Current projects

Precollege Arab youth as facilitators of STEM outreach activities in Arab schools in Israel: The emergence of science capital

With Prof. Fadia Nasser-Abu Alhija, Tel Aviv University, and in collaboration with Alrowad for Science and Technology.  Supported by the Israel Science Foundation.

The physics and engineering of motion: An online course (MOOC) for mathematical and computational modeling based inquiry.

Supported by the Trump Foundation.

Short presentation of the project (1.5 minutes, Hebrew)

Incorporating authentic research experiences into high school physics: Relating students’ learning to features of mentorship

In collaboration with the Acheret Center. Supported by the Israel Science Foundation.

• Kapon, S. (2016). Doing research in school: Physics Inquiry in the Zone of Proximal Development. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(8), 1172–1197.
• Kapon S., Laherto, A., Levrini, O. (2018). Disciplinary authenticity and personal relevance in school science. Science Education, 102 (5), 1077–1106.
• Kapon, S., & Schvartzer, M. (2018). Nurturing sensemaking of, through, and with a mathematical model, 2018 Physics Education Research Conference (PERC) Proceedings [Washington, DC, August 1-2, 2018], edited by A. Traxler, Y. Cao, and S. Wolf, doi: 1119/perc.2018.pr.Kapon.
• Kapon S., Schvartzer, M., Peer, T. (2021).  Forms of participation in a maker-based inquiry in physics. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 58(2), 249-281.
• Kapon, S., Schvartzer M. (in press). Guided inquiry into a physics equation. Cognition and Instruction.
• Garah, L., Kapon S. (accepted pending major revision, revision submitted). The reification of identity narratives in teacher-student discourse during an inquiry project. Science Education.
• Garah, L., Kapon S. (under review). Shifting between languages during an inquiry process.

Completed projects

Physics in CHAVRUTA (A model for supporting early career physics teachers)

Originally supported by the Trump Foundation (2016-2019), and later (2019-2020) by the Israel Ministry of Education and the Technion Social-Hab.

• Kapon, S., Colton, A. (2020). Physics in Chavruta – A model for supporting early career teachers. The Physics Teacher, 58(6), 425–429.

Electromagnetic radiation and waves for non-science majors

Supported by the Israel Ministry of Education.

• Veksler, H., Kapon, S. (2018). Electromagnetic Radiation – Principles, Applications, and Decisions. Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Education. A textbook for high school students, 144 pages, Hebrew, published in print. A translation into Arabic, 161 pages, will be published in print next year. A teachers’ guide, 110 pages, Hebrew, published online.
• Kapon, S., Veksler, H. (2021). Teaching non-science majors about electromagnetic radiation – Aiming for scientific literacy and a sense of relevance. In a special issue titled Curriculum Development: Theory into Design. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 16(2), 020141.

Building and calibrating a measurement device – From hands on to minds on.

Supported by the Israel Ministry of Education.

• Porat, G., Kapon S. (2017). Constructing and calibrating measurement devices – From hands on to minds on. Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Education. A teachers’ guide, 58 pages, Hebrew, published online.
• Porat, G., Kapon, S. (2018). Building measurement devices with students – From hands on to minds on. The Physics Teacher, 56(7), 461-465.

Creative uses of the history of science in the instruction of physics

Supported by the Israel Ministry of Education.

• Elazar, M., Schvartzer, M. (2018). Creative use of the history of science in the instruction of physics. S. Kapon and A. Merzel (Eds.). Jerusalem: Israel Ministry of Education. A teachers’ guide, 176 pages, Hebrew, published online.
• Schvartzer, M., Elazar M., Kapon S. (2021). Learning physics by following in Galileo’s footsteps. Science & Education. 30 (1), 165–179.

Educating pre-service physics teachers as designers of learning

Learning physics-specific pedagogies through cycles of design and teaching of physics lessons.

• Kapon, S., Merzel, A. (2019). Pre-service physics teachers’ learning from guided cycles of sensemaking of their pedagogical design and teaching. Physics Education, 54(1), 015026.
• Kapon, S., Merzel, A. (2019). Content-specific pedagogical knowledge, practices, and beliefs underlying the design of physics lessons. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 15 (1), 010125.

From playing a game to solving an equation

Integrating digital games into formal schooling. Collaboration with Prof. Michal Tabach, Tel Aviv University.

• Kapon, S., Halloun, A., Tabach, M. (2019). Incorporating a digital game into the formal instruction of algebra: A comparative examination of four implementations. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 50(5), 555–591.

Conceptualizing people’s sense of what constitutes a good explanation of phenomena in the physical world.

• Kapon, S. (2017). Unpacking Sensemaking. Science Education, 101(1), 165–198.
• Kapon, S., Parnafes, O. (2014). Explanations that make sense. In J. L. Polman, E. A. Kyza, D. K. O’Neill, I. Tabak, W. R. Penuel, A. S. Jurow, K. O’Connor, T. Lee, and L. D’Amico, (Eds.), Learning and becoming in practice: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2014, (Vol. 2, pp. 887-894). International Society of the Learning Sciences: Boulder, CO.

Projects completed prior to Dr. Kapon’s arrival to the Technion

Analogical reasoning and conceptual change in physics education

Supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship for Career Development within the 7th European Community Framework Program. Outgoing host: Prof. Andrea A. diSessa, University of California Berkeley. Return host: Prof. Tommy Dreyfus, Tel Aviv University.

• Kapon, S., & diSessa, A. A. (2010). Instructional explanations as an interface – the role of explanatory primitives. In M. Sabella, C. Singh & S. Rebello (Eds.), American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings: Physics Education Research Conference (Vol. 1289, pp. 189-192).
• Kapon S., diSessa A.A. (2012). Reasoning through Instructional Analogies. Cognition and Instruction, 30(3), 261–310.
• Kapon, S., Ron, G., Hershkowitz, R., & Dreyfus, T. (2015). Perceiving permutations as distinct outcomes: the accommodation of a complex knowledge system. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 88(1), 43-64.