Dynamic Models of Learning and Education Measurement

Pre-post testing is a commonly used method in physics education community for evaluating students' achievement and or the effectiveness of teaching through a specific period of instruction. A popular method to analyze pre-post testing results is the normalized gain first brought to the physics education community in wide use by R.R. Hake. This paper presents a measurement based probabilistic model of the dynamic process of learning that explains the experimentally observed features of the normalized gain. In Hake's study with thousands of students' pre-post testing results, he observed that on average 48 courses employing "interactive engagement" types of instruction achieved average normalized gains about two standard deviations greater than did 14 courses subjected to traditional instruction. For all courses the average normalized gains had a very low correlation +0.02 with average pretest scores. This feature of the normalized gain has allowed researchers to investigate the effectiveness of instruction using data collected from classes with widely different average pretest scores. However, the question of why the average normalized gain has this feature and to what extent this feature is generally present is not well understood. In addition, there have been debates as to what the normalized gain actually measures, and concerns that it lacks a probability framework that undergirds psychometric methods such as Item Response Theory (IRT). The present model leads to an explanation of the observed features of the normalized gain, connects to other models such as IRT, and shows that the normalized gain does have a probability framework but one different from that emphasized by IRT.Comment: Theoretical Models of Education Measuremen

Student Resources in Quantum Mechanics, or Why Students Need Meta-resources

We are trying to identify resources students are using to reason in quantum mechanics. In this process we realize students must have not only the right resources available but sophisticated for evaluating and controlling their thought processes. We will discuss examples from student interviews to illustrate our point.Comment: 4 pages, No figures, Submitted to the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, 200

Flexibility of nucleic acids: from DNA to RNA

The structural flexibility of nucleic acids plays a key role in many fundamental life processes, such as gene replication and expression, DNA-protein recognition, and gene regulation. To obtain a thorough understanding of nucleic acid flexibility, extensive studies have been performed using various experimental methods and theoretical models. In this review, we will introduce the progress that has been made in understanding the flexibility of nucleic acids including DNAs and RNAs, and will emphasize the experimental findings and the effects of salt, temperature, and sequence. Finally, we will discuss the major unanswered questions in understanding the flexibility of nucleic acids.Comment: 24 pages, 3 table

Global solutions and exterior Dirichlet problem for Monge-Ampere equation in R2\mathbb R^2

Monge-Amp\`ere equation $\det(D^2u)=f$ in two dimensional spaces is different in nature from their counterparts in higher dimensional spaces. In this article we employ new ideas to establish two main results for the Monge-Amp\`ere equation defined either globally in $\mathbb R^2$ or outside a convex set. First we prove the existence of a global solution that satisfies a prescribed asymptotic behavior at infinity, if $f$ is asymptotically close to a positive constant. Then we solve the exterior Dirichlet problem if data are given on the boundary of a convex set and at infinity.Comment: 17 page

In-medium properties of kaons in a chiral approach

The first order self-energy corrections of the kaon in the symmetric nuclear matter are calculated from kaon-nucleon scattering matrix elements using a chiral Lagrangian within the framework of relativistic mean field approximation. It shows that the effective mass and the potential of K^+ meson are identical with those of K^- meson in the nuclear matter, respectively. The effective mass of the kaon in the nuclear matter decreases with the nuclear density increasing, and is not relevant to the kaon-nucleon Sigma term. The kaon-nucleus potential is positive and increases with the nuclear density. Moreover, the influence of the resonance $\Lambda(1405)$ on the $K^-$-nucleus potential due to the re-scattering term is discussed. Our results indicate the K^- meson could not be bound in the nuclei even if the contribution of $\Lambda(1405)$ resonance is considered.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, The contribution of Lambda(1405) resonance in the rescattering process to the K-nucleus potential is discussed in the revised versio

Full-Color Computational Imaging with Single-Pixel Detectors Based on a 2D Discrete Cosine Transform

We propose and demonstrate a computational imaging technique that uses structured illumination based on a two-dimensional discrete cosine transform to perform imaging with a single-pixel detector. A scene is illuminated by a projector with two sets of orthogonal patterns, then by applying an inverse cosine transform to the spectra obtained from the single-pixel detector a full-color image is retrieved. This technique can retrieve an image from sub-Nyquist measurements, and the background noise is easily canceled to give excellent image quality. Moreover, the experimental setup is very simple.Comment: 7 pages,4 figure

