TY - GEN
T1 - Using analogies to learn introductory physics
AU - Lin, Shih Yin
AU - Singh, Chandralekha
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Identifying the relevant physics principles is a central component of problem solving. A major goal of most introductory physics courses is to help students discern the deep similarities between problems based upon the physics principles so that they can transfer what they learned by solving one problem to solve another problem which involves the same principle. We conducted an investigation in which 251 calculus- and algebra-based introductory physics students were asked explicitly in the recitation quiz to learn from a solved problem and then solve another problem that has different surface features but the same underlying physics principles. We find that many students were able to discern the deep similarities between the problems. When the solved problem was provided, students were likely to invoke the correct principles; however, more scaffolding is needed to help students apply these principles correctly.
AB - Identifying the relevant physics principles is a central component of problem solving. A major goal of most introductory physics courses is to help students discern the deep similarities between problems based upon the physics principles so that they can transfer what they learned by solving one problem to solve another problem which involves the same principle. We conducted an investigation in which 251 calculus- and algebra-based introductory physics students were asked explicitly in the recitation quiz to learn from a solved problem and then solve another problem that has different surface features but the same underlying physics principles. We find that many students were able to discern the deep similarities between the problems. When the solved problem was provided, students were likely to invoke the correct principles; however, more scaffolding is needed to help students apply these principles correctly.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952001763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1063/1.3515202
DO - 10.1063/1.3515202
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:79952001763
SN - 9780735408449
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
SP - 209
EP - 212
BT - 2010 Physics Education Research Conference, PERC
T2 - 2010 Physics Education Research Conference, PERC
Y2 - 21 July 2010 through 22 July 2010
ER -