PHYSICS PROBLEM SOLVING

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(^) sort of ability we all use all the time. Proficiency: Intuition is neither wild guessing The proficient performer, while intuitively nor supernatural inspiration, but the
organizing, will still find himself thinki Expertise: An expert generally knows what to do based on mature and practiced ng analytically about what to do.
understanding. When things are proceedinthey do what normally works. g normally, experts don't make decisions;
This model represents a progression in the sense that a typical learner's best
performance in a particular type of situation will initially stem from novice rule-
following, then from the advanced beginner's use of aspects, and so on through the five
stages. There is a progression from analytic behavior of a detached subject, following
abstract rules, to involved, skilled, problem-solving behavior based on an accumulation
of concrete experiences, and the unconscious recognition of new situations as similar to
past ones. Because experts act rationally, competent performance is rational and the
transition to proficiency is a process. This emphasis on process is equally important to
cooperative learning.
Research in Physics Problem Solving
Research in physics problem solving has served to inform general problem
solving research and has become a fruitful area for understanding the acquisition of
problem solving skills. There may be two reasons for this. First, the research is
empirically based on the performance of problem solvers. Thus the research changes the
emphasis of the problem solving from the problem to the solver. Second, physics
problems, which usually are highly quantified, function well as a key component of this
research (Fuller, 1982). There are several examples of research on physics problem
solving that show how research in this specific area has broadened the scope of problem-
solving knowledge.