Student performance in computer modeling and problem solving in a modern introductory physics course

KOHLMYER, MATTHEW ADAM. Student Performance in Computer Modeling and Problem Solving in a Modern Introductory Physics Course. (Under the direction of Ruth W. Chabay.) Matter & Interactions, an innovative introductory physics curriculum developed by Ruth Chabay and Bruce Sherwood, emphasizes computer modeling and fundamental physical principles. Two think-aloud protocol studies were conducted to investigate the performance of students from this curriculum in solving physics problems that require computer modeling. Experiment 1 examined whether Matter & Interactions students would, given the choice, use computer modeling to solve difficult problems that required predicting motion, and how their solution approaches differed from those of students from a traditional introductory physics course. Though they did not overwhelmingly choose computer modeling, some M&I students did write computer models successfully or apply the iterative algorithm by hand. The solution approaches of M&I students and traditional course students differed qualitatively in their use of the momentum principle and pre-derived special case formulas. In experiment 2, Matter & Interactions students were observed while they wrote programs in the VPython language in order to examine their difficulties with computer modeling. Areas of difficulty included determining initial conditions, distinguishing between simulated time and the time step, and updating momentum and position. Especially troublesome for students was the multistep procedure for calculating a force that changes with time. Students' understanding of the structure of a computer model improved by the end of the semester as shown by their performance on a line sorting task. Students with fewer difficulties proceeded through the computer model in a more linear, straightforward fashion. Instruction was revised based on initial findings from the first phase of the experiment. Students in the second phase of the experiment, who had used the revised instruction, had fewer difficulties on the same tasks, though other factors may have been involved in the improvement. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people were instrumental in the development and completion of this thesis. I first wish to thank the Department of Physics of Carnegie Mellon University for its willingness to support an educational research project. I also thank the National Science Foundation, who provided partial funding for this project (NSF grant #DUE-0320608). Two "surrogate families" welcomed me as one of their own during the years I spent working on this thesis. The first was the (now defunct) Center for Innovation in Learning at Carnegie Mellon. I thank CIL's former faculty, postdocs, students, and staff for their support and guidance, especially Dick Hayes, Fred Reif, and Marsha Lovett. My second "surrogate family" was the Physics Education Research Group at North Carolina State University. Special thanks to Robert Beichner and John Risley for their advice, feedback, and support. Thanks also to former and current students and postdocs, including David Abbott, Jeanne Morse, Sejung Kim, Lin Ding, and Vince Kuo, for many useful conversations, and for their friendship. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my thesis advisors, Ruth Chabay and Bruce Sherwood. Their contributions to this research have been immeasurable, and their guidance and friendship have been invaluable. From them I have learned so much about physics, computation, teaching and learning, research, and life in general. The opportunity to work with them has truly been a privilege. Lastly, I thank my parents, Joan and Paul Kohlmyer, and my brother, Steve Kohlmyer, for their unwavering love and encouragement.