Analyzing students’ collaboratively solving spherical unit vector problems in upper-level E&M through a lens of shared resources

Abstract

We are interested in better understanding ways that students collaborate to solve conceptual physics problems in the context of spherical unit vectors in upper-level E&M, especially problems that have been shown to be difficult for students to solve individually on their own, but which groups of students have been more successful at. Using think-aloud interviews with students in small groups, we ask them to solve together on a large whiteboard conceptual problems from this E&M context. The interviews were video and audio recorded, and qualitatively analyzed using an emergent coding method and the resources framework [4]. Through this analysis, we observed one common mechanism in all three group-interviews whereby students collaborated effectively: first one student activated a conceptual resource and expressed it, then another student took up that idea, and finally the whole group together used that idea to move forward with the problem. This mechanism exemplifies a newer framework: shared resources [12]. We further analyzed students' collaboration through the lens of shared resources and identified multiple instances. We propose that the shared resources construct could be a potential tool to help understand how students collaborate in solving conceptual physics problems. In this paper, we report our methodology and the results from one group interview to illustrate one shared resource we identified and the role it played in helping students collaboratively solve the conceptual problem in this context. Future work and implications for instruction are suggested.