EVALUATING THE IMPACTS OF NTC LEARNING SYSTEM ON THE MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS IN LEARNING PHYSICS CONCEPTS USING CARD–BASED LEARNING APPROACHES

Abstract

This study examined the impact on the motivation of students toward learning physics upon applying the Nikola Tesla Center (NTC) learning system. The research was conducted using a quasi–experiment with a pretest–posttest non–equivalent control group design. The participants considered were a large group of 1371 students, from various grades and mixed genres, selected from the same district in Serbia. The instrument of this research was the students’ motivation toward science learning (SMTSL), which has been adapted to measure the motivation of students and their learning strategies for physics. Statistical analysis included calculations of Cronbach alpha, chi–square, Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, independent Samples t–test and ANCOVA, and Pearson correlation test. The study found that using the NTC learning system had a positive effect on students' motivation to learn physics. The experimental group had significantly higher scores on various subscales of motivation such as self–efficacy, active learning strategy, physics learning value, performance goal, and learning environmental stimulation compared to the control group. The research results determined that the NTC learning system is an effective method for promoting motivation of students toward learning physics and it can be recommended for implementation in schools. Keywords: physics education, experimental design, NTC learning system, student motivation, game–based learning