CONCEPTUAL UND.

BUILDING DEEPER CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND REASONING SKILLS

TASKS INSPIRED BY PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH (TIPERS)

These tasks help students develop conceptual understanding of physics topics.

EXAMPLES:

• Ranking Tasks: they are composed of a question with several contextually similar situations. Students rank the situation according to some other physical quantity, and provide a justification for the answers.
• Changing Representations Tasks: require students to translate from one representation to another and provide a bridge between conceptual understanding and traditional problem solving.
• Conflicting Contentions Tasks: present students with disagreeing statements that need to be analyzed and state which is correct and why.
• Bar Chart Tasks: these questions present bar charts for one or more quantities. Often represent before and after of a physical process. They are ideal for conservation of energy and conservation of momentum.
• Qualitative Reasoning Tasks: these questions offer qualitative comparisons such as: the quantity increases, decreases, or stays the same. Students are asked to provide a different qualitative representation(s) and/or a prediction or explanation.
• Linked Multiple-Choice Tasks: present variations of a physical situation with multiple-choice answers of possible outcomes.

IMPLEMENTATION:

These tasks can be implemented as Formative Assessments using strategies like:

• Collaborative Problem Solving
• Interactive Lecture
• Think-Pair-Share
• Clickers (Socrative)
• Gallery Walk

CREATING YOUR OWN TASKS ACTIVITY

1. You will work with your group to create your designated Task. You can write your own question from scratch or select a textbook or old AP question and make modifications to it.

2. Please work the draft of your Task on your notebook/binder

3. When your question has been finalized, please write it on the Google Doc

4. All Tasks will be presented to the group directly from the Google Doc.

5. If a group finishes before the designated time feel free to create another Task. Please post the Learning Objectives that your Task is assessing.

RESOURCES:

• TIPERS: Sensemaking Tasks for Introductory Physics
• Using Ranking Tasks in the AP Classroom by Martha Lietz
• Ranking Tasks: Introduction
• Ntipers: Newtonian Tasks Inspired by PER
• TIPERS: Electricity and Magnetism

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