Probing Physics Students’ Creativity and Mathematics Knowledge Requisite on Concepts of Friction Using the Sliding Block and Atwood's Machine Model (Serway, 1982)
Innocent Francis Okey
Science Education Department, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Avwiri Eseroghene *
Science Education Department, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study investigated Physics learners’ creativity and problem-solving difficulties on the concepts of Friction using an activity-based learning structure embedded in the Sliding Block and Atwood Machine model. The model provided dialogue, students’ engagement, practice, data assemblage, and the application of mathematics knowledge. Analyses of students' performance scores using the t-test and Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) show that at a 0.05 significance level and df (3,56), students' creativity and problem-solving on concepts of friction improved significantly when taught the concepts of friction using the models. It is recommended that pedagogical discourse on the concepts of friction in Physics involve experimentation using the sliding block and Atwood machine model to enhance students’ creativity, problem-solving, and conceptual understanding.
Keywords: Atwood machine model, problem solving, creativity, friction, practical