In this project we first carried out several action research projects in 11th grade physics classrooms, carried out with experienced teachers who developed and investigated instructional strategies to develop reflective learning practices in the context of problem solving.

Later we carried out a design study, identifying design guidelines for an online activity, guiding students in diagnosing teacher-produced erroneous solutions through principle-based prompts and feedback. The design study was carried out in the context of online activities adapted to the Israeli high school curriculum in electromagnetism. We are currently studying the impact of a year-long intervention where students repeatedly experience this tutoring, as compared to problem solving, on students’ performance when diagnosing peers’ solutions with the aid of a worked-out example. The research is carried out in Arabic speaking secondary school classrooms, in the context of geometrical optics were developed. Another branch of this project focus on 6th graders in Arab speaking elementary schools studying simple electric circuits. In this study we examined the impact of troubleshooting tasks, as compared to problem solving, on the materialization of knowledge integration processes in class discussions, and as a result, on changes in students’ conceptual understanding.

1. Safadi. R., & Yerushalmi, E., Problem Solving vs. Troubleshooting Tasks: The Case of Sixth Grade Students Studying Simple Electric Circuits” accepted for publication in International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
2. Yerushalmi, E., Puterkovski, M., & Bagno, E., (2012), Knowledge integration while interacting with an online troubleshooting activity, J Sci Educ Technol, doi: 10.1007/s10956-012-9406-8.
3. Puterkovski, M., Bagno, E., & Yerushalmi, E. (2012), Meta-analysis of students’ discourse in the context of online diagnostic activities in physics. In Y., Eshet, A., Caspi, S., Eden, N., Geri, Y., Yair, & Y. Kalman, (Eds). Learning in the Technological Era. Proceedings of the 7th Chais Conference for Innovation in Learning Technologies, 2012. The Open University of Israel. Raanana. In Hebrew.
4. Yerushalmi, E., & Magen, E. (2006). Same old problem, new name? Alerting students to the nature of the problem solving process. Phys. Educ., 41, 161-167, doi:10.1088/0031-9120/41/2/007.
5. Yerushalmi, E., & Polingher, C. (2006). Guiding students to learn from mistakes, Physics Education, Phys. Educ., 41, 532-538, doi:10.1088/0031-9120/41/6/007.
6. Yerushalmi, E. (2005). Worksheets guiding students in self-diagnosing their own mistakes. Tehuda, 25(1), (Hebrew).
7. Yerushalmi, E. & Magen E. (2004). Same lady, new dress? Tehuda, 24(1), (Hebrew).

Related Materials (in Hebrew and in Arabic)

1. Yerushalmi, E., & Bagno, E. Zehorit Kapach, Esther Magen (2008). Web-Based Test Preparation Modules – Newton Laws, Electrostatics, Electric Circuits, Science Teaching Department, Weizmann Institute of Science (Hebrew).
2. Yerushalmi, E., Puterkovski, M., Polingher, C., & Bagno, E. (2011). Web-Based Troubleshooting Modules – Electrostatics, Electric Circuits, Magnetism, Science Teaching Department, Weizmann Institute of Science (Hebrew).
3. Ailabuni, S., Safadi, R., & Yerushalmi, E., (2013). Web-Based Troubleshooting Modules – Optics, Science Teaching Department, Weizmann Institute of Science (Arabic and Hebrew).