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Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures
written by Steven F. Wolf, Daniel P. Dougherty, and Gerd Kortemeyer
A seminal study by Chi et al. firmly established the paradigm that novices categorize physics problems by "surface features" (e.g. "incline," "pendulum," "projectile motion," . . . ), while experts use "deep structure" (e.g. "energy conservation," "Newton 2," . . . ). Yet, efforts to replicate the study frequently fail, since the ability to distinguish experts from novices is highly sensitive to the problem set being used. But what properties of problems are most important in problem sets that discriminate experts from novices in a measurable way? To answer this question, we studied the categorizations by known physics experts and novices using a large, diverse set of problems, in order to subsequently study how well these two groups can be discriminated using small subsets. Having a large initial set allowed us to form a large number of smaller subsets and study their properties. We found that the number of questions required to accurately classify experts and novices could be surprisingly small so long as the problem set is carefully crafted to be composed of problems with particular pedagogical and contextual features.
Physics Education Research Conference 2012
Part of the PER Conference series
Philadelphia, PA: August 1-2, 2012
Volume 1513, Pages 426-429
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Cognition
- Problem Solving
= Expert-Novice Comparisons
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
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- application/pdf
- non-digital
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789743
Access Rights:
Free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2012 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.4789743
PACSs:
01.40.Fk
01.40.Ha
01.55.+b
01.90.+g
Keywords:
PERC 2012, problem categorization
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created July 1, 2013 by Zachary Davis
Record Updated:
December 17, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
January 24, 2013
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Record Link
AIP Format
S. Wolf, D. Dougherty, and G. Kortemeyer, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400).
AJP/PRST-PER
S. Wolf, D. Dougherty, and G. Kortemeyer, Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400>.
APA Format
Wolf, S., Dougherty, D., & Kortemeyer, G. (2012, August 1-2). Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400
Chicago Format
Wolf, S, D. Dougherty, and G. Kortemeyer. "Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, August 1-2, 2012. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400 (accessed 29 March 2024).
MLA Format
Wolf, Steven, Daniel Dougherty, and Gerd Kortemeyer. "Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures." Physics Education Research Conference 2012. Philadelphia, PA: 2012. 426-429 Vol. 1513 of PER Conference. 29 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Steven Wolf and Daniel Dougherty and Gerd Kortemeyer", Title = {Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2012}, Pages = {426-429}, Address = {Philadelphia, PA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1513}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2012} }
Refer Export Format

%A Steven Wolf %A Daniel Dougherty %A Gerd Kortemeyer %T Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures %S PER Conference %V 1513 %D August 1-2 2012 %P 426-429 %C Philadelphia, PA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Wolf, Steven %A Dougherty, Daniel %A Kortemeyer, Gerd %D August 1-2 2012 %T Differentiating expert and novice cognitive structures %B Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %C Philadelphia, PA %V 1513 %P 426-429 %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12868&DocID=3400


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