COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROSPECTIVE PHYSICS TEACHERS PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITY AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN PHYSICS

Saadatu Abubakar Mohammed

Abstract


The study compared the prospective physics teachers’ problem-solving ability and their achievement in physics. Several studies have shown that new teachers have incomplete or superficial level of numerical aspects of physics knowledge. The main objective of introductory physics instruction is therefore, to enhance and facilitate students’ mode of thinking from the initial common sense of perceiving knowledge to the Newtonian way of perceiving knowledge. One objective and one research question were formulated to guide the study. One hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significant. Correlational research design was used for the study. The total number of 53 prospective physics teachers involved in the study was determined by purposive sampling techniques. Physics problem-Solving Test (PPST) and physics Achievement Test (PAT) were used as instruments for data collection. Pretest-Posttest test were administered to the students giving the interval of 2 weeks between the pretest and postest test. The hypothesis was analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. The findings of the study revealed a positive and significant correlation between the scores of the prospective physics teachers in the problem solving ability test and the test of achievement in physics. It also shows positive relation in gender of prospective physics teachers’ problem-solving ability and achievement in physics. Thus, the study recommended among others that, during training, the importance of building up of students’ problem solving abilities should be emphasized.


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