A combination of physics lectures and demonstrations using the learning cycle in physics teaching at the College of General Studies, National University of Ho Chi Minh City

Effective class demonstrations that capture the attention of students and make them better understand physics lectures are an important component of any physics course. There is evidence to suggest that most teachers love to watch a good demonstration but they rarely do demonstrations in their own classes. The problem seems to be that setting up demonstrations for classes is too much effort, especially at a university without a staffed demonstration facility. Moreover, an inexperienced physics instructor unfamiliar with equipment can find this part of physics teaching the most difficult to develop. The crucial problem is how to incorporate demonstrations effectively into the physics lectures.;This thesis was designed to develop an instructional model in which demonstration experiments would be combined with physics lectures by using the learning cycle. The pilot teaching of the design was implemented for a large enrollment class at the College of General Studies, Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City to investigate how well students understand concepts and principles of physics, their perceptions of applying these principles into technology, as well as their attitudes toward studying physics. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).