Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research

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written by Valerie K. Otero

Over the past 10 years I have been using socio-cultural theoretical perspectives to understand how people learn physics in a highly interactive, inquiry-based physics course such as Physics and Everyday Thinking. As a result of using various perspectives (e.g. Distributed Cognition and Vygotsky's Theory of Concept Formation), my understanding of how these perspectives can be useful for investigating students' learning processes has changed. In this paper, I illustrate changes in my thinking about the role of socio-cultural perspectives in understanding physics learning and describe elements of my thinking that have remained fairly stable. Finally, I will discuss pitfalls in the use of certain perspectives and discuss areas that need attention in theoretical development for PER.

Physics Education Research Conference 2009
Part of the PER Conference Invited Paper series
Ann Arbor, Michigan: July 29-30, 2009
Volume 1179, Pages 35-38

download 148kb .pdf
Published: November 11, 2009

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Cognition = Cognition Development - Learning Theory - Societal Issues = Cultural Issues General Physics - Physics Education Research	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Article

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3266746
Access Rights:: Free access and
Available for purchase
Restriction:: © 2009 American Institute of Physics
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2009 proceedings is also available.
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3266746
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.40.Ha
Keywords:: PERC 2009, cognitive, concept formation, conceptual change, distributed cognition, learning, learning process, participation
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created March 11, 2010 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: March 11, 2010 by Vince Kuo
Last Update when Cataloged:: November 11, 2009
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=9896">Otero, Valerie. "Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009.</a>

AIP Format

V. Otero, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528).

AJP/PRST-PER

V. Otero, Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528>.

APA Format

Otero, V. (2009, July 29-30). Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528

Chicago Format

Otero, Valerie. "Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2009, Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 29-30, 2009. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528 (accessed 4 May 2025).

MLA Format

Otero, Valerie. "Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research." Physics Education Research Conference 2009. Ann Arbor, Michigan: 2009. 35-38 Vol. 1179 of PER Conference Invited Paper. 4 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Valerie Otero", Title = {Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2009}, Pages = {35-38}, Address = {Ann Arbor, Michigan}, Series = {PER Conference Invited Paper}, Volume = {1179}, Month = {July 29-30}, Year = {2009} }

Refer Export Format

%A Valerie Otero %T Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research %S PER Conference Invited Paper %V 1179 %D July 29-30 2009 %P 35-38 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %O July 29-30 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Otero, Valerie %D July 29-30 2009 %T Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research %B Physics Education Research Conference 2009 %C Ann Arbor, Michigan %V 1179 %P 35-38 %S PER Conference Invited Paper %8 July 29-30 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9896&DocID=1528

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