How can physics education be designed and enacted in such a way that it is in agreement with the Nature of Science (NOS) and fosters conceptual understanding in electricity? The results of the studies may have implications for practice. Teachers and teacher educators need to develop a balanced perspective on conceptual understanding in relation to inquiry and take into account the tensions that were identified. For the topic of electricity, teachers may learn from the local instruction theory and pedagogy developed in this dissertation. Both teacher education institutes and professionalization efforts need to prepare teachers for this type of instruction. This will be fostered if teachers and teacher educators develop an understanding of NOS. A noticeable classroom impact of teacher learning may be expected if teachers work cooperatively on the same issue, related to a concern about student learning, if expertise is available on the content and pedagogy, and if classroom coaching and feedback are part of the project. The criteria to evaluate textbooks may be helpful for authors of learning materials if they intend to foster model-oriented activities and inquiry, but also for practitioners for the selection of these materials and in teacher education to prepare for a systematic evaluation of learning materials for physics.
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The gendered achievement in physics always bothers high school teachers, especially when problem-solving learning is involved. The lag in female students’ learning achievement in physics is reflected by the low enrolment of females in physics-related subjects at grade 12. For years, the most common method adopted by teachers was to instruct female students using repetitious exercises.
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In 1996 innovative, double major teacher education programs for Physics & Mathematics and Physics & Chemistry were initiated at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines. Both programs require 4 years of study. From the outset the focus was on making a difference in the quality of Science and Mathematics Teacher Education, producing teachers with a good mastery of subject matter and able to teach the subjects in exciting and effective ways in typical Philippine crowded and resource-poor classrooms. The programs recruit top high school graduates using a promotion and scholarship scheme and then expose them to the best science lecturers at the university, and create a special learning environment for the duration of their training. Early 2011 a study was conducted to assess long term effects of the programs through a tracer study of the 300 alumni, interviews, and 22classroom visits to observe their teaching. Of the 300 alumni 245 are still teaching of whom 33 abroad (mainly USA) and 212 in the Philippines. Alumni are highly valued by principals of the top schools in Cebu and their students win many local and even national science competitions. Their teaching is competent with lots of interaction and good subject matter mastery, but they are also facing some typical Philippine education problems.
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