Conlin, Gupta, Scherr & Hammer, AIP Conf Proceedings (2007)

The Dynamics of Students' Behaviors and Reasoning During Collaborative Physics Tutorial Sessions

L. Conlin, A. Gupta, R. Scherr & D. Hammer, AIP Conference Proceedings 951, Physics Education Research Conference, p 69-72 (2007). (html version)

Abstract: We investigate the dynamics of student behaviors (posture, gesture, vocal register, visual focus) and the substance of their reasoning during collaborative work on inquiry-based physics tutorials. Scherr has characterized student activity during tutorials as observable clusters of behaviors separated by sharp transitions, and has argued that these behavioral modes reflect students' epistemological framing of what they are doing, i.e., their sense of what is taking place with respect to knowledge. We analyze students' verbal reasoning during several tutorial sessions using the framework of Russ, and find a strong correlation between certain behavioral modes and the scientific quality of students' explanations. We suggest that this is due to a dynamic coupling of how students behave, how they frame an activity, and how they reason during that activity. This analysis supports the earlier claims of a dynamic between behavior and epistemology. We discuss implications for research and instruction.

Scherr, Am J Phys (2007)

Modeling student thinking: An example from special relativity

R. E. Scherr, American Journal of Physics, 70(3), p 272-280 (2007).

Abstract: Our understanding of the nature of student ideas informs our instructional and research agendas. In this paper, I characterize student ideas in terms of five observable properties determinacy, coherence, context-dependence, variability, and malleability and describe how those observable properties correspond to the “misconceptions” and “pieces” models of student reasoning. I then analyze instructional materials and student thinking in a particular topic area special relativity in terms of each of those two models. I show that specific instructional strategies reflect specific theoretical orientations, and explore the extent to which observed student behavior corresponds to predictions made by the theoretical models. The analysis suggests that while both the misconceptions and pieces models are flexible enough to accommodate all of the data, some aspects of student thinking seem best described in terms of pieces, and others seem better characterized as misconceptions. The purpose of the analysis is to illustrate the effect of theoretical orientation on instruction, instructional research, and curriculum development.

Scherr & Elby, Proceedings of 2006 PER Conference (2007)

Enabling informed adaptation: Open-source physics worksheets integrated with implementation resources

R. E. Scherr & A. Elby, in Proceedings of the 2006 Physics Education Research Conference, P. R. Heron, L. McCollough & J. Marx (Eds.), Melville, NY: American Institute of Physics (2007).

Abstract: Instructors inevitably need to adapt even the best reform materials to suit their local circumstances. We offer a package of research-based, open-source, epistemologically-focused mechanics tutorials, along with the detailed information instructors need to make effective modifications and offer professional development to teaching assistants. In particular, our tutorials are hyperlinked to instructor's guides that include the rationale behind the various questions, advice from experienced instructors, and video clips of students working on the materials. Our materials thus facilitate their own implementation and develop instructor expertise with PER-based instructional materials.

Bing & Redish, PER Conference Proceedings (2007)

The Cognitive Blending of Mathematics and Physics Knowledge

T. J. Bing & E. F. Redish, in Proceedings of the Physics Education Research Conference, Syracuse, NY, August 2006, AIP Conf. Proc., 883, p 26-29 (2007).

Abstract: Numbers, variables, and equations are used differently in a physics class than in a pure mathematics class. In physics, these symbols not only obey formal mathematical rules but also carry physical ideas and relations. This paper focuses on modeling how this combination of physical and mathematical knowledge is constructed. The cognitive blending framework highlights both the different ways this combination can occur and the emergence of new insights and meaning that follows such a combination. After an introduction to the blending framework itself, several examples from undergraduate physics students’ work are analyzed.

Tuminaro & Redish, Phys Rev STPER (2007)

Elements of a Cognitive Model of Physics Problem Solving: Epistemic Games

J. Tuminaro & E. F. Redish, Phys Rev ST PER, 3, 020101 (2007). 

Abstract: Although much is known about the differences between expert and novice problem solvers, knowledge of those differences typically does not provide enough detail to help instructors understand why some students seem to learn physics while solving problems and others do not. A critical issue is how students access the knowledge they have in the context of solving a particular problem. In this paper, we discuss our observations of students solving physics problems in authentic situations in an algebra-based physics class at the University of Maryland. We find that when these students are working together and interacting effectively, they often use a limited set of locally coherent resources for blocks of time of a few minutes or more. This coherence appears to provide the student with guidance as to what knowledge and procedures to access and what to ignore. Often, this leads to the students failing to apply relevant knowledge they later show they possess. In this paper, we outline a theoretical phenomenology for describing these local coherences and identify six organizational structures that we refer to as epistemic games. The hypothesis that students tend to function within the narrow confines of a fairly limited set of games provides a good description of our observations. We demonstrate how students use these games in two case studies and discuss the implications for instruc-tion.

Sabella & Redish, Am J Phys (2007)

Knowledge Organization and Activation in Physics Problem Solving

M. Sabella & E. F. Redish, Am J Phys, 75, p 1017-1029 (2007).

Abstract: Conceptual knowledge is only one aspect of a good knowledge structure: how and when knowledge is activated and used are also important. In this paper, we explore knowledge organization in the context of the resources model of student thinking through observations of student problem-solving behavior on a mechanics task that integrates the concepts of force, motion, and energy. We document in detail that both introductory and advanced students may have knowledge structures with local coherences that may inhibit their access to additional useful knowledge. These results suggest that instructors and researcher need to pay increased attention to how and when students use what they know as well as to what they know.