Wittmann about the resources framework

Michael C. Wittmann

Research in the Resources Framework: Changing environments, consistent exploration

Wittmann, M.C. (2018). Research in the Resources Framework: Changing environments, consistent exploration. in Reviews in PER Volume 2: Getting Started in Physics Education Research, edited by C. Henderson and K. A. Harper (American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, 2018).

In this paper, I discuss my personal journey through one research tradition, that of the resources framework, and how it has evolved over time. In my present work, understanding learners' reasoning in physics in terms of the construction of large-scale models from small-scale resources emphasizes the person doing the constructing over the physics they are discussing. In this human-centered approach, I find value not in the correctness or incorrectness of a given response, but in the nature of construction, the individual's evaluation of their own ideas, and the communication between learners as they seek to understand each other. The resources framework has driven my attention toward a human-centered approach, and has had an effect on both my professional and personal life, in the process. In addition, events in my personal life have proven relevant to my professional work in ways that are reflected by my use of the resources framework to understand knowledge and learning.

Wittmann and Chase on embodied cognition in wave propagation

Evidence of embodied cognition about wave propagation
Michael C. Wittmann and Evan Chase
AIP Conf. Proc. 1413, 383 (2012)

That students think of wavepulses as if throwing balls down a long taut spring is well established. Typical questions involve students imagining the spring already pulled taut; a different scenario would imagine them pulling the spring tight first. This situation creates a different baseline of physical experience from which to reason. For example, it provides a physical experience in which tension is a relevant measure in the system. We investigated the effects of students pulling the spring (or not) in interviews after instruction. We also wrote two surveys, each giving a different physical description of a typical problem. From interviews, we find evidence that a different embodiment of the problem affects students' responses. In surveys, with students asked to imagine different situations, we found no such evidence.

Wittmann on conceptual blending in wave propagation

Michael C. Wittmann
Using conceptual blending to describe emergent meaning in wave propagation
Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on the Learning Sciences

Students in interviews on a wave physics topic give answers through embodied actions which connect their understanding of the physics to other common experiences. When answering a question about wavepulses propagating along a long taut spring, students' gestures help them recruit information about balls thrown the air. I analyze gestural, perceptual, and verbal information gathered using videotaped interviews and classroom interactions. I use conceptual blending to describe how different elements combine to create new, emergent meaning for the students and compare this to a knowledge-in-pieces approach.

Coombs MS in Physics on sound as a longitudinal wave

Investigating Student Understanding of Sound as a Longitudinal Wave
Earl C. Coombs, 2007 MS in Physics

The field of physics education research (PER) has highlighted the discrepancy between what is taught during traditional instruction in physics, and what students understand afterward. PER has also provided alternatives to traditional instruction that are research-based and have been shown to be more effective in bringing students’ level of understanding of physics more in line with that of the scientific community. One topic that has received attention is the propagation of sound. We confirmed that students in the introductory algebra-based and calculus-based physics courses at the University of Maine have difficulties with sound propagation similar to those documented by others. We found that a relatively small percentage of the students we interviewed from a calculus-based introductory physics course used the community consensus model of particles oscillating parallel to the direction of propagation. We identified three other mental models used by the interview subjects that have been described previously. The first was a model in which sound is considered to be an entity that passes through the medium without disturbing the particles of the medium. The second was a model in which sound is viewed as an entity that pushes the particles of the medium aside as it propagates. The third was a hybrid model in which the particles of the medium oscillate perpendicular to the direction of propagation. In an extension of the work by previous researchers in this area, we examined students’ ability to predict the points at which the particles of the medium have the maximum and the minimum magnitudes of velocity and displacement from their equilibrium positions. We found that students’ ability to do so was extremely limited. To improve student understanding of sound propagation, we developed an instructional tool in the form of a “tutorial” and evaluated its effectiveness through pre- and post-testing of students enrolled in an algebra-based introductory physics course. The tutorial constructed for this purpose was found to be successful in increasing the number of students that used the community consensus model when answering questions about sound propagation. It was less successful in enabling students to make accurate predictions about particle velocities and displacements.

Recommended Citation

Coombs, Earl C., "Investigating Student Understanding of Sound as a Longitudinal Wave" (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 314.

http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/314

Wittmann, Redish, and Steinberg on sound and curriculum development

M.C. Wittmann, E.F. Redish, and R.N. Steinberg
Understanding and Addressing Student Reasoning about Sound
International Journal of Science Education 25:8, 991-1013 (2003)

Wittmann on the object coordination classes

M.C. Wittmann
The Object Coordiantion Class Applied to Wavepulses: Analysing Student Reasonging in Wave Phyiscs
International Journal of Science Education, 24:1, 97-118 (2002)

Wittmann PhD: Understanding Mechanical Waves

M.C. Wittmann
Making Sense of How Students Come to an Understanding of Physics: An Example from Mechanical Waves
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, 1998

Wittmann, Steinberg, Redish on mechanical waves

M.C. Wittmann, R.N. Steinberg, E.F. Redish
Making Sense of How Students Make Sense of Mechanical Waves
The Physics Teacher 37, 15-21 (1999)

Steinberg, Wittmann, Redish - mathematical tutorials

R.N. Steinberg, M.C. Wittmann, E.F. Redish,
Mathematical Tutorials In Introductory Physics
Sample class, in The Changing Role Of Physics Departments In Modern University, AIP Conference Proceedings 399 (AIP, 1997) 1075-1092.

Mechanical Waves lit review

M.C. Wittmann
Student Difficulties in Understanding Mechanical Waves: An Overview of Research Results
White paper written for the University of Maryland, College Park Physics Education Research Group, (22 May 1996).