The Physics Education Research Laboratory welcomes two new faculty members!
Jonathan Shemwell, Assistant Professor of Education and Cooperating Assistant Professor of Physics, joins us from Stanford University.
MacKenzie Stetzer, Assistant Professor of Physics, came to us from the University of Washington.
After the presentations of the AAPT, we leapt right into the PERC and were even busier there.
Invited Posters:
Benedikt W. Harrer, Rachel E. Scherr, Michael C. Wittmann, Brian W. Frank, Hunter G. Close, “Elements of Proximal Formative Assessment in Learners’ Discourse about Energy” (abstract)
John R. Thompson, David Roundy, Donald B. Mountcastle, “Representations of Partial Derivatives in Thermodynamics” (abstract)
Michael C. Wittmann, “What a Mathematical Representation Tells Us About Reasoning About Integrals” (abstract)
Contributed Posters:
Rabindra R. Bajracharya, John R. Thompson, Thomas M. Wemyss, “Student interpretation of definite integrals at the math-physics interface” (abstract)
Jeffrey M. Hawkins, Brian W. Frank, John R. Thompson, Michael C. Wittmann, Thomas M. Weymss, “Probing student understanding with alternative questioning strategies” (abstract)
Adam Kaczynski, Michael C. Wittmann, “Students Reconciling Contradictory Commitments in Damped Harmonic Motion Problems” (abstract)
Sergio Rojas, “Preparation for Future Learning in Physics via Dynamic Problem Solving Strategies” (abstract)
Trevor I. Smith, John R. Thompson, Donald B. Mountcastle, “Student Understanding of Taylor Series Expansions in Statistical Mechanics” (abstract)
John R. Thompson, Warren M. Christensen, Chris L. Rasmussen, Marcy H. Towns, “TRUSE Conference: Integrating Undergraduate Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics Education Research” (abstract)
Michael C. Wittmann, Evan Chase, “Evidence of Embodied Cognition about Wave Propagation” (abstract)
This summer, PERL showcased its work at both the AAPT and PERC meetings in Omaha. Talks were well-received, and our papers were all accepted for publication.
Codes in parantheses refer to the abstract entry in the conference program.
Invited Presentations:
MacKenzie R. Stetzer, “Using Experiments to Foster Conceptual Understanding: Insights from PER” (AD01)
Contributed Presentations:
Rabindra R. Bajracharya, John R. Thompson, Thomas M. Wemyss, “Student Reasoning about Graphical Representations of Definite Integrals” (CB01)
Benedikt W. Harrer, Rachel E. Scherr, Michael C. Wittmann, Hunter G. Close, Brian W. Frank, “Two Right Answers: The Difficulty of Reconciling Competing Physics Commitments” (DI03)
Jeffrey M. Hawkins, Brian W. Frank, John R. Thompson, Michael C. Wittmann, Thomas M. Wemyss, “Probing Student Understanding with Alternative Questioning Strategies” (CB04)
Adam Kaczynski, Michael C. Wittmann, “Students’ Contradictory Commitments in Damped Harmonic Motion Problems” (CB05)
Trevor I. Smith, John R. Thompson, Donald B. Mountcastle, “Student Difficulties with a Taylor Series Expansion in Statistical Mechanics” (EB10)
Michael C. Wittmann, Evan Chase, “Pulling a Spring Taut Affects Students’ Talk about Wave Propagation” (DI08)
Contributed Posters:
Rabindra R. Bajracharya, John R. Thompson, Thomas M. Wemyss, “Student Reasoning about Graphical Representations of Definite Integrals” (PST2C02)
Jeffrey M. Hawkins, Brian W. Frank, Michael C. Wittmann, John R. Thompson, Thomas M. Wemyss, “Probing Student Understanding with Alternative Questioning Strategies” (PST2C15)
Adam Kaczynski, Michael C. Wittmann, “Students Reconciling Contradictory Commitments in Damped Harmonic Motion Problems” (PST2C24)
Trevor I. Smith, John R. Thompson, Donald B. Mountcastle, “Student Understanding of Taylor Series Expansions in Statistical Mechanics” (PST2C48)
Session Presider:
John Thompson, “Research in Undergraduate Math Education” (GF)
Trevor I. Smith successfully defended his dissertation, “Identifying and Addressing Specific Student Difficulties in Advanced Thermal Physics,” on Thursday, March 17. Congratulations to the new Dr. Smith!
On Nov 22, Casey successfully defended her masters thesis entitled “Answer-Seeking and Idea-Constructing During Collaborative Active-Learning Activities in a Physics Laboratory.” The work used video from the PHY 105 class, “Intuitive Quantum Physics,” and involved interaction analysis methods while building on past work by Scherr and Hammer. Congrats, Casey!
Check out our publication blog, where you can find records of our newest publications by Jeff Hawkins (working with Michael Wittmann, John Thompson, alum Ellie Sayre, and Brian Frank) and Trevor Smith (working with John Thompson and Don Mountcastle).
Padraic Springuel successfully defended his dissertation, “Applying Cluster Analysis To Physics Education Research Data,” on Tuesday, December 5. Congratulations to the new Dr. Springuel!
Katrina Black successfully defended her dissertation, “Multiple Perspectives on Student Solutions to Air Resistance Problems,” on Monday, August 23. Congratulations to the new Dr. Black!
Dr. Black is currently working as a postdoctoral research associate for the Maine Center for STEM Education Research, primarily researching curricular materials and resources for the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership project.
PhysTEC has created a video on what it means to be a physics teacher. It’s worth sharing:
Katrina Black will be defending her Ph.D. dissertation on Monday, August 23, at 2 pm, in Bennett Hall room 102.
Multiple Perspectives on Student Solutions to Air Resistance Problems
Physics Education Research uses multiple theoretical perspectives to describe student reasoning and behavior. I use two common lenses, difficulties and knowledge pieces, to examine the methods students use when solving first order separable differential equations in the context of air resistance problems. I discuss several difficulties students have when incorporating boundary conditions. Additionally, using air resistance as a context, I expand upon resources, a model of student thinking that falls into the pieces paradigm. I introduce procedural resources as a type of resource, give several examples of procedural resources used in the incorporation of boundary conditions. Finally, I extend existing links between the resources model and epistemic games, showing how procedural resources can be organized to create epistemic game facets.
UPDATE: Congratulations, Dr. Black!
