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A STRATEGY TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING TO REPRESENT ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS USING VARIOUS SYMBOLS. ‖

Action Research Report

BY SHAIKH FARZIN

2/2/2015

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―A STRATEGY TO DEVELOP

UNDERSTANDING TO REPRESENT

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS USING

VARIOUS SYMBOLS. ‖

Action Research Report

Guide: Dr.Archana Tomar Investigator: Shaikh Farzin

School Of Science And Education

Navrachana University

Vadodara

2014-2015

B.Ed

Certificate

This is to certify that SHAIKH FARZIN has completed action research as part of B.Ed program entitled ―A STRATEGY TO DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING TO

REPRESENT ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS USING VARIOUS SYMBOLS. ‖

She has completed it to the best of her capacities and to the best of my knowledge; this

is her original work.

Vadodara Guide: Dr.Archana Tomar

Name: Shaikh Farz

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Acknowledgment I take this opportunity to express sincere thanks and gratitude to my guide Dr. Archana

Tomar for suggesting the work and helpful guidance during the course of present

study.

I am obliged Prof.P.V. Xavier, Head, and Department of Education for providing me an

opportunity to carry out my Action research work in Tejas Vidhyalaya.

I am also thankful to Ms. Valli. P. for their help and guidance throughout the session.

They took keen interest in my experiment and it was pleasure to work with them.

I owe special thanks to teaching and non-teaching staff of Tejas Vidhyalaya for being

kind to provide their full support during the whole work.

I am overwhelmed by the support given by my parents, my friends and all my

well-wisher, during this research work.

SHAIKH FARZIN

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Index

Sr. No. Content Page No.

1 Abstract 5

2 Introduction 5-9

3 Research setting

Methods to find problematic topic 10-12

Preparation of plans

4 Review of literature 13-14

5 Research methodology 15

6 Objectives of the study 16

7 Participants 16

8 Data collection tool 16

9 Process of data collection 16

10 Analysis of data 17

11 Research findings 20

12 Conclusion 20

13 References 20

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Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to provide better understanding to

represent electric circuits using various symbols and for various

conditions. This has been done through variety of teaching methods like

discussion, demonstration method, heuristic method, inquiry method,

remedial teaching and use of ICT Tool like showing videos and

PowerPoint presentation. Upon completion of the research we found

that students were facing problems because they were not able to

practically represent it due to lack of practice.

Introduction:

I found that students are having difficulties in understanding technical

concepts of electricity viz; where to attach the different components of the

electric circuit . This is because they have not understood the concepts

clearly. Several challenges were there to find solutions for making the

concepts clear. Science is a dynamic, expanding body of knowledge. It is

common knowledge that except few, hardly does any Science teacher

encourages a student to go beyond the content and concepts given in the

textbook. This is making the subject boring and dull. To overcome the

boredom & dullness of the concerned topic i. e electricity. I was supposed

to adopt a suitable methodology. Although I have to make a choice for a

method which is economically convenient for me to conduct within the

classroom. So I decided that I will be executing some experimental

investigations with the help of some articles used frequently in our daily

lives. Also I used the technology based strategy as students can develop the

understanding about electricity by visualizing the concept which would

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help them to retain the concepts in their mind. Some important concepts to

be taught to them in this context were,

� It is convenient to represent electric components by symbols. Using these,

an electric circuit can be represented by a circuit diagram. � When an electric current flows through a wire, the wire gets heated. It is

the heating effect of current. This effect has many applications.

� Wires made from some special materials melt quickly and break when large electric currents are passed through them. These materials are

used for making electric fuses which prevent fires and damage to electric appliances.

� When an electric current flows through a wire, it behaves like a magnet.

� A current carrying coil of an insulated wire wrapped around a piece of

iron is called an electromagnet. � Electromagnets are used in many devices.

Now the question arises is why student of seven standards don’t know this

ground level basics? Is problem lies in teaching methods adopted by

previous teachers? Is teacher not able to deliver the information

effectively? Is there lack of interest from students or from teacher? Or is

the content too high as per the age level?

To be clearer, some research has been done to know whether there is any

difference between Indian education curriculum and international

curriculum or not. This research was able to answer the question : ―Is

really this content too high for seven standard children?‖ And

surprisingly we found that in Indian curriculum the most of the content

that is included in seven standard, that in international curriculum were

taught in fifth standard only.

Based on some background literature, three possible reasons can be

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suggested that might be making this content difficult. First, it’s hard

because of nature of discipline- its characteristic, how it relates to other

field, how it is studied. Second, the ways the content is taught can make it

difficult. And finally, what student students bring to learning the content,

including prerequisite background knowledge, relevant experiences,

attitude about learning in general and beliefs about themselves as learners,

can make learning something difficult.

