SM19 Program
Sessions, Panels, Posters, Plenaries, Committee Meetings, and Special Events . . .
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Sessions & Panels
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Student Interpretation of Eigenequations in Mathematics and in Quantum Mechanics*
- FB01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Megan Wawro, John Thompson, Kevin Watson
- Type: Contributed
- Linear algebra, and eigentheory in particular, plays an important role in modeling quantum mechanical systems. Our research project investigates students’ reasoning about eigentheory in quantum mechanics and how their language for eigentheory compares and contrasts across mathematics and quantum physics contexts. We discuss students’ interpretations of a canonical mathematical 2x2 eigenequation and a spin-1/2 operator eigenequation. The data consist of video, transcript, and written work from individual, semi-structured interviews with 9 students from a quantum mechanics course. Students were first asked to explain what the equations meant to them and then asked to compare and contrast how they conceptualize eigentheory in the two situations. Results characterize students’ nuanced imagery for the two eigenequations and highlight instances of both synergistic and potentially incompatible interpretations.
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Students’ Connections between the Hamiltonian, Energy Eigenstates, and Eigenvalues
- FB02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Gina Passante, Zong Yu Wang
- Type: Contributed
- Solving the time-independent Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics involves finding the energy eigenvalues and eigenstates of a system, either by solving a differential equation (in the case of a position-space problem such as the infinite square well) or a matrix equation (in the case of spin-1/2 particles in a magnetic field). Despite the context, the relationship between the Hamiltonian, the energy eigenstates, and the energy eigenvalues is crucial to describing the time evolution of quantum systems. We present the results of surveys administered to students at two different points in the semester to probe their understanding of the connections between these three concepts. We find that while students appear to understand these topics on individual questions, when slight changes are made to the Hamiltonian, many students have difficulty recognizing the resulting changes to the eigenstates and eigenvalues. The results are being used to inform instruction on topics where understanding.
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Student Sense Making of Expectation Values in Different Quantum Mechanical Contexts
- FB03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Benjamin Schermerhorn, Homeyra Sadaghiani, Gina Passante, Steve Pollock
- Type: Contributed
- Given the wide range of quantum mechanical systems (discrete and continuous) in which expectation values can be calculated, students’ understanding and sensemaking of expectation values is a rich area for study. During one semester, 32 interviews were conducted across two universities with students enrolled in an upper-division spins-first quantum mechanics class. The first round of interviews involved a spin state in the y-basis and were given during the spins-half of the course. The second round followed during the wave functions portion of the course and asked about expectation values for a wave function composed of energy eigenfunctions and a parabolic wave function. This talk explores the portions of the interview protocol focused on students’ sense-making of their calculated answer and on eliciting students general understanding of the expectation value. We seek to describe and compare student responses to questions of expectation value across the three different contexts.
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Bases and States: Student Learning of Perturbation Theory in Quantum
- FB04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
- by Charles DeLeone
- Type: Contributed
- Upper-division physics students often struggle with quantum concepts. Previous research has shown that student understanding of a phenomenon in one quantum basis does not always map to other quantum bases. Perturbation theory in quantum mechanics is another topic where mastery requires students to easily move between first-order energy terms represented as discrete matrix elements in the energy basis and as integrals in the position basis. Despite encountering the topic of switching bases earlier in their coursework it is not clear whether student can successfully apply this to perturbation theory. This talk will present the results of a pilot study that probes student understanding of first order perturbation theory as presented in different quantum mechanical bases. The talk will also discuss the pedagogical challenges associated with the teaching perturbation theory more generally.
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Student Difficulties with the Corrections to the Energy Spectrum of the Hydrogen Atom for the Zeeman Effect*
- FB05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Chandralekha Singh, Christof Keebaugh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Contributed
- We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with the corrections to the energy spectrum of the hydrogen atom for the Zeeman effect using the degenerate perturbation theory. The investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to relevant physics concepts. In particular, students often struggled with mathematical sense-making in this context of quantum mechanics which requires interpretation of the implications of degeneracy in the unperturbed energy spectrum and how the Zeeman perturbation will impact the splitting of the energy levels. We discuss how the common difficulties often arise from the fact that applying linear algebra concepts correctly in this context with degeneracy in the energy spectrum is challenging for students..
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Advanced Students’ and Faculty Members’ Reasoning About the Double-Slit Experiment with Single Particles
- FB06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Ryan Sayer, Alexandru Maries, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- We describe an investigation focusing on advanced students’ and faculty members’ understanding and reasoning about two questions related to the double-slit experiment with single particles. One of the questions posed was a standard double slit question while the other was more speculative. First, undergraduate and graduate students in advanced quantum mechanics courses were asked the questions in written form and six students were interviewed individually using a think-aloud protocol in which they were asked follow up questions to make their thought processes explicit regarding their responses to the questions. We also interviewed five faculty members who had taught modern physics, quantum mechanics and/or solid state physics to understand their reasoning and thought processes. All faculty members provided interesting responses to the more speculative question related to the double slit experiment with single particles and their responses shed light on what it means to think like a physicist. Student responses varied greatly in their correctness and sophistication of reasoning and suggested that while some advanced upper-level undergraduate and graduate students have come a long way in learning to think like a physicist, others need guidance and scaffolding support in order to develop the problem solving and reasoning skills characteristic of an expert physicist.
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Instructional Moves to Shift Upper Division Students' Epistemic Frames
- FB07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Christopher Hass, Qing Ryan, Eleanor Sayre
- Type: Contributed
- We connect upper division students' use of mathematics and physical concepts using epistemic framing. Looking at classroom discourse and student problem solving, we use epistemic frames to find instructional moves that teachers use to shift students fromunproductive frames to productive frames. Using qualitative analysis of video data of an upper division electromagnetism course, we analyze and catalog several moves used by teachers to help students during problem solving. In this talk we present these instructional moves, and the observed frameshifts they induce.
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Student’s Conceptual Resources of Spherical Unit Vector in Upper-division E&M
- FB08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Ying Cao, Brant Hinrichs
- Type: Contributed
- The resources framework has been applied in physics education research in many different contexts. Results have indicated that students can draw upon rich conceptual resources to make sense of difficult physics concepts with the help of appropriate instructional prompts. It is well-recognized that students have great difficulty understanding non-Cartesian unit vectors. However, the resources framework has only limitedly been applied to this problem. In this study, we applied the resources theoretical lens to analyze student interview data while they are solving problems involving non-Cartesian unit vectors in the context of upper-division E&M. We report our preliminary results and draw implications for possible instructional strategies.
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Identifying Student Ideas on Coordinate Systems from Calculus III Course
- FB09
- Tue 07/23, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Brian Farlow, Chaelee Dalton, Jordan Brainard, Warren Christensen
- Type: Contributed
- Our broad research goal is to develop research-based instructional materials to help students more effectively translate across the math-physics interface in the middle- and upper-divisions in the context of some vector concepts in various spatial coordinate systems. A portion of that effort is to understand and define the associated instructional gap between math and physics curricula. Thus, we began a study to analyze both the curricula and student understanding of that curricula in both calculus and upper-division physics courses. Previous analysis of popular calculus textbooks found that approximately 95% of their content is based on Cartesian coordinates with much of the remaining 5% being curvilinear content presented at a surface level (see Dalton et al). A follow-up survey of Calculus III students revealed an emerging understanding of vector concepts across coordinate systems. We report on this survey and how its results will inform future curriculum development.
