Using a Variation Approach To Enhance Physics Learning in a College Classroom

Abstract

This article describes an exploration into improving the process and the outcome of learning in interactive teaching at the first-year university physics level, using what is becoming widely known as the “variation approach to learning.” To explore this approach we chose an area of mechanics that is widely known to pose learning difficulties for students—Newton's third law. Test and interview data provided compelling evidence that explicit use of variation made a difference in student learning outcomes.