36,336 research outputs found
Engineering fundamentals in a new undergraduate curriculum
CONTEXT In recent years there has been a push in Engineering education to change the basic model fromstudents learning discrete subjects, followed by design projects in third and fourth year, to learningand practicing the design process from the first year. At the same time, there has also been a pushtowards “active learning” (Prince, 2004) as opposed to the more traditional lecture/tutorial/practicalapproach. This year, Deakin University has launched a new design-centred curriculum inundergraduate engineering. Named “Project-Oriented Design-Based Learning” (PODBL), the newcourse structure is running in first and second years. In semester one of first year in the new course,students enrol in one double-unit of design, one unit of maths, and one unit of fundamental science.PURPOSE This work seeks to determine whether a new fundamental-science unit called “EngineeringFundamentals” fulfils the educational needs of first-year students in the PODBL curriculum. It alsoseeks to determine student perceptions of the new unit.APPROACH The unit was first offered in semester-one, 2016 to two separate on-campus cohorts and an offcampuscohort. Innovations in this unit include using the CADET model for teaching combinedpractical-tutorial seminars, a shift in lectures from delivering conceptual content to teaching problemsolving and applications (flipping the classroom), and extensive use of online videos and study guidesfor delivering primary content (Cloud Learning). Student learning was assessed by means of problembasedonline quizzes, practical reports, and a final exam. Student perceptions were queried by astandard unit-evaluation system and by a more focussed set of surveys given to students in threeseparate cohorts.RESULTS The academic results in this unit were compared with those in the previous unit. No substantialdifferences were observed in the marks of this unit in 2016 compared with the 2015 marks of thecorresponding previous physics unit. On-campus students showed more general satisfaction with theunit than did off-campus students. However, not all on-campus students were happy with the flippedclassroommodel.CONCLUSIONS As the course changes from a traditional approach to a design and project-based approach, it is best ifall units in the course adapt in some way to the new teaching style. Not all units need be completelyproject or design based. In the case of “Engineering Fundamentals,” we believe that due to the widevariety of topics covered, making the entire unit design-based is inappropriate. However, some designand project components can be built into the unit via the practicals. Semester one 2016 was asuccessful first offering of the unit. We recommend that in future years a design/project component beconsidered for the unit’s practicals
Teaching and understanding of quantum interpretations in modern physics courses
Just as expert physicists vary in their personal stances on interpretation in
quantum mechanics, instructors vary on whether and how to teach interpretations
of quantum phenomena in introductory modern physics courses. In this paper, we
document variations in instructional approaches with respect to interpretation
in two similar modern physics courses recently taught at the University of
Colorado, and examine associated impacts on student perspectives regarding
quantum physics. We find students are more likely to prefer realist
interpretations of quantum-mechanical systems when instructors are less
explicit in addressing student ontologies. We also observe contextual
variations in student beliefs about quantum systems, indicating that
instructors who choose to address questions of ontology in quantum mechanics
should do so explicitly across a range of topics.Comment: 18 pages, references, plus 2 pages supplemental materials. 8 figures.
PACS: 01.40.Fk, 03.65.-
Developing High Performance Computing Resources for Teaching Cluster and Grid Computing courses
High-Performance Computing (HPC) and the ability to process large amounts of data are of
paramount importance for UK business and economy as outlined by Rt Hon David Willetts
MP at the HPC and Big Data conference in February 2014. However there is a shortage of
skills and available training in HPC to prepare and expand the workforce for the HPC and
Big Data research and development. Currently, HPC skills are acquired mainly by students
and staff taking part in HPC-related research projects, MSc courses, and at the dedicated
training centres such as Edinburgh University’s EPCC. There are few UK universities teaching
the HPC, Clusters and Grid Computing courses at the undergraduate level. To address the
issue of skills shortages in the HPC it is essential to provide teaching and training as part of
both postgraduate and undergraduate courses. The design and development of such courses is
challenging since the technologies and software in the fields of large scale distributed systems
such as Cluster, Cloud and Grid computing are undergoing continuous change. The students
completing the HPC courses should be proficient in these evolving technologies and equipped
with practical and theoretical skills for future jobs in this fast developing area.
