Classroom Practices Of Senior High School Physics Teachers In The Hohoe Municipality

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue IV, April 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Classroom Practices Of Senior High School Physics Teachers In The Hohoe Municipality

Maxwell, Dah¹, Rose, Dognia²
1 Mfantsipim School, Ghana-Cape Coast
2 Bolga Girls SHS, Ghana-Bolgatanga

ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to investigate the activities and practices of physics teachers in terms of their pedagogical skills and assessment practices. The study was limited to physics teachers and students in eight (8) senior high schools in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region, Ghana. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed in carrying out the study. A total sample of 200 senior high school physics students and 2 physics teacher were involved in data collection. A questionnaire consisting mainly of closed ended items and observation schedule were used in collecting data from respondents. Data collected was analysed using simple frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. It was found that, most of the physics teachers do not often respond appropriately to students’ wrong answers and misconceptions. Most physics students also raised concerns about their physics teachers not often linking what they teach to their daily life occurrences. However, evidence from observation indicates that physics teachers possess and exhibited sufficient knowledge on diverse pedagogical skills. Physics teachers often use interactive formative assessments such as oral question and answer technique. Based on the findings, it was recommended that, physics teachers should carefully pay attention to and often address their students’ wrong answers and misconceptions, make learning of physics interesting by making students appreciate the importance of what they teach.

Keywords: pedagogical skills, assessment techniques, classroom practices, physics teachers.

INTRODUCTION
Physics is the most fundamental natural science which involves universal laws and the study of the behaviour and relationships among a wide range of important physical phenomenon (Cutnell & Johnson, 2007). According to Onah and Ugwu (2010), Physics is considered as consisting of scientific facts, principles, laws and generalizations derived from scientific investigations. The principles and applications of physics cut across a broad spectrum of everyday activities like walking, lifting objects, seeing, taking photographs using electrical and electronic gadgets among others (CRDD, 2010). Despite the numerous significant roles physics plays in the development of every nation, physics as a subject in the Senior High School still remains one of the subjects perceived by students as difficult as a result of collection of equations used in solving problems which demands a firm grasp of the concept and the ability to reason. Physics is the most utilized basic science subject in most technology and technology related-profession but unfortunately it is a subject which most students especially girls fear to pursue (Murphy & Whitelegg, 2006). One of the values of studying physics is that it is intrinsically challenging and therefore also extremely rewarding when a student understands it.

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