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The Second Dimension of the FCI Is Mostly Medieval
- DM01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by David Pritchard, Angel Perez Lemonche, John Stewart, Byron Drury, Rachel Henderson
- Type: Contributed
- We constructed Item Response Curves (1) for correct and distractor responses to the FCI (N=17000, eight universities) administered pre-instruction. Even students scoring below chance selected responses whose curves rose monotonically as Newtonian ability(raw correct score) decreased – indicating an absence of guessing. About a dozen ‘intermediate maximum’ distractors were selected by over 30% of intermediate students but by fewer low or high ability students. In addition to Newtonian ability, Two-Dimensional Item Response Theory revealed a dimension distinguishing classes of distractors. This axis differentiates intermediate maximum from dominant wrong responses. Intermediate maxima correspond to known commonsense physics ideas (2), especially the Medieval concept of impetus, and are predominantly selected by students scoring 15-50%. Lower skill students selected a wider range of more ‘naively incorrect’ responses. The ability to infer specific alternate conceptions of students or classes should allow development and application of effective instructional interventions for specific misunderstandings.
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Multidimensional Item Response Theory and the FMCE
- DM02
- Tue 07/23, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Jie Yang, John Stewart
- Type: Contributed
- Many studies have examined the structure and properties of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), however, far less research has investigated the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). This study applied Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) to a sample of N=4528 FMCE post-tests responses. Exploratory factor analysis identified a 10-factor solution as optimal; however, much of the optimal factor structure was related to the blocking of items into a group with a common stem. A confirmatory analysis, which constrained the MIRT models to a theoretical model constructed from expert solutions, produced a model requiring only eight principles, fundamental reasoning steps. This was substantially fewer than that identified in the FCI. Correlation analysis also demonstrated that the two instruments were very dissimilar. The reduced number of principles allowed the extraction of eight single-principle subscales, seven with Cronbach's alpha greater than the 0.7 required for acceptable internal consistency.
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Evaluating Assessment Construct of Concept Inventories in Pre- and Post-test
- DM03
- Tue 07/23, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
by Yang Xiao*, Haoli Zhuang, Jing Han, Jianwen Xiong, Lei Bao
- Type: Contributed
- Concept inventories (CIs) are commonly used in pre-post testing to study student conceptual change. To obtain consistent measurement, the assessment construct measured by a CI is desired to maintain invariance across pre-post tests. Using a large datasetfrom a Midwestern public university, Item Response Theory analysis was performed to examine the stability of the factorial structure invariance of two commonly used CIs, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), across pre- and post-test. While both CIs held a stable unidimensional configural structure between pre- and post-test, the CSEM violated more metric invariance than the FCI did. The results suggest that analysis of total score of the two CIs under unidimensional assumption can yield reliable measures. The difference in the construct changes of the two CIs also indicates possible influence from students’ prior knowledge on construct invariance.
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How do Previous Coding Experiences Influence Undergraduate Physics Students
- DM05
- Tue 07/23, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
by Jacqueline Bumler, Paul Hamerski, Marcos Caballero, Paul Irving
- Type: Contributed
- Project and Practices in Physics (P-Cubed), a section of introductory, calculus-based physics, is designed around problem-based learning. Students spend each class working in groups on a single complex physics problem. Some of these problems are computational in nature – students start with code from a visual computer program that runs without accurately accounting for the physics, and they spend the class period applying the physics concepts correctly in the program. Here we present an interview study that investigates the relationship between students’ prior computational experiences and their experience with computational activities in P-Cubed. This investigation demonstrates the ways by which prior coding experience can impact how students make sense of computation within physics.
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Scientific Practices in Minimally Completed Programs
- DM06
- Tue 07/23, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by Daniel Oleynik, Paul Irving
- Type: Contributed
- Computational problem solving practices are beginning to be the center of many introductory physics courses. Specifically, within P-cubed, students regularly work on computational problems situated in physics that involve minimally working programs. Currently, very little research has been done on minimally working programs in relation to curriculum design, especially with how frequently they facilitate students in engaging with computational practices. After an initial coding of student work in class, we have identified extended periods of time where students were working on aspects of the problem that were not intended by instructors, which we coded as “distractors.” Throughout the course of this presentation, we examine these distractors for computational practices and pedagogical benefits.
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Visualizations of E&M Plane Waves Designed for Better Student Understanding
- DM07
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Michael Wilson, Robert Beichner
- Type: Contributed
- It is well known that plane waves in electricity and magnetism (E&M) are misunderstood. Particularly, the traditional visual representation of these plane waves is misleading and students are confused by the waves’ three dimensionality. Previous work by the author suggests that students respond best to visualizations that show propagating wavefronts and visualizations that fill the entire space. Presented is a qualitative study focusing on three very different simulations designed to meet these two requirements and their effect on student understanding.
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A Method for Measuring Resource Activation in Physics Quantitative Literacy*
- DM08
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Trevor Smith, Philip Eaton, Suzanne Brahmia, Alexis Olsho, Andrew Boudreaux
- Type: Contributed
- We are engaged in a multi-year project to develop the Physics Inventory of Quantitative Literacy (PIQL): a multiple-choice assessment instrument to measure students’ mathematical reasoning abilities in physics. One of our main goals is to examine the interactions between students’ understanding of physics and their quantitative reasoning skills. To measure these interactions, we have included several multiple-choice multiple-response (MCMR) questions on the PIQL for which students may choose as many (or as few) responses as they think are correct. Different responses correspond with different aspects of the physics or mathematics. We present results from several MCMR questions and discuss methods for analyzing these data that allow us to examine how students’ responses may correspond to different resources being activated. We also probe whether or not the assumptions of typical quantitative analyses, such as classical test theory, are appropriate for instruments that include MCMR questions.
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The Progress Toward Developing an Instrument to Measure Student Reasoning*
- DM09
- Tue 07/23, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
by Brianna Santangelo, Mila Kryjevskaia, Alexey Leontyev
- Type: Contributed
- One of the goals of physics instruction is to help students develop reasoning skills in the context of physics. However, it is challenging to design instruments capable of measuring student reasoning in order to make claims about improvements. The challenges stem from two aspects. First, it is difficult to disentangle conceptual understanding from reasoning. Second, to reason productively, a certain level of conceptual understanding is required. As such, a traditional pre- and post-test methodology is not appropriate for documenting changes in reasoning. To address the challenges, we have been developing sequences of screening-target questions: screening questions probe conceptual understanding, while target questions require students to apply this understanding in situations that present reasoning challenges. The level of consistency in student performance on screening and target questions is used to make inferences about reasoning skills.
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Gaming Your Students – The Research into Fluency Inspiring Activities
- FI01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
by Edward Prather, Rica French
- Type: Invited
- For two decades researchers at the Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) have been investigating how best to teach difficult topics to introductory students in a variety of STEM disciplines and courses. From developing activities for Life in the Universe courses to bring Gravitational Lensing to non-science majors – we have been experimenting on which combinations of representations and tasks can motivate learners to deeply engage in developing discipline fluency. From a gamming perspective we have been investigating how to foster the right combo of Enticement, Mystery, Action, Risk, Challenge, Uncertainty, and with any luck Mastery. In this talk I will share how our research project to uncover which representations are most commonly used by faculty in Think-Pair-Share questions has evolved into a new framework that generates a new class of Fluency Inspiring Questions/Activities, (a.k.a The Boss Fight!), and how this work is being used to inform the Astronomy Majors Project (AMP).
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A Thematic Sequence in Astronomy for Non-Majors
- FI02
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Jennifer Blue
- Type: Invited
- As part of the liberal education requirements at Miami University, each student without a second major or minor must complete a Thematic Sequence. This is a set of related courses outside the student’s home department [1]. One of the Thematic Sequences offered in the Department of Physics is about astronomy. It is called Our Place in the Universe, and consists of these three courses: Introduction to Astronomy and Space Science, Observational Foundations of Astronomy, and Contemporary Astronomy. The first, introductory, course is taught in a large auditorium, but the second and third are capped at 24 and mostly taken by students in the thematic sequence. Students get no credit for completing a thematic sequence in their own major; therefore, almost no students in these courses are physics majors. This talk will describe these courses and highlight the fun activities the students get to do.
