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，因为这些能力扩展到所有STEM学科。他们也是许多非STEM专业的组成部分。 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无法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。这些理论认为，人类认知依赖于两个思维过程。 第一个启发式过程是快速、直观和自动的。第二个分析过程是缓慢的，费力的，深思熟虑的。当学生的分析过程未能拒绝不正确的直觉反应时，他们会得到不正确的答案。这个项目将开发课堂活动，让学生有机会放慢脚步，检查直观吸引人的反应，并认识到偏见的推理实例。 了解自己的思维路径和推理方法是在物理学及其他领域实现更专业推理的关键一步。这个为期五年的合作项目将把认知科学的发现和模型融入物理学研究型课程开发工作中，通过提高学生的推理技能来最大限度地发挥其功效。 该项目将首先开发和记录改善学生推理的教学干预措施。其次，它将确定具体的机制，通过这种干预措施帮助学生的原因富有成效。第三，该项目将建立一个明确符合双过程推理理论的课程开发框架。 该项目的核心将是开发一个以研究为基础的教学材料（沿着教师资源）的说明性例子组合，这些材料明确涉及人类思维的双重性质。 这些材料将调整或补充现有的干预措施，从而改善其影响。 此外，该项目将帮助研究人员更深入地了解：（1）新手物理学习者采用的推理方法，（2）有助于直觉学生想法的因素和环境，以及（3）学生调解直觉思维的策略。 最后，该项目将建立一个全面的框架，用于开发或增强教学材料，利用双过程理论的推理。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

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.