Nonadiabatic noncyclic geometric quantum computation in Rydberg atoms

Nonadiabatic geometric quantum computation (NGQC) has been developed to realize fast and robust geometric gate. However, the conventional NGQC is that all of the gates are performed with exactly the sameamount of time, whether the geometric rotation angle is large or small, due to the limitation of cyclic condition. Here, we propose an unconventional scheme, called nonadiabatic noncyclic geometric quantum computation(NNGQC), that arbitrary single- and two-qubit geometric gate can be constructed via noncyclic non-Abeliangeometric phase. Consequently, this scheme makes it possible to accelerate the implemented geometric gatesagainst the effects from the environmental decoherence. Furthermore, this extensible scheme can be applied invarious quantum platforms, such as superconducting qubit and Rydberg atoms. Specifically, for single-qubit gate,we make simulations with practical parameters in neutral atom system to show the robustness of NNGQC and also compare with NGQC using the recent experimental parameters to show that the NNGQC can significantly suppress the decoherence error. In addition, we also demonstrate that nontrivial two-qubit geometric gate can berealized via unconventional Rydberg blockade regime within current experimental technologies. Therefore, ourscheme provides a promising way for fast and robust neutral-atom-based quantum computation.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Published visio

A Modified Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Approach for Modelling Dynamic Contact Angle Hysteresis

Dynamic wetting plays an important role in the physics of multiphase flow, and has significant influence on many industrial and geotechnical applications. In this work, a modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model is employed to simulate surface tension, contact angle, and dynamic wetting effects. The wetting and dewetting phenomena are simulated in a capillary tube, where the liquid particles are raised or withdrawn by a shifting substrate. The SPH model is modified by introducing a newly-developed viscous force formulation at liquid-solid interface to reproduce the rate-dependent behaviour of moving contact line. Dynamic contact angle simulations with interfacial viscous force are conducted to verify the effectiveness and accuracy of this new formulation. In addition, the influence of interfacial viscous force with different magnitude on contact angle dynamics is examined by empirical power law correlations, and the derived constants suggest the dynamic contact angle changes monotonically with interfacial viscous force. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental observations and theoretical predictions, implying that the interfacial viscous force can be associated with slip length of flow and microscopic surface roughness. This work has demonstrated that the modified SPH model can successfully account for the rate-dependent effects of moving contact line, and can be used for realistic multiphase flow simulation under dynamic conditions.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure

Affective Factors in STEM Learning and Scientific Inquiry: Assessment of Cognitive Conflict and Anxiety

Cognitive conflict is well recognized as an important factor in conceptual change and is widely used in developing inquiry-based curricula. However, cognitive conflict can also contribute to student anxiety during learning, which can have both positive and negative impacts on students' motivation and learning achievement. Therefore, instructors need to be informed of the impacts of introducing cognitive conflicts during teaching. To get this information, teachers need a practical instrument that can help them identify the existence and features of cognitive conflict introduced by the instruction and the resulting anxiety. Based on the literature on studies of cognitive conflict and student anxiety, a quantitative instrument, the In-class Conflict and Anxiety Recognition Evaluation (iCARE), was developed and used to monitor the status of students' cognitive conflict and anxiety in the Physics by Inquiry (PBI) classes. This paper introduces this instrument and discusses the types of information that can be measured. Research and pedagogical values of this instrument are also discussed.Comment: 52 page

Analyzing Force Concept Inventory with Item Response Theory

Item Response Theory (IRT) is a popular assessment method used in education measurement, which builds on an assumption of a probability framework connecting students' innate ability and their actual performances on test items. The model transforms students' raw test scores through a nonlinear regression process into a scaled proficiency rating, which can be used to compare results obtained with different test questions. IRT also provides a theoretical approach to address ceiling effect and guessing. We applied IRT to analyze the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). The data was collected from 2802 students taking intro level mechanics courses at The Ohio State University. The data was analyzed with a 3-parameter item response model for multiple choice questions. We describe the procedures of the analysis and discuss the results and the interpretations. The analysis outcomes are compiled to provide a detailed IRT measurement metric of the FCI, which can be easily referenced and used by teachers and researchers for a range of assessment applications.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure