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We reflect on the transition of our Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) introductory physics courses – large-scale, general requirements – from fully in-person to fully remote during the Spring ’20, Fall ’20, and Spring ’21 semesters. First, we discuss the resources and tools we leveraged and consider their impacts on our course design; key resources included existing interactive content from parallel MOOC courses, randomized online formula response assessments, and video/audio/board collaboration tools. Next, we describe how the fully remote mode informed our structural changes to the course, such as increasing active engagement during class, lowering the stakes of graded components, and promoting group work and community. In addition, we catalog the modifications made to the workflows and collaboration strategies employed by our team of instructors, TAs, and course developers. Finally, wherever possible, we evaluate the impact of these many modifications to our performance as a team, the student experience in the course, and the instruction and learning achieved.

AAPT SM 21

Remote Active Learning for Large-Enrollment Introductory Physics

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For 20 years I have taught a two-semester undergraduate sequence in physics for the life sciences: Biological Physics in the fall and Medical Physics in the spring. A typical student takes the courses after completing a traditional introductory physics sequence (the two classes are independent, and can be taken individually or together in any order). The courses emphasize mathematically analyzing models applicable to the life sciences, and assume the student has at least a semester of calculus. Biological Physics covers biomechanics, fluid dynamics, exponential growth, heat, diffusion, osmotic pressure, bioelectricity, biomagnetism, and feedback. Medical Physics covers imaging, tomography, ultrasound, optics, x-rays, nuclear medicine, and magnetic resonance imaging. Most students major in physics, medical physics, or biomedical engineering, although occasionally an ambitious premed, biology, or chemistry student enrolls. A primary goal of the courses is for students to learn how to use mathematical models to gain insight into biological processes.

Two-Semester Intermediate Course Sequence in Physics for the Life Sciences

We discuss an investigation of upper-level undergraduate and graduate students’ difficulties with fundamental concepts involving a system of identical particles. The investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering written questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to these quantum mechanical concepts.

Student Difficulties with a System of Identical Particles

In a prior study, we investigated graduate student reasoning on a set of entropy-related conceptual tasks in a think-aloud format. The tasks involved entropy from microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, ideal gases, and a novel context involving a system with a dynamic string. In the current study, we conducted interviews with undergraduates using the same questionnaire. Most students were interviewed during the second half of their upper-division Thermal Physics course at the University of Colorado Boulder while two were upper-division undergraduates from other institutions with strong physics programs. We analyze the responses of the undergraduates to a section of the interview involving a novel system of a dynamic string waving in a bath of water and discuss the similarities and differences between the undergraduate and graduate students' responses. The responses from the two populations share many similarities with a few noteworthy exceptions. The undergraduates generally did not produce multiple macrostate classifications in the novel system, and some expressed a concern with what they perceived to be an infinite number of microstates---and thus infinite entropy---which was not a concern among the graduate students.

Comparing undergraduate and graduate student reasoning on conceptual entropy questionnaire

Quantum information science (QIS) courses have, until now, rarely been a subject of study in the PER community, due in part to their interdisciplinary nature and relatively recent emergence as a widespread curricular topic. We surveyed 116 faculty identified as developing or having taught undergraduate or graduate QIS courses in the US. We have received 26 complete responses, a response rate of 22%. Faculty were asked to describe the structure of the course, as well as any observed student difficulties or identified instructional needs. We also collected basic demographic data such as class size and departmental affiliation. We report on the findings of this survey, with an emphasis on identifying core content areas as well as specific student and instructor difficulties. We expect these findings to be useful in guiding future efforts to develop curricular and/or assessment tools for QIS courses.

Core Content and Difficulties Reported by Quantum Information Science Instructors

The transition to remote or hybrid laboratories was difficult for many institutions that primarily relied on in-person instruction. After my own research as well as conversations with colleagues and peer institutes, I have compiled a summary of the different techniques I have seen employed at different institutes to accommodate remote and hybrid laboratory styles. I hope this summary is helpful to anyone still struggling with moving their labs into an online world.

