Students’ “epistemological” beliefs—their views about the nature of knowledge and learning—affect how they approach physics courses. For instance, a student who believes physics knowledge to consist primarily of disconnected facts and formulas will study differently from a student who views physics as an interconnected web of concepts. Unfortunately, previous studies show that physics courses, even ones that help students learn concepts particularly well, generally do not lead to significant changes in students’ epistemological beliefs. This paper discusses instructional practices and curricular elements, suitable for both college and high school, that helped students develop substantially more sophisticated beliefs about knowledge and learning, as measured by the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey and by the Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science.
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July 2001
PAPERS|
July 01 2001
Helping physics students learn how to learn
Andrew Elby
Andrew Elby
Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-4111
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Am. J. Phys. 69, S54–S64 (2001)
Article history
Received:
February 09 2000
Accepted:
October 26 2000
Citation
Andrew Elby; Helping physics students learn how to learn. Am. J. Phys. 1 July 2001; 69 (S1): S54–S64. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1377283
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