194 research outputs found
Examining and contrasting the cognitive activities engaged in undergraduate research experiences and lab courses
While the positive outcomes of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have
been extensively categorized, the mechanisms for those outcomes are less
understood. Through lightly structured focus group interviews, we have
extracted the cognitive tasks that students identify as engaging in during
their UREs. We also use their many comparative statements about their
coursework, especially lab courses, to evaluate their experimental
physics-related cognitive tasks in those environments. We find there are a
number of cognitive tasks consistently encountered in physics UREs that are
present in most experimental research. These are seldom encountered in lab or
lecture courses, with some notable exceptions. Having time to reflect and fix
or revise, and having a sense of autonomy, were both repeatedly cited as key
enablers of the benefits of UREs. We also identify tasks encountered in actual
experimental research that are not encountered in UREs. We use these findings
to identify opportunities for better integration of the cognitive tasks in UREs
and lab courses, as well as discussing the barriers that exist. This work
responds to extensive calls for science education to better develop students'
scientific skills and practices, as well as calls to expose more students to
scientific research.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Transforming a 4th year Modern Optics Course Using a Deliberate Practice Framework
We present a study of active learning pedagogies in an upper division physics
course. This work was guided by the principle of deliberate practice for the
development of expertise, and this principle was used in the design of the
materials and the orchestration of the classroom activities of the students. We
present our process for efficiently converting a traditional lecture course
based on instructor notes into activities for such a course with active
learning methods. Ninety percent of the same material was covered and scores on
common exam problems showed a 15 % improvement with an effect size greater than
1 after the transformation. We observe that the improvement and the associated
effect size is sustained after handing off the materials to a second
instructor. Because the improvement on exam questions was independent of
specific problem topics and because the material tested was so mathematically
advanced and broad (including linear algebra, Fourier Transforms, partial
differential equations, vector calculus), we expect the transformation process
could be applied to most upper division physics courses having a similar
mathematical base.Comment: 31 page
Introducing an Instructional Model for Teaching Blended Math-Science Sensemaking in Undergraduate STEM Courses Using Computer Simulations
The ability to express scientific concepts in mathematical terms and
integrate scientific and mathematical reasoning about a phenomenon is a
foundational cognitive process involved in scientific thinking. This process
called blended math-science sensemaking (blended MSS) is a desired skill for
all STEM students, but few students are learning it, and there is little
research on how to teach it. In this work we introduce the development and
testing of a novel instructional method for teaching blended (MSS) that is
suitable for use in STEM courses in undergraduate and K-12 educational
settings. This study builds on our past work on developing and validating a
framework for characterizing in detail the cognitive levels involved in such
sensemaking. This work uses the unique power of interactive simulations for
assessing and developing blended MSS. We designed instructional activities to
help students use blended MSS in the contexts of heat capacity and Coulombs
law. The Heat Capacity activity was piloted in a freshmen Chemistry course and
the Coulombs law activity was piloted in a freshmen Physics course. The results
indicate that for students who came in with no knowledge of the relevant
equation the activity supported the development of both the equation, and their
understanding of the mathematical relationships of the equation. These results
indicate that the teaching approach helps students engage in blended MSS at
higher levels of cognitive complexity
Oersted Medal Lecture 2007: Interactive simulations for teaching physics: What works, what doesn't, and why
We give an overview of the Physics Educational Technology (PhET) project to research and develop web-based interactive simulations for teaching and learning physics. The design philosophy, simulation development and testing process, and range of available simulations are described. The highlights of PhET research on simulation design and effectiveness in a variety of educational settings are provided. This work has shown that a well-designed interactive simulation can be an engaging and effective tool for learning physics
High-Tech Tools for Teaching Physics: the Physics Education Technology Project
This article appeared in the Journal of Online Teaching and Learning September 15, 2006.This paper introduces a new suite of computer simulations from the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project, identifies features of these educational tools, and demonstrates their utility. We compare the use of PhET simulations to the use of more traditional educational resources in lecture, laboratory, recitation and informal settings of introductory college physics. In each case we demonstrate that simulations are as productive, or more productive, for developing student conceptual understanding as real equipment, reading resources, or chalk-talk lectures. We further identify six key characteristic features of these simulations that begin to delineate why these are productive tools. The simulations: support an interactive approach, employ dynamic feedback, follow a constructivist approach, provide a creative workplace, make explicit otherwise inaccessible models or phenomena, and constrain students productively
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