Comparing the Matter and Interactions Curriculum with a Traditional Physics Curriculum: A Think Aloud Study

TL;DR

This study compares the Matter and Interactions curriculum with traditional physics teaching, revealing that students in both approaches struggle with applying fundamental principles to solve complex problems, despite differences in reasoning strategies.

Contribution

It identifies specific reasoning deficiencies in M&I students and highlights the need for improved instruction on fundamental principles.

Findings

M&I students fail to employ fundamental principles in problem solving.

Traditional students rely on simple physics facts for answers.

Both groups struggle with complex problem-solving methods.

Abstract

Physics curricula across the US fail to prepare students adequately to solve problems, especially novel problems. A new curriculum, Matter and Interactions (M&I), was designed to improve student learning by organizing concepts around fundamental principles. Despite this, students taught in traditional classes continue to outperform M&I students on force concept questions. This study aimed to determine the underlying issues related to the performance differential. Students from both courses solved questions from the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) while verbally describing their reasoning. Analysis of the transcripts revealed that M&I students failed to employ the fundamental principles, and traditional students used simple physics facts to help identify the correct answers. Neither of these methods would be sufficient for solving more complex problems.