Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 1, Article 3 (June, 2008) Wheijen CHANG Challenges encountered in implementing constructivist teaching in physics: A qualitative approach Previous Contents Next

Methodology

The data of this study were from seven open-ended questionnaire surveys throughout the five years of implementation. Details of the surveys are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Time, purpose, and number of participants of the seven surveys from 2000 to 2004

Survey code	2000A	2000B	2001A	2001B	2002	2003	2004
Time of the survey	11/2000	10/2001	4/2002	10/2002	4/2003	4/2004	11/2004
Number of participants	106	106	112	137	108	156	111
Purpose	Midterm exam reflections	Post semester reflections	Midterm exam reflections	Post semester reflections	Midterm exam reflections	Midterm exam reflections	Midterm exam reflection

Each year, different groups of students responded to the questionnaire survey, while the repeated investigations within the same year comprised of the same cohort of participants. For example, 2000A and 2000B were based on the opinions of the same group of students.

The questions for the midterm examination reflection included the students’ reflection on their learning commitments and strategies as well as suggestions for improving the teaching design, namely, assessment orientation, teaching content, and teaching approaches. The post-semester surveys asked the students to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the overall course.

To analyze the results of the seven open-ended surveys, the students’ opinions are grouped with respect to three aspects: (1) the interactive teaching approach, (2) the adoption of real-life teaching content, and (3) the open-form assessment policy. The categories were selected based on three reasons, (1) the key features of the researcher’s teaching program, (2) the foci of the students’ comments, and (3) the trends of physics teaching innovations found in the literature (e.g., Redish, 1996). Some responses reflect the students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the course overall rather than being focused on one aspect. These comments are categorized into their main concerns according to the author’s interpretations of the individual’s overall comments.

Finally, quantitative analysis of the positive /negative opinions ratio was applied to reveal the trends of students’ satisfaction with the teaching design and performance within the five years of investigation and modification.