Future of physics teaching practices: How new and emerging educational technologies mediate teaching and learning

The fundamental elements of teaching include students, content, and medium. In addition to blackboard and chalk, lecture demonstrations of physical phenomena have long been the medium of teaching physics. Videos of physics demonstrations by the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) in the USA in the 50s were early adoption of contemporary technologies for physics instruction. While the medium of recordings of physics demonstrations has changed from magnetic tapes to CDs and DVDs and to virtual space online, its purposes are the same: making physics principles observable, engaging students, and providing evidence for knowledge claims (Berg, 2012; Kácovský & Snětinová, 2021). On the other side, for a century, laboratory activities have been a fixed feature of science education where students directly interact with physical phenomena. Given these two unique features, i.e., demonstrations and laboratories, recent digital technology seems to call for a paradigm shift. Lecture demonstrations, whether in magnetic tapes or digitalised mediums, are under the control of teachers in terms of what and when to show. Similarly, laboratory activities are predetermined for students to experience hands-on. Recent technologies allow more interactions between students and the medium of teaching and learning. Demonstrations of physical phenomena are freely available online, and students can watch what they want to, when they want to. Interactive simulations and physical computing have been utilised for quite a while where students perform laboratories different from each other, to answer their own questions in lieu of the traditional labs. Furthermore, interactive virtual reality, mixed reality, and metaverse are emerging mediums in trial and under research (Sonntag & Bodensiek, 2022). Underpinning the increase in interactions between students and mediums is the constructivist view of learning and the recent emphasis on student agency in learning. From such theories of learning, both demonstrations where students passively watch and listen, and cookbook-style laboratories, are ineffective and fail to help students be active problem solvers as required by the 21st century. Thus, recent technologies are very useful for changing the traditional approaches to teaching to make students active learners. This change is not only by the demand of the era but also by the demand of the students. Not only the medium, but also the students drastically changed. Dubbed Generation Z, the current students in schools and campuses are digital natives who are born into modern technology and familiar with global access to knowledge and tools to reproduce knowledge. Generation Z is used to spontaneously searching for information to make sense of things and create their own content to share with each other. Thus, teaching needs to be reconceptualised to ensure epistemic agency in helping students to be lifelong learners. In this talk, I will illustrate the changing scenes of science teaching and discuss the notion of epistemic agency and how it relates to teaching approaches. REFERENCES Berg, R. E. (2012). Resource Letter PhD-2: Physics Demonstrations. American Journal of Physics, 80(3), 181–191. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3660659 Kácovský, P., & Snětinová, M. (2021). Physics demonstrations: who are the students appreciating them? International Journal of Science Education, 43(4), 529–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1871526 Physics Curriculum and Instruction (2022). Teaching Resources for High School & College Physics Courses. https://www.physicscurriculum.com/video Sonntag, D., & Bodensiek, O. (2022). How mixed reality shifts visual attention and success in experimental problem solving. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 18(2), 023101. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.02310

Helping students generate physics inquiry problems

Physicists’ research usually begins when there are imperfections in previous experiments or theories, when new theories, data, materials, and experimental techniques are invented or developed, or when they discover conflicts between theories and experiments or within theories. However, these situations do not apply for school students, who need different conditions to generate their own physics inquiry problems (PIPs). This is despite the fact that students themselves perceive that generating good PIPs is the most difficult part of physics inquiry activities. Some students are often observed trying to discover inquiry problems that are improperly informed, or simply don’t make sense. In this workshop, therefore, we will introduce specific strategies that can help students generate IPSs at the student’s level of knowledge and inquiry experience. Intended Audience: Secondary-school Educator

The Structure of Scientific Arguments by Secondary Science Teachers: Comparison of Experimental and Historical Science Topics

Just as scientific knowledge is constructed using distinct modes of inquiry (e.g., experimental or historical), arguments constructed during science instruction may vary depending on the mode of inquiry underlying the topic. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how secondary science teachers construct scientific arguments during instruction differently for topics that rely on experimental or historical modes of inquiry. Four experienced high school science teachers were observed daily during instructional units for both experimental and historical science topics. The main data sources include classroom observations and teacher interviews. The arguments were analyzed using Toulmin’s argumentation pattern revealing specific patterns of arguments in teaching topics relying on these two modes of scientific inquiry. The teachers presented arguments to their students that were rather simple in structure but relatively authentic to the two different modes. The teachers used far more evidence in teaching topics based on historical inquiry than topics based on experimental inquiry. However, the differences were implicit in their teaching. Furthermore, their arguments did not portray the dynamic nature of science. Very few rebuttals or qualifiers were provided as the teachers were presenting their claims as if the data led straightforward to the claim. Implications for classroom practice and research are discussed.Keywords: Argumentation, Nature of scienc

