Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 30–May 3 2011; Anaheim, California
Session R12: Physics Education |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Thomas Olsen, Society of Physics Students (AIP) Room: Royal CD |
Monday, May 2, 2011 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
R12.00001: Teaching Physics Through Comic Books Rebecca Thompson Comics have been around as a form of entertainment for decades. They are often as seen as one of the distracting vices of kids (and adults!), but comics and their more adult version, the graphic novel, are increasingly valued as a legitimate genre of literature. The APS Outreach Department has created three comic books, one featuring Nikola Tesla and his battles with the evil Thomas Edison, and two about laser super hero Spectra and her continuing battles with the nefarious Miss Alignment. These comics have struck a delicate balance between education and entertainment being well received by both the comic book and education communities. By creating a compelling comic story that has correct physics, it is possible to use this under-appreciated medium to excite middle-school students who might otherwise be turned off by traditional teaching methods. One lesson-learned is that It is very important to make sure first and foremost that the students enjoy the story and that they feel a connection to the characters. Students are thus hooked and once they are drawn in, the learning happens automatically. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
R12.00002: Effective Physics Study Habits Nouredine Zettili We discuss the methods of efficient study habits and how they can be used by students to help them improve learning physics. In particular, we deal with ideas pertaining to the most effective techniques needed to help students improve their physics study skills. These ideas were developed as part of Project IMPACTSEED (IMproving Physics And Chemistry Teaching in SEcondary Education), an outreach grant funded by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. This project is motivated by a major pressing local need: A large number of high school physics teachers teach out of field. In the presentation, focus on topics such as the skills of how to develop long term memory, how to improve concentration power, how to take class notes, how to prepare for and take exams, how to study scientific subjects such as physics. We argue that the student who conscientiously uses the methods of efficient study habits will be able to achieve higher results than the student who does not; moreover, a student equipped with the proper study skills will spend much less time to learn a subject than a student who has no good study habits. The underlying issue here is not the quantity of time allocated to the study efforts by the student, but the efficiency and quality of actions. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
R12.00003: Epistemological effects of a problem solving approach in nonquantitative introductory science classes Bradley McCoy General studies science classes at many universities, such as physical science, earth science, or astronomy, stress memorization and repetition of concepts. This approach leaves students with little appreciation for how science is used to explain phenomena from general principles. We present a novel instructional technique for an earth science class in which the students are instructed in the use of a general problem solving strategy, adapted from well-known quantitative problem solving strategies, in order to train the students in how to apply physical principles. Using the Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science, we have found that explicit training in problem solving significantly improves students' epistemology. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
R12.00004: Using the Big Ideas in Cosmology to Teach College Students Lynn Cominsky, Kevin McLin, Kim Coble, Janelle Bailey, Anne Metevier We are developing an introductory course in Cosmology for general education undergraduate students. Informed by our research into student misconceptions about the universe: its origins, structure, contents and evolution, we are utilizing best pedagogical practices to implement the content in an accessible student-centered framework. In this presentation, we provide examples of interactive exercises, illustrations and text from the initial module of the three-module course. We invite interested educators to help us test the materials in their classrooms, as the curriculum develops. This three-year project is being funded by the Education and Public Outreach program for NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, and by grant NNX10AC89G from NASA's EPOESS program. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
R12.00005: Case--studies approach to transferring introductory STEM classes: a course on astrobiology Lior M. Burko, Sandra K. Enger There is a growing awareness to the need for moving away from lecture--mode approaches in undergraduate STEM education and to the importance of increasing innovation and diversity in STEM education programs. We adopt the case--studies approach, and have taught an introductory course on astrobiology ---the science of life in the universe--- at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We have created teaching materials using different types of cases, and have conducted an evaluation study. We intend to refine our teaching materials based on the evaluation study, and repeat the course next year. Following this study the teaching materials will be made available free of charge to any instructor, and the approach will be applied to other disciplines, including large enrollment classes. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
R12.00006: Student reasoning about graphical representations of (definite) integrals John Thompson, Rabindra Bajracharya, Thomas Wemyss Students are expected to apply the mathematics learned in their mathematics courses to concepts and problems in physics. In physics education research (PER), few studies have distinguished between difficulties students have with physics concepts and those with either the mathematics concepts, application of those concepts, or the representations used to connect the math and the physics. We report on empirical studies of student responses to mathematics questions, based on canonical questions in thermodynamics, dealing with graphical representations of (single-variable) integration. The reasoning given with answers could roughly be put into three major categories: area under the curve, position of the function, shape of the curve. Varying the features of the representations is one way to explore the contextual nature of student reasoning. In individual student interviews, we vary features of the integral diagrams in order to check the depth and breadth of student understanding associated with the different lines of reasoning that were used in written responses. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, May 2, 2011 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
R12.00007: Using Technology to Facilitate and Enhance Project-based Learning in Mathematical Physics Gintaras Duda Problem-based and project-based learning are two pedagogical techniques that have several clear advantages over traditional instructional methods: 1) both techniques are active and student centered, 2) students confront real-world and/or highly complex problems, and 3) such exercises model the way science and engineering are done professionally. This talk will present an experiment in project/problem-based learning in a mathematical physics course. The group project in the course involved modeling a zombie outbreak of the type seen in AMC's ``The Walking Dead.'' Students researched, devised, and solved their mathematical models for the spread of zombie-like infection. Students used technology in all stages; in fact, since analytical solutions to the models were often impossible, technology was a necessary and critical component of the challenge. This talk will explore the use of technology in general in problem and project-based learning and will detail some specific examples of how technology was used to enhance student learning in this course. A larger issue of how students use the Internet to learn will also be explored. [Preview Abstract] |
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