Instructor approaches to teaching computational physics problems in problem-based courses

Increasingly, introductory physics courses are focusing on “authentic practices”, for example, by including computational problems that allow students to engage with programming practices and numerical problem-solving methods used by physicists. Understanding how instructors teach such problems is important for improving instruction. We interviewed instructors in a problem-based mechanics course that incorporates computational problems. These instructors were undergraduates who were previously successful as students in the course. Their prior involvement as students, along with their fewer experiences with programming and physics compared to faculty instructors, give them a unique perspective on teaching in the course. We present here thematic analysis of these interviews.