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The Importance of Engaging with “Real Data” in Astronomy Courses
- FI03
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Kimberly Coble
- Type: Invited
- I will discuss the importance, implementation, and impact of general education astronomy students’ participation in two different course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). In both curricula, our goal was to engage students with realistic practices used by professional astronomers and to examine the effects of those experiences on students’ attitudes toward science. In one project, students completed a multi-step observing project with the robotic Global Telescope Network (GTN), where they focused on observation planning, proposal writing, and peer review. In the other, the Research-Based Science Education (RBSE) Project, the focus was on analysis of data taken at national observatories: nova searches, asteroid tracking, stellar and AGN spectroscopy, and photometric redshift. RBSE was developed at the University of Alaska Anchorage and tested at four different universities. Students’ experiences and perceived impacts of participation in both projects were examined through iterative thematic coding analyses of interviews and essays.
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(Cancel) Immersive Environments For Physics Education
- FM
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Deepak Iyer, Aatish Bhatia
- Type: Panel
- In his classic education text ‘Mindstorms’, the educator Seymour Papert describes computational environments where children explore mathematical ideas in an immersive manner similar to learning their first language. Learning a language is intrinsically motivating, in part because it empowers the learner, and because its importance is reinforced by a rich web of cultural connections. In contrast, Papert compares traditional math curricula to learning a foreign language without living in the land. Here, ideas might seem unmotivated because they are disconnected from personal experience and lack cultural relevance. In this interactive session, we’d like to collectively imagine how to build computational and physical environments that motivate and empower students to learn math and physics. Here, learners might encounter ideas in playful or in personal ways, through solving puzzles, exploring patterns, playing games, making art or music, building things, or solving personally relevant problems. Some questions we would like to pose are, 1) How can we create an environment that allows students to feel empowered through their exploration of physics? 2) What role might computation play in helping to build such an environment? 3) What projects are already doing this? 4) How can we tap into culturally relevant ideas, and more deeply embrace the affective component of education? In the session, we expect to have a few invited presentations followed by a discussion which would serve to engage with the ideas presented as well as brainstorm new ideas for such immersive environments.
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(Cancelled) PTRA: Understanding NGSS Phenomena
- BG
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Jan Mader
- Type: other
- High stakes testing is governing much of the physics and physical science curricula. That said instructors need to integrate science concepts within mathematics and ELA/Literacy courses to insure increased success on ACT, SAT, and end of course exams.Attendees will examine learning cycles that address Astronomy using MS and HS ESS 1.1 - 1.6 linked to ELA/Literacy Common Core Standards and Math Common Core Standards.
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Assessment Practices For Accessibility, Rigor, and Sustainability: You Can Have All Three
- AE01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Mylène DiPenta
- Type: Invited
- Is it possible increase rigor, authentic assessment, and accessibility at the same time? How can we support students' widely varying learning needs in ways that are sustainable for faculty? What assessment practices make success more possible for membersof marginalized groups (including students who are one or more of Indigenous, Black, people of color, women, queer, trans, disabled/having disabilities, etc.) while contributing to a healthier climate for all students? How do we help students develop the confidence that they can take control of their own learning and improvement? Will my students ever complete the assigned readings before class, and if they do, how do I prevent them from memorizing it as compartmentalized nonsense? I've been experimenting for 8 years with answering these questions, using a combination of Standards-Based Grading, format-independent rubrics, student-developed assessment, student-developed curriculum, Elder/Paul model critical thinking, Universal Design for Learning, peer review, and some basic techniques of conflict mediation. Come try these techniques first-hand using examples from an algebra-based circuits course. We will discuss the techniques' pros and cons, and explore underlying conditions that make them work, including "question generating exercises", a "curiosity tracking" spreadsheet, and the surprising role of definitions in students' understanding of causality. You will leave with a package of classroom-ready resources, including at least one that you have modified to suit your curriculum.
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An Evolving Approach to Assessment in Upper-level Labs
- AE02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Melissa Eblen-Zayas
- Type: Invited
- Upper-level labs often focus on hands-on activities and project-based work that are designed to enhance student understanding of the process of experimental work, in addition to developing core content knowledge. When I began teaching upper-level lab courses, my assessment of student learning primarily relied on traditional quizzes or final poster presentations or write-ups. However, these approaches didn’t allow me to measure development of students’ understanding of process in experimental work, because the assessments tended to focus on final outcomes. I will describe how I have revised assessment in my upper-level lab courses to include low stakes reflections and presentations as well as hands-on exams that better match my learning goals for these courses. In addition, I will outline questions that remain as I continue to re-examine my approach to assessment in upper-level labs.
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Piecewise Specifications-based Grading
- AE03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
- by Joshua Veazey
- Type: Contributed
- Mastery-based grading systems (like specifications grading) are attractive to many instructors at the college level. They shift student focus from accumulating points to learning. These grading systems also accommodate logical revision policies that promote growth mindset. However, transitioning from points-based grading to a mastery grading system can seem daunting and prevent adoption. What’s more, implementation in large-enrollment lecture courses may mean a large volume of revisions and reassessments that is unmanageable. In this talk I will discuss my experimentation with a piecewise approach to implementation in various ways across several introductory level courses. Specifications grading has been applied strategically to only some areas of these courses (e.g., labs, discussions, homework problems) to achieve some of the benefits while keeping the workload manageable. Feedback from students has suggested that even limited applications of specifications grading can impact the overall class culture in positive ways.
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Modeling and Assessing Scientific Reasoning
- AE04
- Mon 07/22, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Lei Bao, Kathleen Koenig, Yang Xiao, Shaona Zhou, Jing Han
- Type: Contributed
- In STEM education, there has been increased emphasis on teaching goals that include not only the learning of content knowledge but also the development of scientific reasoning, which is a core ability supporting the workforce and global economy of the 21st century. Although there has been abundant research in the literature on various aspects of scientific reasoning, the research community has yet to reach a consensus on the definition, assessment, and development of scientific reasoning. The single popular assessment instrument on scientific reasoning has also been shown to have validity defects. Through a decade of extended research and development, a comprehensive modeling framework as well as a new assessment instrument on scientific reasoning have reached a releasing point. This presentation will introduce the modeling framework and the assessment instrument, which are now ready to be implemented in research and teaching. Future work and possible collaborations will also be discussed.
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Assessing the Mindsets of Physics Students through Intellectual Humility (IH)
- AE05
- Mon 07/22, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
by Meagan Sundstrom, Fabiana Cardetti, Jason Hancock, Manuela Wagner
- Type: Contributed
- Students often enter the physics classroom with intuitive conceptions about how one learns physics, drawn from real life experiences or former coursework, and they may be hesitant to revisit these mindsets as they encounter new learning environments. Thenature of scientific inquiry in the classroom necessitates one's abilities to be open to hearing evidence that contradicts his or her personal opinion, to be willing to discard any original misconceptions in the face of such alternative evidence, and to identify and pay appropriate attention to one's academic limitations. Such a mindset is indicative of Intellectual Humility (IH), defined as “the owning of one's limitations." In this mixed methods study, we analyzed IH surveys, in-class activities and assignments, and qualitative data to assess the mindsets of introductory physics students through the lens of IH. We will discuss our main findings and relate them to students’ in-class learning experiences.
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Percolating Down Bloom’s Pyramid: Students Create their Own Exam Problems
- AE06
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
- by Ameya Kolarkar
- Type: Contributed
- Students were encouraged to create their own exam problems some of which would be used on their actual exams. It was noticed that – over the course of a semester – the students who participated demonstrated significantly better learning covering all the Bloom’s levels in the process. We extended this process to the entire class (up to 70 students) and obtained similar results, and that students could think at higher levels than the rest, on average. We noticed that even though students’ creating process mimicked the teacher’s, the way they framed their questions differed in interesting ways. This "Creating" process also highlights their preconceptions that we, the teachers, may easily miss.
