Intuitive Resources for Reasoning About the Coriolis Force

• In Event: Participation, Understanding, and Reasoning in Science Education

Abstract

Traditional approaches to teaching the Coriolis force have been largely unsuccessful at the undergraduate level. Our team attempted to create a purely conceptual intervention for explaining the causal mechanisms underlying the Coriolis force. To do so, we examined the prior knowledge students engaged in reasoning about the topic. In this paper, we present productive intuitive resources that instructors and instructional designers can elicit and build on when teaching the Coriolis force. We also discuss elements of prior knowledge that are counter-productive in the context of Coriolis phenomena and suggest possible strategies for avoiding or responding to these elements if they emerge.

Authors

• Jared Arnell, Utah State University
  Presenting Author

• Hillary Lucille Swanson, Utah State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Boyd Edwards, Utah State University
  Non-Presenting Author