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Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics
written by Qing X. Ryan, Steven J. Pollock, and Bethany R. Wilcox
Boundary conditions (BCs) are considered as an important topic that advanced physics under- graduates are expected to understand and apply. We report findings from an investigation of student difficulties using boundary conditions (BCs) in electrodynamics. Our data sources include student responses to traditional exam questions, conceptual survey questions, and think-aloud interviews. The analysis was guided by an analytical framework that characterizes how students activate, construct, execute, and reflect on boundary conditions. Common student difficulties include: activating boundary conditions in appropriate contexts; constructing a complex expression for the E&M waves; mathematically simplifying complex exponentials and checking if the reflection and transmission co- efficient are physical. We also present potential pedagogical implications based on our observations.
Physics Education Research Conference 2015
Part of the PER Conference series
College Park, MD: July 29-30, 2015
Pages 283-286
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- Student Characteristics
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Electricity & Magnetism
- Electric Fields and Potential
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- Upper Undergraduate
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2015…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
Rights Holder:
American Association of Physics Teachers
DOI:
10.1119/perc.2015.pr.066
NSF Number:
1023208
PACSs:
01.40.Fk
01.40.Di
Keyword:
PERC 2015
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created December 16, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
December 18, 2015 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
December 18, 2015
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2015 PERC Notable Paper

Author: Lyle
Posted: March 20, 2019 at 12:54PM
Source: The PER-Central collection

This paper was one of four 2015 PERC Proceedings papers selected as notable by PERLOC and the Notable Papers subcommittee.

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AIP Format
Q. Ryan, S. Pollock, and B. Wilcox, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2015, College Park, MD, 2015, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309).
AJP/PRST-PER
Q. Ryan, S. Pollock, and B. Wilcox, Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2015, College Park, MD, 2015, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309>.
APA Format
Ryan, Q., Pollock, S., & Wilcox, B. (2015, July 29-30). Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2015, College Park, MD. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309
Chicago Format
Ryan, Q, S. Pollock, and B. Wilcox. "Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2015, College Park, MD, July 29-30, 2015. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309 (accessed 28 March 2024).
MLA Format
Ryan, Qing, Steven Pollock, and Bethany Wilcox. "Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics." Physics Education Research Conference 2015. College Park, MD: 2015. 283-286 of PER Conference. 28 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Qing Ryan and Steven Pollock and Bethany Wilcox", Title = {Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2015}, Pages = {283-286}, Address = {College Park, MD}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 29-30}, Year = {2015} }
Refer Export Format

%A Qing Ryan %A Steven Pollock %A Bethany Wilcox %T Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics %S PER Conference %D July 29-30 2015 %P 283-286 %C College Park, MD %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2015 %O July 29-30 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Ryan, Qing %A Pollock, Steven %A Wilcox, Bethany %D July 29-30 2015 %T Student Difficulities with Boundary Conditions in Electrodynamics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2015 %C College Park, MD %P 283-286 %S PER Conference %8 July 29-30 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13891&DocID=4309


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