Students coordinating among multiple semiotic resources to solve physics problems

ORAL

Abstract

As part of a larger project to investigate problem-solving processes among upper-division physics students, we investigate how students construct and coordinate among multiple representations while solving problems. In this study, we use a social semiotic perspective to sketch a theoretical framework. We use this theoretical framework to investigate how semiotic resources might be combined to buildup representational spaces (diagrammatic, gestural, and algebraic) and then to solve physics problems. Data for this study is drawn from upper-division Electromagnetism I and Mechanics courses, where students engage in individual oral exams. In this talk, we present cases of Alan and Danny as exemplary cases for problem-solving. We use a resource graph representation to show how these students coordinate among resources (semiotic and conceptual resources) in their problem-solving activities. Our analysis of these cases illustrates a novel way of thinking about what kinds of representations students bring up and use while solving physics problems and how students bring up and use these representations.

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Authors

  • Nandana Weliweriya

    University of Georgia

  • Emmanuel Sarpong

    Georgia State University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, American Association of Physics Teachers, Bradley University, Michigan State University, University of St. Thomas, Kansas State University, Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate and Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Delhi, University of Mississippi, Vanderbilt University, Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), President of UNCW SPS Chapter, Duke University, NC Central University, Davidson College, Beijing Normal University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, University of Kentucky, Syracuse University, Clemson University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Florida International University, Oak Ridge National Lab, Indiana University, Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), Bowie State University, MD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Arizona State University, University of California, Davis, North Carolina State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina A&T State University, UNC Charlotte