After finding the diseases, now it’s the turn of the remedy: what helps

students overcome the difficult aspects of learning this content? How

can I make this content easy to students? How can I make this content

interesting so that it engages student’s brain?

There are various teaching methods that can be used by prior researchers

like discussion method, demonstration method, project-based method,

heuristic method, inquiry method, remedial teaching method, ICT

learning etc. Evidence from a number of disciplines suggests that oral

presentations to large groups of passive students contribute very little to

real learning. In physics, standard lectures do not help most students

develop conceptual understanding of fundamental processes in electricity

and in mechanics (Arons, 1983; McDermott and Shaffer, 1992;

McDermott et al., 1994).

Although many of the methods mentioned in above are consistent with

what experts know about how students learn, they may not be welcomed

by all of the students in a class. There are several ways to help students

make the transition from passive listeners to active participants in their

own learning (Orzechowksi, 1995)

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Because the compositions of today’s classroom are arguably the most

diverse as they ever have been, either choice of difficulty leaves a number

of students disengaged with the lesson presented. In his ground-breaking

work on flow, researcher Mihaly Csikszentmhalyi described flow state in

the following graphic Figure 1 (Hunicke & Chapman, 2005). From a

pedagogical perspective, when the challenge of the assigned task is higher

than the skill level of the student, the student will experience increased

levels of frustration and ultimately disengagement. Conversely, if a

student’s assigned work is substantially below his or her ability, boredom

and again, disengagement will occur.

A research project titled ―What Did You Do in School Today?‖ examined

the engagement levels of Canadian secondary students. The central

premise of the research conducted was that student engagement is key to

greater achievement in their education and that all students need to receive

effective and intellectually challenging materials to complete in the

classroom (Levin, 2010). The study found that overall levels of social and

academic engagement in secondary schools are low, and levels of student

engagement decline steadily throughout middle and secondary school

grades and that many students had a low levels of interest and generally

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were unsure of the relevance of assigned school work in language arts and

mathematics (Willms, Friesen & Milton, 2009). While many of us in

education state that we want students to become lifelong learners, the lack

of engagement found in today’s high school students is alarming.

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Research setting:

Method to find out problematic topics I implemented survey method to identify the difficult topics which need action research

to be done. I circulate a form in the class where they have to write difficult chapter and

the specific topic of that chapter. Students had different opinion. I got 4 majority topics

in which they find most difficult. Around 80% students mentioned the topic as

representation of electrical circuits (using various symbols). So finally with help of

consensus the topic was decided.

Then the question was in electric current and its effects what the difficult part was.

Each student one by one was asked about the difficulty in chapter so majority of them

had difficulty in representing or expressing circuit diagram for various conditions

given.

The experimental investigations involved the students to perform the activity & to find

the result for the investigation on their own without traditional method of teacher

centered teaching. To promote a better understanding amongst the students such hands

on experimental investigation is effective which made me use & implement this method.

Also questionnaire were used to measure the knowledge & attitude of learners.

The experimental investigation on electricity ( electric circuit diagrams emphasised

more on symbols ) comprised of following: The requisition of the investigation will be

brought up by students itself on prior announcement of the teacher. Teacher will ask

the group of students so formed to perform the experimental investigations.

Preparation of plan

Finally the floor plan was prepared from my end as follows-: I will first clear the basics about light through remedial teaching method and

demonstration method. Then I had made them perform the following activity in class .

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TITLE: DEMONSTRATION OF ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS

1. Hands on experiment on how to make the circuit diagrams

You will need: A bulb, wire, cell or a battery, switch , conductors and insulators

What to do:

1. Join all the components correctly.

2. Observe the bulb when switch is on and when switch is off.

3. Draw the same circuit on paper using symbols of the same .

Then the next step that I had taken was to provide them with a pamphlet consisting of

various symbols used for different electric components which was as follow:

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Circuit Components Table:

Then I took viva of students and found that just merely showing teaching aids and

experiments does not ensure understanding and remembering. So I decided to show

them a PowerPoint presentation and a video explaining how electric circuits works and

the flow of current in the circuit with its direction.

SHOWN VIDEO ON WORKING OF ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS, HOW THE

CURRENT FLOWS. ( TECHNOLOGY BASED )

Instrument –laptop and a projector

You will need: 1-2 Videos on working of circuit diagrams for better understanding.

