Two Perspectives on Physics Problem Solving and Their Relation to Adaptive Expertise

Abstract

This chapter organizes physics problem-solving research into two threads and discusses how each thread relates to problem-solving expertise and the transfer of problem-solving skills. One thread focuses on classifying and (re)producing expert solution methods. Rooted in the information-processing tradition from cognitive science, this thread has brought a focus to expert-novice differences and learning problem-solving production rules. A second thread focuses on physics problem solving as a part of the practice of learning and making sense of physics. In contrast to the emphasis on the solution production process in thread 1, thread 2 investigates how problem solvers make sense of, either formally or informally, the meaning of their problem solving. Thread 2 has understood physics problem solving in terms of dynamical accounts of problem solving, the non-procedural role of mathematics, and learning concepts through problem solving. Each thread relates to one component of adaptive problem-solving expertise, either routine efficiency or innovation. The expert solution methods thread attends to routine efficiency, which focuses on the use of known procedures in familiar contexts, whereas the practice of learning and making sense of physics thread connects to the capacity for innovation and new insights.