PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Students’ approaches to solving first law problems following calculation-intensive thermodynamics coursework
Page: 1105
The first law of thermodynamics is an essential scientific principle with broad relevance across the fields of STEM. As a foundational principle, the first law provides students with conceptual and mathematical tools to solve cross-disciplinary problems. The pilot study summarized in this proposal investigates the ability of engineering students to address first law problems across the field-specific contexts of chemistry, engineering, and physics. Preliminary results suggest that the students’ prior experiences in a calculation-intensive thermodynamics course biased student reasoning in favor of solving problems numerically. The application of transfer of learning frameworks to this data set reveal potential conceptual and epistemological resources activated by students that may explain this observed tendency. These results have implications on the application of calculation-intensive problems in science and engineering coursework.