Problem solving is a major emphasis area of STEM education that has been studied extensively over the past several decades. Frequently, STEM problems – and their solutions – have strong visuospatial components. However, most research on STEM problem solving has not drawn from research in visual cognition. Over the past four years a collaboration of physics education researchers and visual cognitive psychologists has been exploring and exploiting the link between cognition and eye movements manipulated by cueing and feedback to facilitate STEM problem solving.  We combine theoretical perspectives on problem solving, such as representational change theory with theoretical perspectives on visual cognition, such as multimedia learning theory; as well as empirical research on visual cueing and feedback to develop and refine a conceptual model for STEM problem solving.  In this talk I will describe the collaborative work of our group and possible implications for online learning in STEM disciplines.

Bio

Sanjay Rebello began his career in physics education research as a post-doc at Kansas State University in 1995, after finishing his Ph.D. in solid state physics and M.S. in electrical engineering at Brown University.  He moved to Purdue University in fall 2015 where he has a joint position in the Departments of Physics and Astronomy and Curriculum and Instruction.  His research focuses on transfer of learning and problem solving.  Most recently he has been investigating the implications of visual cognition for problem solving in STEM.  He is also interested in development of pedagogical content knowledge of pre-service teachers and the use of engineering design to facilitate teacher learning of science.