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We discuss new experimental and analytical studies of the familiar pair of spring-coupled-pendulua (SCP). This system is frequently used to introduce eigenvalue analysis and coupled differential equations (1). We extend the tutorial value of the SCP by measuring and modeling energy “flow.” Specifically, we follow the time behavior of the system energy as it flows between kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and spring potential energy. We follow three different states: symmetric motion, the first normal mode, antisymmetric motion, the second normal mode, and mixed-mode motion modeled as a linear combination of the two normal modes. We compare our modeled behavior with experimental measurements we make using a simple, effective, and low-cost system (2).&amp;nbsp; We use these studies to supplement an Applied Linear Algebra Course that involves hands-on measurement of dynamical systems and explorations that go beyond what is found in most textbooks.

AAPT WM 21

Energy Flow in Spring Coupled Pendula: Measurements and Analysis

energy flow

eigenvalues

coupled pendula

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We discuss new experimental and analytical studies of the familiar pair of spring-coupled-pendulua (SCP). This system is frequently used to introduce eigenvalue analysis and coupled differential equations (1). We extend the tutorial value of the SCP by measuring and modeling energy “flow.” Specifically, we follow the time behavior of the system energy as it flows between kinetic energy, gravitational potential energy, and spring potential energy. We follow three different states: symmetric motion, the first normal mode, antisymmetric motion, the second normal mode, and mixed-mode motion modeled as a linear combination of the two normal modes. We compare our modeled behavior with experimental measurements we make using a simple, effective, and low-cost system (2).&nbsp; We use these studies to supplement an Applied Linear Algebra Course that involves hands-on measurement of dynamical systems and explorations that go beyond what is found in most textbooks.

technical paper

We present several ideas for alternative assessments in courses taught virtually. We will discuss video and photo assignment alternatives to exams, such as mini-lessons, photo blogs, and community-based learning, that allow students to engage with, and demonstrate their mastery of, course concepts. This is part of a series of talks stemming from the NextGen PET FOLC project. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grant NSF DUE-1626496.

Assessment Options for Remote Learning: Alternatives to Traditional Exams

In online or flipped courses, instructors often assign asynchronous online lecture videos. However, in-classroom and synchronous lectures frequently include interactive elements such as clicker questions. The goal of this project is to create a set of Interactive Online Lectures that foster active learning in an asynchronous format. Six lecturers at four diverse institutions are creating and sharing the lecture videos and interactive elements for the first semester of an introductory calculus-based course. Each lecture consists of several short (5 to 8 minute) video lecture segments interspersed with required multiple-choice "clicker questions" designed to help students understand the lecture content. After submitting each answer, the student sees an explanation of why the answer is correct or incorrect. The lectures are currently being used at five institutions either as primary or supplementary materials. Sample lectures and instructions for signing up to use the lectures at no cost can be found at https://ivet.rit.edu/IOL.

Interactive Online Lectures with Clicker Questions

We have created a web-based, asynchronous, interactive, Get-the-Facts-Out activity for providing students with information about the benefits of a career teaching physics.&nbsp; The format enables us to provide the activity to multiple groups with minimal effort after initial implementation.&nbsp; Students in the gateway, third-semester physics course and several upper-level physics courses were assigned the activity as part of the physics major/minor career curriculum, as were students in educational studies courses. &nbsp; We will share preliminary data on the state of knowledge as students began the activity and on their self-reported learning and changes in attitude afterward.&nbsp;&nbsp; Earlier, not long after the US onset of the pandemic, we conducted a live, online, Get-the-Facts-Out presentation to faculty in all of the STEM departments and Educational Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

An Asynchronous, Interactive, Get-The-Facts-Out Activity and More

The Get the Facts Out Project is an ambitious effort to change the conversation around physics, chemistry, and math teacher recruitment.&nbsp; We are utilizing best practices from cognitive science, communications science, education research, and multimedia learning to create effective ways to persuade faculty to view the teaching profession with a new lens and to leave the door open to this great career option. Did you know that teachers in the United States rate their lives better than all other occupation groups, trailing only physicians? In this presentation we will share updates on our latest resources and research results including effective strategies for recruitment in a virtual world.&nbsp; This project is supported by NSF DUE-1821710.

