A Theoretical Framework for Physics Education Research: Modeling student thinking

dc.contributor.authorRedish, Edward F.
dc.date.accessioned2006-08-31T16:52:43Z
dc.date.available2006-08-31T16:52:43Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.descriptionA sketch of a cognitive/neuroscience/behavioral science based model for understanding student thinking in science education.en
dc.description.abstractEducation is a goal-oriented field. But if we want to treat education scientifically so we can accumulate, evaluate, and refine what we learn, then we must develop a theoretical framework that is strongly rooted in objective observations and through which different theoretical models of student thinking can be compared. Much that is known in the behavioral sciences is robust and observationally based. In this paper, I draw from a variety of fields ranging from neuroscience to sociolinguistics to propose an over-arching theoretical framework that allows us to both make sense of what we see in the classroom and to compare a variety of specific theoretical approaches. My synthesis is organized around an analysis of the individual’s cognition and how it interacts with the environment. This leads to a two level system, a knowledge-structure level where associational patterns dominate, and a control-structure level where one can describe expectations and epistemology. For each level, I sketch some plausible starting models for student thinking and learning in physics and give examples of how a theoretical orientation can affect instruction and research.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUS National Science Foundationen
dc.format.extent741372 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationProceedings of the International School of Physics,en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3679
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherIOS Press, Amsterdamen
dc.relation.isAvailableAtCollege of Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciencesen_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtPhysicsen_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_us
dc.relation.isAvailableAtUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_us
dc.subjectphysics education researchen
dc.subjectcognitive modelingen
dc.subjectneuroscienceen
dc.subjectresources modelen
dc.titleA Theoretical Framework for Physics Education Research: Modeling student thinkingen
dc.typeArticleen

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