In this paper we present our experience in developing the HPC, Cluster and Grid modules
including a review of existing HPC courses offered at the UK universities. The topics covered in
the modules are described, as well as the coursework projects based on practical laboratory work.
We conclude with an evaluation based on our experience over the last ten years in developing
and delivering the HPC modules on the undergraduate courses, with suggestions for future work
Refined Characterization of Student Perspectives on Quantum Physics
The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often
negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when
taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of
student perspectives on the interpretation of quantum physics is needed, both
to characterize student understanding of physics concepts, and to inform how we
might teach traditional content. Our previous investigations of student
perspectives on quantum physics have indicated they can be highly nuanced, and
may vary both within and across contexts. In order to better understand the
contextual and often seemingly contradictory stances of students on matters of
interpretation, we interviewed 19 students from four introductory modern
physics courses taught at the University of Colorado. We find that students
have attitudes and opinions that often parallel the stances of expert
physicists when arguing for their favored interpretations of quantum mechanics,
allowing for more nuanced characterizations of student perspectives in terms of
three key interpretive themes. We present a framework for characterizing
student perspectives on quantum mechanics, and demonstrate its utility in
interpreting the sometimes-contradictory nature of student responses to
previous surveys. We further find that students most often vacillate in their
responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what
they consider to be a correct response, underscoring the need to distinguish
between the personal and the public perspectives of introductory modern physics
students.Comment: 24 pages, 31 references, 1 Appendix (5 pages
Teaching Data Science
We describe an introductory data science course, entitled Introduction to
Data Science, offered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The
course introduced general programming concepts by using the Python programming
language with an emphasis on data preparation, processing, and presentation.
The course had no prerequisites, and students were not expected to have any
programming experience. This introductory course was designed to cover a wide
range of topics, from the nature of data, to storage, to visualization, to
probability and statistical analysis, to cloud and high performance computing,
without becoming overly focused on any one subject. We conclude this article
with a discussion of lessons learned and our plans to develop new data science
courses.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, International Conference on Computational
Science (ICCS 2016
Multinational perspectives on information technology from academia and industry
As the term \u27information technology\u27 has many meanings for various stakeholders and continues to evolve, this work presents a comprehensive approach for developing curriculum guidelines for rigorous, high quality, bachelor\u27s degree programs in information technology (IT) to prepare successful graduates for a future global technological society. The aim is to address three research questions in the context of IT concerning (1) the educational frameworks relevant for academics and students of IT, (2) the pathways into IT programs, and (3) graduates\u27 preparation for meeting future technologies. The analysis of current trends comes from survey data of IT faculty members and professional IT industry leaders. With these analyses, the IT Model Curricula of CC2005, IT2008, IT2017, extensive literature review, and the multinational insights of the authors into the status of IT, this paper presents a comprehensive overview and discussion of future directions of global IT education toward 2025
Developing and Researching PhET simulations for Teaching Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics is difficult to learn because it is counterintuitive, hard
to visualize, mathematically challenging, and abstract. The Physics Education
Technology (PhET) Project, known for its interactive computer simulations for
teaching and learning physics, now includes 18 simulations on quantum mechanics
designed to improve learning of this difficult subject. Our simulations include
several key features to help students build mental models and intuitions about
quantum mechanics: visual representations of abstract concepts and microscopic
processes that cannot be directly observed, interactive environments that
directly couple students' actions to animations, connections to everyday life,
and efficient calculations so students can focus on the concepts rather than
the math. Like all PhET simulations, these are developed using the results of
education research and feedback from educators, and are tested in student
interviews and classroom studies. This article provides an overview of the PhET
quantum simulations and their development. We also describe research
demonstrating their effectiveness and share some insights about student
thinking that we have gained from our research on quantum simulations.Comment: accepted by American Journal of Physics; v2 includes an additional
study, more explanation of research behind claims, clearer wording, and more
reference
SciTech News Volume 71, No. 1 (2017)
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