Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2022
Volume 67, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 9–12, 2022; New York
Session G06: Integrating computation across the physics curriculumEducation Invited Live Streamed Undergrad Friendly
|
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: FED DCOMP Room: Marquis A-B |
Sunday, April 10, 2022 8:30AM - 9:06AM |
G06.00001: Learning assistant approaches to teaching computational physics problems in a problem-based learning course Invited Speaker: Alanna Pawlak Many introductory physics courses are incorporating computational problems into their curriculum, and understanding how instructors approach teaching such problems is important for improving instruction and problem design. In this talk, I will discuss a phenomenographic study in which I conducted semi-structured interviews with undergraduate learning assistants in a problem-based introductory mechanics course that incorporates several computational problems. Their prior involvement as students, along with their relatively fewer experiences with programming and physics compared to the faculty instructors, give them a unique perspective on teaching in the course. The primary result of this study was the identification of four approaches that learning assistants may take to teaching computational problems in this course. These approaches, programming focus, learning physics via computation focus, computation as a tool focus, and shifting perceptions of learning focus, give insight into the different ways learning assistants perceive computational problems, the extent to which their teaching approaches align with course learning goals, and how we might affect their approaches through training and support. |
Sunday, April 10, 2022 9:06AM - 9:42AM |
G06.00002: Integrating computation into physics courses: Does it prepare students for computational physics research? Invited Speaker: Amy L Graves The movement to make computation a normal part of the undergraduate physics curriculum seems to have taken root (more than four decades after it was suggested [1]) . Integrated environments like code notebooks, cross-platform languages like Python, and web-based collaboration software have reduced the implementation barrier. Challenges of making room in the over-stuffed, standard curriculum are dwarfed by benefits, old and new. One benefit is preparing students to embark on state-of-the-art research in computational physics (CP). Recent surveys of CP communities of practice [2] have compared the needs of research mentors with the structure of undergraduate courses in CP. We will discuss these as well as surveys in progress, which address computation integrated into normal physics courses. |
Sunday, April 10, 2022 9:42AM - 10:18AM |
G06.00003: Using computational essays as an alternative mode of assessment in physics education Invited Speaker: Tor Ole B Odden Computation holds great potential for enabling students to engage in creative, exploratory, and investigative scientific coursework. At the University of Oslo, Norway, we have been exploring this potential through the development and testing of a new teaching tool known as a computational essay. After using computational essays across several semesters of a large-enrollment electricity and magnetism course have found that they can serve a key role in both supporting and assessing students as they engage in open-ended, inquiry-based, disciplinarily-authentic coursework. In this talk, I will describe how we are conceptualizing student creativity and agency in physics, how we use computational essays to support these qualities in our teaching, and the various possibilities for using computational essays as an alternative mode of assessment in physics education. |
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