PERC 2015 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Physics Content Understanding in the PET Inquiry Learning Cycle |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | Our Teacher Research Team investigated student outcomes in eight different high school physics courses at three different points in the learning cycle: before instruction, after experimentation, and after the consensus discussion. The discussion is designed to help students induce scientific principles from laboratory experiments, so we predicted the gain would be highest following this discussion. We observed different results for each question on the diagnostic assessment. In one case, the majority of the gain was made after experimentation, whereas, for another question the gain occurred primarily after the discussion. We inferred that some laboratory observations (e.g. force in direction of motion) link to disciplinary principles in a more straightforward way, whereas other observations (e.g. constant velocity on a "frictionless" track) require more time for students to process ideas through discussion and written formalizations. We will show our results and discuss implications of this work for assessment and instruction. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Mary Beth Cheversia Poudre School District and University of Colorado, Boulder |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Emily Knapp, St. Vrain School District and University of Colorado, Boulder Jared Sommervold, St. Vrain School District and University of Colorado, Boulder |