Laboratory Strategies in a Hybrid World

The COVID-19 pandemic caused nearly all colleges and universities to transition in-person courses to an online format. In this study, we explored how the rapid transition to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic affected students with disabilities. We interviewed 66 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduates with disabilities at seven large-enrollment institutions during Spring 2020. We probed to what extent students were able to access their existing accommodations, to what extent the online environment required novel accommodations, and what factors prevented students from being properly accommodated in STEM courses. Using inductive coding, we identified that students were unable to access previously established accommodations, such as reduced-distraction testing and note-takers. We also found that the online learning environment presented novel challenges for students with disabilities that may have been lessened with the implementation of accommodations. Finally, we found that instructors making decisions about what accommodations were appropriate for students and disability resource centers neglecting to contact students after the transition to online instruction prevented students from receiving the accommodations that they required in STEM courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study illuminates current gaps in the support of students with disabilities and pinpoints ways to make online STEM learning environments more inclusive for students with disabilities.

Challenges with Online Course Delivery for STEM Undergraduates with Disabilities

In introductory physics courses summative assessment is usually carried out with rigorous on-paper exams that are proctored and manually graded. When instruction was switched to the remote mode in 2020, in my large-enrollment College Physics Courses, implementing authentic online assessments posed significant challenges - for example, how to maintain the rigorousness? How to assess the problem-solving process rather than the final answers to ensure fair grading? How to make online exams equitably accessible to all students? How to minimize academic integrity violation? In this presentation, I will share the techniques I use to create customized online assessments and the tips for administering online assessments.

Implementing Authentic Online Assessments in Large Enrollment Introductory Courses


In the Summer of 2020, due to COVID-19, institutions either canceled or remotely hosted their NSF REU programs. We carried out a 16-week longitudinal study examining the impact of these fully remote research experiences on mentees’ psychosocial gains (e.g. sense of belonging). We studied the phenomenon of a remote research experience from the standpoint of the mentees (N=10) and their mentors (N=8), who were each interviewed seven and three times, respectively (94 total interviews). All mentees reported that this experience was highly beneficial and that they developed a sense of belonging and identity, despite working remotely -- often from their own bedrooms. Mentees developed a sense of belonging through making scientific contributions and through their communication and social interactions with other group members. Additionally, our results demonstrate that mentees’ research identity particularly developed through taking responsibility for their work and seeing it valued by others.


Impact of virtual REU experiences on sense-of-belonging and identity.

In May 2020, our University decided to proceed with remote teaching in fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, I spent the spring and summer of 2020
redesigning my first-year physics course on mechanics for remote teaching. Since I have mainly done face-to-face teaching in the past, it was a monumental task to rise
to the challenge posed by this sudden disruption caused by the pandemic to in-person teaching and learning. I attended many workshops and programs to get ideas to meet this challenge. In the redesign, I focused on multiple factors with the overarching aim of maximizing student learning and its social aspects. In this presentation, I am excited to share how all these efforts came together in the form of a new functional course design, and what role my pre-pandemic experience played in coming up with this new course design.


Redesigning a first-year mechanics course for remote teaching during Covid-19

Undergraduate research is a critical component of student engagement and retention and the pandemic has challenged us to be creative and adapt. Our colleges have been engaging in collaborative projects for years, establishing a working relationship across campuses, so we were able to leverage this experience to continue working with students on a sounding rocket payload and other projects. The first few months, all work stopped, but we were able to utilize that time to plan. Allowing students to work at home kept the projects alive, weekly journaling kept them communicating and zoom check-ins kept them engaged and accountable. Support from Colorado Space Grant was pivotal in switching to a virtual model, without their support we would not have been able to do robotics and aerospace projects. Burnout is an issue for both students and faculty, as we have supported the stressful struggles of students while going through similar issues.

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Remote Active Learning for Large-Enrollment Introductory Physics

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Two-Semester Intermediate Course Sequence in Physics for the Life Sciences

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