Categorization of Mechanics Problems by Students in Large Introductory Physics Courses: A Comparison with the Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser Study

TL;DR

This study investigates how introductory physics students categorize mechanics problems, revealing a broader range of expertise than previously identified, and compares their performance with the classic Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser study.

Contribution

It provides new insights into students' problem categorization abilities and highlights differences from prior research, emphasizing the diversity of expertise in introductory courses.

Findings

Wider distribution of student expertise than prior studies

Students' categorization influenced by problem context

Contrast with Chi et al. study results

Abstract

With inspiration from the classic study by Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser [1], we asked introductory physics students in three introductory physics classes to categorize mechanics problems based upon similarity of solutions. To evaluate the effect of problem context on students' ability to categorize, two sets of problems were developed for categorization. Some problems in one of the problem sets that students were asked to categorize included those available from the prior study by Chi et al. Our findings, which contrast from those of Chi et al., suggest that there is a much wider distribution of expertise among introductory students.