We find that both the representational format of
problems (math, verbal, pictorial, etc.) and the use of analogy play
critical roles in student approaches to and abilities in solving
physics problems. In two lines of related research, we examine student
use of analogy and representation. We demonstrate that student
reasoning and performance can be dependent, often strongly so, on the
representational format of the questions asked. Simultaneously,
representations appear to serve particularly important roles in
students' abilities to productively use analogies to solve physics
problems. We present a model of how students use analogies in their
reasoning processes in solving physics problems, Analogical
Scaffolding, and demonstrate its descriptive and predictive
utility. Our understanding of how novices and experts use
representations and analogies is then explored to demonstrate some
classic results, as well as some unexpected results (such as the equal
frequency with which experts and novices use representations). What
these representations mean, how abstract they are, and how salient
they are to students, can partially be explained by the Analogical
Scaffolding model.
Last modified: Wed Aug 26 14:20:27 2009