An examination of secondary school students' skills of using graphics concerning force and movement topics

The aim of this study is to examine 11th-graders' skills of reading and interpreting graphics about force and motion, and to determine problems, if there are any, concerning these skills. Conducted in the survey model, this study was realized in the 2018-2019 academic year with the participation of 209 11th-graders enrolled at an Anatolian high school in Ankara. Data collection tools used in the study were a 13-item multiple choice Graphics Reading and Interpreting Skills Test (GRIST) and a 5-item open ended Graphics Drawing Skills Form (GDSF). For the multiple-choice questions in GRIST, Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was found to be 0.83 after the pilot study. A rubric was used for the analysis of the open-ended questions in GDSF. The data obtained in the research were analyzed using parametric tests. Additionally, semi-constructed interviews were conducted with 20% of the students in order to support the findings obtained from the data collection tools. At the end of the study, it was concluded that students showed moderate success in reading and interpreting graphics, and low in drawing graphics. It was determined that students' skills of reading and interpreting graphics and their skills of drawing graphics affect one another. It was also determined at the end of the study that students have difficulty in labelling chart axis, in data entry, in forming points and drawing graphics, as well as in understanding and interpreting graphics. As a result of the comparison between students' GRIST and GDSF scores in terms of sex, it was seen that there is a meaningful difference in favour of female students. Keywords: reading-interpreting graphics, drawing graphics, force and motion, line chart, physics education