Empirical Investigations of Student Understanding Available to Purchase

Why study student understanding of physics? For some of us, “because it’s there” is a large part of the reason. However, many of us are also strongly committed to using our findings to improve teaching at the classroom level. One type of investigation that has proven fruitful as a guide for improving student learning is discussed in the article. The underlying goals and assumptions are discussed in general terms. A specific example provides a context for discussing the interpretation of student thinking.