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How students combine resources to build understanding of complex topics
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
How students combine resources to build understanding of complex topics
Name
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Richards
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Alan J
NamePart
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1985-
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Alan Richards
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author
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Eugenia
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Eugenia Etkina
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Advisory Committee
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chair
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Somalwar
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Sunil
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Sunil Somalwar
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Matilsky
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(type = given)
Terry
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Terry Matilsky
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Advisory Committee
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internal member
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(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Shapiro
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(type = given)
Joel
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Joel Shapiro
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Advisory Committee
Role
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internal member
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Hammer
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David
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David Hammer
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Advisory Committee
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outside member
Name
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Rutgers University
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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school
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Text
Genre
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theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
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2013
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2013-05
Place
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xx
Language
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(type = code)
eng
Abstract
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The field of Physics Education Research (PER) seeks to investigate how students learn physics and how instructors can help students learn more effectively. The process by which learners create understanding about a complex physics concept is an active area of research. My study explores this process, using solar cells as the context. To understand how a photovoltaic cell works involves drawing knowledge from many different areas of physics, so this provides a fertile area to study how students build understanding of complex ideas. I have used the "knowledge in pieces" theoretical framework to understand how students learn about solar cells by activating cognitive resources. In this framework, we can see learners building understanding out of more basic bits of knowledge, known as resources, that are derived from students' prior experience. This study seeks to learn more about how students combine multiple resources as they construct understanding of a complex physics topic. To achieve this goal, I have created instructional materials and assessment instruments used to collect written and spoken data on students' reasoning. The analysis of this data revealed that students are most likely to successfully build understanding when they activate multiple types of resource simultaneously. I propose possible explanations for this pattern and present ways this finding could impact instruction.
Subject
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Topic
Physics and Astronomy
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Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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ETD_4610
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electronic resource
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
x, 120 p. : ill.
Note
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Ph.D.
Note
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Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Alan J Richards
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Physics--Study and teaching
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Teaching--Methodology
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Physics--Research
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000068947
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Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
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rucore19991600001
Location
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NjNbRU
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3JS9P2K
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights
RightsDeclaration
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder
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Name
FamilyName
Richards
GivenName
Alan
Role
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Type
Permission or license
DateTime
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2013-04-09 16:04:41
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Name
Alan Richards
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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Technical
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ETD
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windows xp
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