Physics teachers' and students' attributes and verbal interactions on the concepts and pre-calculus mathematics of statics and kinematics

Abstract

This study primarily sought to characterize high school physics teachers and their students and, more importantly, to document, organize and analyze the verbal interactions between the teacher and their students on the concepts and pre-calculus mathematics of statics and kinematics.
The respondents of this study were 127 high school physics teachers and 565 HS Physics students in the Cagayan Valley Region except Batanes. The physics teachers were described in terms of their socio-demographic profile, personal qualities, competence in physics, competence in pre-calculus mathematics, questioning skills and teaching styles. The physics and mathematics attitudes of both teachers and students and students' learning styles were also obtained. They were characterized through the valid and reliable survey questionnaire sent to the respondents on January to March, 2002. The Pearson r, and t-test were employed to detect any significant relationships and differences.
The Modified Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories was used to document the interaction in the actual classroom situations of six high school physics teachers. Generally, classroom interactions were audio taped while one or two were videotaped. And these were transcribed. Transcribed interactions were analyzed to identify the unscientific and/or mathematical concepts physics teachers had and the innovative and traditional methods they utilized in their classrooms.