What to do:

1. Set the video on the projector and make the students sit quietly so that they can

view the video with full concentration

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Review of r.elated literature:

Literature-1

Title: THE IMPACT OF REMEDIAL TEACHING ON IMPROVING

THE COMPETENCIES OF LOW ACHIEVERS

Author Information: POONGOTHAI SELVARAJAN*; THIYAGARAJAH VASANTHAGUMAR** *Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business Studies, Vavuniya Campus of the University

of Jaffna, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. **Senior Field Assistant, Field Office/ UNHCR,

Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. ISSN 2277 3630, 2012,Vol.1 Issue 9.

www.indianresearchjournals.com 49

About Publication: International Journal of Social Science &

Interdisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 9, September 2012, ISSN 2277 3630,

This research study aimed at identifying the impact of remedial teaching on improving

the competencies of low achieving students in Mannar district of Sri Lanka. For this

purpose, ninety seven students from rural and urban area were selected from four

different schools in Mannar Education Zone. The selection of the primary grade is

decided to ensure the effectiveness of the program in primary education.

Objectives of this program are to investigate the reasons for the low achievement

of students in this zone, to assess the effectiveness of the remedial teaching and to

recommend possible actions to be carried out for improvement. The data were

collected by interviewing relevant authorities and from the secondary records.

Findings show that the socio economic condition of the family and physical and

psycho social status of the student cause low achievement.

The implemented remedial program proved to be effective with recovering ninety four

percentages of students in Tamil Language and ninety three percentages of students in

Mathematics. Continuous capacity development of teachers on concept and skills of

remedial teaching and strengthening the Referral mechanism to find solution for the

socio economic and psycho social reasons to ensure the sustainability of the recovery

are strongly recommended.

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Literature-2

Title: Implication of Technology in the Classroom

About the author: Jeff Brown, S. Ojara, G. Kimbugwe, A. P. Adrawa, December 8,2010 The author talks about impact of technology on brain and how it helps in learning. The

first area of research investigated will be the impact that technology use has on the

brain. In order to cope in the often-overwhelming online environment, we have adopted

strategies of multi-tasking and power skimming to process such a high flow of

information. A recent series of articles in the New York Times discussing the impacts

that multi-tasking while using technology has on the physiological operations of the

brain gives us a glimpse of what impact these choices have on brain function. Scientists

have found that multitasking while on Internet connected devices undermines our

ability to focus (Richtel, 2010) because we are consistently bombarded with new emails,

Facebook updates, and Twitter posts.

According to the research done by Jeff Brown:-

54% of 21st century kids start using mobile devices when they are 5 to 8 years old. 30% of the apps on parents’ mobile are downloaded specially for their children’s usage.

77% of the parents accept that usage of tablet increases children’s learning & creativity.

72% of iTunes top selling apps are designed for pre-schoolers and elementary students.

By observing these statistics, we can easily estimate how greatly technology influences

elementary education. Educational Technology includes all the approaches of

technology that are utilized to enhance learning. The axiom ―beauty is in the eye of

the beholder‖ applies to technology use in the schools.

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Research Methodology:

Date Action

1/02/15 Screening interview and survey

2/02/15 Finalization of title for the study

2/02/15 Discussion with mentor related to planning of strategies

03/02/15 Pre-test (orally done in class in students notebooks)

04/02/15 Strategy implementation

04/02/15 Strengthen the Strategy implementation

05/02/15 Post-test

06/02/15 to 10/02/15 Analysis of data collected and Report documentation

During these research period, we have tried demonstration method, remedial teaching

and ICT learning. Behind choosing above method, our main aim was to make the

content so easy and effective to the participants that they no more have any

difficulties regarding to this chapter.

Demonstration of certain experiment like formation of electric circuit on my own in

front of them using conducting wires, bulb and battery. Given them a pamphlet

consisting a table consisting of various symbols used foe electrical components. Shown

them an activity to show flow of electric current. Taught them heating and lightening

effect of electric current using the teaching aids made in class(circuit). Video was also

shown to enhance their understanding related to the concept.

To be more effective we take the help of technology by showing PowerPoint

presentation and video that make eternal impression on student’s brain.

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Objectives of the study:

To use different approach to make the topic easy for students to understand.

To find out whether new strategy to teach students works or not.

To find out effectiveness of integrating science with technology and use of visual aid in gaining students attention towards topic.

To make class interesting and topic attractive with participation of all students

To access the difficulties that come across while conducting such studies

To find out the reasons if strategy fails and corrective actions to be taken in future

To enable students to have conceptual understanding on Light, Mirror and lenses.

Participants:

Sample- Students of class VII A Tejas Vidhyalaya.

Instructors and – Teacher (Shaikh Farzin)

Evident by Ms. Valli P

Data collection tools: We have taken oral interviews as well as a Survey. Interview and survey was taken to

find difficult area in their preferred topic. We have also taken oral conventional class

test as Pre-test to know their level of difficulties and to find their misconception about

the topic. At the end Post-test has been conducted to confirm their understanding

after applying appropriate strategies.

