Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Chasing Polys: Interdisciplinary Affinity And Its Connection To Physics Identity, Tyler Scott

All Dissertations

This research is based on two motivations that merge by means of the frameworks of interdisciplinary affinity and physics identity. First, a goal of education is to develop interdisciplinary abilities in students' thinking and work. But an often ignored factor is students interests and beliefs about being interdisciplinary. Thus, this work develops and uses a framework called interdisciplinary affinity. It encompasses students interests in making connections across disciplines and their beliefs about their abilities to make those connections. The second motivation of this research is to better understand how to engage more students with physics. Physics identity describes how a …

Student Application Of The Fundamental Theorem Of Calculus With Graphical Representations In Mathematics And Physics, Rabindra R. Bajracharya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One mathematical concept frequently applied in physics is the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC). Mathematics education research on student understanding of the FTC indicates student difficulties with the FTC. Similarly, a few studies in physics education have implicitly indicated student difficulties with various facets of the FTC, such as with the definite integral and the area under the curve representation, in physics contexts. There has been no research on how students apply the FTC in graphically-based physics questions.

This study investigated student understanding of the FTC and its application to graphically-based problems. Our interest spans several aspects of the FTC: …

The Experiences Of Women In Post Graduate Physics And Astronomy Programs: The Roles Of Support, Career Goals, And Gendered Experiences, Ramón S. Barthelemy

Dissertations

In physics and astronomy the low representation of women is obvious at every stage of the educational pathway from undergraduate students to full professors. These low numbers perpetuate themselves by failing to create new mentors to foster the next generation of women. Women and men also have different experiences as they traverse into physics and astronomy careers. Women often experience chilly climates, discrimination, and challenges coordinating the demands of young families with their careers. In the literature exploring this topic, little focus is put on the experiences of women graduate students in physics and no focus is put on women …

Investigating The Proposed Affordances And Limitations Of The Substance Metaphor For Energy, Lisa Goodhew

Honors Projects

This study explores the instructional advantages and disadvantages of representing energy as a material substance; this is done in the context of a computer simulation that illustrates processes of energy transfer and transformation. These affordances and limitations have been proposed in science education literature as extensions of the substance metaphor itself, but there is little empirical evidence to support them. This study is intended to provide preliminary empirical evidence for these affordances and limitations. We examine data from eight interviews conducted with students from Seattle Pacific University’s introductory physics classes as they used the simulation. We explore the hypotheses that …