Thinking through Fermi problems
What proximity of the problem context is more attainable to promote students’ model-based estimations?
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22421163 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Serife Sevinc (0000-0002-4561-9742, Örebro University, corresponding author), Lluís Albarracín (0000-0002-1387-5573, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), Burcu Arıcan (Middle East Technical University), Burcu Arican (Middle East Technical University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-17 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mathematical Thinking and Learning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1098-6065 • E-ISSN: 1532-7833 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10986065.2026.2663790 |
| OpenAlex | W7161496844 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 38 |
This study presents an empirical analysis of 6th-grade students’ estimation-based thinking in two Fermi problems that are with different proximity to the problem context based on the following characteristics: (1) involving real-life elements within/beyond-direct-reach of students’ physical surroundings and (2) involving the size of the quantities within/beyond-direct-reach of students’ reference tools for estimation. Twelve turkish 6th-grade students worked in pairs on the Fermi problems. The findings indicated that the proximity of the problem context shaped students’ model-based estimation on Fermi problems by affording processes characterized as sensemaking-facilitator, estimation–referent identifier, and strategy-promoter. Students’ model-based estimation indicated that the closer proximity of the context helped students to make sense of the problem and initiate an estimation relying on within-direct-reach reference tools. However, the lack of physical closeness and the larger size of the quantity created a challenge in developing a model-based estimation, which encouraged students to develop a strategy.
Context effect · Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope · Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics · Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies · Science Education and Pedagogy
| Highly cited | No |
|---|