APS March Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 14–18, 2016;
Baltimore, Maryland
Session F14: Integration of Research and Teaching Excellence: Cottrell Scholars
11:15 AM–2:15 PM,
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Room: 310
Sponsoring
Unit:
FEd
Chair: Richard Wiener, Research Corp
Abstract ID: BAPS.2016.MAR.F14.5
Abstract: F14.00005 : Untypical Undergraduate Research: Player Motion Analysis in Sports
1:39 PM–2:15 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Dinah Loerke
(University of Denver)
There is significant concern about the degree of attrition in STEM
disciplines from the start of K-12 through to the end of higher education,
and the analysis of the `leaky pipeline' from the various institutions has
identified a critical decline - which may be as high as 60 percent - between
the fraction of students who identify as having an interest in a science or
engineering major at the start of college/university, and the fraction of
students who ultimately graduate with a STEM degree. It has been shown that
this decline is even more dramatic for women and underrepresented minorities
(Blickenstaff 2005, Metcalf 2010).
One intervention which has been proven to be effective for retention of
potential STEM students is early research experience, particularly if it
facilitates the students' integration into a STEM learning community (Graham
et al. 2013, Toven-Lindsey et al. 2015). In other words, to retain students
in STEM majors, we would like to encourage them to `think of themselves as
scientists', and simultaneously promote supportive peer networks. The
University of Denver (DU) already has a strong undergraduate research
program. However, while the current program provides valuable training for
many students, it likely comes too late to be effective for student
retention in STEM, because it primarily serves older students who have
already finished the basic coursework in their discipline; within physics,
we know that the introductory physics courses already serve as gatekeeper
courses that cause many gifted but `non-typical' students to lose interest
in pursuing a STEM major (Tobias 1990).
To address this issue, my lab is developing a small research spinoff program
in which we apply spatiotemporal motion analysis to the motion trajectories
of players in sports, using video recordings of DU Pioneer hockey games.
This project aims to fulfill a dual purpose: The research is framed in a way
that we think is attractive and accessible for beginning students who have
not yet finished the basic physics course sequence, and we hope to use it to
attract untypical and retain undecided students in physics. Secondly, since
mathematical techniques for trajectory analysis are independent of scale, we
hope to harness the creativity and analytical intuition of undergraduates to
simultaneously benefit our core biophysical research program.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2016.MAR.F14.5