What we talk about when we talk about physics problem solving
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2022
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| _version_ | 1866917016168824832 |
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| author | Perlmutter, Noa Krusberg, Zosia |
| author_facet | Perlmutter, Noa Krusberg, Zosia |
| contents | I am a second-year cognitive science major, and as a student who has completed my physical science distribution requirements, I will likely never again encounter Gauss's law. So why do I feel that the time and effort I devoted to solving Gauss's law problems was worth it? Partly, I simply enjoy learning and the new perspective on the physical world that comes from understanding electromagnetism. But I was also fascinated by how physics problems train the mind in effective problem-solving strategies -- of course I was, being a cognitive science major! Two themes emerged as I reflected on this realization. First, physics problems serve as toy models for more complex problems outside of physics, cultivating broadly transferable problem-solving skills. Second, the process of solving physics problems invites reflection on our own cognitive and affective processes. These themes are deeply interconnected. A richer metacognitive understanding of our minds enables us to tackle more complex problems, while engaging with increasingly challenging problems, in turn, deepens our self-understanding. In what follows, Professor Zosia Krusberg and I consider nine general lessons offered by the physics problem-solving process. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2211_00694 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | What we talk about when we talk about physics problem solving Perlmutter, Noa Krusberg, Zosia Physics Education I am a second-year cognitive science major, and as a student who has completed my physical science distribution requirements, I will likely never again encounter Gauss's law. So why do I feel that the time and effort I devoted to solving Gauss's law problems was worth it? Partly, I simply enjoy learning and the new perspective on the physical world that comes from understanding electromagnetism. But I was also fascinated by how physics problems train the mind in effective problem-solving strategies -- of course I was, being a cognitive science major! Two themes emerged as I reflected on this realization. First, physics problems serve as toy models for more complex problems outside of physics, cultivating broadly transferable problem-solving skills. Second, the process of solving physics problems invites reflection on our own cognitive and affective processes. These themes are deeply interconnected. A richer metacognitive understanding of our minds enables us to tackle more complex problems, while engaging with increasingly challenging problems, in turn, deepens our self-understanding. In what follows, Professor Zosia Krusberg and I consider nine general lessons offered by the physics problem-solving process. |
| title | What we talk about when we talk about physics problem solving |
| topic | Physics Education |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.00694 |