Presentation
Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning
2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings
(2019)
Abstract
Relating two quantities to describe a physical system or process is at the heart of "doing physics" for novices and experts alike. In this paper, we explore the ways in which experts use covariational reasoning when solving introductory physics graphing problems. Here, graduate students are considered experts for the introductory level material, as they often take the role of instructor at large research universities. Drawing on work from Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (RUME), we replicated a study of mathematics experts' covariational reasoning done by Hobson and Moore with physics experts [N. L. F. Hobson and K. C. Moore, in RUME Conference Proceedings, pp. 664-672 (2017)]. We conducted think-aloud interviews with 10 physics graduate students using tasks minimally adapted from the mathematics study. Adaptations were made solely for the purpose of participant understanding of the question, and validated by preliminary interviews. Preliminary findings suggest physics experts approach covariational reasoning problems significantly differently than mathematics experts. In particular, two behaviors are identified in the reasoning of expert physicists that were not seen in the mathematics study. We introduce these two behaviors, which we call Using Compiled Relationships and Neighborhood Analysis, and articulate their differences from the behaviors articulated by Hobson and Moore. Finally, we share implications for instruction and questions for further research.
Keywords
- Physics education
Disciplines
Publication Date
July 24, 2019
Location
Provo, UT
DOI
10.1119/perc.2019.pr.zimmerman
Citation Information
Charlotte Zimmerman, Alexis Olsho, Suzanne White Brahmia, Michael E. Loverude, et al.. "Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning" 2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/andrew_boudreaux/32/