Unveiling the physics problem strategies of engineering and architecture students

Abstract

It is very common for students of technical degrees to think that solving physics problems consists predominantly of applying a series of formulae and substituting data. In other words, they do not need to understand the physical meaning of an equation. Some experimental studies focusing on basic kinematics have revealed certain shortcomings in the resolution strategies related to this topic. The aim of this work is to extend the experience to other physics themes and to identify whether objective assessment of the engineering or architecture student’s reasoning significantly improves the learning of the matter in a dual teaching context. An illustrative example of how the evaluation rubric is applied to a problem proposed to students has been shown. To discourage copying or plagiarism in problem solving, learners have signed a declaration of honesty stating that they have not received any external help in doing the work. According to the students’ feedback, the learning initiative has been highly rated and improvements to the rubric have been suggested. The presence of several errors in the resolution submitted by the students has shown a dispersion of marks that makes it necessary to reconsider the rubric for the next academic year. In spite of this, the fewer mistakes, the lower deviation in the marks.