Translation between symbolic languages in different content areas: the case of the electric field flux

Abstract

A generic case study as that defined by (Merriam, 1998) is presented here. In the first part of the work, the symbolic system used in basic electromagnetism books when presenting the concept of electric flux is compared with the symbolic system used in calculus books when presenting Gauss’ Theorem. The analysis was guided by the Dual Coding Theory posed by Sadoski & Paivio (2004). The results show that, while there exists a great deal of uniformity within one area (Physics or Calculus), there exist discrepancies between areas. The second part of this work deals with the symbolic-symbolic translation that students are able to carry out when having learned Gauss Theorem with a symbolic system that is different from the one used in Physics. It is suggested that the lack of interpretation of what the symbols mean can initially contribute to hinder comprehension about the flux concept.