Using cognitive apprenticeship framework and multiple‐possibility problems to enhance epistemic cognition Available to Purchase

Epistemic cognition can occur when a person is solving a problem that does not have one correct answer (a multiple‐possibility problem). The solver is engaged in epistemic cognition if she/he examines different possibilities, assumptions, and evaluates the outcomes. Epistemic cognition is an important part of real life problem‐solving. Physicists routinely engage in epistemic cognition when they solve problems. But in educational settings, we polish problems and make them single‐possibility problems. Thus students rarely get a chance to engage in epistemic cognition while working on problem‐solving tasks. We introduced multiple‐possibility physics problems in recitation sections of an algebra‐based introductory physics course at Rutgers University. We describe here how we have incorporated the cognitive apprenticeship framework in the course and evaluated its effectiveness as a method of enhancing students’ epistemic cognition level.