Recruiting Physics Teachers in a Virtual World

We have developed and extensively tested written and visual teacher recruitment materials as part of the Get the Facts Out (GFO) project in an effort to correct the nation’s science and math teacher shortage. First, we worked with experts to develop taglines, sentences, and other written materials based on our research on perceptions of the teaching profession. Additionally, we identified appealing photos and videos related to teaching. Next, we tested and refined these materials over two years using faculty and student focus groups at several US universities. Recently, we began collecting large-scale data via a national online survey. Our results provide insights into optimal recruitment strategies, and we will share some of our unique findings based on location, demographics, and target audience.&nbsp;This project is supported by NSF DUE-1821710.

User Testing of Teacher Recruitment Videos, Images, and Other Materials

Teachers in the United States rate their lives better than all other occupation groups, trailing only physicians. Despite this fact, there is a shortage of secondary math and science teachers in this country. One reason for this disparity is a lack of accurate and positive information about the profession. To correct this disparity, the Get the Facts Out (GFO) project has developed research-based, user-tested materials that provide accurate messaging about teacher happiness, autonomy, and financial well-being. As part of this project which investigates how these resources can affect the number of math and science majors who pursue grade 7-12 teaching, we have collected in-person and virtual focus group data from students and faculty members at 6 universities from around the country. These results provide insight into perceptions of grade 7-12 teaching and into how GFO resources are being used in recruitment efforts. Implications for teacher recruitment will be discussed.

Teacher Recruitment: Focus Group Insights from Six Universities

Lewis University is in the first year of its PhysTEC Recruiting Grant, which is intended to help increase the number of physics teacher candidates. Lewis has a B.A. in Physics for High School Teaching Licensure and an M.A. in Secondary Education, and we have historically graduated&nbsp;one physics teacher per year on average. As part of this grant work, we are developing&nbsp;a new accelerated Bachelors in Physics to Masters in Secondary Education track.&nbsp;We are&nbsp;also modifying Get the Facts Out materials to reflect&nbsp;data from the Chicagoland region and are using these materials&nbsp;to&nbsp;educate faculty about high school physics teaching as a career, to recruit current majors at the University into physics teaching, and to recruit high school and community college students. This presentation will discuss these efforts, including how we have modified our recruiting plans to engage these groups remotely due to the pandemic.

Getting the Facts Out about Physics Teaching at Lewis University

This talk addresses the collection methods, plans, and preliminary baseline data for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University--a private,&nbsp;aeronautical-focused&nbsp;university that may be considered quite removed from the secondary teacher pipeline. The underlying presumption of the "Get the Facts Out" (GFO) project is that perceptions of grade 7-12 teaching impact the number of undergraduates who choose to enter that profession. Changing the conversation around the grade 7-12 teaching profession at institutions with deliberate and focused efforts to recruit, train, and prepare secondary physics teachers is, of course,&nbsp;of&nbsp;upmost importance. However,&nbsp;the GFO project aims&nbsp;to reach anyone who influences employment decisions of undergraduate students. Therefore, analysis of&nbsp;this and other similar institutions&nbsp;may&nbsp;help serve&nbsp;as a measure of&nbsp;general perceptions&nbsp;for GFO's longitudinal&nbsp;study.

It's All About Perspective: Where an Aeronautical-university fits into GFO

This work applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and graded Item Response Theory (IRT) to a large sample (N=4522) of Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) post-test scores. EFA failed to reproduce the factor structure suggested by the authors of the CLASS and strongly supported the alternate 3-factor model suggested by Douglas et al.&nbsp; Graded IRT allowed an examination of the progression from non-expert-like to expert-like beliefs. This progression was generally uniform with a linear relation between the difficulty of each step in the progression. Some items within the factors identified by Douglas et al. had difficulty and discrimination parameters substantially different than other items in the factor suggesting the subscale is not unidimensional. The expert-like latent ability trait estimated by IRT correlated more strongly with measures of physics performance than measures of general academic performance indicating that expert-like beliefs are not a general property of high performing students.

Exploring the CLASS with Item Response Theory

Informal physics learning environments bring physicists, physics students, and public audiences together in a variety of formats. Popular events include youth camps, public lectures, and demo shows. However, these format-focused labels do not illuminate underlying factors important for the design and implementation of informal physics activities. Here, we present results from a qualitative research study to investigate the aspects of informal physics programs that are critical to their functionality. Drawing from organizational theory, we code interviews with program leaders for emergent themes within the broad categories of personnel, audience, resources, institution, and programs. The emergent themes form the basis for our developing model of key components that are necessary for informal physics programs to function. We share our current model for these key components and discuss future work to develop practitioner tools to assess programs.

Energy Flow in Spring Coupled Pendula: Measurements and Analysis

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