Improving Students' Revision of Physics Concepts through ICT‐Based Co‐construction and Prescriptive Tutoring

Abstract

In this paper, we describe and discuss an information and communication technology (ICT)‐based intervention designed to improve secondary school students' revision (in contrast to learning) of physics concepts. We show that students' engagement in joint activities via our ICT‐based intervention can provide them (and their teachers) with insights into their knowledge base and thought processes, thereby aiding a remedial process we call prescriptive tutoring. Utilising a design‐based research methodology, our intervention is currently being implemented and evaluated in a public secondary school in Singapore. Statistical analysis of pre‐ and post‐intervention test scores from the first iteration of our design experiment show that students in the experimental group significantly out‐performed students in both the control and alternate intervention groups. In addition, qualitative data obtained from the students from a focus group session, individual interviews and responses to our survey questions reveal that they became more comfortable with the intervention only after they appreciated how the intervention was designed to help them.

Keywords:

• Physics education
• Experimental study
• Learning environment
• Cooperative learning

Acknowledgements

This article is an extension of the paper we presented at the world conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (ED‐MEDIA 2009). We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions for improvements. Also, we thank the two anonymous reviewers of this journal for their constructive comments, which helped us improve this paper.