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ERIC Number: EJ706658
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Oct-1
Pages: 15
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-6803
EISSN: N/A
How Students Use Physics to Reason about Calculus Tasks
Marrongelle, Karen A.
School Science and Mathematics, v104 n6 p258 Oct 2004
The present research study investigates how undergraduate students in an integrated calculus and physics class use physics to help them solve calculus problems. Using Zandieh's (2000) framework for analyzing student understanding of derivative as a starting point, this study adds detail to her "paradigmatic physical" context and begins to address the need for a theoretical basis for investigating learning and teaching in integrated mathematics and science classrooms. A case study design was used to investigate the different ways students use physics ideas as they worked through calculus tasks. Data were gathered through four individual interviews with each of 8 ICP students, classroom participant-observation, and triangulation of the data through student homework and exams. The main result of this study is the Physics Use Classification Scheme, a tool consisting of four categories used to characterize students' uses of physics on tasks involving average rate of change, derivative, and integral concepts. Two of the categories from the Physics Use Classification Scheme are elucidated with contrasting student cases in this paper.
School Science & Mathematics Association, The Ohio State University, 238 Arps Hall, 1945 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43210-1172. Web site: http://www.ssma.org.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A