Using Conceptual Blending to model how we interpret computational models

Abstract

With the growing integration of computational modeling in introductory physics curricula, educators face an increasing need to understand how students read and compose programming code so as to better support those students’ learning. In this paper, I will discuss Conceptual Blending as a framework for modeling how we read physical, mathematical, and logical meaning into the structural and grammatical features of programming code; modeling how features of the programming representation can affect student reasoning, both productively and counter-productively; and informing instructional interventions. After a discussion of the framework, I will present a case study to help illustrate how conceptual blending can help interpret student difficulties.