Indonesian Students' Mental Models of Magnetism and Implications for Teaching

Magnetism is a challenging topic for students due to its abstract nature. This study examines the type of mental models that Indonesian high school students used when completing tasks related to magnetic fields during clinical interviews. Results reveal that students engaged with different reasoning patterns through the use of various representations to illustrate their views of magnetic fields. Four distinct mental models of magnetism are identified from the students' responses: direction reinforcement, current-driven field orientation, field isolation and reinforcement, and comprehensive field interaction. These mental models represent students' understanding of the right-hand rule in the context of magnetic fields produced by current-carrying wires. These findings suggest that students rely on fragmented and incomplete knowledge when reasoning, highlighting the need for more targeted instructional strategies to help students refine their mental models of magnetism.