Peer-Reviewed Journal Details
Mandatory Fields
Laurens Bollen, Paul van Kampen, and Mieke De Cock
2015
November
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
Students' difficulties with vector calculus in electrodynamics
Published
13 ()
Optional Fields
11
2
© 2015 authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Understanding Maxwell's equations in differential form is of great importance when studying the electrodynamic phenomena discussed in advanced electromagnetism courses. It is therefore necessary that students master the use of vector calculus in physical situations. In this light we investigated the difficulties second year students at KU Leuven encounter with the divergence and curl of a vector field in mathematical and physical contexts. We have found that they are quite skilled at doing calculations, but struggle with interpreting graphical representations of vector fields and applying vector calculus to physical situations. We have found strong indications that traditional instruction is not sufficient for our students to fully understand the meaning and power of Maxwell's equations in electrodynamics.
1554-9178
10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020129
Grant Details