We investigate students' eye movements when they solve sequential and simultaneous synthesis physics problems. In sequential synthesis problems, multiple events occur chronologically, whereas in simultaneous synthesis problems, multiple events take place concurrently. We captured students' eye fixations on each problem diagram and recorded their…

This study examines students' visual behaviors when they tackle two types of synthesis problems, sequential and simultaneous problems. Sequential synthesis tasks can be solved by applying pertinent concepts consecutively, whereas simultaneous synthesis tasks require concurrent application of multiple concepts. Twenty-two students from an…

We used a sequential synthesis problem to investigate novice teachers' conceptual difficulties in hydrodynamics. Twenty-one new secondary level physics teachers from various regions of China, who had been in service for no more than 2 years, participated in the study. Each participant completed a written hydrodynamics problem consisting of four…

We examine students' mathematical performance on quantitative "synthesis problems" with varying mathematical complexity. Synthesis problems are tasks comprising multiple concepts typically taught in different chapters. Mathematical performance refers to the formulation, combination, and simplification of equations. Generally speaking,…

The ability to solve physics problems that require multiple concepts from across the physics curriculum--"synthesis" problems--is often a goal of physics instruction. Three experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of two instructional methods employing worked examples on student performance with synthesis problems; these…