Investigating introductory and advanced students' difficulties with change in internal energy, work and heat transfer using a validated instrument

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Hauptverfasser: Brundage, Mary Jane, Meltzer, David E., Singh, Chandralekha
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Brundage, Mary Jane
Meltzer, David E.
Singh, Chandralekha
author_facet Brundage, Mary Jane
Meltzer, David E.
Singh, Chandralekha
contents We use the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long (STPFaSL-Long), a research-based survey instrument with 78 items at the level of introductory physics, to investigate introductory and advanced students' difficulties with internal energy, work, and heat transfer. We present analysis of data from 12 different introductory and advanced physics classes at four different higher education public institutions in the US in which the survey was administered in person to more than 1000 students. We find that not only introductory but also advanced physics students have many common difficulties with these introductory thermodynamic concepts after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We utilize a wide variety of problem types and contexts and our sample includes large numbers of introductory algebra-based, calculus-based, and advanced students. Some of our findings are consistent with prior research in this area, but others expand upon them and reveal previously unreported aspects of students' thinking. Findings related to common difficulties of students before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in college physics courses can help instructors of these courses plan instruction and curricula to improve student understanding. These findings can also be valuable for developing effective research-based curricula and pedagogies to address student difficulties and help students develop a functional understanding of these fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_03795
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Investigating introductory and advanced students' difficulties with change in internal energy, work and heat transfer using a validated instrument
Brundage, Mary Jane
Meltzer, David E.
Singh, Chandralekha
Physics Education
We use the Survey of Thermodynamic Processes and First and Second Laws-Long (STPFaSL-Long), a research-based survey instrument with 78 items at the level of introductory physics, to investigate introductory and advanced students' difficulties with internal energy, work, and heat transfer. We present analysis of data from 12 different introductory and advanced physics classes at four different higher education public institutions in the US in which the survey was administered in person to more than 1000 students. We find that not only introductory but also advanced physics students have many common difficulties with these introductory thermodynamic concepts after traditional lecture-based instruction in relevant concepts. We utilize a wide variety of problem types and contexts and our sample includes large numbers of introductory algebra-based, calculus-based, and advanced students. Some of our findings are consistent with prior research in this area, but others expand upon them and reveal previously unreported aspects of students' thinking. Findings related to common difficulties of students before and after traditional lecture-based instruction in college physics courses can help instructors of these courses plan instruction and curricula to improve student understanding. These findings can also be valuable for developing effective research-based curricula and pedagogies to address student difficulties and help students develop a functional understanding of these fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
title Investigating introductory and advanced students' difficulties with change in internal energy, work and heat transfer using a validated instrument
topic Physics Education
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.03795