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Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning
written by Charlotte Zimmerman, Alexis Olsho, Suzanne White Brahmia, Michael E. Loverude, Andrew Boudreaux, and Trevor I. Smith
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.
Physics Education Research Conference 2019
Part of the PER Conference series
Provo, UT: July 24-25, 2019
Pages 693-698
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Problem Solving
= Expert-Novice Comparisons
General Physics
- Scientific Reasoning
- Graduate/Professional
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Researchers
- application/pdf
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Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2019…
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.2019.pr.Zimmerman
NSF Numbers:
1832880
1832836
1833050
Keyword:
PERC 2019
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created December 31, 2019 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
December 31, 2019 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
December 31, 2019
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Record Link
AIP Format
C. Zimmerman, A. Olsho, S. Brahmia, M. Loverude, A. Boudreaux, and T. Smith, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144).
AJP/PRST-PER
C. Zimmerman, A. Olsho, S. Brahmia, M. Loverude, A. Boudreaux, and T. Smith, Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, 2019, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144>.
APA Format
Zimmerman, C., Olsho, A., Brahmia, S., Loverude, M., Boudreaux, A., & Smith, T. (2019, July 24-25). Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT. Retrieved October 8, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144
Chicago Format
Zimmerman, C, A. Olsho, S. Brahmia, M. Loverude, A. Boudreaux, and T. Smith. "Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2019, Provo, UT, July 24-25, 2019. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144 (accessed 8 October 2024).
MLA Format
Zimmerman, Charlotte, Alexis Olsho, Suzanne White Brahmia, Michael Loverude, Andrew Boudreaux, and Trevor I. Smith. "Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning." Physics Education Research Conference 2019. Provo, UT: 2019. 693-698 of PER Conference. 8 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Charlotte Zimmerman and Alexis Olsho and Suzanne White Brahmia and Michael Loverude and Andrew Boudreaux and Trevor I. Smith", Title = {Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2019}, Pages = {693-698}, Address = {Provo, UT}, Series = {PER Conference}, Month = {July 24-25}, Year = {2019} }
Refer Export Format

%A Charlotte Zimmerman %A Alexis Olsho %A Suzanne White Brahmia %A Michael Loverude %A Andrew Boudreaux %A Trevor I. Smith %T Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning %S PER Conference %D July 24-25 2019 %P 693-698 %C Provo, UT %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %O July 24-25 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Zimmerman, Charlotte %A Olsho, Alexis %A Brahmia, Suzanne White %A Loverude, Michael %A Boudreaux, Andrew %A Smith, Trevor I. %D July 24-25 2019 %T Toward understanding and characterizing expert physics covariational reasoning %B Physics Education Research Conference 2019 %C Provo, UT %P 693-698 %S PER Conference %8 July 24-25 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15229&DocID=5144


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