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  • Open Access

Students’ context-sensitive use of conceptual resources: A pattern across different styles of question about mechanical waves

Lisa M. Goodhew1, Amy D. Robertson1, Paula R. L. Heron2, and Rachel E. Scherr3

  • 1Department of Physics, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington 98119, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
  • 3School of STEM, University of Washington, Bothell, Washington 98011, USA

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010137 – Published 21 May, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.17.010137

Abstract

Resources theory assumes that resource activation is context sensitive, and that an important dimension of context is the question students are answering. The context sensitivity of resource activation has been demonstrated empirically by case studies that show students using different resources to answer questions that are similar in focus. In this paper, we further substantiate and add specificity to the field’s understanding of the context sensitivity of resource use by demonstrating a pattern in resource activation for questions about mechanical pulse propagation, superposition, and reflection. In particular, our analysis shows a pattern in the kinds of resources students use to answer different styles of questions about the same physics topic. Questions that ask for a prediction tend to elicit rules or procedures, while questions that ask students to explain an observation elicit these plus ideas about force, energy, and motion. Our results call both researchers’ and instructors’ attention to the style of question that they ask and the impact it has on the resources commonly cued for students.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010137– Published 21 May, 2021
  • Received 14 February 2020
  • Revised 19 February 2021
  • Accepted 6 April 2021
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