Maria Odete Valente

Problem Solving in School Physics: A Metacognitively Developed Field Study

This study is part of a broader doctoral research, designed to examine whether it might be possible to develop classroom approaches that could take profit from all the undeniable pedagogical potentialities that have been ascribed to problem solving, especially as far as school physics is concerned. The purpose of the study was, then, to develop a holistic, and metacognitive classroom approach which could really enhance students’ problem-solving performance in physics. A five-month classroom-based project was then conducted at two Portuguese high schools, involving tenth-grade physics students. Both quantitative and qualitative research procedures were used. The quantitative dimension took the form of a quasi-experimental versus control design. The results obtained seemed, in general, to show significantly better performance by the experimental groups as compared to the control group. Our claim that a holistic, metacognition-based strategy to problem solving in physics might be a fruitful alternative to the traditional, formulaic and routine approach seemed to have obtained considerable support.