Student Use and Conceptions of Calculus Topics in Calc-Based Intro Physics

Prior Physics Education Research (PER) literature has exposed a surprising lack of Calculus topics in Calc-Based Intro Physics courses. We explore how the ideas of Derivatives and Integrals are present in a course, and how students think about these operations when working on problems. Electronic field notes were captured in selected class periods throughout the semester. Field notes document instances where students worked in small groups (where we captured audio and video recordings) and when the class responded to ideas posed by the instructor. We also conducted two Semi-structured one-on-one student interviews to have students work on questions from observed class periods and new questions about integrals and derivatives. We synthesize these data sets to encapsulate how students in this course thought about derivatives and integrals in a physics context.

Material based on work supported by NSF PHY 2336911. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.