Collaborative Research: Establishing a New Model for Research-Based Curriculum Development in Physics Aligned with Dual-Process Theories of Reasoning

推理和批判性思维能力的发展可能是大学物理教学最重要的成果，因为这些能力延伸到所有STEM学科。他们也是许多非stem职业不可或缺的一部分。然而，研究表明，在一项任务中表现出正确概念理解和推理的学生往往不能在相关任务中使用相同的知识和技能。观察到的不一致性可以用推理的双过程理论来解释。这些理论断言，人类的认知依赖于两个思维过程。第一个启发式过程快速、直观、自动。第二个分析过程是缓慢的、费力的、深思熟虑的。当学生的分析过程无法拒绝错误的直觉反应时，他们就会得到错误的答案。该项目将开展课堂活动，让学生有机会放慢脚步，检查直觉上吸引人的反应，并识别有偏见的推理实例。意识到自己的思维路径和推理方法是在物理学和其他领域走向更像专家的推理的关键一步。这个为期五年的合作项目将把认知科学的研究成果和模型整合到以研究为基础的物理课程开发工作中，通过提高学生的推理能力，最大限度地发挥其功效。该项目将首先开发并记录提高学生推理能力的教学干预措施。其次，它将确定具体的机制，通过这些干预帮助学生有效地推理。第三，该项目将建立一个明确符合推理双过程理论的课程开发框架。该项目的核心将是开发一系列以研究为基础的教学材料的说明性例子（以及讲师资源），这些材料明确地关注人类思维的双重本质。这些材料将适应或补充现有的干预措施，从而提高其影响。此外，该项目将帮助研究人员更深入地了解：(1)新物理学习者使用的推理方法，(2)促进学生直觉想法的因素和环境，以及(3)学生调节其直觉思维的策略。最后，该项目将建立一个综合框架，以编制或加强利用推理双过程理论的教学材料。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

The development of reasoning and critical thinking skills is possibly the most important outcome of college physics instruction, as these abilities extend to all STEM disciplines. They are integral to many non-STEM professions as well. However, research has shown that students who demonstrate correct conceptual understanding and reasoning on one task often fail to use the same knowledge and skills on related tasks. Observed inconsistencies can be accounted for by dual-process theories of reasoning. These theories assert that human cognition relies on two thinking processes. The first heuristic process is fast, intuitive, and automatic. The second analytic process is slow, effortful, and deliberate. Students get incorrect answers when their analytical process fails to reject an incorrect intuitive response. This project will develop classroom activities that give students opportunities to slow down, examine intuitively appealing responses, and recognize instances of biased reasoning. Becoming aware of one's own thinking paths and reasoning approaches is a critical step toward more expert-like reasoning in physics and beyond.This five-year collaborative project will integrate findings and models from cognitive science into research-based curriculum development efforts in physics to maximize their efficacy by improving student reasoning skills. The project will first develop and document instructional interventions that improve student reasoning. Secondly, it will identify specific mechanisms by which such interventions help students reason productively. Thirdly, the project will establish a framework for curriculum development explicitly aligned with dual-process theories of reasoning. Central to the project will be the development of a portfolio of illustrative examples of research-based instructional materials (along with instructor resources) that attend explicitly to the dual nature of human thinking. The materials will adapt or supplement existing interventions and thus improve their impact. In addition, this project will help researchers gain greater insight into: (1) the reasoning approaches employed by novice physics learners, (2) the factors and circumstances contributing to intuitive student ideas, and (3) strategies by which students mediate their intuitive thinking. Finally, the project will establish a comprehensive framework for developing or enhancing instructional materials that draw upon dual-process theories of reasoning.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.