CONTEXT RICH PROBLEMS AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL IN PHYSICS TEACHING – A CASE STUDY

We present a case study, in which we used context rich problems as an educational tool in a university level physics course. The students worked in groups of three to four when solving these problems, which provided them with an opportunity to discuss physics together at their own level. Video recordings of groups working with the problems allowed us to study how different groups functioned and also to look for what is known as exploratory talks. This form of communication was interpreted as situational interest on the part of the students. A questionnaire at the end of the course, and interviews with a few of the students after the course, revealed that the students considered that context rich problems facilitated understanding of physical concepts and made physics more interesting.