Linking Conceptual Understanding and Problem-Solving Skills in Physics

这个合作项目将调查物理学中概念理解和问题解决行为之间的关系。研究人员将通过分析从学生解出力和运动的力学问题以及从学生个人访谈中和力等基本物理概念收集的协议数据，构建专家和幼稚学生解决问题的技能(利用现有的智能教学系统技术)和幼稚学生概念的计算模型。然后，他们将在学生的幼稚概念和他们通过将这些概念应用于各种问题情境中所获得的解决问题的技能之间建立一种映射。技能和概念模型以及映射将被用来建立一个能够对问题解决行为进行概念诊断的自动化系统。这个系统将被用来构建学生个人的技能和概念模型。这种映射将通过将系统的概念诊断与接受的诊断测试和学生访谈的结果进行比较来验证。这项研究的几个结果将是：演示了朴素概念对物理问题解决的影响；检验了使用问题解决行为来识别朴素物理概念的有效性；以及增强了现有的力和运动朴素概念的框架。这一结果将适用于物理学的其他领域。此外，诊断技术将作为收集数据的一种手段，这些数据往往很难或不切实际(在大多数课堂情况下)获得。作为教师的课堂工具，该系统将有助于证明物理教学的必要性，以解决学生的幼稚概念。最后，该系统可以作为智能辅导系统的诊断核心，该系统将对学生的物理概念问题进行诊断和辅导。

This collaborative project will investigate the relationship between conceptual understanding and problem-solving behavior in physics. The investigators will construct computational models of expert and naive- student problem-solving skills (utilizing existing intelligent tutoring system technology) and naive-student conceptions by analyzing protocol data collected from students solving mechanics problems involving force and motion and from individual student interviews about fundamental physical concepts like force. They will then build a mapping between students' naive conceptions and the problem-solving skills which they would acquire by applying those conceptions in various problem contexts. The skill and concept models, and the mapping, will be used to build an automated system capable of conceptual diagnosis of problem-solving behavior. This system will be used to construct individual student models of skills and concepts. The mapping will be validated by comparing the system's conceptual diagnoses with results from accepted diagnostic tests and student interviews. Several outcomes of this research will be: a demonstration of the impact of naive conceptions on physics problem-solving; a test of the validity of using problem-solving behavior to identify naive physical concepts; and an enhancement of existing frameworks of naive conceptions of force and motion. The results would be applicable to other domains of physics. Furthermore, the diagnostic technology would serve as a means of collecting data that is often difficult or impractical (in most classroom situations) to acquire. As a classroom tool for teachers, the system would help demonstrate the need for physics instruction to address students' naive concepts. Finally, the system could serve as the diagnostic core of an intelligent tutoring system that would diagnose and tutor on students' conceptual problems in physics.