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Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?
written by Alexandru Maries and Chandralekha Singh
Drawing appropriate diagrams is a useful problem solving heuristic that can transform a given problem into a representation that is easier to exploit for solving it. A major focus while helping introductory physics students learn problem solving is to help them appreciate that drawing diagrams facilitates problem solution. We conducted an investigation in which 111 students in an algebra-based introductory physics course were subjected to two different interventions during recitation quizzes throughout the semester. They were either (1) asked to solve problems in which the diagrams were drawn for them or (2) explicitly told to draw a diagram. A comparison group was not given any instruction regarding diagrams. We developed a rubric to score the problem-solving performance of students in different intervention groups. Here, we present some surprising results for problems which involve considerations of initial and final conditions.
Physics Education Research Conference 2011
Part of the PER Conference series
Omaha, Nebraska: August 3-4, 2011
Volume 1413, Pages 263-266
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Assessment
- Problem Solving
= Heuristics
= Representational Use
- Lower Undergraduate
- Graduate/Professional
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
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- application/pdf
- non-digital
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680045
Access Rights:
Free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2011 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2011 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.3680045
PACSs:
01.40.gb
01.40.Ha
Keywords:
PERC 2011, Problem solving, Representation
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created April 25, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
May 15, 2012 by Vince Kuo
Last Update
when Cataloged:
February 6, 2012
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AIP Format
A. Maries and C. Singh, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712).
AJP/PRST-PER
A. Maries and C. Singh, Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712>.
APA Format
Maries, A., & Singh, C. (2011, August 3-4). Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska. Retrieved November 11, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712
Chicago Format
Maries, Alexandru, and Chandralekha Singh. "Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712 (accessed 11 November 2024).
MLA Format
Maries, Alexandru, and Chandralekha Singh. "Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?." Physics Education Research Conference 2011. Omaha, Nebraska: 2011. 263-266 Vol. 1413 of PER Conference. 11 Nov. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Alexandru Maries and Chandralekha Singh", Title = {Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems?}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2011}, Pages = {263-266}, Address = {Omaha, Nebraska}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1413}, Month = {August 3-4}, Year = {2011} }
Refer Export Format

%A Alexandru Maries %A Chandralekha Singh %T Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems? %S PER Conference %V 1413 %D August 3-4 2011 %P 263-266 %C Omaha, Nebraska %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %O August 3-4 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Maries, Alexandru %A Singh, Chandralekha %D August 3-4 2011 %T Should students be provided diagrams or asked to draw them while solving introductory physics problems? %B Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %C Omaha, Nebraska %V 1413 %P 263-266 %S PER Conference %8 August 3-4 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11863&DocID=2712


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