Intertwining evidence- and model-based reasoning in physics sensemaking: An example from electrostatics

Our field has long valued the goal of teaching students not just the facts of physics, but also the thinking and reasoning skills of professional physicists. The complexity inherent in scientific reasoning demands that we think carefully about how we conceptualize for ourselves, enact in our classes, and encourage in our students the relationship between the multifaceted practices of professional science. The current study draws on existing research in the philosophy of science and psychology to advocate for intertwining two important aspects of scientific reasoning: using evidence from experimentation and modeling. We present a case from an undergraduate physics course to illustrate how these aspects can be intertwined productively and describe specific ways in which these aspects of reasoning can mutually reinforce one another in student learning. We end by discussing implications for this work for instruction in introductory physics courses and for research on scientific reasoning at the undergraduate level.

Figure 1

Two pieces of tape are stuck together halfway.

Figure 2

Graph of student use of evidence and modeling over time in the conversation about electrostatics. Code (0) was for evidence and (1)–(7) are the mechanistic modeling codes: (1) describing target phenomenon, (2) set-up conditions, (3) identifying entities, (4) identifying activities, (5) identifying properties of entities, (6) identifying organization of entities, and (7) chaining. Utterances 230–310 were not coded because the teaching assistant (TA) was present and guiding much of the conversation.