Perceptions of AKU-EB secondary school students about different learning activities in the physics classroom: Comparison across gender in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

In the present age of science and technology, scientific knowledge is promptly growing and the world is rapidly changing due to fast-developing scientific consciousness and technological developments. Therefore, teaching and learning science to meet the challenges of the modern world has become unavoidable. Various reform efforts have been put together to improve the pedagogical quality of science-related subjects including physics. The empirical evidence focused mainly on teachers’ perspectives while students’ views about their experiences of learning science remained unheard. This study set out to address this gap by undertaking a cross-sectional survey of secondary school students’ views (Gilgit-Baltistan) about different learning activities conducted in their physics classroom and comparing their views across gender. Their views were collected from three perspectives about pedagogical practices used in physics classrooms including popularity, frequency and usefulness. The physics learning activities assessment questionnaire (PLAAQ) was adapted and found to be reliable for the sample of the study. PLAAQ was administered online to 172 secondary school students. To describe their views about the popularity, frequency and usefulness of physics classroom learning activities, mean scores and percentages were computed while bivariate analysis was employed to compare students’ perceptions across gender. Results indicate that students viewed the passive activities to be useful, desirable and that they were employed frequently. There was a contrasting pattern regarding the written activities especially the tasks which demanded extended writings. Interestingly, constructive and social activities were considered both necessary and useful yet employed less frequently in the physics classroom. Interestingly, females reported to have more exposure (frequency) to most of the written, social, and passive activities (p\u3c0.05); however, female students found only passive and written activities more useful than males (p\u3c0.05). Similarly, examples of social and written activities were found to be significantly more popular among females (p\u3c0.05). Based on the study findings, it could be suggested that teacher education institutions and examination boards may need to reflect on existing teaching-learning and assessment practices derived from students’ perspectives. The findings of this study would be an important addition to the indigenous literature. The study has also generated opportunities for further research