Recently, Gauthier introduced a method to construct solutions to the equations of motion associated with oscillating systems into the mathematics education research literature. In particular, Gauthier's approach involved certain manipulations of the differential equations; and drew on the theory of complex variables.Motivated by the work of…

This paper reports on an intervention as part of which direction fields were introduced to students learning ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The intervention was designed and implemented to address issues with students' conceptions of the solutions of ODEs. These were identified by a diagnostic survey and through a review of the…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] Research in physics education has contributed substantively to improvements in the learning and teaching of university physics by informing the development of research-based instructional materials for physics courses. Reports on the design of these…