An expert path through a thermo maze

Kustusch, Mary Bridget; Roundy, David J.; Dray, Tevian; Manogue, Corinne A.

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An expert path through a thermo maze

written by Mary Bridget Kustusch, David J. Roundy, Tevian Dray, and Corinne A. Manogue

Several studies in recent years have demonstrated that upper-division students struggle with partial derivatives and the complicated chain rules ubiquitous in thermodynamics. We asked several experts (primarily faculty who teach thermodynamics) to solve a challenging and novel thermodynamics problem in order to understand how they navigate through this maze. What we found was a tremendous variety in solution strategies and sense-making tools, both within and between individuals. This case study focuses on one particular expert: his solution paths, use of sense-making tools, and comparison of different approaches.

Physics Education Research Conference 2012
Part of the PER Conference series
Philadelphia, PA: August 1-2, 2012
Volume 1513, Pages 234-237

download 113kb .pdf
Published: January 24, 2013

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education - Basic Research - Problem Solving = Heuristics = Processes = Representational Use Mathematical Tools - Differential Equations Thermo & Stat Mech - General	- Graduate/Professional - Upper Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Research study

PER-Central Type	Intended Users	Ratings
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Formats:: application/pdf
non-digital
Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4789695
Access Rights:: Free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2012 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2012 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.4789695
NSF Numbers:: 0088901; 0837829; 1023120
PACSs:: 01.40.-d; 01.40.Fk; 05.70Ce
Keywords:: Chain Rule, Expert problem solving, Mathematics, PERC 2012, Partial Derivatives, Thermal Physics, Upper-division Physics
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created June 27, 2013 by Zachary Davis
Record Updated:: February 1, 2014 by Bruce Mason
Last Update when Cataloged:: January 24, 2013

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=12821">Kustusch, M, D. Roundy, T. Dray, and C. Manogue. "An expert path through a thermo maze." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, August 1-2, 2012.</a>

AIP Format

M. Kustusch, D. Roundy, T. Dray, and C. Manogue, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354).

AJP/PRST-PER

M. Kustusch, D. Roundy, T. Dray, and C. Manogue, An expert path through a thermo maze, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, 2012, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354>.

APA Format

Kustusch, M., Roundy, D., Dray, T., & Manogue, C. (2012, August 1-2). An expert path through a thermo maze. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354

Chicago Format

Kustusch, M, D. Roundy, T. Dray, and C. Manogue. "An expert path through a thermo maze." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2012, Philadelphia, PA, August 1-2, 2012. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354 (accessed 29 April 2025).

MLA Format

Kustusch, Mary Bridget, David Roundy, Tevian Dray, and Corinne Manogue. "An expert path through a thermo maze." Physics Education Research Conference 2012. Philadelphia, PA: 2012. 234-237 Vol. 1513 of PER Conference. 29 Apr. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Mary Bridget Kustusch and David Roundy and Tevian Dray and Corinne Manogue", Title = {An expert path through a thermo maze}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2012}, Pages = {234-237}, Address = {Philadelphia, PA}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1513}, Month = {August 1-2}, Year = {2012} }

Refer Export Format

%A Mary Bridget Kustusch %A David Roundy %A Tevian Dray %A Corinne Manogue %T An expert path through a thermo maze %S PER Conference %V 1513 %D August 1-2 2012 %P 234-237 %C Philadelphia, PA %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %O August 1-2 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Kustusch, Mary Bridget %A Roundy, David %A Dray, Tevian %A Manogue, Corinne %D August 1-2 2012 %T An expert path through a thermo maze %B Physics Education Research Conference 2012 %C Philadelphia, PA %V 1513 %P 234-237 %S PER Conference %8 August 1-2 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12821&DocID=3354

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