Bulletin of the American Physical Society
10th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Section of APS
Volume 53, Number 6
Thursday–Saturday, May 15–17, 2008; Portland, Oregon
Session G2: Education |
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Chair: MacKenzie Stetzer, University of Washington Room: Miller 105 |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 2:00PM - 2:36PM |
G2.00001: Developing and assessing research-based curriculum: Examples from the electricity and magnetism lab Invited Speaker: The traditional laboratory curriculum for the introductory physics course emphasizes the verification of formulae, the use of complicated instruments, and in-depth error analysis calculations. Students conduct experiments for which they already know the expected outcome. The questions they ask tend to focus on the manipulation of the apparatus, rather than on making sense of the phenomena. At Western Washington University, efforts are underway to develop a research-based, guided inquiry curriculum for the calculus-based E{\&}M lab. This curriculum seeks not only to promote functional understanding of fundamental concepts, but also to guide students through the process of observation and inference so that they become aware of how they know what know. Assessment of student learning has been integral to the project. This talk will provide a brief overview of the labs, describe selected examples in more detail, and present data from written questions and multiple choice instruments to evaluate student understanding. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 2:36PM - 3:12PM |
G2.00002: Philosophy and Physics by Inquiry in a liberal arts setting Invited Speaker: This talk will discuss a recent effort at Willamette University to hybridize the \textit{Physics By Inquiry}\footnote{\underline{Physics by Inquiry}, L.C. McDermott and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, Wiley (1996).} curriculum with an introduction to philosophy of science. The nature of the Physics By Inquiry curriculum naturally lends itself to many interesting philosophical questions that often resulted in a positive feedback effect. However, philosophical questions sometimes bogged down progress on physics. We will discuss the unique challenges and opportunities associated with presenting philosophy of science side-by-side with the physics. The class covered parts of three modules: Electric Circuits, Kinematics, and Dynamics. On the whole, the class seems to have been successful both in teaching physics and in teaching philosophy of science. Preliminary pre-test/post-test data from the class will be presented, and suggestions for future improvements of this hybrid course will be discussed. Additionally, we will reflect on differences between implementation for teachers and implementation for liberal arts students. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:12PM - 3:24PM |
G2.00003: Junior/Senior Quantum Mechanics with Lab Mark Beck I describe a new curriculum for a one semester upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics course. The course presumes a basic exposure to Schr\"{o}dinger's wave mechanics at the sophomore level. The course presents matrix mechanics in a manner similar to that in the text by Townsend [1], but uses photon polarization as an initial prototypical quantum system rather than using spin-1/2 particles. This is done partly for conceptual simplicity, but it is done primarily to make a connection to the laboratory component of the course. In the lab students perform 4 experiments, all of which involve studying the quantum mechanics of individual photons. The experiments are directly related to the course material, and include a demonstration of single photon interference and a test of local realism. \newline \newline [1] J. S. Townsend, \textit{A Modern Approach to Quantum Mechanics}, (University Science Books, Mill Valley, CA, 2000). [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:24PM - 3:36PM |
G2.00004: Purpose and Features of Web-Based Open-Access Crystallographic Databases Peter Sondergeld, Peter Moeck, Boris Dusek, Hynek Hanke Roughly 5,000 new crystal structures are added to the (approximately 104,000 entry) Inorganic Crystal Structure Database each year (see http://icsdweb.fiz-karlsruhe.de/index.php for an approximately 4,000 entry demonstration version). Other commercial crystallographic databases specialize in organics, metals and alloys, and ``non-organics'' including minerals. This presentation gives an overview over these databases and evaluates the potential of open-access databases such as the (approximately 68,000 entry) Crystallography Open Database (http://crystallography.net/) and Portland State University's (PSU's) Wiki Crystallography Database, Crystal Morphology Database, and Nano-Crystallography Database (http://nanocrystallography.research.pdx.edu/CIF-searchable). Key features of open-access crystallographic databases are: a universal data exchange format, unrestricted internet access to the actual data (including downloads), search capabilities, and crystal structure identification functionalities. Interactive three-dimensional structure or morphology visualizations are also available at PSU's site. Most recently, we implemented at PSU community-based, Wikipedia-inspired data upload and database content management provisions. A selection of all of these features will be demonstrated (online) during the presentation. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:36PM - 3:50PM |
G2.00005: BREAK
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Saturday, May 17, 2008 3:50PM - 4:26PM |
G2.00006: Integrating writing research with curricular development in large-enrollment introductory physics Invited Speaker: Multiple research projects have been undertaken as part of an ongoing study to develop methods to do quantitative assessment of writing to learn within physics. The ability to make use of writing to learn at first glance appears limited in large-enrollment courses due to the time-intensive nature of essay writing and grading. However, effective ways to implement writing are quite possible. One study that will be discussed required students to do textbook summary writing in introductory physics in the 2007 spring semester of the ``Foundation Physics Course'' at the University of Cape Town. This course is a component of the special access program which contains mostly second language English speakers. Another use of writing will be reported that is currently being used in the introductory physics course at Oregon State University as a way to enhance problem solving. This project is also aimed at scaffolding students toward goals in our upper division courses. This talk will report on some of what we know about writing to learn, how we are working to improve ways to study it quantitatively, and how we are incorporating some aspects of it in accessible ways in large-enrollment introductory courses. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 4:26PM - 5:02PM |
G2.00007: Best Practices in Physics Demonstrations: Learning? I thought this was just for entertainment. Invited Speaker: All physics teachers love demonstrations. But, are they or can they be more than just entertainment? This presentation will discuss how and why physics demonstrations can be focused on student learning taking into account current research on how people learn. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 5:02PM - 5:14PM |
G2.00008: Barriers to Learning? School, Beliefs, and Reasoning in Physics Education Michelle Klingler, Brian Pyper Prior research has shown that scientific reasoning skills (cognitive ability) and attitudes about science (affective beliefs) can significantly impact learning. Do students who have taken more advanced math and physics classes have better scientific reasoning skills and physics comprehension? Do these courses improve their attitudes about science learning and affect how much they can learn? Four different physics classes from Brigham Young University-Idaho are being studied by the BYU-I RISE (Research in Science Education) group through the administration of several surveys. Pretesting has shown that there might be correlation between the level of math that a student has taken and their ability to understand both physics and general science concepts. As yet no data support that having taken higher levels of physics classes improves scientific reasoning ability, conceptual understanding or attitudes towards science. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 5:14PM - 5:26PM |
G2.00009: Barriers to Learning? Age, Experience, Beliefs, and Reasoning in Physics Education Allison Shaffer, Brian Pyper There exists the possibility that cognitive ability in science reasoning may limit potential conceptual understanding in physical science. Current and ongoing research conducted through the BYU-I RISE (Research in Science Education) group is looking at the impact that age and experience might have on these domains. Although some confounding variables may affect the outcome, preliminary data suggest a correlation between year in school and both reasoning ability and conceptual understanding, although the correlation between reasoning ability and conceptual understanding is stronger. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 17, 2008 5:26PM - 5:38PM |
G2.00010: Barriers to Learning? Gender, Beliefs, and Reasoning in Physics Education London Jenks, Brian Pyper Gender plays a unique role in science education affecting choice of subjects studied, perceived ability to succeed, and overall success. This is especially true in Physics. Current and ongoing research conducted through the BYU-I RISE (Research in Science Education) group involves student responses taken from four introductory courses on campus with students from various backgrounds, majors and experience. Preliminary results regarding gender from this research may have implications for classroom practice in physics and science education. [Preview Abstract] |
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