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Abstract Title: Modeling Applied to Problem Solving
Abstract: Modeling[1] Applied to Problem Solving (MAPS) is a pedagogy that helps students transfer instruction to problem solving in an expert-like manner.  Declarative and Procedural syllabus content is organized and learned (not discovered) as a hierarchy of General Models.  Students solve problems using an explicit Problem Modeling Rubric that begins with System, Interactions and Model (S.I.M.).  System and Interactions are emphasized as the key to a strategic description of the system and the identification of the appropriate General Model to apply to the problem.  We have employed the pedagogy in a three-week review course for students who received a D in mechanics.  The course was assessed by a final exam retest as well as pre and post C-LASS surveys, yielding a 1.2 standard deviation improvement in the students' ability to solve final exam problems and a statistically significant positive shift in 7 of the 9 categories in the C-LASS.

1.  M. Wells, D. Hestenes, and G. Swakhamer, "A Modeling Method for High School Physics Instruction", Am. J. Phys. 63, 606-619 (1995).
Abstract Type: Targeted Poster
Targeted Session: Foundations of Course Reform for Introductory Physics
Contributed Poster: Download the Contributed Poster

Author/Organizer Information

Primary Contact: Andrew Pawl
MIT
Co-Author(s)
and Co-Presenter(s)
Analia Barrantes, David E. Pritchard