Bulletin of the American Physical Society
11th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Section of APS
Volume 54, Number 6
Thursday–Saturday, May 14–16, 2009; Vancouver, BC, Canada
Session G4: Physics Education |
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Chair: Doug Bonn, University of British Columbia Room: Hennings 201 |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:30PM - 2:06PM |
G4.00001: The Role and Preparation of Faculty for the Changing Community of Physics Invited Speaker: What is the role, and responsibility, of a faculty member to prepare for the changing community of physics? In many ways the individual instructor is the most critical factor in making effective and long-term change in the diversity and inclusiveness of our discipline but promoting the inclusion and retention of under-represented groups in physics requires both knowledge and resources. How should an individual faculty member prepare for this growing expectation? What can an instructor do to make learning physics more open, more inclusive? Where do we go to become more knowledgeable of the barriers facing under-represented groups? What resources {\ldots} what programs are available to us through our societies? [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 2:06PM - 2:42PM |
G4.00002: My voice looks like that? A hands-on and textbook free approach to learning physics Invited Speaker: Many physics departments offer a ``Physics of Music'' course that is intended for non-majors. This topic appeals to a broad cross-section of students, in part because people recognize that it represents a rare window into the abstruse world of physics from a familiar vantage point. Conversely, physics educators recognize that an interdisciplinary course such as this offers an important opportunity to convey the methods and habits of scientific thinking (let alone some principles of acoustics) to a population that has shunned math and science since high school. In this presentation, I will describe an effective approach to teaching this topic, which has evolved over the past twelve years at Central Washington University. In particular, I will emphasize three elements that distinguish this approach: the sequence of topics, a computer-intensive lab experience, and the use of the internet in lieu of a traditional textbook. The rewards and pitfalls of including small group research projects as part of the class will also be discussed. Information about PHYS103 at CWU can be found at http://www.cwu.edu/$\sim$physics/courses/103/index.html. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
G4.00003: Lessons in Learning: Developing the Introductory Physics Interactivity Survey (IPIS) London Jenks, Brian Pyper Presentation of the development and first results of the Introductory Physics Interactivity Survey (IPIS) by the Brigham Young University -- Idaho (BYU-I) Research In Science Education (RISE) group. The IPIS was developed to provide a diagnostic tool for gauging the level of interactive engagement methods utilized in introductory physics courses and provides a more easily administered tool than others currently available. Methods of development and testing, along with influences will be discussed. Correlations between the IPIS and scores on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physics Science (EBAPS), and the Lawson test of scientific reasoning will be presented as well. Possible application and further work and refining will be covered. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
G4.00004: 3T Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Prostate Cancer -- Comparison between Population-Averaged and Patient Specific Arterial Input Function Ran Meng, Burkhard Maedler, Silvia Chang, Edward Jones, Larry Goldenberg, Piotr Kozlowski A population-averaged bi-exponential Arterial Input Function (AIF) has been commonly used to fit Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE) MRI data to pharmacokinetic models. It has also been shown that patient specific AIF improves fit of prostate DCE MRI data to an adiabatic approximation model. In this pilot study, we compared the quality of fit of prostate DCE MRI data (acquired at 3T from two patients) to extended Kety model using the population-averaged AIF and patient specific AIF. Physiological parameters (K$^{trans}$--volume transfer constant, v$_{e}$--extra-cellular extra-vascular space and v$_{p}$--blood plasma volume) were calculated from tumor, peripheral zone and central gland of prostate. By comparing $\chi ^{2 }$of the fit with the two AIFs of a high enhancing voxel, we conclude that patient specific AIF provides more accurate pharmacokinetic modeling of prostate DCE MRI data in high enhancing areas than population-averaged AIF, thus patient specific AIF may result in more accurate detection of prostatic carcinoma. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 3:06PM - 3:26PM |
G4.00005: BREAK
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Saturday, May 16, 2009 3:26PM - 4:02PM |
G4.00006: The WALTA Outreach project at the University of Washington Invited Speaker: Physicists in the experimental elementary particle and particle astrophysics groups at the Univeristy of Washington support an outreach project called WALTA, using support from the NSF/DOE Quarknet. We deal mostly with local high school physics teachers, providing them with hardware and software to implement air shower arrays, typically four counters in a 3-m square array. The electronics, provided by Quarknet, allows for coincidence experiments involving triggering and collecting data from any combination of counters, supporting study of muon decay as well as air shower detection. We provide a LabVIEW application that sets up configurations, controls the experiment, and provides some analysis. The teachers involve honors physics students in the setup and data collection. Data can be uploaded to QuarkNet or the UW for analysis. We have a few meetings per year for the students to come to the UW and give presentations on their experiences and conclusions. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 4:02PM - 4:14PM |
G4.00007: Reasoning, Attitudes, and Learning: What matters in Introductory Physics? Melissa Bateman, Brian Pyper Recent research has been revealing a connection between epistemological beliefs, reasoning ability and conceptual understanding. Our project has been taking data collected from the Fall `08 and Winter `09 semesters to supplement existing data in strengthening the statistical value of our sample size. We administered four tests to selected introductory physics courses: the Epistemological Beliefs Assessment for Physical Science, the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning, The Force Concept Inventory, and the Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism. With these data we have been comparing test results to demographics to answer questions such as: Does gender affect how we learn physics? Does past physics experience affect how we learn physics? Does past math experience affect how we learn physics? And how do math background successes compare to physics background successes? As we answer these questions, we will be better prepared in the Physics classroom and better identify the struggles of our students and solutions to help them better succeed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 4:14PM - 4:26PM |
G4.00008: Towards concept-based instruction with blended learning in Labatorials Daria Ahrensmeier, J.M.K.C. Donev, R.B. Hicks, A. Louro, R. Stafford, L. Borvayeh, R.I. Thompson The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary is currently remodeling the small group learning sessions of its large, multi-section first-year physics courses, in order to improve the student learning experience as well as their understanding of fundamental physics concepts. Traditional laboratories and tutorials are being replaced by ``labatorials,'' weekly units that focus on one or two specific concepts closely linked to the content of the lectures. The design of the labatorials will be illustrated with examples, showing the range of various techniques and technologies that are being used to illustrate the physics concepts from various angles: mini-labs, demonstrations, computer simulations, conceptual and calculation problems. We will also discuss an approach that we are developing to assess the effectiveness of the labatorials through pre-and post-tests, which are administered at the start and end of each session. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 16, 2009 4:26PM - 4:38PM |
G4.00009: Evolution of an Environmentally Themed Introductory Physics Course Mathew Martinuk, Andrzej Kotlicki, Georg Rieger In 2007, motivated by research showing many students don't make connections between classroom physics and real-world phenomena, we fundamentally changed the curriculum and pedagogy of Phys 100, a large introductory course for non-physics majors at UBC. Our goal was to enable our students to use scientific knowledge to critically think about real world problems such as transportation and climate change. All topics in the course are now taught with strong connections to applications in the real world. For example conservation of energy is explored using models of home heating and the Earth's energy balance. Real-world connections are reinforced through weekly tutorials where students apply physics to context-rich real world problems, and through explicit discussion of real world analogues to lab experiments. These examples increase students' ability to see physics happening in the real world and encourage them to use their knowledge outside the classroom. This talk will discuss the evolution of the course over the first two years of implementation and results from exams and research on student attitudes. [Preview Abstract] |
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