Problematizing in inquiry-based labs: How students respond to unexpected results

Problematizing is a physics practice involving the articulation of a gap in understanding into a clear question or problem. Inquiry-based labs may be conducive to problematizing behaviors, as students often collect data that do not agree with simplified models or their intuitive predictions. In this study, we analyzed video of students performing a lab in which they find the acceleration of an object in flight to be different from what the presented models predict. We aimed to identify the various activities that groups engaged in upon recognizing this inconsistency. Common problematizing activities included explicit discussions of physics concepts, proposing a new experiment or calculation, and checking experimental calculations. We found that each group’s sequence and duration of activities was quite unique, highlighting a diversity of approaches taken to address this inconsistency.