical area, and the level of students faced. A semi-structured interview (duration of 40 to 60 minutes) through virtually was conducted by the author for all physics teachers involved in this study. Personal Practice Theories (PPTs) by Cornett was chosen as a framework to reveal the experiences and perspectives of physics teachers in making judgments about students' misconceptions of Physics. The findings revealed that four themes were obtained. These themes are (1) personal experiences of Physics teachers, (2) Physics teachers' knowledge, (3) practices in assessing Physics misconceptions, and (4) teachers' reflections on future assessment practice.