Association of Nepali Physicists in America (ANPA)
Physics Education Research (PER) Division Presents Colloquium Talk on

How Students Navigate Cultural Difference Between Math and Physics

The use of mathematics in physics courses has been widely studied in physics education research, from the role of specific mathematical methods to broader “cultural” differences between the two disciplines. Yet little attention has been paid to how students themselves perceive and make sense of these differences. In this talk, we present findings from a qualitative study examining how undergraduate students navigate the contrasts between their mathematics and physics courses. Drawing on surveys and interviews, we explore students’ experiences with differing pedagogical approaches, standards of mathematical justification, and conceptual organization across the two disciplines. Our results show that students are keenly aware of these differences and develop concrete strategies to bridge them. We highlight key themes from our data, discuss their implications for learning and problem-solving, and suggest how greater awareness of these disciplinary contrasts — among both faculty and students — could improve knowledge transfer and support more effective interdisciplinary learning.

Andrew Meyertholen

Associate Teaching Professor of Physics,

UC San Diego

Date and Time:
Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. US ET,
(Nepal Time: Saturday, Chaitra 14, 2082 at 7:45 p.m.)

Where? WebEx
Where?: WebEx (Registration required for Non-ANPA members)

Please register to get the WebEX link in your mailbox.