Factors influencing interest in STEM careers: An exploratory factor analysis

Alternative educational methods instead of traditional educational methods were developed in order to better contribute the physics learning of students. Some alternative educational methods (e.g., Concepts of Physics (Zollman, 1990), Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (Sokoloff & Thornton, 1997), Modeling Physics (Wells, Hestenes & Swackhamer, 1995), Peer Instruction (Mazur, 1997), Physics by Inquiry (McDermott, 1996), Problem Solving Strategies in Physics (Gok, 2015), Problem-based Learning in Physics (Duch, 1996), Problem Solving (Heller, Keith, & Anderson, 1992), Socratic Dialog Laboratories (Hake, 1992), Studio Physics (Wilson, 1994), STEM-Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Freeman, et al., 2014), Tutorials in Physics (McDermott & Shaffer, 1998), Workshop Physics (Laws, 1991) were examined the different categories (e.g., conceptual learning, problem solving, problem-based learning, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, etc. The purpose of developed alternative educational methods was to enhance students' academic performance (Adam, et al., 2006; Domert, Airey, Linder, & Kung, 2007; Gok & Gok, 2017; Gok, 2018; Lising & Elby, 2004; May & Etkina, 2002; Redish, Saul & Steinberg, 1998).

The relationships between symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities in science and engineering education play an important role by problem solving. If the students do not sufficiently comprehend essential keys (symbol, unit, and formula), they could not solve quantitative and qualitative problems. Generally the students do not effectively make connections between symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities according to given and described problem situations and they only focus on finding the result of the problem by doing four operations instead of using the essential keys therefore they may have great difficulty in problem solving (Gok, 2016; Gok & Gok, 2016). "To be a successful physics student it is often enough to be able to identify the physics quantities in the formula and know how to use the formula to solve physics problems" (Domert, et al., 2007, p.26). Consequently, the students should be taught how to solve quantitative and qualitative problems and where to use symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities. Besides the instructor should put more emphasis on conceptual learning based on the fundamental physical quantities.

Most instructors do not usually explain to the students dimensional analysis, scalar and vector quantities in Turkey. They believe that the teaching of dimensional analysis and scalar and vector quantities is a waste of time. If the dimensional analysis, and scalar and vector quantities are explained to the students in detail, they may understand the importance of essential keys of the fundamental physical quantities (Gok, 2015; Gok, 2016). The instructors also do not use the scientific language based on international standards (Taylor & Thompson, 2008)for demonstrating the symbol and unit of the fundamental physical quantities. Some examples could be presented as follows: the majority of instructors use "d" symbol for demonstrating distance, some instructors use "d" symbol for indicating mass density instead of presenting with . On the other hand, many instructors use "G" symbol for showing weight instead of presenting with "W", etc.

The usage of the difference notation could be caused some drawbacks (misconceptions, misunderstanding, misinterpretation, etc.) on students' understanding therefore many students could not easily make connections between previously learned essential keys and essential keys they are learning in their physics courses (Gok, 2016; Gunes, Akdag, & Gunes, 2016; Keles, Ertas, Uzun, & Cansız, 2010). Consequently the instructors should use a common scientific language and explain to students the importance of the essential keys.

There is not enough research in the open literature regarding the usage of the symbol, unit, and formula of the fundamental physical quantities and gauging knowledge of students' symbol, unit, and formula. Some studies (Gok, 2016; Rozier & Viennot, 1991; Sherin, 2001, Steinberg, Wittman, & Redish 1997) merely examined the importance of the fundamental physical quantities. More studies are needed in this field.

The purpose of the present research was to examine the students' knowledge concerning the fundamental physical quantities' symbol, unit, and formula. The investigated research questions were as follows:

What is the students' knowledge related to the fundamental physical quantities' symbol and unit?
What is the students' knowledge related to the fundamental physical quantities' formula?
What is the students' opinions related to the fundamental physical quantities' symbol, unit, and formula?