Physics Problem Solving Rubric

Abstract

Problem solving is viewed as a fundamental part of learning physics, and research to improve the teaching and learning of physics problem solving is a primary subfield of Physics Education Research (PER). A difficult question in this field has been how to measure problem solving performance. Answering this question requires a definition of what problem solving is, and what successful problem solving looks like. Existing strategies to assess physics problem solving that focus on grading the “correctness” of a solution give an inadequate description of students’ skills, and other strategies based on criteria or ranking scales are in need of further testing and development. In this paper, I present a review of literature on problem solving and efforts to measure problem solving performance, including those at the University of Minnesota.