Rethinking Expertise in Physics: An Investigation of Expertise in High School Physics Teachers

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Science Curriculum and Instructional Interventions

Abstract

Several studies have considered the nature of physics knowledge in novices and experts. However, most of these studies have largely been situated in canonical, textbook-like physics problems involving formal representations where expert thinking is very predictable. Few studies, if any, have considered the nature of expert thinking when reasoning through non-canonical, informal physics phenomena. This study aims to probe the nature of physics expertise in non-canonical situations by examining the reasoning of high school physics teachers as they think through informal problem representations. We will also investigate teachers’ views on the role of these informal representations in their classrooms.

Authors

• Kara Krinks, Vanderbilt University

• Pratim Sengupta, Vanderbilt University