Multiple Representations in Physics: Deliberate Practice Does Not Improve Exam Scores

Physics problem solving requires the use of verbal, pictorial, diagrammatic, and mathematical representations in order to translate a problem into its underlying mathematical components. This study investigated the effect of explicit deliberate practice on representation skills in introductory physics at the University of Louisville. In a controlled, randomized design, physics students received either deliberate practice or traditional solve-though practice weekly throughout the semester. The deliberate practice instruction focused on translating from verbal to diagrammatic and diagrammatic to mathematical representations. The deliberate practice problem solving intervention had no impact on exam performance or an encoding task developed to measure facility with diagrammatic representations of physics problems. However, performance on the encoding task positively predicted exam performance across conditions. These results suggest that deliberate practice on multiple representations did not demonstrably improve exam scores. However, the ability to encode problem features predicts exam performance more generally.