In-situ fabrication of cobalt-doped SrFe2As2 thin films by using pulsed laser deposition with excimer laser

The remarkably high superconducting transition temperature and upper critical field of iron(Fe)-based layered superconductors, despite ferromagnetic material base, open the prospect for superconducting electronics. However, success in superconducting electronics has been limited because of difficulties in fabricating high-quality thin films. We report the growth of high-quality c-axis-oriented cobalt(Co)-doped SrFe2As2 thin films with bulk superconductivity by using an in-situ pulsed laser deposition technique with a 248-nm-wavelength KrF excimer laser and an arsenic(As)-rich phase target. The temperature and field dependences of the magnetization showing strong diamagnetism and transport critical current density with superior Jc-H performance are reported. These results provide necessary information for practical applications of Fe-based superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 3figures. to be published at Appl. Phys. Let

Association of type 2 diabetes mellitus with lung cancer in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BackgroundPatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased risk of developing lung cancer. Some studies have also suggested that diabetes mellitus (DM) may increase the risk of developing lung cancer. This study aimed to investigate whether type 2 DM (T2DM) is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer in patients with COPD.Materials and methodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis on two cohorts: the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) of Korea and the Common Data Model (CDM) database of a university hospital. Among patients newly diagnosed with COPD in each cohort, those with a lung cancer diagnosis were included, and a control group was selected through propensity score matching. We used the Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models to compare lung cancer incidence between patients with COPD and T2DM and those without T2DM.ResultsIn the NHIS-NSC and CDM cohorts, we enrolled 3,474 and 858 patients with COPD, respectively. In both cohorts, T2DM was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer [NHIS-NSC: adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 1.20; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.41; and CDM: aHR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02–2.07). Furthermore, in the NHIS-NSC, among patients with COPD and T2DM, the risk of lung cancer was higher in current smokers than in never-smokers (aHR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.09–1.91); in smokers with ≥30 pack-years than in never-smokers (aHR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.49–2.25); and in rural residents than in metropolitan residents (aHR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.06–1.68).ConclusionOur findings suggest that patients with COPD and T2DM may have an increased risk of developing lung cancer compared to those without T2DM

Isolation and Characterization of a Defensin-Like Peptide (Coprisin) from the Dung Beetle, Copris tripartitus

The antibacterial activity of immune-related peptides, identified by a differential gene expression analysis, was investigated to suggest novel antibacterial peptides. A cDNA encoding a defensin-like peptide, Coprisin, was isolated from bacteria-immunized dung beetle, Copris tripartitus, by using differential dot blot hybridization. Northern blot analysis showed that Coprisin mRNA was up-regulated from 4 hours after bacteria injection and its expression level was reached a peak at 16 hours. The deduced amino acid sequence of Coprisin was composed of 80 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 8.6 kDa and a pI of 8.7. The amino acid sequence of mature Coprisin was found to be 79.1% and 67.4% identical to those of defensin-like peptides of Anomala cuprea and Allomyrina dichotoma, respectively. We also investigated active sequences of Coprisin by using amino acid modification. The result showed that the 9-mer peptide, LLCIALRKK-NH2, exhibited potent antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

Cytoprotective Effect of Phloroglucinol on Oxidative Stress Induced Cell Damage via Catalase Activation

Abstract We investigated the cytoprotective effect of phloroglucinol, which was isolated from Ecklonia cava (brown alga), against oxidative stress induced cell damage in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (V79-4) cells. Phloroglucinol was found to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hydroxy radical, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and thus prevented lipid peroxidation. As a result, phloroglucinol reduced H 2 O 2 induced apoptotic cells formation in V79-4 cells. In addition, phloroglucinol inhibited cell damage induced by serum starvation and radiation through scavenging ROS. Phloroglucinol increased the catalase activity and its protein expression. In addition, catalase inhibitor abolished the protective effect of phloroglucinol from H 2 O 2 induced cell damage. Furthermore, phloroglucinol increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK). Taken together, the results suggest that phloroglucinol protects V79-4 cells against oxidative damage by enhancing the cellular catalase activity and modulating ERK signal pathway