Macro- and micro-level developmental changes in mathematics strategy use in higher education physics courses

Abstract

The link between models on strategic processing from educational psychology and teaching and curriculum design in physics has been weak at best. This study will fill this gap by examining how strategy use in physics, particularly mathematics strategy use, plays a role in physics problem solving. Participants will be approximately 100 students from two introductory calculus-based physics courses (Physics 1 and Physics 2) from a mid-sized, public university in the southeastern United States. Students will complete a mathematics and physics problem twelve times over a twelve-week span. We will analyze responses for strategy use as well as problem solving outcomes. We will evaluate longer-term changes by analyzing the differences between the two courses (i.e., between subjects) as well as shorter-term changes by analyzing the changes in students’ strategy use during the semester (i.e., within-subjects). Finally, we will use a profile analysis to examine how these changes in strategy use influence problem-solving outcomes.