Against Problem Solving Method: When Physical Intuition Succeeds

Solving physics problems is hard. Even harder is watching your students struggling with problems to the point of frustration or defeat. To help, we often teach a method: a systematic way of breaking the solution process into the same steps, problem after problem. With a clear method to follow, students are more likely to stay organized, move from step to step fluidly, catch and fix their mistakes, and arrive at the number we wanted them to. In short, they're more likely to succeed. But I've found that when I scaffold success at finding the answer, I can wind up sacrificing chances for sense-making, intuition-building, creativity, and student agency. Unchecked, the tyranny of the right answer leads me to devalue what I claim to value the most. I'd like to illustrate this by example and share ideas on balancing method against freedom in a course with a strong sense-making culture.