PERC 2013 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | From Fear to Fun in Thermodynamics: Multiple Research Perspectives for Assessing Learning during a Curricular Sequence |
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| Abstract: | The complexity of thermodynamics challenges many students as well as faculty. Understanding what a partial derivative represents may be key to reducing the anxiety associated with this topic. In this session, participants will engage with a sequence of activities designed to elucidate the mathematics of thermodynamics through multiple representations of partial derivatives and with students who have experienced these activities. Activities include: • an analogical device for physically representing changes that hold specific quantities fixed, • experiments that provide exemplars of measuring thermodynamic quantities involving partial derivatives, • thought experiments where students design ways to measure particular partial derivatives representing thermodynamic quantities, and • an algebraic formulation of a partial derivative chain rule. Several discussants --- including Ayush Gupta and Joseph Wagner --- will each then comment on how their different research perspectives can contribute to and are necessary for a holistic understanding of what happens during this kind of curricular sequence. |
| Abstract Type: | Custom Invited Format |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Corinne A. Manogue Oregon State University Department of Physics 301 Weniger Hall Corvallis, OR 97331 Phone: (541) 737-1695 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
David Roundy, Oregon State University Mary Bridget Kustusch, Oregon State University Emily van Zee, Oregon State University Tevian Dray, Oregon State University Discussants: Ayush Gupta, University of Maryland Joseph Wagner, Xavier University |
