| The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of a web-based physics software program on students' achievement and misconceptions in force and motion concepts. During the fall of 1999, a total 125 students (54.4% female and 45.6% male) from two public high schools in Brevard County, Florida, were selected by a sample of convenience to participate in this quasi-experimental study.; The MANCOVA analysis yielded a significant interaction for pretest (covariate = priory physics knowledge) and gender for each dependent variable (Y 1 = Achievement, and Y2 = Misconception). Thus, the test for homogeneity of regression failed rendering an invalid MANCOVA model. As a result, separate ATI's were performed for each dependent variable. ATI interaction between pretest and gender relative to achievement and misconception was significant. Of the six initial hypotheses, only hypothesis 2, which examined differences in-group misconception scores, was rejected. Specifically, group membership contributed 12.6% additional knowledge of posttest misconception score variability, which was statistically significant (F1,9 = 20.03, p < .05). Based on this result, it can be concluded that incorporating the web-based physics program with traditional lecturing did have a significant effect on dispelling students' physics misconceptions about force and motion concepts. Thus, only the test for this hypothesis and the two interactions, which were not initially considered as research hypotheses, were significant. All other tests of hypotheses were not statistically significant and hence were not rejected. |
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