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An Effective Assessment of Students Learning Behavior Based on Internet and Cloud Technology
- AE07
- Mon 07/22, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
by Fuli Zhao, Han SHEN, Raohui FENG, Xintu CUI, Daoxin YAO
- Type: Contributed
- In order to improve the positive effect for the assessment of student learning behavior in the compulsory courses in fundamental physics, we developed an internet-based software to monitor the behavior of optical project design and evaluated the detail properties of the students' manipulation data to get the detail data sheet of the learning behavior. Furthermore, based on the cloud technology the real-time output of the students manipulation can be put into the statistics strategy and find whether the instruction is good or not in order to give evident support for teacher to modify the instructions afterwards. Such a real-time dynamic method has been carried out in SYSU for three years and we have obtained very positive feedback.
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Promising Practices for Engaging Underrepresented Students in Makerspaces
- EB01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Brooke Coley, Audrey Boklage, Nadia Kellam
- Type: Invited
- As making could potentially impact academic progression, through early exposure and opportunities to develop confidence through building, design, iteration and community, it is critical that we understand how all students, especially those from underrepresented groups, come to affiliate with, become alienated from and/or negotiate the cultural norms within these maker communities. It is crucial to explore the complexities of underrepresented students’ identity development and how they are impacted by navigating in engineering-affiliated makerspace environment. This study investigated the experiences of underrepresented engineering students that have also engaged as makers in makerspaces. This study was conducted across seven university engineering affiliated makerspaces and interviewed a total of 65 engineering students from varying backgrounds, disciplines and class statuses. Narrative interviews were used to ascertain stories of students' personal growth and identity development which helped to elucidate promising practices for makerspaces to engage all students, and specifically underrepresented students.
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Incorporating Making into a Design Curriculum: Best Practices
- EB02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Audrey Boklage
- Type: Invited
- One of the defining characteristics of design is that there is rarely a single correct answer to an engineering problem, but rather an acceptable solution leading to a final design. Makerspaces are catalysts to innovation, confidence and design. Recent research found over a course of three-months, students who took part in a course that made use of the makerspace for a class project were positively and significantly impacted in the domains of technology self-efficacy, innovation orientation, affect towards design, design self-efficacy, and belonging to the makerspace. The Curriculum lab at The University of Texas at Austin serves as a space for professional development for faculty to leverage their expertise and incorporate the makerspace into their design curriculum. Through this work we have recognized the importance of an asset-based approach coupled with realistic learning outcomes for the students in the successful implementation of these projects.
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The Library as a Venue for Making and Learning
- EB03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
by Victor Lee, Mimi Recker, Aubrey Rogowski
- Type: Invited
- There are over 100,000 school and public libraries in the United States, and they are increasingly become locations where Making is taking place. In some situations, this involves the creation of dedicated Makerspaces in the library while in others, libraries are offering new programs and experiences that put patrons in contact with STEM-oriented Making. In this presentation, I will discuss the latter and specifically the opportunities to come into contact with physics content through some common types of Maker activities that are especially amenable to library settings. The comments and accounts shared by this panel speaker are based on three years of research and design work with small town and rural serving public and school libraries funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Over that time, the research and design team has launched and implemented programs that have been in use with hundreds of youth library patrons in and out of Utah and helped demonstrate to a broader public that learning in today's libraries is about much more than just books.
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A University-based Mobile Maker Space*
- EB04
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
by Charles DeLeone, Edward Price, April Nelson
- Type: Invited
- University maker spaces hold great potential for engaging the community, but may not be easily accessible, especially for youth and underserved populations. Going out from the university to the community can address this issue and help broaden youth participation in making. Mobile Making is a university-based after-school making program that operates within local middle schools. Highly qualified and ethnically diverse undergraduate science majors and teacher candidates lead youth participants in authentic making activities during weekly sessions. Objectives include increases in the participants’ interest and self-efficacy related to Making and STEM, and their perception of the relevance of STEM/making in everyday life. Evaluation has documented positive impacts on the participants and facilitators, and the programs create a sustainable maker ecology within the region. We will share outcomes, lessons learned, and our assessment methods and tools, and describe how other universities can engage in or initiate similar efforts
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Implementing Video Games and Augmented/Virtual Reality in the Classroom
- BB01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by David Rosengrant
- Type: Invited
- Technology is changing the way we teach our students. Thus, it is imperative that we also change how we teach our future science and physics teachers to incorporate this new technology. Video games serve as a natural motivator for many students as they are already interested in them. The engines must be realistic in order to make them believable. This provides us with a great opportunity to use them as a teaching tool if done properly. Augmented reality allows our students the ability to maintain a hands on environment while incorporating virtual technologies. Virtual reality gives us unprecedented freedom to make any topic or any concept come alive in our classroom. This presentation focuses on the success and opportunities as well as student responses to these technologies in the author's science courses as well as strategies and resources for participants to adopt with their instruction.
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Using Volumetric and Holographic Display in Visualizing Scientific Concepts
- BB02
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Mojgan Haghanikar
- Type: Invited
- The rapid advancements in three-dimensional digital imaging, virtual and augmented reality, have allowed extensive possibilities to elucidate scientific communication. Growing body of research (Hegarty, 2014) in psychometrics and science education literature has reported the high correlation between learners’ spatial abilities and success in the sciences. A significant number of abstract concepts in physics, chemistry, math, astronomy, and biology are three-dimensional entities. However, the challenges are not limited to the obscurity of the third dimension. Communicating science is troublesome whenever the speed of transition, scale or time frame is beyond the realm of our perceptions and our daily life experiences. The recent advancements in mixed reality technologies, hold vast potential to enhance the visualization and interactions to promote learning scientific processes. The unique characteristics of mixed reality technologies such as 3D interactive allowance, the physical and virtual world merger and the flexibility to connect various layers of information are the most promising features to enhance scientific communication. In this presentation, I will present sample demos and will also discuss the possible grounds for collaboration, in sketching a new platform for scientific communication, for instance, new strategies for outreach and dissemination of research findings, hybrid classes, and remote labs.
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Integration of Computational Modeling: Formative Assessment
- BB03
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Ruth Chabay
- Type: Invited
- The integration of computational modeling into physics courses at the introductory level and beyond offers various possible educational benefits. However, in order to make sure that we are actually meeting our own instructional goals, we need to assess what students have actually learned and to identify areas where our instruction can be improved. Large computational projects are not necessarily the most informative means of such formative assessment. How can we articulate clear goals for student learning and create tasks specifically targeted at assessing these goals?
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Leading Students to Create a Technology-Focused Portfolio
- BB04
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Aaron Titus
- Type: Invited
- The Department of Physics at High Point University has three primary strategies to prepare all undergraduate physics majors for contemporary scientific practices in both industry and graduate school. (1) Every physics course incorporates both computational physics and experimental physics. (2) Each intermediate physics course requires students to do a semester project. (3) All students do guided research, starting in their first year. As a result, students have a plethora of experiences writing code, starting with the use of VPython in the first-year introductory physics course, which includes computational modeling. In this presentation, I will highlight their computational experiences and will describe how students make a professional technology-focused, public portfolio of their work.
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Teaching Kinematics with Drones and Videoanalytics
- BB05
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
by Lars Möhring, Andre Bresges
- Type: Invited
- Knowing the position of an object by having access to it’s starting point, velocity, and acceleration is one of the main problems in kinematics. Teaching kinematics in real-life context often utilizes the behavior of cars, ships, or trains. With the advancement in technology autonomous drones or UAV become more and more part of our everyday life. The reduction in scale and price leads to new possibilities for studying their behavior in 3-dimensional space. Our drones are hexacopters programmable in SCRATCH via any mobile device. This enables a predict-observe-explain cycle promoting a combination of content knowledge, measuring and observation, programming skills and physical modelling. We present our teaching practice as well as empirical data of the learning outcome, measured with the Force Concept Inventory.
