Lauren Barth-Cohen is scheduled to present a seminar titled Exploring Students’ Sensemaking in Two Physics Settings: Introductory Physics Labs and Quantum Mechanics. The event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the Tracy Hall Science Center.
The presentation will discuss research conducted by the Collaborative for Interdisciplinary Science Education Research (CISER) at the University of Utah. This research explores learners' sensemaking in physics through the frameworks of Resource Theory and Knowledge in Pieces, viewing learning as a process of refining existing ideas to build coherent knowledge structures.
Barth-Cohen will describe two ongoing empirical research projects. The first project examines learners' sensemaking in reformed algebra-based introductory physics lab courses, which primarily enroll pre-health students and biology majors. Through qualitative analysis of procedural and conceptual inconsistencies, the research has documented how this reform-based course supports student engagement in authentic experimental activity.
The second project applies Resource Theory and Knowledge in Pieces to quantum mechanics. This research aims to establish an asset-based approach to learning quantum mechanics, moving away from traditional physics education research that focuses on learner deficits. One study uses interview data to examine how students "think quantumly," identifying reasoning strategies related to scale, mathematics, and the connections between quantum and classical mechanics. Follow-up work involves interviewing learners about analogies for the infinite square well.
The seminar is presented by the Department of Physics & Astronomy.
