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It can be difficult for introductory physics students to understand the nature of electric fields because electric fields are not tangible nor visible. With the intent of providing students the tools to help them understand electric fields, we conducted a study, via Zoom, in which we tested the efficacy of three technological learning tools in developing student understanding of electric fields. The tools, developed by our team, include a video lesson, an electric field simulator, and an online electric field game. The students in two sections of a second-semester, algebra-based physics course were each randomly assigned to use one of the three tools. All completed pre- and post-activity diagnostics including questions targeting the learning objectives, beliefs about physics, and learning preferences. We will discuss the results of our study and the implications on the development of future tools.

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Assessing the efficacy of technological tools to teach electric fields

electric fields

technology

education

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We have administered diagnostic tests covering pre-college mathematics to over 6700 introductory physics students at four state universities, with largely consistent results. Key findings include: (1) Use of symbols to replace numbers in otherwise identical algebraic equations significantly lowered correct-response rates, implying that instructors may want to be more cautious when employing symbolic manipulations; (2) Few physics students solved algebraic equations by “isolating the unknown variable,” implying that instructors’ standard and habitual approach to algebraic manipulation may appear confusing, and should be modified or better scaffolded; (3) Class-average scores on even a single diagnostic test item were highly predictive of average scores on other items covering varied topics, suggesting it may be possible to diagnose the level of students’ difficulties with very few pretest items; (4) During interviews, students tended to self-correct approximately 60% of their initial errors, suggesting that instruction on self-checking strategies may offer disproportionately high returns.

Instructional implications of findings on students’ mathematics difficulties

Physics education is facing challenges in terms of ensuring student engagement with physics. This can be due to the techno-centric approach in physics education when little or no attention is devoted to exploring the relationship between physics concepts and human needs. To change this may require that in addition to examining questions of “what” and “how” required for developing skills in abstract problem-solving, we may also need to leverage a techno-centric approach to teaching physics curriculum to enhance student engagement with physics by helping them to understand the “why” that inspires STEM undergraduates to learn physics. The essence of the socio-technical approach to physics education is based on contextualizing physics in real-world applications that reveals impact of physics on human and humanity. We will discuss the results the connection between Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship computational and laboratory skillset that can offer an enhanced model for teaching physics.

Fostering synergy among mindset and skillset

Physics for Tomorrow talk 3 of 3. Lab courses can meet the ideals of a “Physics for Tomorrow” curriculum by integrating theory, computation, and experimentation in ways that emphasize social impact and career-relevant applications. COVID-19 served as the catalyst for a significant overhaul of the 2nd-year electronics lab at Rochester Institute of Technology, which is taken by about 45 physics majors. The course now uses low-cost lab kits (130 USD), which increase the hands-on lab experience for every student, whether they are in-person or remote. Circuit simulations in LTspice (free) provide experience with commercial circuit simulators, while Jupyter notebooks are used as electronic lab notebooks and to incorporate scientific Python. An optical heart rate monitor is the focus of a culminating 2-week lab showing human-centered interdisciplinary applications of physics and electronics. Finally, multi-week final projects are proposed and executed by students to reinforce that physics is a creative and applied discipline.

Integrating computation, experimentation, projects, and human-centered applications in lab courses

In order to prepare students as future professionals, reforming science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has been demanded by education committees and government bodies alike. To become successful and effective scientists, medical professionals, or engineers, students must be skilled in science application, peer collaboration, science-based critical thinking, and effective communication. As misinformation spreads quickly and resistance to scientific knowledge thrives, the future of science depends on preparing students to overcome this opposition. In order to foster these skills, we used the Deliberative Democracy (DD) active-learning model. Each module focuses on a socially relevant and sometimes controversial scientific problem (e.g. climate change), tasking students to collaborate with their peers to identify the scientific issues, building physics models, researching & deliberating solutions through policies and regulations, and effectively communicating these in a written report. We will walk through the development process and share early results from this project in this talk.

Using Deliberative Democracy to Develop Scientific Skills through Group Collaboration

Problem solving is an important aspect of physics education. To become skilled problem solvers students do not only need sufficient conceptual and procedural knowledge, they also need metacognitive skills in order to monitor their solution process. We present a prototype for an online tool that aims at stimulating students’ metacognitive skills for problem solving by offering them problem-specific reflection questions. We discuss a case study of the implementation of the tool within a 1st year mechanics course.

Supporting Metacognition in Physics Problem Solving.

Critical thinking has a natural home in student laboratory experiences, yet labs in most schools are "cookbook" or confirmatory and rarely require students to apply knowledge in new and challenging ways to real world applications and ways of work of scientists engineers and physicists. This talk talks about how we can create authentic laboratoray experiences for students through how we purposely plan laboratories.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Laboratory Experiences

Discussion posts have been used to involve students in a greater understanding of class material, particularly in applying it to the world outside the classroom. For online classes, they often serve as the primary channel through which students communicate with each other. We can also use discussion posts to facilitate scientific thinking and analysis by having students explore a question or problem, research it to find sources, and interpret results. These range from watching an educational video and describing the host’s analysis and results for a particular experiment, to doing their own search on everyday phenomena like static electricity in laundry, power generation on a Washington wind farm, or lightning. These types of weekly discussion posts have been added to both my Introductory Physics and Astronomy classes, and student engagement and reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

Scientific Thinking and Exploratory Discussion Posts

After instruction, many students apply basic physics knowledge correctly to solve problems that require straightforward applications of that knowledge. At the same time, some students struggle to apply the same knowledge in situations that elicit alternative intuitive ideas. To recognize an inconsistency between such intuitive ideas and formal knowledge, a process of conflict detection and override must be initiated. However, for this process to be sustained, students must articulate criteria that must be satisfied to accept or reject an intuitive response. It appears that many students need explicit instruction to help them recognize that the same physics knowledge could be used 1) as a tool for solving a given problem and 2) as a criterion for checking for the validity of intuitive responses. We will describe our efforts to design instruction in an introductory calculus-based Mechanics course that focuses on the second aspect of physics knowledge.

Developing skills for validity checking of intuitively appealing responses

The ability to effectively engage in evidence-based decision-making is an important educational outcome. Over the past decade, we have developed and evaluated a lab curriculum in which all activities are designed around the theory-evidence coordination framework to advance select reasoning skills. For each lab, students address a central research question, and guided activities explicitly emphasize causal and hypothetical reasoning embedded in cycles of inquiry, reflection, evaluation, and communication of outcomes. Due to the pandemic, the labs were redesigned for online synchronous delivery where students worked in groups of four in Zoom breakout rooms. The presentation will showcase the underlying reasoning framework that can be used by others to develop their own materials, discuss how students were still able to collect data and create mathematical models in the online format, and compare learning outcome data for both the online and face-to-face settings. Access to the lab materials will also be provided. 
*Partially supported by the NSF IUSE 1431908


Comparing In-person and Online Physics Labs for Developing Scientific Reasoning

Doing Physics and bringing my true authentic self have not always been in alignment. This talk will give insight into my journey from where I've been to where I am now and how I think our physics environment needs to change.

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Supporting Students with Technology During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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