On the Formalistic Acquisition of Initial Physical Concepts by School Students

Background. The issue of formalism in science education, which refers to the substitution of concept assimilation with the reproduction of scientific terms regardless of their actual functions as a thinking tool, continues to impact the effectiveness of secondary schooling. As an educational outcome, formalism is a significant obstacle to the development of functional scientific literacy.

Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the ability of seventh-grade students to consider the application of familiar household devices, based on the explanations of lever mechanics from the prior physics lesson.

Study Participants. A sample of 133 seventh graders (13–14 years old, 68 boys, 65 girls) from four Moscow schools who had begun learning physics but were unfamiliar with the topic “Lever” took part in the research.

Methods. For research purposes, we modeled a physics lesson. It included familiarizing students with an instructional video and the textbook material on the topic. The written work consisted of 9 tasks with the images of simple everyday devices. Students were required to write their reasoning about whether the operation of these devices could be explained using the principle of leverage. The results of the expert evaluation of these reasons were analyzed.

Results. The study allowed us to outline the “picture” of formalism, expressed in the predominance of everyday considerations in explanations of the work of the devices alongside a formalistic mentioning of particular attributes of a lever, often without taking those attributes into account in their decision. Only 14.7% of responses contained an attempt to interpret the educational material meaningfully.

Conclusions. The predominance of seventh graders’ “formalistic” explanations using textbook terms about the functions of well-known devices omitting the “conceptual” understanding of the “law of the lever” upon the initial exposure to the topic will undoubtedly have a significant impact on their future mastery of physics. Identification of these phenomena allows us to focus on the relevant educational design to improve scientific literacy among students.

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