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When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists
In this project, we sought to uncover the cognitive processes and skills that are involved in completing a theoretical physics project. Theoretical physics is often portrayed as a field requiring individual genius and can seem inaccessible to undergraduate students, as well as the public. We drew upon the foundations of Cognitive Task Analysis and completed semi-structured interviews with eleven theoretical physics faculty members from several different research institutions who specialized in subfields including quantum optics, biophysics, computational astrophysics, and string theory. We analyzed the processes and skills of these physicists, focusing on an analysis of idea origin, which is typically the first cognitive process within a project, and how it was connected to collaboration and motivation. We used concept maps to organize these codes and portray the factors that influence the creation of project ideas. We found that motivation and collaboration are fundamental determinants of project ideas and their origins, which contradicts the "lone genius" stereotype. These findings on cognitive processes and skills can help us understand how to better prepare students to do theoretical physics research. Finally, the information gathered during this project may be useful for improving the public understanding of theoretical physics, dispelling the belief that the field requires "genius," and making it accessible to more students.
Physics Education Research Conference 2021
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: August 4-5, 2021 Pages 160-165
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![]() <a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15742">Griston, M, J. Botello, M. Verostek, and B. Zwickl. "When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021.</a>
![]() M. Griston, J. Botello, M. Verostek, and B. Zwickl, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476).
![]() M. Griston, J. Botello, M. Verostek, and B. Zwickl, When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476>.
![]() Griston, M., Botello, J., Verostek, M., & Zwickl, B. (2021, August 4-5). When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference. Retrieved April 24, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476
![]() Griston, M, J. Botello, M. Verostek, and B. Zwickl. "When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476 (accessed 24 April 2025).
![]() Griston, Molly, Jesús Botello, Michael Verostek, and Benjamin Zwickl. "When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists." Physics Education Research Conference 2021. Virtual Conference: 2021. 160-165 of PER Conference. 24 Apr. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Molly Griston and Jesús Botello and Michael Verostek and Benjamin Zwickl",
Title = {When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2021},
Pages = {160-165},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {August 4-5},
Year = {2021}
}
![]() %A Molly Griston %A Jesús Botello %A Michael Verostek %A Benjamin Zwickl %T When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists %S PER Conference %D August 4-5 2021 %P 160-165 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %O August 4-5 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Griston, Molly %A Botello, Jesús %A Verostek, Michael %A Zwickl, Benjamin %D August 4-5 2021 %T When the light bulb turns on: motivation and collaboration spark the creation of ideas for theoretical physicists %B Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %C Virtual Conference %P 160-165 %S PER Conference %8 August 4-5 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15742&DocID=5476 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
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