A study of the effectiveness of a guided open‐ended approach to physics experiments

The role of physics experiments in developing an interest in physics, a better understanding of the subject, scientific skills, open‐mindedness, etc. has remained controversial. Two approaches are commonly followed for doing experiments‐the traditional approach and the open‐ended approach. The effectiveness of these approaches in developing the above has also remained controversial.

The sample in this study consisted of 92 students (66 boys and 26 girls) in the age‐group 15 to 17 years studying in higher secondary school classes. Experimental and control groups were formed by considering scores in a pre‐achievement test, an intelligence test and a socio‐economic status test. These two groups each worked in the laboratory for 40 contact hours spread over a period of one year, following a guided open‐ended approach (GOA) and a traditional laboratory approach (TLA) respectively.

Analysis of the results revealed that, for the sample in this study, GOA was superior to TLA in developing cognitive abilities and laboratory skills. No definite conclusion is drawn regarding the superiority of one approach over the other in the development of creative abilities.