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A Flavor of the Flavor Physics at LHCb
- CH01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Henry Schreiner
- Type: Invited
- The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is at the forefront of the high energy frontier. The LHCb detector is a highly specialized forward spectrometer designed to study flavor physics using the LHC beam. We will step through a gentle, colorful introduction to the physics that LHCb was built to study. We will take a look at what makes LHCb a unique experiment, and how it captures some of the most exciting particle decays. We will take a look at some of the achievements of LHCb, such as the pentaquark state.
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Searching for Evidence for New Physics, NEW g-2 Experiment
- CH02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Kevin Giovanetti
- Type: Invited
- In the 70's the Standard Model was developed as a fundamental description of the way our world works. The previous history of discovery involved dramatic and puzzling challenges. The expectation was that the evolution of our understanding would continue to be tumultuous. However over the next 30+ years the Standard Model survived with only minor enhancements. The general feeling, however, is that an even more fundamental theory must exist and the new g-2 experiment is searching for evidence by looking for a discrepancy between Standard Model predictions and experimental results. G-2 has been designed to precisely measure the magnetic moment of the muon, a number that theorists have precisely calculated. A description of the experiment and the challenges of the measurement will be discussed. The prospects for success and the reasons why this particular measurement might succeed at leading to new physics will be addressed.
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The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment
- CH03
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Christopher White
- Type: Invited
- Neutrino oscillations were definitely discovered in 2002. Since then, the study of neutrinos has captured the interest of experimental particle physicists world wide. In 2012, the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment discovered an unexpectedly large value for the neutrino mixing parameter known as theta13, paving the way to the next generation of neutrino oscillation experiments. In this talk I will explain what the excitement is all about, I will review what is currently known, and will provide a brief overview of what we hope to learn in the coming years.
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The History of the Universe in a Building Lobby Exhibit
- BM01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Brian Pyper
- Type: Invited
- BYU-I's Romney Physical Sciences Building hosts an exhibit in the front lobby that features explanatory and museum-style materials that take the visitor along the hallway from the Big Bang to the present. The exhibit is open to the public and local school groups, admissions tours and college science classes use the exhibit to teach about the various stages of the history of the Earth. I'll discuss the features of the display and its development and maintenance.
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A Solar Spectroscope Exhibit at Utah Valley University
- BM02
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Steven Wasserbaech
- Type: Invited
- We are building an instrument to project onto a screen a 2-meter-long spectrum made from "live" sunlight. The device will have sufficient resolution to show numerous absorption lines. This permanent exhibit in a science building at Utah Valley Universitywill offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about light, the sun, atoms, energy levels, optics, and more.
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Lobby Science
- BM03
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Clark Snelgrove
- Type: Invited
- The Eyring Science Center on the Brigham Young University campus has been the focus of science research and education since 1952. The lobby is filled with many displays and hands-on activities designed to engage students and visitors in scientific discovery. The lobby displays must survive the wild hordes of budding scientist that use them daily. I will discuss our philosophy and the work required to produce new displays and to update existing displays. I will also discuss how signs that describe the display can be designed to better engage the public and enrich the learning experience.
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STOP Collaborate and Listen: Peer Mentorship in Secondary Education
- DA01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Jennifer Goetz
- Type: Invited
- Engaging in professional networks as a high school physics teacher can be challenging. The pressures of teaching full time, lack of professional development funding, and availability of readily accessible groups limit the opportunities K-12 teachers haveto reap the benefits of such networking. However, through support from the Knowles Teacher Initiative, local networks, and online communities, I have grown as an educator, physicist and teacher-leader. During this talk I will discuss how my experiences in Knowles empowered me to join and lead local collaborations, take part in an online IB Physics Peer Learning Community and engage in teacher inquiry with peers around the country. Creating space for collaboration and networking as a high school physics teacher has given me the inspiration and support I need to survive and thrive in secondary education.
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Mentoring Works! The Value of Peer Mentoring in the Lives of Scientists
- DA02
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Barbara Whitten
- Type: Invited
- There is a wealth of data showing that mentors are a valuable asset to the lives and careers of young scientists. Mentors are usually thought of as an older and more experienced person who provides advice and support to a younger person, but it has beenshown that peer mentors can be useful as well. Further, we have learned that mentoring is effective and important at all stages of a scientist’s career, not just at the beginning. And that mentoring is particularly effective in overcoming isolation for physicists who are marginalized in some way. I will discuss two mentoring projects that we have been involved in. First, I have been a part of a peer mentoring network of senior women physicists at liberal arts colleges for more than a decade. This has become one of the most important professional activities of my career. I’ll talk about how we began, how we continue, and why it’s important. Second, we have been working on an NSF-funded project to create similar peer-mentoring alliances of isolated women in physics. This project is in its third year and five alliances have been created, with several more forming. I’ll describe these alliances and how they formed, and talk about what we’ve learned from this project, with ideas for the future and for other isolated physicists.
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Building Professional Networks on Social Media
- DA03
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
- by Sarah Johnson
- Type: Contributed
- Over the past several years I have discovered that social media, especially Twitter, is a great place to grow one's professional networks. I originally joined Twitter more than 10 years ago as the manager of my son's soccer team. I had no idea that a decade later I would be using Twitter to discuss physics teaching with colleagues around the world. We share teaching ideas via the iteachphysics hashtag and provide support to each other from afar. Not only have I interacted with physics instructors at all levels, I have also made meaningful connections with many women scientists. These contacts have led to, among other things, a fund-raising campaign designed to encourage Canadian high school girls to consider a career in science. In this talk, I will describe how I built my online professional networks on Twitter and the benefits I have derived from participating in them.
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Interdisciplinary Science Teaching – How the Physics Living Portal Can Assist
- DJ01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Rhonda Dzakpasu
- Type: Invited
- The biological physics major at Georgetown University was created primarily to attract premed students who might otherwise major in biology. Many of these students will have taken physics and calculus – frequently at the AP level – in high school and areoften not aware that physics can be a viable path to medical school. This talk will discuss our philosophy in developing the major and the requirements to complete the major; I will focus on the first of our two-semester course sequence in biological physics and how the Physics Living Portal and curriculum swaps in a community environment can play a role in ongoing course development and enrichment. I will also present some of the benefits as well as the challenges that we have experienced as we work to refine the major as well as what types of paths our majors take after they graduate.
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Posting PALS on the Portal
- DJ02
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Alice Churukian
- Type: Invited
- At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill we completely redesigned the introductory course sequence typically taken by students of the life sciences. As part of the development of our new introductory physics course for life science (IPLS) majors, we designed more than 50 studio activities called Physics Activities for the Life Sciences (PALS). All activities address important physical principles and their applications to the life sciences, and many focus on topics that are not part of the traditional introductory physics curriculum. The introduction of the Living Physics Portal has afforded us the opportunity to not only broadly share our materials with others who are also developing and teaching IPLS courses, but also receive feedback from our peers. In this talk, I will share my experiences of uploading materials to the Community Library and the process of getting materials accepted into the Vetted Library.
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Physics Faculty’s Attitudes Towards Copyright, Licensing, and Distribution of Curricular Materials*
- DJ03
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Sarah McKagan, Adrian Madsen
- Type: Contributed
- Traditionally, curricular materials for teaching physics have been developed by small groups of curriculum developers, and owned and distributed by publishing companies, often at a substantial cost to students. The Living Physics Portal provides an alternative model of an online environment where physics faculty share, discuss, adapt, and reshare free curricular materials. In order to sustain this free resource, we are exploring possibilities for working with commercial partners to also distribute materials though online homework systems, integrated online textbooks, and on-demand publishers. We conducted usability testing interviews with six physics faculty in which we asked them to pretend to contribute their curricular materials to the Living Physics Portal and assign them a copyright, license, and permission to distribute to commercial partners. The faculty in our study had a wide range of attitudes about who should own their curricular materials and how they should be distributed. We present our findings and their implications for how curricular materials should be shared and how universities and funding agencies should support their employees and grantees in addressing these issues.
