Physics faculty beliefs and values about the teaching and learning of problem solving. II. Procedures for measurement and analysis

To identify and describe the basis upon which instructors make curricular and pedagogical decisions, we have developed an artifact-based interview and an analysis technique based on multilayered concept maps. The policy capturing technique used in the interview asks instructors to make judgments about concrete instructional artifacts similar to those they likely encounter in their teaching environment. The analysis procedure alternatively employs both an a priori systems view analysis and an emergent categorization to construct a multilayered concept map, which is a hierarchically arranged set of concept maps where child maps include more details than parent maps. Although our goal was to develop a model of physics faculty beliefs about the teaching and learning of problem solving in the context of an introductory calculus-based physics course, the techniques described here are applicable to a variety of situations in which instructors make decisions that influence teaching and learning.

Figure 1

Tentative main map developed at the beginning of the analysis process.

Figure 2

Child map of instructor 6 for the principal category of “Students Who Can Improve.” The numbers in parentheses are statement numbers from the transcript of this instructor that justifies the existence of this category.

Figure 3

Child map of instructor 3 for the principal category of “Students Who Can Improve.” The numbers in parentheses are statement numbers from the transcript of this instructor that justifies the existence of this category. Gray links indicate that the connection was inferred by the researchers, from several statements.

Figure 4

Composite map for the principal category of “Students Who Can Improve.” The numbers in parentheses represent the identification of the instructor who expressed that category.

Figure 5

Final main map resulting from the analysis process. Categories in double boxes have composite maps.