c e p s  Journal | Vol.8 | No1 | Year 2018 5
Editorial 
Experiments in Physics Teaching and Learning
The first issue of volume eight consists of four parts. In the first part, 
there are five papers related to the focus topic of this issue: experiments in 
physics teaching and learning. The second part includes two Varia papers. In 
the third part, there is an interview with Prof. Michael W. Apple, one of the 
distinguished editorial board members of the present journal and a respected 
researcher in the field of education, while the fourth part consists of two book 
reviews, one of which is related to the focus topic of this issue.
The present issue focuses on experiments, which play an important role 
in physics teaching and learning. Numerous studies have demonstrated the 
positive effects of experiments on physics learning. Experiments are a powerful 
tool for visualising physics phenomena. They provide a starting point in the 
construction of knowledge, so it is important to use them in the classroom. It 
is well known, however, that experiments in the classroom are mostly based 
on demonstrations and are not performed often enough by the students them-
selves, even though it has been established that by experimenting students learn 
how to accurately observe, measure, record measurements, compare, order, 
state and test hypotheses, discuss and interpret results, etc. These competences 
are transferable to other science fields, as well. Experimental work influences 
skills, concept development and cognition, understanding of the nature of sci-
ence, and attitudes towards science.
If we want teachers to include experiments in teaching physics, they have 
to be properly trained. The rich theoretical part of the article by Claudia Haagen-
Schützenhöfer and Birgit Joham entitled Professionalising Physics Teachers in Do-
ing Experimental Work presents the didactical perspective of experiments, the 
importance of experimental work in the classroom, and ways to promote learn-
ing about science and, finally, doing science. In the empirical part, the authors 
present a study examining teachers’ beliefs about the function of experiments in 
science teaching and their meaningful implementation in the science classroom. 
Preservice teachers have to learn to design, carry out, analyse and evalu-
ate experiments on different topics covering the learning objectives from the 
curricula on different levels of education. Astronomy is an interesting topic for 
students of different age groups, but experiments in this field are complex. In 
the paper Determination of the Size and Depth of Craters on the Moon, Vladimir 
Grubelnik, Marko Marhl and Robert Repnik present an example of observation 
of the Moon undertaken without professional astronomic equipment, as well as 
doi: 10.26529/cepsj.495
6 editorial
analysis of photographs using simple calculations that lead to specific results: 
the lateral size and depth of craters. The experiment was carried out by a group 
of preservice primary school teachers during the elective subject Astronomy 
and then evaluated. The results indirectly show that it is appropriate to imple-
ment the presented activity in the secondary school physics classroom.
University faculties often enable teachers to bring their students to the 
faculty to carry out a number of simple and complex experiments. The first ex-
ample of such activities is presented in the paper by Marie Snětinová, Petr Ká-
covský and Jana Machalická entitled Hands-On Experiments in the Interactive 
Physics Laboratory: Students’ Intrinsic Motivation and Understanding. The au-
thors discuss experiments in different forms as a tool for increasing motivation. 
Two types of experiments are presented: so-called projects, which their faculty 
offers to upper secondary students, giving students an opportunity to under-
take hands-on experimental work in the Interactive Physics Laboratory; and 
physics demonstration shows. In the empirical part of the article, the authors 
focus on assessing student feedback about their immediate attitudes towards 
these two projects, with an emphasis on motivation. In the paper’s conclusion, 
the authors highlight the fact that, while experimenting in the Interactive Phys-
ics Laboratory, students feel the need to invest significantly more effort and ex-
perience more tension than when watching demonstrations. However, students 
do not see a difference in the usefulness of undertaking practical work and 
watching demonstrations, despite finding the former more demanding. 
The second example of collaboration between a university faculty and 
secondary schools in carrying out experiments is presented in the paper Let’s 
Repair the Broken Galileo Thermometer by Marián Kireš. The author gives a 
detailed account of the experiment and the research. The activity for students 
includes an experimental problem about repairing a broken thermometer using 
tap water instead of ethanol. The students’ understanding of the physics behind 
the experiment was evaluated and self-assessment was administered. Most of 
the students reported that they learned how a Galileo thermometer works. The 
author demonstrates the advantages of experimenting in science centres of this 
kind. At the same time, however, he points out certain issues with teacher edu-
cation, and with the available support in methods and working materials.
The last paper in this focus issue is written by Robert Repnik and Mi-
lan Ambrožič and is entitled Practical School Experiments with the Centre of 
Mass of Bodies. It consists of a presentation of experiments for 8th and 9th grade 
students of Slovenian primary schools, and an evaluation of the experiments 
with four different groups of students. The research findings suggest that the 
implementation of group experiments about the centre of mass was motivating 
c e p s  Journal | Vol.8 | No1 | Year 2018 7
for all four groups of students. In addition to the knowledge gained, the authors 
identified satisfactory motor skills in individual students working in groups 
and good geometrical reasoning.
Another feature of the present issue is an interview with Prof. Michael 
W. Apple, prepared for publication by Janez Krek. Prof. Apple’s most important 
monographs include Ideology and Curriculum and Official Knowledge, which 
are included on the international list of the most important books of the twen-
tieth century in the field of educational science. At the same time, Prof. Apple 
is ranked among the fifty most influential contemporary authors in this field. 
In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ljubljana. To 
honour this event, we are publishing an extensive interview with Prof. Apple.
The Varia section includes two contributions. The first, Taxonomy of 
Teaching Methods and Teaching Forms for Youth in Non-Formal Education in the 
National Youth Council of Slovenia by Vesna Miloševič Zupančič, presents non-
formal education in youth work, emphasising the central role of experiential 
learning and learning in groups. The author discusses the teaching forms and 
methods found in non-formal education for young people in youth councils on 
a national level in Slovenia.
The second paper in the Varia section was written by Seyyed Hatam 
Tamimi Sa’d and Fereshte Rajabi is entitled Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: 
What English Language Learners Perceive to Be Effective and Ineffective Strate-
gies. The authors present the results of research with students exploring Iranian 
English language learners’ vocabulary learning strategies and perceptions of 
vocabulary learning, as well as Iranian English language teachers’ vocabulary 
teaching strategies.
This issue of CEPS Journal also includes two book reviews. Neja 
Benedetič’s review of the book Multiple Representations in Physics Education 
(Volume 10 from the series Models and Modelling in Science Education), edited 
by David F. Treagust, Reinders Duit and Hans E. Fischer (Cham: Springer, 2017, 
322 pp., ISBN 978-3-319-58912-1), presents a recent publication in the series of 
Springer monographs covering different aspects of the use of multiple repre-
sentation in science education. It is shown that different representations allow 
students to be introduced to a physics concept from different perspectives, 
combining graphs, text, mathematical formulas, schemes, gestures, etc. into a 
whole. However, the authors also point out that the teacher has a crucial role in 
using multiple representations and enabling students to establish a correlation 
between different representations.
The book Teacher Education for Multilingual and Multicultural Settings, 
edited by Elgrid Messner, Daniela Worek and Mojca Peček (Graz: Leykam, 
8 editorial
2016; 199 pp.: ISBN 978-3-7011-0361-4), reviewed here by Karmen Mlinar, pro-
vides an interesting and systematic insight into the theoretical and practical 
issues of European multicultural and multilingual settings, as well as offering a 
series of proposals for improving teacher education programmes.
The new issue of the CEPS Journal brings a variety of papers from vari-
ous education research fields, reporting and discussing several open research 
questions. We believe that the information available in this issue will encourage 
reflection on the research problems addressed and raise new research ideas. 
Jerneja Pavlin