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Ways to Use NEXUS/Physics on the LPP*
- DJ04
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Edward Redish
- Type: Contributed
- NEXUS/Physics is an Introductory Physics Course for Life Science (IPLS) and pre-health-care students. It has been delivered at the University of Maryland since 2011. The materials developed for the class are being shared through the Living Physics Portaland ComPADRE, hosted by the AAPT. The materials developed for NEXUS/Physics can be used at a variety of grainsizes ranging from a single item (reading or problem), to a module (time-confined unit on a single topic), to a thread (a skill-developing set of materials running through all topics), to a full year's class (with sample syllabi available). Materials on the LPP can be adopted and adapted to match the needs of a particular instructional situation. I'll present examples that are currently available and discuss possibilities for future development.
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SCALE-UP Physics on the Living Physics Portal
- DJ05
- Tue 07/23, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
- by Mark Reeves
- Type: Contributed
- At George Washington University, we have developed a two-semester, calculus-based sequence that mostly serves our biophysics majors and the biomedical engineers. It was developed with support from the NSF and has been delivered at George Washington University since 2008. The materials developed for the class are being shared through the Living Physics Portal (LPP), hosted by the AAPT. These materials include standard elements of the SCALE-UP model, including reading quizzes, peer-instruction clicker questions, ponderables (group problem solving), tangibles (small hands-on elements), laboratories, homework problems as well as quiz and test problems. The materials are arranged by topic and presented as a fully transferable course. Materials on the LPP can be adopted and adapted to match the needs of a particular instructional situation. In this talk, I will give examples of modules that are currently available on the LPP.
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Current Materials for Program Self-Study & External Review, And Effective Practices for Physics Programs
- BE
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Ernie Behringer
- Type: Panel
- Current AAPT materials bearing on program self-study and external review are discussed together with a new guide of Effective Practices for Physics Programs being developed by APS with community input.
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Guidelines for Self-Study: A Tool for Reflective Discovery and Management
- BE01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Juan Burciaga
- Type: Panel
- Departmental self-study, whether as part of an ongoing monitoring of the program or as part of preparing for an external review, is a powerful tool for both the department and for individual faculty. The "Guidelines for Self-Study and External Evaluationof Undergraduate Physics Programs" published in 2005 by AAPT form the basis for a comprehensive guided-inquiry into the goals of the department, the programs and curriculum within the department, and developing a profile of both the student and faculty communities. The talk will focus on introducing the guidelines and developing a perspective on the role of self-study in the life of the physics department and individual faculty.
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Using the AAPT Recommendations Documents for Program Review and Improvement
- BE02
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Joseph Kozminski
- Type: Panel
- The AAPT has recently put out Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum and Recommendations for Computational Physics in the Undergraduate Physics Curriculum. These recommendations focus on developing important skills and competencies, useful for graduate research and jobs in the STEM sector and many other employment sectors, in a scaffolded way throughout the undergraduate curriculum. The recommendations are general enough to be implemented at any institution and within a variety of curriculum frameworks. These documents give departments a way to evaluate their current programming and make changes to the laboratory and computational physics components of their curricula. They also provide guidelines that external reviewers can use to assess the laboratory and computational physics components of the program under review. This talk will provide an overview of these recommendations and how they might be used for department self-assessment or in an external program review.
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Guide to Program Review: Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3)
- BE03
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Theodore Hodapp
- Type: Panel
- Program review is a reality for all colleges and universities. Whether this is regional accreditation, periodic external program review, or the department seeking certification or accreditation, there is a substantial amount of work required. The joint APS / AAPT guide: Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3), is a community-based effort to help physics programs conduct meaningful self-assessments, and respond to regional accreditation in ways that will maximize the value from the time spent by the department in developing and conducting these assessments. The guide will provide an opportunity for the department to transform the chore of self-assessment into a culture of continuous improvement, informed by evidence-based practices. It will include strategies for chairs to implement reforms, information on assessment practices, and a set of resources informing all aspects of a physics program. EP3 will train departmental reviewers to use these strategies and design principles in external program reviews.
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Effective Practices for Physics Programs: The EP3 Guide and Communities
- BE04
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by David Craig
- Type: Panel
- The EP3 Project is bringing together research and information about practices for building successful and effective physics programs from experts across the American physics community. The Guide it is creating will encompass recruiting and retention, research-based pedagogy, careers in physics, student research, considerations of equity, inclusion, and diversity, assessment of student learning, and program review, among many other areas. Sponsored by APS and AAPT, the Guide will be a living document and resource, not a report, with an ongoing commitment to maintaining and updating its content as the research evolves and the community learns and grows. The EP3 Project will also support the physics community in adoption and use of the Guide through workshops and online communities dedicated to helping physics departments achieve specific goals and objectives. This contribution will describe the Guide and its outreach and support initiatives.
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Implementing Cutting-edge Astronomy Research in Developing Countries
- EK02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Anushka Abeysekara
- Type: Invited
- Physics research is not a widely discussed topic in many developing countries. Scientists in those countries face many issues. The prominent problems that were identified are the lack of research culture among students and educators, adequately trained human resources, and scientific isolation. Through close collaboration, the U.S. scientific community is helping these countries to overcome the issues mentioned above. Astronomy is an excellent research field to build research collaborations with developing countries because many observatories are now openly sharing data and analysis tools, and at the same time, the internet and computers are becoming affordable. The HAWC collaboration is an example of a significant scientific partnership between Mexico and the U.S. Since 2007, I collaborate with Mexican and Sri Lankan physicists in different fields. This talk summarizes our experiences in working with scientists from these two countries, how these collaborations mutually benefited both sides, and the future prospects on continuing.
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Doing Physics, Uncomfortable in a Familiar Way
- CM01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Catherine Herne
- Type: Invited
- Doing experimental physics is uncomfortable in a familiar way because I have navigated being “other” all my life. Growing up as a lesbian and presenting my gender in a non-stereotypical way meant that I have always been seen as not typical. Thus, joininga field where women are a minority was familiar. In this session, I will first consider issues of self-disclosure in an academic environment. I work at a state university where I teach physics and mentor undergraduate students in research in optical tweezers. Many of our students come from groups underrepresented in higher education. I will also discuss how navigating “otherness” allows me to make connections with students in crucial ways. The field of physics is not representative of us; nevertheless my students and I continue to love the science and exploration of it.
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Who I am Influences What I Do
- CM02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Ayush Gupta
- Type: Invited
- I am an immigrant, South Asian, gay, queer, non-tenure track scholar in physics education research. These aspects of my being have been influential in steering my interests and choices in life. These identities have marked where I don’t fall into the stereotypical boxes that society privileges but also have marked where I find community. But have these aspects of being got anything to do with my scholarship in physics/STEM education research? In this talk, I will explore the entwinement of what I do with who I feel I am -- and how these two aspects morph over time without disentangling. Through specific personal anecdotes, I will discuss how particular research directions such as ethics in engineering education, I have undertaken are a product of that entanglement of what I do and who I am.
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Early Career Topical Discussion
- EJ
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Daryl McPadden
- Type: Topical
- Postdocs, new faculty, and other junior Physics Education Research (PER) members are invited to this topical discussion to meet and discuss common issues. As this stage in a career can be a period of significant transition, we are hoping to provide a space to facilitate community building, resources, and professional development for those starting a career in PER. The session format will be an open discussion about identifying what are the needs of early career members in the community, how can we plan strategies to address those needs, and how to build the support structures for that community. We will ask participants to discuss these topics in small groups first, then share those ideas with the room.
