Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2010
Volume 55, Number 1
Saturday–Tuesday, February 13–16, 2010; Washington, DC
Session B6: Taxonomies as Tools for Enhancing Physics Learning |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd DNP AAPT Chair: Gerald Feldman, The George Washington University Room: Washington 5 |
Saturday, February 13, 2010 10:45AM - 11:21AM |
B6.00001: A New Approach to Analyzing the Cognitive Load in Physics Problems Invited Speaker: I will present a Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), which relates physics problems to the cognitive processes and the knowledge required to solve them. TIPP was created for designing and clarifying educational objectives, for developing assessments to evaluate components of the problem-solving process, and for guiding curriculum design in introductory physics courses. To construct TIPP, I considered processes that have been identified either by cognitive science and expert-novice research or by direct observation of students' behavior while solving physics problems. Based on Marzano and Kendall's taxonomy [1], I developed a procedure to classify physics problems according to the cognitive processes that they involve and the knowledge to which they refer. The procedure is applicable to any physics problem and its validity and reliability have been confirmed. This algorithm was then used to build TIPP, which is a database that contains text-based and research-based physics problems and explains their relationship to cognitive processes and knowledge. TIPP has been used in the years 2006--2009 to reform the first semester of the introductory algebra-based physics course at The George Washington University. The reform targeted students' cognitive development and attitudes improvement. The methodology employed in the course involves exposing students to certain types of problems in a variety of contexts with increasing complexity. To assess the effectiveness of our approach, rubrics were created to evaluate students' problem-solving abilities and the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) was administered pre- and post-instruction to determine students' shift in dispositions towards learning physics. Our results show definitive gains in the areas targeted by our curricular reform.\\[4pt] [1] R.J. Marzano and J.S. Kendall, \textit{The New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives}, 2$^{nd}$ Ed., (Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2007). [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, February 13, 2010 11:21AM - 11:57AM |
B6.00002: Characterizing the Fundamental Intellectual Steps Required in the Solution of Conceptual Problems Invited Speaker: At some level, the performance of a science class must depend on what is taught, the information content of the materials and assignments of the course. The introductory calculus-based electricity and magnetism class at the University of Arkansas is examined using a catalog of the basic reasoning steps involved in the solution of problems assigned in the class. This catalog was developed by sampling popular physics textbooks for conceptual problems. The solution to each conceptual problem was decomposed into its fundamental reasoning steps. These fundamental steps are, then, used to quantify the distribution of conceptual content within the course. Using this characterization technique, an exceptionally detailed picture of the information flow and structure of the class can be produced. The intellectual structure of published conceptual inventories is compared with the information presented in the class and the dependence of conceptual performance on the details of coverage extracted. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, February 13, 2010 11:57AM - 12:33PM |
B6.00003: Applying physics to solve problems in new contexts and representations: Methods Students Use Invited Speaker: ``The questions on the test were, like, totally different from the homework.'' All of us have heard variations on this statement. Yet, when we look at the homework and the test questions, we see great similarities. Changing the context or the representation in a physics problem can cause students to have significant difficulties. These difficulties persist sometimes in homework problems, exams and even hands-on activities. With significant effort from Sanjay Rebello our group has been investigating some of the issues which lead to the inability to apply physics learned in one context or with one representation to other situations. By looking at what aspects students are able to use easily and those that they have difficulty applying, we are beginning to understand some of the aspects that help this transfer of learning and some that do not. (Supported by the grants from the National Science Foundation and US Department of Education) [Preview Abstract] |
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