Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 16–19, 2016; Salt Lake City, Utah
Session U18: Technological and Curricular Innovations in Physics EducationUndergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: GPER Room: 251F |
Monday, April 18, 2016 3:30PM - 3:42PM |
U18.00001: Mastery inspired activities to help at risk students Tim Stelzer, Gary Gladding, Brianne gutmann, Morten Lundsgaard, Noah Schroeder Introductory physics is a roadblock for many aspiring engineers at the University of Illinois. The overall attrition rate in our introductory mechanics and E&M courses is approximately 15%, however that rate doubles for some under-represented populations. We introduced a set of online activities designed to provide students both an accurate assessment of their current understanding, and the resources to improve their performance. This talk will describe the design of these activities, and their impact on student attitude and understanding. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 3:42PM - 3:54PM |
U18.00002: Investigating the Usability and Efficacy of Customizable Computer Coaches for Introductory Physics Problem Solving Bijaya Aryal We have studied the impacts of web-based Computer Coaches on educational outputs and outcomes. This presentation will describe the technical and conceptual framework related to the Coaches and discuss undergraduate students’ favorability of the Coaches. Moreover, its impacts on students’ physics problem solving performance and on their conceptual understanding of physics will be reported. We used a qualitative research technique to collect and analyze interview data from 19 undergraduate students who used the Coaches in the interview setting. The empirical results show that the favorability and efficacy of the Computer Coaches differ considerably across students of different educational backgrounds, preparation levels, attitudes and epistemologies about physics learning. The interview data shows that female students tend to have more favorability supporting the use of the Coach. Likewise, our assessment suggests that female students seem to benefit more from the Coaches in their problem solving performance and in conceptual learning of physics. Finally, the analysis finds evidence that the Coach has potential for increasing efficiency in usage and for improving students’ educational outputs and outcomes under its customized usage. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 3:54PM - 4:06PM |
U18.00003: Using fiction in the teaching of physics Lior M. Burko Fiction has been used in teaching since Plato told the story of Atlantis. However, relatively little use is made of it in teaching physics. We have created short stories that form the basis of case studies. One short story tells the story of a possible radioactive contamination on Earth because of the detonation by terrorists of a dirty bomb in a densely populated urban area. The short story discusses in what many would find an engaging way both the physics of radioactivity and the health aspects of radiation exposure and radiation sickness. Another case tells the story of a hypothetical future crewed mission to the Moon. The astronauts encounter a giant solar flare that would inevitably give the crew lethal dose of radiation. The astronauts do not have enough time to either abort the mission, or land on the Moon and seek shelter. There is, however, something they can do, but they do not think of think of it until it is too late to do anything about it, and being saved beccomes a matter of chance. This case discusses the history and future of lunar and space exploration, solar wind and space weather, and elements of planetary science. We describe some examples of short stories, and how we incorporate them in the teaching of physics and allied disciplines. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
U18.00004: Development of an advanced undergraduate course in acoustics Kent L Gee, Tracianne B. Neilsen, Scott D. Sommerfeldt Within many physics undergraduate programs, acoustics is given only a cursory treatment, usually within an introductory course. Because acoustics is a natural vehicle for students to develop intuition about wave phenomena, an advanced undergraduate acoustics course has been developed at Brigham Young University. Although it remains an elective course, enrollment has increased steadily since its inception. The course has been taken by students in physics, applied physics, physics teaching, and mechanical and electrical engineering. In addition to providing training for students motivated by interest in undergraduate research, internship, employment, and graduate schooling opportunities in acoustics, the course facilitates connections between various areas of physics. Explicit connections are made to mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, optics, quantum mechanics, and experimental and computational laboratory courses. Active learning is emphasized through Just-in-Time-Teaching and course structure. Homework exercises are both theoretical and practical and often require making and interpreting of graphs. For example, students may model traffic noise as a series of uncorrelated monopoles or examine highway barrier effectiveness using Fresnel diffraction techniques. Additionally, students participate in resum\'{e}-building measurements and learn to report their results in the form of technical memoranda. Course evaluations and post-graduation student surveys rate it among the most valuable undergraduate student courses offered. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
U18.00005: Acoustics as a tool to enhance physics education Tracianne B. Neilsen, Kent L. Gee The use of acoustics in physics pedagogy, whether in stand-alone courses, or as examples, analogies, or demonstrations in other contexts, can enhance student learning. At most, a typical physics student receives only a few weeks of instruction in acoustics, despite its potential ability to enhance class discussions of source, resonance, and traveling-wave phenomena in both introductory and advanced settings. A recent annotated bibliography, K. L. Gee and T. B. Neilsen, Am. J. Phys. \textbf{82}, 825 (2014), includes specific resources for incorporating acoustics-based demonstrations into physics courses. Acoustics analogies can be used to illustrate wave phenomena in advanced contexts, such as diffraction, scattering, refraction, reflection, method of images, resonance, dispersion, tunneling. This presentation will review the Resource Letter, highlighting specific demonstration ideas, as well as offer additional perspectives gained since its publication. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 4:30PM - 4:42PM |
U18.00006: Exploring the Physics of Music with Temperament Studio Dallin Durfee, John Colton The physics of waves, resonance, harmonics, and beats has determined how musical instruments are tuned, and has even affected the kinds of music written in different time periods. The laws of physics make it impossible for any fixed scale to have perfect consonance for all chords in all keys, and as a result, various musical scales, or temperaments, have been developed and used throughout history. The study of musical temperament is a rich application of wave physics. It ties several principles together in a context which can be very motivating for students. Furthermore, the topic is accessible to students in introductory classes. We have developed an open source application called Temperament Studio which allows students to explore musical temperament and to hear and measure the effects predicted by wave physics. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 4:42PM - 4:54PM |
U18.00007: Exploring the SCOAP$^{3}$ Research Contributions of the United States Matthew Marsteller The Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP$^{3}$) is a successful global partnership of libraries, funding agencies and research centers. This presentation will inform the audience about SCOAP$^{3}$ and also delve into descriptive statistics of the United States’ intellectual contribution to particle physics via these open access journals. Exploration of the SCOAP$^{3}$ particle physics literature using a variety of metrics tools such as Web of Science\texttrademark, InCites\texttrademark, Scopus\textregistered and SciVal will be shared. ORA or Sci2 will be used to visualize author collaboration networks. [Preview Abstract] |
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