Improving Introductory Physics Students' quantitative Reasoning through Targeted Practice

Abstract

Covariational reasoning--considering how changes in one quantity affect another, related quantity--is a foundation of quantitative modeling in physics, and a learning objective of introductory physics instruction at the college level. Our prior work suggests that covariational reasoning in physics contexts differs from that in purely mathematical contexts, and is effortful even for well-prepared students. We also find that students' covariational reasoning does not improve substantially as a result of introductory physics instruction. To address these issues, we have begun work to identify subskills that underlie productive covariational reasoning in physics contexts. We present our preliminary work on the identification of "essential skills" related to covariational reasoning, and the development of a set of targeted online tasks to improve those skills.