PHYSICS PROBLEM SOLVING

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Higher education practitioners must design curriculum and instructional methods
consistent with these principles as well as the latest research on how students learn.
(Note: Terms in boldface font are listed and defined in the Glossary found in Appendix
A.)
Cooperative learning has been proposed as one instructional strategy congruous
with the paradigm shift. While much work has been done in primary and secondary
education, it is only within the last decade that researchers have undertaken studies of
cooperative learning in higher education. Researchers are now investigating various
types of cooperative learning activities such as problem solving. Problem solving is an
integral part of college physics courses. Thus physics courses provide an excellent
context for this research.
Overview of The Dissertation
This dissertation is a qualitative case study of fourteen cooperative physics
problem-solving groups and will proceed as follows:
Chapter 1 -- Introduction
 Overview of Dissertation
 Statement of the Problem
 Purpose and Research Questions
 Overview of Research Design
 Assumptions and Rationale for a Qualitative, Case-Study Design
 Methodological Issues and Limitations of the Research
 Significance of the Research
Chapter 2 -- Procedures
 The Role of the Researcher