Advising a Bus Company on Number of Needed Buses: How High-school Physics Students Deal with a “Complex Problem”?
Abstract
Since 2003, international project PISA evaluates 15-year old students in solving problems which include “decision taking”, “analysis and design of systems” and “trouble-shooting”. This article presents the results of a pilot research conducted with 215 students from first to fourth grade of a high-school in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The students, in an imaginary, real-life like scenario, had to advice a bus company about number of buses needed for operating a 24-hour service between two cities. Research instrument was structured in a way which permits exploring how students deal with a “complex problem” (in PISA terminology it would be problem type “analysis and design of systems”) in real-life setting. Negative research results show that students mainly (1) use either verbal or visual reasoning mode; (2) have poor “sense-making” approach in analyzing a simple dynamical system and (3) have underdeveloped an important competency for working in knowledge-based economy (decision-taking based on evidence and arguments). A positive result is that majority of students found interesting the problem in question. Some brief recommendations about the presence and role of “complex problem” in physics teaching are offered in conclusions.
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Cooke, P. (2001). Knowledge Economies: Clusters, Learning and Co-Operative Advantage. London: Routledge.
Dufresne, R. J. William J. Gerace, W. J. & Leonard, W. J. (1997). Solving physics problems with multiple representations. Physics Teacher 35, 270– 275.
Enghag, M., Gustafsson, P. & Jonsson, G. (2009). Talking Physics during Small-Group Work with Context-Rich Problems - Analysed from an Ownership Perspective. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 7(3), 455-472.
Enghag M, Gustafsson P and Jonsson G 2007 From Everyday Life Experiences to Physics Understanding Occurring in Small Group Work with Context Rich Problems During Introductory Physics Work at University Research in Science Education 37(4), 449-467.
Erceg, N., Marusic, M. & Slisko, J. (2011).Students’ strategies for solving partially specified physics problems. Revista Mexicana de Física E 57(1), 44-50.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. & Hatch, T. (1989). Multiple Intelligences Go to School. Educational Implications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Educational Researcher 18(8), 4-10.
Graham, P. A. (editor) (2002). Knowledge Economy and Postsecondary Education: Report of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Heller, P., Keith, R. & Anderson, S. (1992). Teaching Problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 1: Group versus individual problem solving. American Journal of Physics 60 (7), 627-636.
Heller, P. & Hollabaugh, M. (1992). Problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 2: Designing problems and structuring groups. American Journal of Physics 60 (7), 637-644.
Huffman. D. (1997). Effect of Explicit Problem Solving Instruction on High School Students’ Problem -Solving Performance and Conceptual Understanding of Physics Journal of Research in Science Teaching 34(6), 551 –570.
Jarvis, P. (editor) (2001). The Age of Learning: Education and the Knowledge Society. London: Taylor and Francis Group.
Jonassen, D. (1991). Evaluating constructivist learning. Educational Technology 36 (9), 28 - 33.
Lowrie, T. & Kay, R. (2001). Relationship between Visual and Nonvisual Solution Methods and Difficulty in Elementary Mathematics. The Journal of Educational Research 94(4), 248-255
Marquardt, M. & Reynolds, A. (The Global learning Organization. Gaining Competitive Advantage through Continuous Learning, Irwin, Burr Ridge, IL, 1994).
Nesher, P. Hershkovitz, S. & Novotna, J. (2003). Situation Model, Text Base and What Else? Factors Affecting Problem Solving. Educational Studies in Mathematics 52(2), 151-176
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company. New York: Oxford University Press.
OECD (1996). The Knowledge-Based Economy. Paris: OECD.
Palm, T. (2008). Impact of authenticity on sense making in word problem solving. Educational Studies in Mathematics 67(1), 37-58.
Pecina, P. & J. Slisko, J. (2007). Differences in solving a „design and analysis of systems“ problem between secondary school students and prospective physics teachers, in P. Pecina (editor), Zbornik radova, Osmi hrvatski simpozij o nastavi fizike: Nastava fizike za prirodoznanstvenu pismenost, 2007. pp. 65 - 69 (ISBN 978-953-71787178-11-6). Zagreb (Croatia): Hrvatsko Fizikalno Drustvo. (published in Croatian language).
PISA (2003). The PISA 2003 Assessment Framework – Mathematics, Reading, Science and Problem Solving Knowledge and Skills, Paris: PISA / OECD.
Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency.
Slisko, J. (2008). How can formulation of physics problems and exercises aid students in thinking about their results? Latin American Journal of Physics Education 2(2),137-142.
Thevenot, C., Devidal, M. Barrouillet, P. & Fayol, M. (2007).Why does placing the question before an arithmetic word problem improve performance? A situation model account. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 60(1), 43-56
van Heuvelen, A. (1991). Learning to think like a physicist: A review of research-based instructional strategies. American Journal of Physics 59,891–897.
Verschaffel, L. , Van Dooren, W., Greer, B. & Mukhopadhyay, S. (2010). Reconceptualising Word Problems as Exercises in Mathematical Modelling, Journal for Mathemtics Didaktik 31, 9–29
Walsh, L. N., Howard, R. G. & Bowe, B. (2007). Phenomenographic study of students' problem solving approaches in physics. Physical Review Special Topics – Physics Education Research 3, 020108-020119.
Wilson, B. y Cole, P. (1991) A review of cognitive teaching models. Educational Technology Research and Development, 39(4), 47-64.
Yerushalmi, E. & Magen, E. (2006). Same old problem, new name? Alerting students to the nature of the problem-solving process. Physics Education 41(2),161-167.
Published
2011-11-02
How to Cite
BALUKOVIC, Jasmina; SLISKO, Josip; HADZIBEGOVIC, Zalkida.
Advising a Bus Company on Number of Needed Buses: How High-school Physics Students Deal with a “Complex Problem”?.
European Journal of Physics Education, [S.l.], v. 2, n. 3, p. 38-56, nov. 2011.
ISSN 1309-7202.
Available at: <https://eu-journal.org/index.php/EJPE/article/view/144>. Date accessed: 25 apr. 2024.
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