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 National Science
Foundation Award #0448176 |
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CAREER: Physics Education Research and Contexts of Student Learning |
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| Investigator(s): |
Noah Finkelstein (PI)
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| Sponsor: |
University of Colorado at Boulder, CO 80309 3034926221
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| Start Date/Expiration Date |
2005-07-01 to 2006-06-30 (amended 2005-05-05) |
| Awarded Amount to Date: |
$70,561 |
| Abstract: Why do university students exit courses capable of solving difficult
analytic problems (e.g., calculate current in a complex circuit), but
are unable to explain the same content conceptually (e.g., which light
bulb is brighter in such a circuit)? Which educational activities
address this challenge and why?
Building on the well-established foundations of physics education
research that have focused on student cognition, curriculum design and
course practices, this research program establishes another perspective
from which we may understand student learning in physics: one that
emphasizes learning in context. That is, how and what students learn
depends not only on traditionally conceived content but also upon the
formation of tasks, class environments, and broader institutional
structures in which the content is embedded. Such a perspective begins
to explain a host of research questions, such as the one listed above,
and is directed at understanding sustainable and scalable models of
reform in physics education.
This project coordinates two levels of research on the role of context
in student learning: the level of individual students and the level of
course activities. Many of the associated research questions are new in
physics (e.g., examining the effects of having students teach others in
order to learn) while others augment existing lines of research (e.g.,
the role of computer simulations in the classroom). Collectively, these
investigations provide a framework for understanding each of the
individual research studies, as well as the portability of the results
of these studies to other environments. Furthermore, their coordinated
outcomes will result in meaningful models of context in student
learning, which will serve as the foundation for long-term research in
this area. This research is designed to improve educational practices
in physics and to better understand how to make them sustainable and
scalable. |
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| NSF Org: |
REC - Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication |
| Award Number: |
0448176 |
| Award Instrument: |
Continuing grant |
| Program Manager: |
N. Hari Narayanan
REC Division of Research, Evaluation and Communication
EHR Directorate for Education & Human Resources
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| NSF Program(s): |
RESEARCH ON LEARNING & EDUCATI |
| Field Application(s): |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION, 9177
FACULTY EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 1045
PECASE- eligible, 1187 |
| Program Element Code(s): |
1666 |
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