Developing Students' Problem-Solving Skills in Introductory Undergraduate Physics Courses

在本科物理入门课程中培养学生解决问题的能力

• 批准号: 2111138
• 负责人: Carina Rebello
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-10-01 至 2025-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2111138&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developing; Students; Problem; Solving; Skills

This project aims to serve the national interest by helping students develop superior problem-solving skills in introductory undergraduate physics courses. Problem-solving skills are critical for the 21st century workforce, and those skills are often emphasized in STEM courses. Instructors search for new strategies to promote the development of problem-solving skills. In this project, the investigators will develop and test strategies that integrate two proven pedagogical practices -- retrieval practice and scientific argumentation -- to improve problem-solving in the introductory calculus-based physics course that is usually taken by students who intend to become scientists and engineers.The project team will develop instructional modules and materials that will be deployed in face-to-face and online classes in three different settings: a large land-grant university (Purdue University in Indiana); a small, private liberal arts college (Lawrence University in Wisconsin); and a mid-sized, regional public university (Jacksonville State University in Alabama). The project team will also prepare a group of teaching/learning assistants to facilitate students' learning using the modules and materials. The major objectives are (1) to design interventions that integrate retrieval practice and scientific argumentation during problem-solving in physics using structured and semi-structured problem tasks; (2) to implement these interventions in both face-to-face (traditional and studio) and online learning environments at three different institutions; and (3) to assess the impact of the interventions on students' conceptual understanding, performance on quizzes and exams, and problem-solving expertise. The investigators will address research questions such as the following: (1) What strategies do the teaching/learning assistants utilize to facilitate the implementation of the new strategies in the classroom? (2) How can novel structured and semi-structured problem tasks be effectively used in introductory STEM courses, which typically use only well-structured, end-of-chapter problems? (3) To what extent do the new instructional strategies facilitate students' conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills in physics? (4) How do the interventions impact students' attitudes toward learning physics and their retention in STEM? The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在通过帮助学生在本科物理入门课程中培养上级解决问题的技能来服务于国家利益。解决问题的技能对于21世纪的劳动力至关重要，这些技能通常在STEM课程中得到强调。教师寻找新的策略来促进解决问题技能的发展。在这个项目中，研究人员将开发和测试整合两种行之有效的教学实践-检索实践和科学论证-的策略，以提高以微积分为基础的物理入门课程中的问题解决能力，该课程通常由打算成为科学家和工程师的学生参加。项目小组将开发教学模块和材料，在三个不同的环境中，我们可以使用人脸和在线课程：一所大型赠地大学（位于印第安纳州的普渡大学）;一所小型私立文理学院（位于威斯康星州的劳伦斯大学）;以及一所中型地区公立大学（位于亚拉巴马的杰克逊维尔州立大学）。计划小组亦会准备一批教/学助理，协助学生使用有关单元和材料学习。本研究的主要目标是：（1）设计一种在物理问题解决中整合检索实践和科学论证的干预措施，采用结构化和半结构化问题任务;（2）在面对面和非面对面两种方式中实施这些干预措施。（传统和工作室）和在线学习环境在三个不同的机构;（3）评估干预对学生概念理解、测验和考试表现以及解决问题能力的影响。研究者将提出以下问题：（1）教/学助理利用什么策略来促进新策略在课堂上的实施？(2)如何在STEM入门课程中有效地使用新颖的结构化和半结构化问题任务，这些课程通常只使用结构良好的章节结束问题？(3)新的教学策略在多大程度上促进了学生物理概念知识和解决问题的能力？(4)这些干预措施如何影响学生对学习物理的态度以及他们在STEM中的保留？NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。