Action Research to Improve Students’ Problem Solving using Multiple Modes of Representation
Nur Shahadah Abdul Rahim1, Fatin Aliah Phang2, Jaysuman Pusppanathan3
1Nur Shahadah Abdul Rahim, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
2Fatin Aliah Phang, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia and Centre for Engineering Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
3Jaysuman Pusppanathan, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 07 May 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 19 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 23 May 2019 | PP: 953-957 | Volume-7 Issue-6S5 April 2019 | Retrieval Number: F11640476S519/2019©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Physics students, especially those who are newly introduced to the subject, usually face difficulties in solving real life problems because of most of them are unable to make the accurate mental representation of the problems. This action research aims to improve a teacher’s classroom instruction to develop students’ problem solving skills by incorporating the use of multiple modes of representation. A class of 30 Form 4 students from a secondary school in Johor, Malaysia involved in the research. A pre-test and a post-test were given to the students to measure their level of achievement in Physics problem solving and the use of representations. Mean scores obtained from the tests were analysed and the result showed that there is a significant increment (p<.05) for the achievement in problem solving before and after the instructions. However, a Pearson correlation analysis indicates that there is no significant relation (p>.10) between the scores on representation and achievement in problem solving. The implication of this research is that instructors must develop a new plan of action to enable the students to use representations in problem solving. Further research must be carried out to investigate whether a new course of action can improve the result in improving the problem solving skills for Physics students using multiple representations.
Keywords: Physics Education, Problem Solving.
Scope of the Article: Smart Learning and Innovative Education Systems