Mathematical models in physics: A study with prospective physics teacher

The aims of this study are “to reveal prospective physics teachers’ characterization of the relationship between mathematics and physics” and “to analyze their abilities to model physical phenomena”. For these purposes, an achievement test consisting of two parts has been administered to 24 student teachers of physics. The first part aims to reveal their opinions about the relationship between mathematics and physics and the second part aims to determine their abilities about the construction of a model. The analysis shows that the candidate physics teachers state the role of mathematics in physics in three different ways and that although they generate their own methods for modeling physical phenomena they have serious difficulties in forming a model. As a recommendation of this study, it can be said that model and modeling process should be tackled as an object and model teaching should not content with model as a tool.

[1]  Rita Borromeo Ferri,et al.  Theoretical and empirical differentiations of phases in the modelling process , 2006 .

[2]  A. Guillon.  Démarches scientifiques en travaux pratiques de physique de DEUG à l'université de Cergy-Pontoise , 1995 .

[3]  Francisco Javier García,et al.  Mathematical modelling as a tool for the connection of school mathematics , 2006 .

[4]  C. Tzanakis.  ON THE RELATION BETWEEN MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS IN UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING , 2002 .

[5]  Y. Chevallard,et al.  LE PASSAGE DE L'ARITHMETIQUE A L'ALGEBRIQUE DANS L'ENSEIGNEMENT DES MATHEMATIQUES AU COLLEGE , 1990 .

[6]  C. Buty.  Etude d'un apprentissage dans une séquence d'enseignement en optique géométrique à l'aide d'une modélisation informatique , 2000 .

[7]  G. Arfken.  Mathematical Methods for Physicists , 1967 .

[8]  G. Rumelhard.  Travailler les obstacles pour assimiler les connaissances scientifiques , 1997 .

[9]  W. Blum.  ICMI Study 14: Applications and modelling in mathematics education – Discussion document , 2002 .

[10]  Aysegul Saglam-Arslan.  Les Équations Différentielles en Mathématiques et en Physique: Étude des conditions de leur enseignement et caractérisation des rapports personnels des étudiants de première année d'université à cet objet de savoir , 2004 .

[11]  G. Arfken,et al.  Mathematical Methods for Physicists (Second Edition) , 1971 .

[12]  R. Douady.  Jeux de cadres et dialectique outil-objet , 2009 .

[13]  Ken Houston,et al.  Mathematical Modelling , 1995 .

[14]  Janice D. Gobert,et al.  Introduction to model-based teaching and learning in science education , 2000 .

[15]  B. Crawford,et al.  Using Technology to Support Prospective Science Teachers in Learning and Teaching About Scientific Models , 2002 .

[16]  Hamid Chaachoua,et al.  Modelling by differential equations , 2006 .

[17]  Ference Marton,et al.  On the unit of description in phenomenography , 2005 .