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Common sense clarified: The role of intuitive knowledge in physics problem solving
Author(s) -
Sherin Bruce
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.20136
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , physics education , mathematics education , science education , body of knowledge , epistemology , physics , computer science , mathematics , artificial intelligence , knowledge management , philosophy
Over the last two decades, a significant body of research has documented the nature of intuitive physics knowledge—the knowledge of the world that students bring to the learning of formal physics. However, this research has yet to document the roles played by intuitive physics knowledge in expert physics practice. In this article, I discuss three related questions: (1) What role, if any, does intuitive knowledge play in physics problem solving? (2) How does intuitive physics knowledge change in order to play that role, if at all? (3) When and how do these changes typically occur? In answer to these questions, I attempt to show that intuitive physics knowledge can play a variety of roles in expert problem solving, including some roles that are central and directly connected to equations. This research draws on observations of college students working in pairs to solve physics problems. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 535–555, 2006