Science Teachers' Insights on Students' Misconceptions in Acceleration: Need for Scaffold Inquiry-Based Learning Instruction

This study examined Grade 8 learners’ conceptual understanding of acceleration by identifying their misconceptions and exploring the effectiveness of scaffolded inquiry-based learning in addressing these misconceptions. An explanatory mixed-methods research design was employed, integrating quantitative data from a 50-item pretest–posttest assessment with qualitative data obtained through student interviews, reflective journals, and teacher-researcher field notes. The participants consisted of Grade 8 learners selected through purposive sampling from intact class sections in a natural classroom setting. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation, and paired-samples t-test, while qualitative data were used to explain and enrich the quantitative findings. The results revealed that learners initially held misconceptions about acceleration, commonly associating it only with increasing speed and experiencing difficulty distinguishing it from related concepts such as speed and velocity. Following the implementation of scaffolded inquiry-based learning, learners demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in conceptual understanding, with mean scores increasing from 25.69 in the pretest to 36.12 in the posttest, t(41) = 7.854, p < .001. Qualitative findings further indicated that teacher scaffolding, guided inquiry, contextualized examples, and structured learning activities supported learners in reconstructing prior knowledge, addressing misconceptions, and developing a deeper understanding of acceleration. Although the study did not include a comparison group, the findings suggest that scaffolded inquiry-based learning is a promising instructional approach for enhancing learners’ conceptual understanding of abstract physics concepts.

scaffolding, inquiry-based learning, conceptual understanding

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