written by Dehui Hu and N. Sanjay Rebello

Developing the skills to set up integrals is critical for students' success in calculus-based physics courses. It requires a high level understanding of both math and physics concepts. Previous studies have shown that students encounter a lot of difficulties when setting up integrals in the context of electricity and magnetism. However, the causes of students' difficulties have not been carefully studied in the past. In order to understand students' solutions and mistakes from a resources perspective, we conducted group teaching/learning interviews with 13 engineering students enrolled in second-semester calculus-based physics. We identified mathematics and physics resources activated by students and used the resource graph representation to describe students' coordination of various resources. The findings of this study provide further insights into students' difficulties with physics problems requiring integration.

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Published January 24, 2013
Last Modified June 26, 2013