Abstract
This paper discusses how research on the teaching and learning of physics can guide the design of intelligent learning environments. The example used to illustrate the process is a computer program that is intended to help students learn how to relate a motion to its graphical representations. The discussion is divided into two main sections. The first of these describes how research helped improve the effectiveness of the program as a teaching aid. The second part demonstrates how the computer program was used as an investigatory probe to examine student understanding of motion graphs. The paper concludes with a commentary about the importance of conducting research throughout the development of computer-based instructional materials.
The work reported in this paper has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant MDR 84-70081.
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References
This paper draws on two earlier papers. McDermott, Lillian C.: “Research and computer-based instruction: opportunity for interaction,” Am. J. Phys. 58, 452–462 (1990);
McDermott, Lillian C.: “Computers and research in physics education”: In I. Risley and E. Redish (Eds.) Proceedings of The Conference on Computers in Physics Instruction, Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley Publishing Co. (1990).
McDermott, Lillian C., Rosenquist, Mark L., and van Zee, Emily H.: “Student difficulties in connecting graphs and physics,” Am. J. Phys. 55, 503–513 (1987).
Rosenquist, Mark L. and McDermott, Lillian C.: “A conceptual approach to teaching kinematics,” Am. J. Phys. 55, 407–415 (1987).
Rosenquist, Mark L. and McDermott, Lillian C.: Kinematics (ASUW, University of Washington, Seattle, 1982).
Trowbridge, David E.: “Applying research results to the development of computer assisted instruction”: In J. Risley and E. Redish (Eds.) Proceedings of The Conference on Computers in Physics Instruction, Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley Publishing Co. (1990).
“Graphs and Tracks: An application of manipulable graphics,”Academic Computing, pp. 24–25, 47–49 (May 1989).
Trowbridge, David E. and McDermott, Lillian C.: “Investigation of student understanding of the concept of velocity in one dimension,” Am. J. Phys. 48, 1020–1028 (1980);
Trowbridge, David E. and McDermott, Lillian C.: “Investigation of student understanding of the concept of acceleration in one dimension,” Am. J. Phys. 49, 242–253 (1981).
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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McDermott, L.C. (1992). Research as a Guide for the Design of Intelligent Learning Environments. In: Tiberghien, A., Mandl, H. (eds) Intelligent Learning Environments and Knowledge Acquisition in Physics. NATO ASI Series, vol 86. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84784-4_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84784-4_17
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