PECASE: Research on Students' Mental Models, Learning and Transfer as a Guide to Application-Based Curriculum Development and Instruction in Physics

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Proposal Title: PECASE: Research on Students' Mental Models, Learning and Transfer as a Guide to Application-Based Curriculum Development and Instruction in PhysicsInstitution: Kansas State UniversityThe development of student's mental models has not been studied extensively in Physics education research. Initial evidence indicating that mental models and their application are strongly context dependent is particularly relevant to application-based curriculum. In this PECASE project, I investigate students' mental models of real-world devices, how these models evolve through instruction, and whether they transfer across contexts. Next, I utilize my research results to develop application-based curriculum, organized into versatile weeklong instructional modules that are pilot-tested in introductory classes that I teach. I assess the impact of the model development on the students, as well as issues of transfer of learning from one context to another. As a spin-off from this investigation, I develop instruments that are transferable to other research on student mental model development. This research is also integrated into a graduate level course that I team-teach. The course focuses on current Trends and issues in physics education research. Students in this course are involved in my research through a capstone project in this course. Two experienced faculty members facilitate my professional development through the project. A pioneer in physics education and head of the department mentors my growth as a researcher and teacher in the graduate course. An award-winning teacher at the introductory undergraduate level mentors my pilot testing of the application-based curricula in the introductory courses that I teach. Overall this project builds a strong foundation for a lifetime of contributions to research and education in physics pedagogy.This project was originally funded as a CAREER award, and was converted to a Presidential Early Career Award for Engineers and Scientists (PECASE) award in May 2004.