The elastic body model: a pedagogical approach integrating real time measurements and modelling activities

Fazio, Claudio; Guastella, Ivan; Tarantino, Giovanni

doi:10.1088/0143-0807/28/5/022

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, our multimethod analysis can supply hints for the effective design and development of a learning environment aimed at improving students' abilities in using explicative models. In fact, our data highlight the need for our students to better identify differences and similarities between descriptive and explicative procedures, as well as the way these are related to understanding reality [59,[83][84][85][86]. This could help students to get some aspects of the world at the level of causation and mechanisms of functioning [23], by orientating them towards broader generalizations involved in theory construction.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implication For Teachingmentioning

confidence: 89%

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

Fazio

Battaglia

Paola

2013

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

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This paper describes a method aimed at pointing out the quality of the mental models undergraduate engineering students deploy when asked to create explanations for phenomena or processes and/or use a given model in the same context. Student responses to a specially designed written questionnaire are quantitatively analyzed using researcher-generated categories of reasoning, based on the physics education research literature on student understanding of the relevant physics content. The use of statistical implicative analysis tools allows us to successfully identify clusters of students with respect to the\ud similarity to the reasoning categories, defined as ‘‘practical or everyday,’’ ‘‘descriptive,’’ or ‘‘explicative.’’\ud Through the use of similarity and implication indexes our method also enables us to study the consistency\ud in students’ deployment of mental models. A qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with students\ud after they had completed the questionnaire is used to clarify some aspects which emerged from the\ud quantitative analysis and validate the results obtained. Some implications of this joint use of quantitative\ud and qualitative analysis for the design of a learning environment focused on the understanding of some aspects of the world at the level of causation and mechanisms of functioning are discussed

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Section: Conclusion and Implication For Teachingmentioning

confidence: 89%

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

Fazio

Battaglia

Paola

2013

Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.

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“…A complete analysis of the dynamics of the collision is described elsewhere [6,8]. In short, it is found that m br and m al represent the mass values such that colliding bodies completely come to rest after the collision with brass and aluminium rods (of 1 cm cross-section diameter), respectively 3 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods are mainly based on the generation of wave pulses in metallic rods by means of collisions of a metallic body at one of the rods' ends and on the measurement of the time the waves take to travel along the rods. In another paper [6], some experimental aspects regarding the mechanisms of wave propagation in solids have been analysed and a simple model, aimed at figuring out the experimental results, was built and implemented by using the interactive physics (IP) pedagogical simulation environment 1 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A problem-based approach to elastic wave propagation: the role of constraints

Fazio¹,

Guastella²,

Tarantino³

2009

Eur. J. Phys.

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A problem-based approach to the teaching of mechanical wave propagation, focused on observation and measurement of wave properties in solids and on modelling of these properties, is presented. In particular, some experimental results, originally aimed at measuring the propagation speed of sound waves in metallic rods, are used in order to deepen the role of constraints in mechanical wave propagation. Interpretative models of the results obtained in the laboratory are built and implemented by using a well-known simulation environment. The simulation results are, then, compared with experimental data. The approach has been developed and experimented in the context of a workshop on mechanical wave propagation of the two-year Graduate Program for Physics Teacher Education at University of Palermo.

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“…Research also highlighted the need for the students to better identify differences and similarities between descriptive and explicative procedures and models, as well as the way these are related to understanding reality and perceiving science (Sperandeo-Mineo et al, 2006;Duit et al, 2005;Fazio et al, 2007;Tarantino et al, 2010). As it is well known, in the process of construction of explicative models inductive reasoning is involved, but an important role is also played by analogical reasoning .…”

Section: Contribution Of This Paper To the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

K-means Clustering to Study How Student Reasoning Lines Can Be Modified by a Learning Activity Based on Feynman’s Unifying Approach

Battaglia

Paola

Fazio

2017

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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Research in Science Education has shown that often students need to learn how to identify differences and similarities between descriptive and explicative models. The development and use of explicative skills in the field of thermal science has always been a difficult objective to reach. A way to develop analogical reasoning is to use in Science Education unifying conceptual frameworks. In this paper we describe a 20-hour workshop focused on Feynman's Unifying Approach and the two-level system. We measure its efficacy in helping undergraduate chemical engineering students explain phenomena by applying an explanatory model. Contexts involve systems for which a process is activated by thermally overcoming a well-defined potential barrier. A questionnaire containing six open-ended questions was administered to the students before instruction. A second one, similar but focused on different physical content was administered after instruction. Responses were analysed using k-means Cluster Analysis and students' inferred lines of reasoning about the analysed phenomena were studied. We conclude that students reasoning lines seem to have clearly evolved to explicative ones and it is reasonable to think that the Feynman Unifying Approach has favoured this change.

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The elastic body model: a pedagogical approach integrating real time measurements and modelling activities

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

Investigating the quality of mental models deployed by undergraduate engineering students in creating explanations: The case of thermally activated phenomena

A problem-based approach to elastic wave propagation: the role of constraints

K-means Clustering to Study How Student Reasoning Lines Can Be Modified by a Learning Activity Based on Feynman’s Unifying Approach

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