A Study of Practical Physics Skills Among First Year Students at Mahasarakham University

Abstract

The primary objective of this research was to determine the practical skill aptitude of first-year students enrolled in the Basic Physics Laboratory course at Mahasarakham University. The study focused on 4 core practical skills from physics experiments among students from both the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science 1) measuring instrument use, 2) experimental equipment setup, 3) experimental execution, and
4) technological application. The skill assessment uses an instrument that was created as a behavioral observation form in while action, which is a behavioral checklist that assesses four crucial skill components : 1) accuracy, 2) proficiency and dexterity, 3) safety, and

4) orderliness. The results of behavioral that are expressed across the to all 4 skill components indicated that students in the Faculty of Medicine have practical skills of measuring instrument use with average percentages of approximately 90%, experimental equipment setup at 92%, experimental execution at 87%, and the application of technology at 77%. While, students from the Faculty of Science averages of 73%, 86%, 67%, and 40% in the respective and the research instrument for this study, can to be preliminary measure for evaluating how much students have the practical skills in physics across to the requirements of the skill components.