Bulletin of the American Physical Society
47th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Volume 61, Number 8
Monday–Friday, May 23–27, 2016; Providence, Rhode Island
Session H3: Invited Session: Engaging Students at All Levels in the Practice of Modeling ExperimentsInvited Undergraduate
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: FEd Chair: Chad Hoyt, Bethel University Room: Ballroom D |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 10:30AM - 11:00AM |
H3.00001: Teaching Research in the Traditional Classroom: Why Make Graduate Students Wait? Invited Speaker: Lincoln D. Carr Physics graduate programs tend to divide the degree into two parts: (1) theory, taught in classes, almost totally divorced from the lab setting; and (2) research, taught in a research group through hands-on lab experience and mentorship. As we come to understand from undergraduate physics education research that modifying our teaching can rather easily produce quantifiably better results, it is reasonable to ask if we can make similar improvements at the graduate level. In this talk I will present the results of beginning research instruction in the classroom in the very first semester of graduate school, in the most traditional of classes -- classical mechanics. In this approach, students build their knowledge from hands-on projects. They get immediately certified and experienced in the machine shop and electronics lab. There are no formal lectures. Students develop and present their own problems, and teach and challenge each other in the classroom. In contrast to polished lectures, both the instructor and the students together learn from their many public mistakes. Students give conference-style presentations instead of exams. As a result, students not only excel in analytical skills, but they also learn to tie theory to measurement, identify statistical and systematic errors, simulate computationally and model theoretically, and design their own experiments. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 11:00AM - 11:30AM |
H3.00002: Student use of model-based reasoning when troubleshooting an electric circuit Invited Speaker: Dimitri Dounas-Frazer Troubleshooting systems is an integral part of experimental physics in both research and educational settings. Accordingly, ability to troubleshoot is an important learning goal for undergraduate physics lab courses. We investigate students' model-based reasoning on a troubleshooting task using data collected in think-aloud interviews during which pairs of students from two institutions attempted to diagnose and repair a malfunctioning circuit. Our analysis scheme was informed by the Experimental Modeling Framework, which describes physicists' use of mathematical and conceptual models when reasoning about experimental systems. We show that system and subsystem models were crucial for the evaluation of repairs to the circuit and played an important role in some troubleshooting strategies. Finally, drawing on data from interviews with electronics instructors from a broad range of institution types, we outline recommendations for model-based approaches to teaching and learning troubleshooting skills. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 11:30AM - 12:00PM |
H3.00003: Teaching Computation Across the Curriculum Invited Speaker: Marcos Caballero Computation has revolutionized how modern science is done. Modern physicists use computational techniques to reduce mountains of data, to simulate impossible experiments, and to develop intuition about the behavior of complex systems. Much of the research completed by modern physicists would be impossible without the use of computation. And yet, while computation is a crucial tool of practicing physicists, modern physics curricula do not reflect its importance and utility. In this talk, I will discuss the urgent need to construct such curricula and present recently completed work that demonstrates that curricula can be developed into existing course structures at a variety of levels. I will also discuss how physics education research can be leveraged to investigate student proficiency with computation and to document how students draw from physics, mathematics, and computing knowledge to construct working computational models. This research will help develop effective teaching practices, research-based course activities, and valid assessment tools. This work is fundamentally new within the field of physics education research and these initial studies will frame future projects to incorporate computation in physics courses. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 12:00PM - 12:30PM |
H3.00004: Engaging Students In Modeling Instruction for Introductory Physics Invited Speaker: Eric Brewe Teaching introductory physics is arguably one of the most important things that a physics department does. It is the primary way that students from other science disciplines engage with physics and it is the introduction to physics for majors. Modeling instruction is an active learning strategy for introductory physics built on the premise that science proceeds through the iterative process of model construction, development, deployment, and revision. We describe the role that participating in authentic modeling has in learning and then explore how students engage in this process in the classroom. In this presentation, we provide a theoretical background on models and modeling and describe how these theoretical elements are enacted in the introductory university physics classroom. We provide both quantitative and video data to link the development of a conceptual model to the design of the learning environment and to student outcomes. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700