Evaluating a Contextual-Based Course on Data Analysis for the Physics Laboratory

The interpretation of data and construction and understanding of graphs are central practices in science; therefore, an important skill needed in the undergraduate physics laboratory is the ability to analyze data obtained from experiments. Often students are not able to reach logical deductions based on data, acquired from the experiments that they conducted, because they lack appropriate analysis skills. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a short teaching unit developed for this purpose, among undergraduate students. Learning in context approach was implemented in building the unit. Also, both procedural and conceptual knowledge were given emphasis. The "data analysis" questionnaire was used to compare the results between the experimental group and control group. The findings indicate that students who participated in the teaching unit arrived at significantly better results in the data analysis questionnaire as compared to students in the control group. This study may contribute to those who wish to design a contextual-based learning environment for physics laboratory data analysis.