A supportive environment based on cooperative grouping was developed to foster students’ learning of an effective problem-solving strategy. Experiments to adapt the technique of cooperative grouping to physics problem solving were carried out in two diverse settings: a large introductory course at state university, and a small modern physics class at a community college. Groups were more likely to use an effective problem-solving strategy when given context-rich problems to solve than when given standard textbook problems. Well-functioning cooperative groups were found to result from specific structural and management procedures governing group members’ interactions. Group size, the gender and ability composition of groups, seating arrangement, role assignment, textbook use, and group as well as individual testing were all found to contribute to the problem-solving performance of cooperative groups.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of cooperative group learning on the problem solving performance of college students in a large introductory physics course. An explicit problem solving strategy was taught in the course, and students practiced using the strategy to solve problems in mixed-ability cooperative groups. A technique was developed to evaluate students’ problem solving performance and determine the difficulty of context-rich problems. It was found that better problem solutions emerged through collaboration than were achieved by individuals working alone. The instructional approach improved the problem solving performance of students at all ability levels.

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Grading sends a direct message to students about what is expected in class. However, often there is a gap between the assigned grade and the goals of the instructor. In an interview study of faculty teaching calculus-based introductory physics, we verified that this gap exists and identified three themes that appear to shape grading decisions: ͑1͒ a desire to see student reasoning, ͑2͒ a reluctance to deduct points from a student solution that might be correct, and ͑3͒ a tendency to project correct thought processes onto a student solution. When all three themes were expressed by an instructor, the resulting conflict was resolved by placing the burden of proof on either the instructor or the student. The weighting of the themes with the burden of proof criterion explains our finding that although almost all instructors reported telling students to show their reasoning in problem solutions, about half graded problem solutions in a way that would likely discourage students from showing this reasoning.

In higher education, instructors' choices of both curricular material and pedagogy are determined by their beliefs about learning and teaching, the values of their profession, and perceived external constraints. Dissemination of research-based educational reforms is based on assumptions about that mental structure. This study reports the initial phase of an investigation of the beliefs and values of physics professors as they relate to the teaching and learning of problem solving in introductory physics. Based on an analysis of a series of structured interviews with six college physics faculty, a model of a common structure of such beliefs for all physics faculty teaching introductory physics was constructed. This preliminary model, when tested and modified by future research, can be used by curriculum developers to design materials, pedagogy, and professional development that gain acceptance among instructors.

Recent research related to the design of science instruction is often based on conceptual change theory and requires assessments of what knowledge students bring to instruction. The premise of this study was that it is also important to understand when and how students apply their knowledge. Fourteen elementary and middle school teachers in an in-service physics course were asked to solve qualitatively a variety of series and parallel circuit problems and explicate their reasoning. These teachers were found to share a common core of strongly held propositions that formed a coherent, but incorrect and contradictory model of sequential current flow. Yet their predictions about the circuits were highly variable. The variability in predictions resulted from differences and contradictions in additional "protective belts" of propositions, and differences in the ways in which the teachers changed and selectively applied those propositions to different problems. Understanding the variations in not only what teachers knew, but also the differences in when and how they applied their knowledge complicated the task of designing instruction. However, it also made possible the design of more precise instruction in which the teachers were required to recognize, confront, and reconcile specific inconsistencies in their beliefs.

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This study investigates how the beliefs and values of physics faculty influence their choice of physics problems for their students in an introductory physics course. The study identifies the goals these instructors have for their students, the problem features they believe facilitate those goals, and how those features correspond to problems they choose to use in their classes. This analysis comes from an artifact-based interview of 30 physics faculty teaching introductory calculus-based physics at a wide variety of institutions. The study concludes that instructors’ goals and the problem features they believe support those goals align with research-based curricular materials intended to develop competent problem solvers. However, many of these instructors do not use the beneficial problem features because they believe these features conflict with a more powerful set of values concerned with clarity of presentation and minimizing student stress, especially on exams