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The Coming Revolution in Small Ground- and Space-Telescope Research
- EA01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Russell Genet, Alex Johnson, Charles Van Steenwyk, David Rowe, Rachel Freed
- Type: Invited
- Large telescopes excel at taking “snapshots,” while arrays and networks of small, identical, robotic telescopes excel in making follow-up, time-series “movies.” Capitalizing on the economies of production and robotic operation, the Fairborn Observatory operated an array of 0.8-meter robotic telescopes in the 1980s. Starting in the 1990s, Los Cumbres Observatory deployed a global network of equatorial 0.4- and 1.0-meter telescopes (10 each). Recently, PlaneWave Instruments has produced 50 alt-az 0.7-meter direct dive robotic telescopes and six 1.0-meter telescopes. Redefining what is “small,” production 1.5- and 2.0-meter robotic telescopes are likely over the next decade, as are complete turn-key observatories. The CubeSat revolution is producing low-cost small space telescopes. New arrays and networks of small ground and space robotic telescopes will be available to the growing army of published undergraduate, high school, and citizen science researchers, synergistically supporting the ever-larger ground and space telescopes and their professional and graduate student researchers.
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Tracking of Student Learning in an Open-source Flipped Classroom
- EA02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
- by Evan Thatcher
- Type: Contributed
- Recent efforts to develop an open-source, flipped classroom curriculum for the algebra-based introductory physics sequence at Oregon State University have enabled fine granularity tracking of student study habits, out of class work habits, in-class habits, and mastery of content. This talk will provide reflections on the ground-up, collaborative approach to the curriculum design, methods, and preliminary findings of the tracking, and the future of the project as it expands from a large state college, to a small satellite campus, to e-campus and a hybrid classroom.
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Building an Open Resource Flipped Classroom Structure Using Educational Technology
- EA03
- Tue 07/23, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
- by Ryan Scheirer
- Type: Contributed
- With the vast spectrum of open and for-profit resources, physics teachers have many tools at their disposal for class design. At Oregon State University we are collaboratively re-designing an introductory physics course completely around the flipped classroom model and open resources. Modular content and learning tools are coded to learning objectives and click-stream tracking allows for a build, analyze, and iterate approach to instructional design. In this talk I will reflect on this process.
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Analysis of Brain Activation Characteristics in Physics Problem Solving by Students
- EA04
- Tue 07/23, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
by Hwa Kuk, Kwangsu Ryu
- Type: Contributed
- Up to now, most educational researches have been using traditional methods such as evaluation, observation and interview using questionnaires. Recently, however, brain-based education research based on detailed information in the brain area has been activated. In particular, brain imaging technologies such as MEG, EEG, and fMRI are mainly used. However, since these techniques have limited motion, it is not possible to conduct brain-based research in actual education field. So, in this study, the brain activation was measured using fNIRS, a brain imaging technique with no motion limitation. By analyzing the intensity of the light reflected from the brain tissue, the fNIRS device can measure the activation state of the frontal lobe in real time. The subject of education research was selected as solving the physic problems because the frontal lobe makes plans and decisions to find problem solving in various cognitive conflicts. Specifically, we analyzed the difference in brain activation characteristics according to the type of physics problem and correct answer rate in the students' solution of the FCI questionnaire. We think that the results of this study can be used as important data for the development of brain-based education research.
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Using Google Sheets for Shared Data Collection in Student Labs
- EA06
- Tue 07/23, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
by Duane Deardorff, Jennifer Weinberg-Wolf
- Type: Contributed
- At UNC-CH, we have been using shared Google sheets for students to report their data and results during selected introductory physics labs. This practice has been relatively easy to implement, provides an electronic record of students’ experimental results, and is an effective way for students to compare their results with their peers and correct mistakes before completing the lab activity. It also provides a way for students to examine a larger collection of data and different experimental configurations. The open access also means that the document can be easily altered and is vulnerable to corruption, so this data-sharing tool should only be used in low-stakes settings; however, we have found it to be worth the risk, and we recommend its use.
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Lessons Learned from Developing and Marketing PathPlan Mechanics
- EA07
- Tue 07/23, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
by Thomas Foster, Eddie Ackad
- Type: Contributed
- We developed PathPlan Mechanics as a tool to help students learn algorithmic problem solving. As a PER scholar, I have been studying, researching, and leading AAPT workshops for over 20 years. While there are people who know more than me about problem solving in physics, I would still consider myself an expert. As a physicist, I knew very little about actually bringing the PathPlan idea to fruition, but how hard could it be? I’m a physicist after all. I’ll share a few of our favorite moments along this continuing journey.
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Online Discussions as Evaluations in Introductory Physics and Astronomy Classes
- EA08
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Anthony Smith
- Type: Contributed
- Introductory Physics and Astronomy students can often become lost in academic discussion of the class concepts, and lose sight of their applications in the world at large. Discussion assignments were added to both online Physics and in-person Astronomy classes, as an assessment of the students’ knowledge and processing of class material, in which they had to either watch a brief educational video or read a webcomic, and process it in light of their previous knowledge and the material learned. These discussions were done on Canvas, with students required to submit an original post and reply to their classmates. Student feedback was positive and enthusiastic.
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Integrating Ethics into High School and University Physics Courses
- GG01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
- by Beverly Karplus Hartline
- Type: Invited
- Science curricula rarely mention scientific ethics—especially in introductory courses. Yet students in high school and college have sufficiently developed moral senses to benefit from exposure to the ethical dimensions of science. The government has longmandated training in responsible research for students working on federal grants. This training is provided outside of the curriculum and is many students’ first exposure to the ethical issues and choices faced in science. Moreover, anyone can benefit from an ability to think clearly about the ethical issues at the interface of science, engineering, and society. From 2004-2006, the American Physical Society convened the Task Force on Ethics Education, which has published case studies and other resources for teachers and students that are particularly applicable to physics. I will encourage physics teachers to integrate ethics into instruction and will provide links to free resources, including case studies designed for high school and college classrooms.
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The Ethics of Communicating Complexity
- GG02
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
- by Carlos Santana*
- Type: Invited
- Effective communication is simple and direct, but much of modern science is anything but simple. The systems we study, such as the global climate system, are unimaginably complex. And the methods we use to study these systems, such as computational models designed in pieces by hundreds of different scientists and running on supercomputers, also resist being straightforwardly explained. This gap between the simplicity required for effective communication and the complexity of the topics to be communicated raises ethical issues for the scientist or science educator. Simplifying complex science requires some fudging, but at what point does fudging become dishonest or paternalistic. I reflect on these ethical issues with regards to two case studies from climate science—communicating the results of Extreme Weather Event Attribution to the public, and communicating climate ensemble models to policymakers.
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Ethical Considerations for 21st Century Science and Science Education
- GG03
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
- by Tom Foster
- Type: Invited
- 2018 was a remarkable year for science. Scientists confirmed water on Mars, our understanding of how climate change will impact human life grows daily, genetic manipulation of mosquitos might drive the population to extinction, and we used genetic editing on babies to prevent a known disease. All of these results not only excite the mind but bring up very real ethical questions. Furthermore, how science is conducted has received greater scrutiny. The ethical foundation of conducting science education research are not immune to these changes. Listen in on this presentation as we bring this provocative topic to Provo.
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Designing the Performing Physics Program for Different Community Contexts
- GM01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
by Simone Hyater-Adams, Claudia Fracchiolla, Noah Finkelstein, Kathleen Hinko
- Type: Invited
- The Performing Physics program is a research-based informal program that integrates physics and performance art, and is going through an iterative design-based process to develop an effective model. There have been two iterations of the program so far: one with high schoolers in an Arts high school after school program, and one with middle school aged youth in a week-long summer camp. The research and development of this program is still in process, but the first two iterations have provided useful information about the nuanced needs of different community partners. This talk will discuss the tensions in community partnerships, as well ass the features that proved successful in navigating the stakeholders for each iteration.
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Community Partnerships in an Informal STEM Program
- GM02
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
by Michele McColgan, Robert Colesante
- Type: Invited
- The Siena College Informal STEM program serves 5th – 8th grade students in a nearby urban school district. This talk will describe the relationship that we’ve developed with the district’s science coordinator, 5th and 6th grade teachers, data services personnel, and grants staff. The talk will describe the strategy we used to select the nearby district and our motivation to provide a long-term, informal STEM experience for 5th - 8th grade students. Finally, results of school outcome data and program survey data will be presented.
