Comparing problem solving performance of physics students in inquiry-based and traditional introductory physics courses

Abstract

Performance of students in an introductory inquiry-based physics class is compared with that of students in three other introductory physics courses on two different examination problems. One problem is a qualitative problem, typical of those used in inquiry-based physics. The second problem is a quantitative problem, similar to those found in a standard introductory physics text. The students in the inquiry-based physics course were all elementary education majors. They performed significantly better than the engineering students and as well as the honors physics students on the two problems used.