Cognitive effects of science experiments focusing on students’ preconceptions of force: a comparison of demonstrations and small‐group practicals

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of teacher demonstrations and student laboratory work to conceptual development regarding forces on objects at rest (mechanics). Six ninth‐grade classes of above average ability and five teachers at two secondary schools in The Netherlands participated in a series of seven lessons. Three classes used teacher demonstrations and three other classes used small‐group practicals. The experiments used in both strategies were identical and based on the anchor‐bridges method of Clement et al. (1989). Reported results concern the monitoring of the learning process, the overall learning effect of the lesson series, and comparison of the two strategies. Overall retention was high. Girls appear more sensitive to the chosen strategy than boys (girls under‐perform in the student practical mode).