Enhancing Student Interest to Promote Learning in Science: The Case of the Concept of Energy
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper utilizes a control and experimental group quasi experimental study on teaching the concept of energy with interventions focused on fostering students' interest through hands on experiments and software simulations.
The idea is interesting, however the paper still needs some work, before it can be adequate for publication.
First is the design of the study, how were the students selected as to which group they belong? or a whole class is selected - which denotes a quasi-experimental study.
How did the author account for the individual differences present before the intervention, maybe the students in the experimental group are better students than the control group.
This part should be explained in the paper carefully, which is currently lacking. In most cases, a pre/post test design is implemented and the pre test would serve as a covariance within the later statistical analyses or paired t-test is also more informative a compared to the current t-test on the performance of the two groups.
For the results section, tables should comply to journal specification and not just cut and paste results from SPSS, tables in place of charts or in some cases the charts can be removed. As text explanations is already enough to describe the results.
Many sections are unclear and needs clarification, such as
"The classroom intervention included small-group work (4 students in each group), individual work, and teacher mediated whole-class discussions"
the collaborative learning and discussions with teachers might actually be a significant influencer for improvements on the student. Did the author/s account for these?
It would also be helpful to describe how the control group students are learning, as compared to just strictly follow the prescribe school curriculum.
In sum, the paper is interesting, however, will need some modification.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The use of hands-on laboratory and computer technologies in the teaching strategy about the energy concept is relevant compared to traditional teaching. The statistical analysis of the data is well illustrated as the theoretical framework presented.
However, it would be crucial to specifying the continuity between phase 1 and phase 2 (Table 1) at the conceptual level.
Also, it would be relevant to specify the limits of the approach used in the present study to take into account the student’s alternative conceptions about the concepts of speed, acceleration, force, energy, and graphic representations.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The author/s already made significant improvement of the paper.
All concerns noted during the first round of review were addressed and rectify. However, some minor concerns with the tables, 2 significant digits and "," in placed of ".". , st.dev. - should be SD.
In sum, the paper is already adequate for publication.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
