The Relationship between Multiple Representational Skills and Understanding of Physics Concepts in the Pre-Service Science Teacher

Abstract

AbstractThe concept of physics has various representations that must be mastered by the Pre-Service Science Teacher (PSST). It is not uncommon for PSST to have poor multiple representation skills, impacting the delivery of concepts in school. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the profile of multiple representation skills and their relation to understanding the concept of PSST Physics. The representations studied include verbal, visual, symbolic, and mathematical forms. Eleven PSST became respondents in the study. Multiple representation and conception measurements use instruments with a three-tier item format containing content, argumentation, and confidence levels. Student responses are analyzed descriptively, qualitatively, and quantitatively. The findings of this study are: 1) 18% of PSST belong to the concept understanding, 27% experienced misconceptions, and the rest (55%) were classified as not knowing the concept or responding by guessing; 2) the highest representation format mastered by students is the visual representation, and the lowest is the mathematical representation; and 3) the ability to multiple representations and understand physics concepts has a significant and perfect correlation with a Pearson Correlation of 0.847. This research implies that learning for PSST can emphasize multiple representation abilities as it affects their understanding of concepts.