Process of data collection: The first phase of the project involves a screening interview of students that has been

done through survey form and also through oral discussion in the class. Further to be

more specific a pre-test of 25 minutes has been conducted. After strategizing and

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implementing appropriate solution a post-test has been conducted to determine success

or failure of actions.

Analysis of Data:

Analysis of survey:- Taken to analyze difficult topic that student want to learn again. Results says 80% of

students have difficulty in electric current and its effects chapter, about 12% have

trouble in Acid and Base chapter, 7% in Reproduction and 1% of students are

facing problem in motion chapter. This result clearly indicate the most problematic

chapter that students wants to learn again.

PREFFERED TOPICS FROM STUDENTS

1%

7%

12%

ELECTRIC CURRENTS

AND ITS EFFECTS

ACID AND BASE

REPRODUCTION

MOTION

80%

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Analysis of Pre-test :- Targeted to find their difficulty level and to check their previous knowledge about basic

concept of electricity and its effects. The test was conducted which of 25 marks. The

analysis of resulting data indicates 57% of participants got marks below 10 and rest

43% of participants got marks between 10 to 15. This shows there is great fallacy lies in

their basic concepts that has to be reflected.

Nu

mb

er

Of

Stu

den

ts

20

18

16

14

12

10

NO. OF STUDENTS

8

6

4

2

0

> 5 05 to 10 10 to 15 15 to 20 20 to 25

Obtained Marks

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Analysis of Post-test:- Aimed to endorse their understanding about the targeted topic after conducting

appropriate experiments. The results clearly shows 78% of participants acquired

marks between 10 to 25 and only 22% of participants got marks below 10. This

indicates success of planned strategies for this particular task.

Nu

mb

er

Of

Stu

den

ts

20 18 16 14 12 10 8

6

4

2

0

>5 05 to 10 10 to 15 15 to 20 20 to 25

Obtained Marks

NO. OF STUDENTS

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Research findings: After action is taken 78% of students in class score more than 50% in the

test, i.e. maximum numbers of students have concept clarity.

Students score more in post-test as compared to pre test.

Only 26% students were able to draw the ray diagrams , but after action is taken i.e. when students are made to sit and draw on paper in class and it is related

with puzzle then 89% students draw and label the ray diagram.

86% of students were able to explain the use of a particular mirror or lrns in a particular instrument. So collectively it is found that majority had improvement

in performance after action plan was implemented

Conclusion: Children remember the concept of circuit formation using various symbols for electric

components; the technology helped me to make them remember diagrams. Remedial

teaching and demonstration method plays a key role in the whole study. Showing video

to children helped a lot to make them understand the chapter. Use of Teaching aids

was fruitful.

Bibliography and Resources:-

1. J. Brown, S. Ojara, G. Kimbugwe, A. P. Adrawa, Implication of Technology in

the Classroom, December 8,2010

2. P. Selvarajan, T. Vasanthagumar, THE IMPACT OF REMEDIAL TEACHING ON

IMPROVING THE COMPETENCIES OF LOW ACHIEVERS, ISSN 2277 3630,

2012,Vol.1 Issue 9.

3. A Daly, L Grant and K Bultitude (2009) Engaging girls in physics: lessons

from teachers’ action research and professional development in England

Proceedings of the European Science Education Research Association’s

Annual Conference 31 August – 4 September 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

www.esera2009.org/fulltextpaper.asp. Department for Children, Schools and

Families

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Copy Of The Post-Test

NAME_____________________________________ MARKS - 25

ROLL NO._________________________________ TIME – 30 MIN.

Topic: Electricity

FILL IN THE BLANKS.

Q1: A device that is used to break an electric circuit is called

Q2- An electric cell has terminals .

Q3- The electric energy which is supplied in our home comes from electric houses

Q4 – Rubber is a good example of electric

Q5- If the filament of a bulb breaks , it is said to be .

MARK TRUE OR FALSE

Q1: Electric current flows through metals ( )

Q2 : Instead of metal wire , a jute string can be used to make a circuit ( )

Q3: An electric bulb has one terminal ( )

Q4: When current flows through a circuit , the circuit is called open circuit ( )

Q5: Electric current can pass through the sheet of thermocol ( )

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING

Q. Explain why the bulb would not glow in the arrangement where in place of conductor or

insulator is screw driver in the fig .

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Q. Draw an electric circuit diagram using symbols of the objects used . ( both open and close)

Q. What are the components of an electric circuit ?

Q. Draw symbols used in a circuit for: (1) a battery of four cells. (2) a switch (3) a lamp.

. Draw a circuit diagram with two resistors: (1) Parallel connection.

(2) Series connection