Abstract
Previous research into problem solving in physics resulted in researchers introducing six epistemic games to describe the organizational structures of locally coherent resources. We present a new epistemic game---the ``answer-making epistemic game''---which was identified in this paper through the analysis of interviews carried out to validate a survey focusing on students' understanding of Archimedes' principle and Pascal's law. In the game, the ultimate goal is a solution to a problem posed by the survey. Students may remember or intuit an answer, then use conceptual and/or mathematical reasoning to justify it. Alternately, they may use conceptual and/or mathematical reasoning to generate an answer. We demonstrate how students generate their solutions using these two different paths and discuss some implications for instruction.
Highlights
The idea of epistemic games (e-games) was first introduced as a set of rules and strategies that guide inquiry, focusing on expert scientific inquiry across disciplines [1]
The structural components include the entry and exit conditions for the game as well as the moves made during the game
In this paper we focus on the properties of the answermaking epistemic game’’ (AMEG) as seen in the hydrostatics validation data; our intent is not to expand on the literature on students’ ideas in hydrostatics
Summary
The idea of epistemic games (e-games) was first introduced as a set of rules and strategies that guide inquiry, focusing on expert scientific inquiry across disciplines [1]. Tuminaro and Redish [2,3] subsequently generalized e-games to be descriptive rather than normative, and generalized the theory to include introductory physics students as well as experts They define an epistemic game as: ‘‘A coherent activity that uses particular kinds of knowledge and processes associated with that knowledge to create knowledge or solve a problem.’’. University introductory classes produce the opportunity to enter into this type of e-game Another common occurrence in an introductory physics class is completing the worksheet and getting the answers, in which students operate in a frame known as ‘‘answer making’’ [6]. We introduce a new e-game: the ‘‘answermaking epistemic game’’ (AMEG) This e-game was discovered while members of the research group were in the process of validating a task that was to be used to evaluate students’ learning of Archimedes’ principle and Pascal’s law post hydrostatics instruction. Research has indicated that students have a tendency to make ex post facto explanations to justify an intuition they have about a hydrostatics principle, which makes it an interesting topic in which to explore answer making
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