TEACIllNG MATERIAlS FOR PHYSICS AT JUNIORIDGH SCHOOL
lNLAOS
Edocation for Specialized Subject and Field International Educational Cooperation Khamting Nolaang
Academic Advisor TakaakiAwata
Introduction
Currently, physics teachers in Laos
are more worried to complete the
curriculum rather than being concerned about students' understanding of physics concepts. Many teachers do not have yet the necessary preparation to conduct
laboratory activities so that, it" is
important to provide teacher training in elaborating material.
In addition, physics teachers in Laos also need more preparation for lesson classes, because most teachers teach based on text books but these text books are also difficult to understand for them. As a consequence, teachers found hard to explain students the phenomena related to physics. For that reason, the students always think that the study of physics is too difficult and
frequently they feel boring. It can be said
that classes are just "chalk and talk," and, there is not sufficient interaction between students-students, and students-teachers. There is also a little opportunity for practical experiments due to a lack of teaching materials. The purpose of this study is to develop teaching materials for physics in Junior high school in Laos based on Japanese teaching models of student experiments.
Methodology
First, the physics science chapters of Lao Junior high school text books were
translated to English, and three topics (l.
electric circuit, 2. nature of light, 3. energy) were chosen to make teaching materials and lesson plans. Teaching materials, specifically for Lao students, were made by materials which can easily
find at the local area of Laos with low cost. These materials were ready for four class units (7 grade 2 classes and 8 grade 2 classes in Luang Namtha Province, Laos, total student numbers are 64), and each
class contains both lectures and
experiments. A pre-test and a post-test were applied to these students to measure
knowledge. At the same time,
questionnaires were taken for the students to assess their attitudes.
Results and Discussions
The results obtained from the applied tests are as follows:
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Fig.1 A score of simple test for grade 7.~---,
Simple test grade 8 I
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I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I
! Score I
Fig.2 A score of simple test for grade 8.
Figure 1 shows a score of pre- and post-simple test for grades 7. Figure 2 shows a score of pre- and post- simple test for grades 8. Both figures indicate that the post-test score is higher than the pre-test. This means that students improve their
391-understanding well about that content of those topics after using the teaching materials doing experiments. Students' impressions about the class work were very positive because they thought that learning through this method IS interesting, interactive and enjoyable. They also thought that class work was not bored, and they could easily understand the physics phenomena. Teaching through this method is also easier and enjoyable for us, because teachers and students interacts each other. Moreover, from the attitude test there is a strong correlation as students are able to think only about finding a solution to any problem. They do not distract from other things, and meanwhile they are solving any problem, they observe very detailed and carefully. It is well known that the instruction of physics in Laos has complex problems. The main problems are lack of know ledge of teachers, low quality of text books, and the unavailability of teaching materials. Therefore the goal of this research is to develop teaching materials related to physics. It is' expected students become more active, more motivated, and interested. Moreover, they are able to understand Laos's text books easily. From this study, it is recommended that physics teachers of junior high school in Laos should teach based on the "Learner Centered approach" to make easier the teaching-learning process. Figure 3 to 6 show the lesson and class work pictures.
Fig.3 Lesson example and class work (1).
Fig.4 Class work example and experiment (1).
Fig.5 Example class work and experiment (2).
Fig.6 Example class work and experiment (3). References
1. Japanese Rika textbook for Junior high
and elementary school (2006).
2. Laos Natural Science textbooks for Secondary school (1997).
