Session G7: Invited Session: Transforming Teaching and Learning in Upper-division Physics

Using a Research-based Approach to Transform Upper-division Laboratory Courses

Preparing undergraduate physics majors for future careers in experimental science is one of the main goals of our current physics education system. Upper-division lab courses and undergraduate research experiences are the natural places where this training can take place. At the University of Colorado Boulder, traditional and PER faculty have been working together to comprehensively transform our Advanced Lab course and evaluate the impacts of these changes. I will discuss our two-year effort to establish learning goals, transform the course, and measure the impact of the transformation on students' scientific process skills. As part of this effort, we developed a validated survey (E-CLASS) to assess students' attitudes and beliefs about experimental physics. This online survey is available to instructors at any institution whom would like to learn more about the impact of their lab courses at all levels on students' attitudes about experimental physics. The survey is designed to give instructors actionable feedback to help them improve their courses.   

Using a Research-based Approach to Transform Upper-division Courses in Classical and Quantum Mechanics and E\&M

At most universities, including the University of Colorado, upper-division physics courses are taught using a traditional lecture approach that does not make use of many of the instructional techniques that have been found to improve student learning at the introductory level. We are transforming several upper-division courses using principles of active engagement and learning theory, guided by the results of observations, interviews, and analysis of student work at CU and elsewhere. In this talk I outline these transformations, including the development of faculty consensus learning goals, clicker questions, tutorials, modified homeworks, and more. We present evidence of the effectiveness of these transformations relative to traditional courses, based on student grades, interviews, and through research-based assessments of student conceptual mastery and student attitudes. Our results suggest that many of the tools that have been effective in introductory courses are effective for our majors, and that further research is warranted in the upper-division environment. (See www.colorado.edu/sei/departments/physics.htm for materials)   

Physics Education Research at the Upper Division at the University of Maine

Researchers from the University of Maine Physics Education Research Laboratory are conducting several investigations of the learning and teaching of physics beyond the introductory level. Content topics include intermediate mechanics, electronics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. One focus of our work is the identification and addressing of specific student difficulties with topics such as damped harmonic motion, bipolar junction transistor (BJT) circuits, work, entropy, and the Boltzmann factor. Student understanding and use of the underlying mathematics has been one important emerging theme, including definite integrals, partial derivatives, and linear differential equations. Recent work in mechanics has focused on understanding the interplay of mathematical and physical reasoning when describing damped harmonic motion, including framing and representational issues. In electronics, there has been an ongoing investigation of student understanding of the behavior of basic BJT follower and amplifier circuits as well as related issues of signal and bias. In thermal physics, student understanding of state functions, heat engines and the Carnot cycle, the First and Second Laws of thermodynamics, and the macroscopic and microscopic perspectives on entropy have been investigated. The greater content sophistication in these courses has drawn attention to the specific needs, constraints, and advantages of instructional materials tailored to the upper division. Future directions include more attention to interdisciplinary topics across mathematics, physics, and engineering in particular, as well as metacognition in the laboratory.