College of Education Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning http://education.illinois.edu/edpsy/edpsy/frp/mestre

Faculty Research Profiles: Jose Mestre

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Professor

Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning
Educational Psychology
220D Education Building
1310 S. 6th St. MC 708
Champaign, IL 61820USA

Professor, Physics

Physics
Psychology
business217 244-4169
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Research Biography

My research interest focuses on the organization and deployment of physics knowledge by experts and novices. In my research, I address questions such as: What is the mechanism by which a beginner develops expertise in a complex domain such as physics? Why is it that the problem solving skills for traditional textbook physics problems often develop faster than conceptual understanding? Why is appropriate transfer of knowledge, even across the same domain and across remarkably similar contexts, so difficult to achieve?

In the future, I plan to research the application of experimental techniques common in cognitive science (e.g., eye-tracking, fMRI, ERP) to learn more fine-grained information about the nature of expertise, learning, and problem solving in the sciences.

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Physics, University of Massachusetts, 1979
  • B.S., Physics, University of Massachusetts, 1974

Key Professional Appointments

  • Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005--
  • Professor, Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005--
  • Professor, Physics, University of Massachusetts, 1993-2005
  • Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Massachusetts, 2003-2003
  • Visiting Staff Associate, LRDC, University of Pittsburgh, 1992-1993
  • Associate Professor, Physics, University of Massachusetts, 1987-1993
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Physics, University of Massachusetts, 1981-1987

Activities & Honors

  • Committee member, American Physical Society, 2007-2010
  • Steering Committee, National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology, National Academy of Sciences, 2006-2009
  • Committee member, Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy, National Academy of Sciences, 2003-2006
  • Committee Member, Blue Ribbon Committee, Centers for Teaching & Learning Program, National Science Foundation, 2003-2006
  • Committee Member, Technical Advisory Committee, Graduate Record Examination, Educational Testing Service, 1999-2006

Selected Publications

  • Thaden-Koch, T., Dufresne, R., & Mestre, J. (2006). Coordination of knowledge in judging animated motion. Physical Review Special Topics Physial Education, 2, 020107.
  • Mestre, J. P. (Ed.). (2005). Transfer of learning from a modern multidisciplinary perspective. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
  • Dufresne, R., Mestre, J., Thaden-Koch, T., Gerace, W., & Leonard, W. (2005). Knowledge representation and coordination in the transfer process. In J. Mestre (Ed.), Transfer of learning from a modern multidisciplinary perspective (pp. 155-215). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
  • Etkina, E., Mestre, J., & O'Donnell, A. (2005). The impact of the cognitive revolution on science learning and teaching. In J. M. Royer (Ed.), The cognitive revolution in educational psychology (pp. 119-164). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
  • Mestre, J. P. (2002). Probing adults' conceptual understanding and transfer of learning via problem posing. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 9-50.

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