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Much of the literature contributing to physics instructors' knowledge of student ideas (KSI) reports common patterns of reasoning that are framed as discontinuous with canonical concepts. Our work contributes new KSI about mechanical wave propagation from a resources perspective, framing student thinking in terms of context-sensitive pieces of knowledge that are continuous with canonical physics concepts. The intent of this work is to inform instruction on mechanical waves by identifying and illustrating some of the conceptual resources that instructors might expect their students to use. To support instructor predictions about student thinking, we identify resources that are common across multiple samples and questions. Our data include written responses to three versions of a conceptual question about mechanical pulse propagation. We use an emergent coding scheme to characterize a total of 851 written responses from 6 universities in the United States. Our analysis reveals three common conceptual resources: (i) properties of the medium either impede or facilitate the motion of the pulse, (ii) the speed or duration of transverse motion affects pulse speed, and (iii) the speed of the pulse is affected by its kinetic energy. We show how each of these resources can be viewed as continuous with formal understandings of pulse propagation.
Physical Review Physics Education Research: Volume 15, Issue 2, Pages 020127
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![]() <a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=16462">Goodhew, L, A. Robertson, P. Heron, and R. Scherr. "Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, no. 2, (September 19, 2019): 020127.</a>
![]() L. Goodhew, A. Robertson, P. Heron, and R. Scherr, , Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15 (2), 020127 (2019), WWW Document, (https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127).
![]() L. Goodhew, A. Robertson, P. Heron, and R. Scherr, Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15 (2), 020127 (2019), <https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127>.
![]() Goodhew, L., Robertson, A., Heron, P., & Scherr, R. (2019, September 19). Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation. Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res., 15(2), 020127. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127
![]() Goodhew, L, A. Robertson, P. Heron, and R. Scherr. "Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, no. 2, (September 19, 2019): 020127, https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127 (accessed 29 April 2025).
![]() Goodhew, Lisa M., Amy Robertson, Paula R. L. Heron, and Rachel Scherr. "Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation." Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15.2 (2019): 020127. 29 Apr. 2025 <https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127>.
![]() @article{
Author = "Lisa M. Goodhew and Amy Robertson and Paula R. L. Heron and Rachel Scherr",
Title = {Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation},
Journal = {Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.},
Volume = {15},
Number = {2},
Pages = {020127},
Month = {September},
Year = {2019}
}
![]() %A Lisa M. Goodhew %A Amy Robertson %A Paula R. L. Heron %A Rachel Scherr %T Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 15 %N 2 %D September 19, 2019 %P 020127 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Journal Article %A Goodhew, Lisa M. %A Robertson, Amy %A Heron, Paula R. L. %A Scherr, Rachel %D September 19, 2019 %T Student conceptual resources for understanding mechanical wave propagation %J Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. %V 15 %N 2 %P 020127 %8 September 19, 2019 %U https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevphyseducres.15.020127 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
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A link to a companion article in the 2017 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, in which the same authors present preliminary findings of this study. relation by Caroline HallKnow of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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