Related papers: Presenting a STEM Ways of Thinking Framework for E…
This second paper in a multi-part series builds on the first, which introduced the Ways of Thinking for Engineering Design-based Physics (WoT4EDP) framework for STEM education in an introductory undergraduate physics course. Here, we apply…
Education 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…
Reform documents advocate for innovative pedagogical strategies to enhance student learning. A key innovation is the integration of science and engineering practices through Engineering Design (ED)-based physics laboratory tasks, where…
The purpose of this study is to discuss instructional design and technology (IDT) model strategies for developing learning and teaching environments, based on philosophical approaches to educational technology theory. The study begins with…
Physics Education Research (PER) applies a scientific approach to the question, "How do our students think about and learn physics?" PER allows us to explore such intellectually engaging questions as, "What does it mean to understand…
We review and extend existing frameworks on modeling to develop a new framework that describes model-based reasoning in upper-division physics labs. Constructing and using models are core scientific practices that have gained significant…
A hybrid teaching approach that relied on combining Project Based Learning with Team Based Learning was trialled in an engineering module during the past five years. Our motivation was to expose students to real-world authentic engineering…
The large number of published articles in physics journals under the title "Comments on ..." and "Reply to ..." is indicative that the conceptual understanding of physical phenomena is very elusive and hard to grasp even to experts, but it…
The evolution of science education is a dynamic process driven by advances in pedagogy, technology, and especially, our understanding of how students learn. Educators are exploring innovative teaching and learning methodologies such as…
Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for…
Standard Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting empowers Large Language Models (LLMs) with reasoning capabilities, yet its reliance on linear natural language is inherently insufficient for effective world modeling in embodied tasks. While text…
This study investigates the strategic and epistemically responsible integration of AI-powered chatbots into physics teacher education by employing a TPACK-guided SWOT framework across three structured learning activities. Conducted within a…
Computational thinking has been a recent focus of education research within the sciences. However, there is a dearth of scholarly literature on how best to teach and to assess this topic, especially in disciplinary science courses. Physics…
Physics, like many scientific disciplines, has long struggled with attracting and retaining a diverse population and fostering inclusivity. While there have been improvements in addressing equity issues within physics, significant…
Effective physics learning, especially in complex topics, requires balancing mathematical formalism with conceptual understanding. Conceptual problem-solving involves connecting math to physical reality, and using an epistemological…
We propose the Dual Engines of Thoughts (DEoT), an analytical framework for comprehensive open-ended reasoning. While traditional reasoning frameworks primarily focus on finding "the best answer" or "the correct answer" for single-answer…
Equations are about more than computing physical quantities or constructing formal models; they are also about understanding. The conceptual systems physicists use to think about nature are made from many different resources, formal and…
In this work, we propose a unified framework, called Visual Reasoning with Differ-entiable Physics (VRDP), that can jointly learn visual concepts and infer physics models of objects and their interactions from videos and language. This is…
Background: As traditional coding tasks in education become increasingly vulnerable to the use of Generative AI, there is a critical need for authentic, project-based assessments that evaluate students' scientific inquiry. To address this…
This paper proposes a framework called Watts for implementing, comparing, and recombining open-ended learning (OEL) algorithms. Motivated by modularity and algorithmic flexibility, Watts atomizes the components of OEL systems to promote the…