An overview of research on experts and novice problem solvers in physics

Abstract

Problem solving is regarded as one of the most important cognitive activities in our daily life and in professional contexts. There are differences between expert and novice in terms of their behaviour and knowledge organisation in solving physics problem. In terms of behaviour, usually experts employ planning, monitoring, evaluating and making qualitative analysis in their solution as compared to novices. Studies in problem solving usually compare behaviour between the two groups to see how these two groups performed. There were three criteria uses to select the group such as experiences, performances and background knowledge.