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  • Open Access

Teaching problem solving in undergraduate physics courses: An endorsement for deliberate practice

Kelly Miller, Olivia Miller, and Georgia Lawrence

  • Department of Physics and Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020121 – Published 27 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/7pqt-gd9c

Abstract

Developing expertlike problem-solving skills is a central goal of undergraduate physics education. In this study, we investigate the impact of teaching explicit problem-solving frameworks, combined with deliberate practice, on students’ problem-solving approaches. Using multidimensional scaling to analyze students’ decision-making patterns, we compare the similarity of students taught with these methods to physics experts and to students taught with traditional repeated practice. Our results show that students who received structured frameworks and targeted feedback through deliberate practice exhibited problem-solving behaviors significantly more aligned with those of experts. These findings suggest that pedagogies emphasizing explicit strategy instruction and feedback are more effective than rote repetition for fostering expertise. We recommend the integration of these approaches into physics curricula to better support the development of skilled and adaptive problem solvers.

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020121– Published 27 August, 2026
  • Received 11 August 2025
  • Accepted 7 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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