New Perspectives in Science Education

The aim of this study is to increase interest and motivation of the students by giving daily life examples and   using different toys in physics courses. These instruments will increase the amount of student participation and help teachers to attain learning outcomes especially for these who have insufficient prerequisite knowledge. In this search, a student-centered approach is structured and developed for different topics from K9 to K12 levels in Physics course; such as Pressure, Buoyancy, Force, Balance, Bernoulli Principle, Angular Momentum, Optics, Center of Gravity.  First, we use an inquiry-based learning method not only to reanimate any kind of old information known by students but also to try to measure students’ current status on a subject as well as trying to fill the gaps and help them to sustain a healthy bridge between students’ old and new  knowledge about each subject. Next, we prepared a power point presentation to overcome the shortcomings of the subject. After that, practical work was done to provide learning by doing and experiencing. Students made physics toys related  with each subject and  designed beforehand by the teacher, to practice their theoretical knowledge in laboratory. At the beginning of practice, students were divided into groups of five and a sheet was given to each group. Each group made physics toys step by step and wrote the results on the sheets. And they compared each other’s notes and their results.In the end, it was seen that the teaching method was very successful. Students did not only participated in the learning process but also enjoyed the classroom activities. They were highly motivated for the course and attained desired cognitive objectives.