Alemu, Mekbib

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

The Effect of Dialogic Practical Work on Secondary School Students' Attitudes toward Physics

By Belay, Ewonetu Bantie

This study investigated the effect of dialogic practical work on students' attitudes toward physics. The sample of the study was 91 grade 11 secondary school students selected randomly from two schools in Bahir Dar town, Ethiopia. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest between groups research design was used. The treatment group participated in dialogic practical work while the comparison group conducted traditional practical work. A 30-item physics attitude questionnaire with Cronbach alpha value of 0.84 was used to collect the data before and after intervention. T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The result of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between treatment and comparison group in favor of the treatment group with no gender differential effects. In addition, the finding showed that the most significant attitude change occurred between the high and low achievement groups. However, no significant difference was observed between the high and medium achievement groups. Dialogic practical work can be used to enhance secondary school students' attitudes toward physics. © 2022 Journal of Open Humanities Data. All rights reserved.

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Effects of Blending Virtual and Real Laboratory Experimentation on Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Attitudes Toward Physics Electricity and Magnetism Laboratories

By Mihret, Zemenu

This study examined the effect of blended laboratory experiments on pre-service physics teachers' (PSPTs') attitudes toward physics laboratories. The research design was a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test comparing groups. Participants were 63 2nd-year PSPTs' enrolled in a physics diploma program from three colleges of teacher education. The treatment groups performed blended and virtual laboratory experiments, whereas the comparison group conducted real laboratory experiments. Data were collected before and after intervention using a 34-item adapted attitude toward physics laboratory questionnaire with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.765. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc comparisons. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference in mean post-test results between the treatment and comparison group. The Tukey HSD post hoc analysis revealed that the difference in mean between blended and real was statistically significant, but not on other combinations. Descriptive statistics showed slight attitudinal improvement from pre-test to post-test. This improvement was statistically significant for blended and virtual groups but not in real groups. Blending physics laboratory experiments can be used to enhance attitudes toward physics laboratories. Based on the conclusions, recommendations are made. © 2022 Journal of Open Humanities Data. All rights reserved.

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