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Physics, Fieldtrips, and Facilitation: Using Research-Practice Partnerships to Transform Learning
- GM03
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:30PM
- by Danielle Harlow
- Type: Invited
- MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation is a new interactive science center focused on physical science ideas. MOXI’s exhibits were informed by research on science learning and designed to align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)so that MOXI would complement children’s learning in school. It now is an outstanding resource for physical science learning. UCSB, MOXI, local schools, and afterschool programs have developed programs and research through a productive researcher-practitioner partnership. Our current research and programs focus on experiences that engage visitors and school children in the practices of science and engineering. Much of our work focuses on the adults who educate children and visitors – in schools and in museums - in order to impact the largest number of children possible. Leveraging the unique resources of each institution and expertise of partners has the potential to transform both formal and informal education settings.
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Exhibitor Set-up
- EXH01
- Sun 07/21, 10:00AM - 6:00PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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The Effect of Projectile Mass on Ballistic Pendulum Displacement
- CG01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
- by James Sanders
- Type: Contributed
- The relationship between projectile mass and final displacement height for the pendulum arm in a ballistic pendulum is tested. To do this metal projectile balls of five different masses that undergo a perfectly inelastic collision with the pendulum arm, and then the total vertical displacement of the arm is measured. The arm’s maximum displacement height increases monotonically for balls of mass less than the effective mass of the pendulum arm, in good agreement with a model based on linear momentum conservation during collision and energy conservation both during the motion of the arm after the collision and (separately) during firing sequence of the ball.
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Dynamics of a Spool-Block Atwood System
- CG02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Abdallah El Idrissi 1, Dominic Calabrese
- Type: Contributed
- The classic Atwood machine consists of two objects connected by a string over a pulley. In the typical case when the two hanging objects have the same mass and both objects are at rest the system is in equilibrium. What happens if one of the blocks is replaced by a spool of equal mass? We present a classroom demonstration that illustrates the dynamics of a spool-block Atwood system. This apparatus raises some very interesting questions such as: (1) What are the accelerations of the spool and the block if their masses are equal? (2) What is the relationship between their accelerations? (3) What spool to block mass ratio results in a block acceleration equal to zero? We will illustrate how we obtained our results using several techniques, and we present a video to demonstrate our results.2
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Inquiry Labs that Fuel Scientific Curiosity: An Example with Hooke’s Law
- CG03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Martin Stein, Emily Smith, Natasha Holmes
- Type: Contributed
- Making undergraduate students excited about physics labs is at times a formidable task. We present our experiences with labs that are designed to teach experimentation practices through the example of an activity on Hooke’s law. Inspired by previous research, we identified three factors that promote authentic inquiry in a seemingly inauthentic task. First, personalization -- students bring in objects from home to test against Hooke’s law, giving them the opportunity to focus on experiments they are genuinely interested in. Second, feasibility -- testing Hooke’s law is simple enough to let students design experiments that are feasible within the lab time. And third, googleability -- working with objects from home means the "answer" is not readily available, giving student the opportunity to create knowledge that is only attainable to them through the lab activities. We believe honoring these factors can enable instructors to design labs that promote authentic scientific inquiry for their students.
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Physics of Music Laboratories in a General Education Course
- CG04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Stephen Parker, Darrell Born
- Type: Contributed
- A sequence of laboratories in a physics course for non-majors is often a critical component of the general education requirements for many schools. At Saint Martin’s University, we will be starting our new “core curriculum” in the fall semester of 2019 with a collection of courses that attempt to capture our Benedictine tradition. One of the required classes here will still be a science class with a laboratory, but it must include some sort of interdisciplinary twist. As a result, finding laboratories that can fully engage and excite students in a Physics of Music course has been quite challenging. I will talk about some of the labs that we do as a part of the class here at Saint Martin’s, but I am also curious to hear what successes others might have had in this endeavor.
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Two Demos on Waves and Uncertainty
- CG05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Michelle Nuttall, Dallin Durfee, Nathan Powers, David Allred
- Type: Contributed
- I will present two short demonstrations. One simple, inexpensive activity uses nuts and bolts to show why tighter localization in space results in greater uncertainty in wavenumber. The other demonstration illustrates effects such as aliasing that occur when a wave is sampled at discrete locations.
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Unheard of Ultrasonic Demonstrations and How to Use Them Safely
- CG06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Paul Noel
- Type: Contributed
- Ultrasonic demonstrations are uncommon for teaching wave phenomena. However they have some interesting properties that are both entertaining and also present a different and useful perspective on the underlying science. I will show several different apparatus, while pointing out aspects of the physics, design, and construction. These demos will include: a parametric speaker, bat detector, and acoustic levitator. An important factor to consider with ultrasonics is safety. To that end I will review maximum recommended sound pressure levels at different frequencies and exposure times. To address this issue and because most commercially available sound meters do not perform well at ultrasonic frequencies, we will demonstrate and present an affordable ultrasonic sound meter circuit/device that you can build yourself. This device is sensitive to ultrasound and has a microphone that is small enough to probe individual nodes in a standing wave.
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Improved Gay-Lussac Experiment Considering Added Volumes
- CG07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Joel Krehbiel, Nelson Kilmer
- Type: Contributed
- The typical Gay-Lussac experiment requires heating and cooling of a flask connected via small tubing to a pressure sensor. Extrapolation of pressure-temperature data provides a simple way to estimate absolute zero. However, with standard laboratory equipment, the estimates are typically off by 10-15 percent. This error is due to the assumption that the tubing and pressure sensor are at the same temperature as the flask. However, the tubing and pressure sensor are actually closer to room temperature. Thus, the system acts as two connected volumes at two different temperatures. Here we derive the theory for this system and show why many Gay-Lussac experiments provide estimates of absolute zero that are too low. We also provide two alternative ways to estimate absolute zero using the two-volume model. Student results using these methods provide significant reduction in error and provide an excellent learning experience for students in introductory physics or chemistry classes.
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A FAN-C Exploration of RC Circuits
- CG08
- Mon 07/22, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Robert Ekey, Brandon Mitchell
- Type: Contributed
- Recently, small computer fans have been demonstrated to be an effective method for teaching simple resistive circuits both qualitatively [1] and quantitatively [2]. The current through the fans is related to the rotational speed of the fans and allow multiple senses to be engaged (touch, sight, and hearing). The linear relationship between the operational current and applied voltage provides a nearly constant effective resistance for the fan. This suggests that fans can also be used to explore RC circuits both qualitatively and quantitatively, where the fans act as the resistive elements as well as the indicator. In this presentation, we will demonstrate that computer fans can be used to qualitatively explore the charging and discharging times for RC circuits. By monitoring the voltage across the capacitor as a function of time, we will also show that fans can be used for quantitative RC analysis.
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An Optical Rotator for Introductory Polarization Experiments
- CG09
- Mon 07/22, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Mary Ann Klassen, Peter Collings
- Type: Contributed
- Placing a bottle of corn syrup between two polarizers is a well-known demonstration of optical activity. We present a quantitative experiment to measure the rotation angle for light passing through a small sample of corn syrup. This is a simple and interesting extension of the traditional polarization experiments typically performed in the introductory laboratory.
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Friday Registration
- REG01
- Fri 07/19, 4:00PM - 7:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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Planets Around Other Stars Revealed by the Kepler Space Telescope
- AB01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Darin Ragozzine
- Type: Invited
- The discovery of planets around other stars like the Earth is a completion of the Copernican Revolution and an exciting development in astronomy. Questions that have been pondered for millenia can be addressed with the recent scientific discoveries of the Kepler Space Telescope. After describing the basic principles of the transit discovery method and how Kepler operated, I will provide an overview of the key results from the mission. Even though the primary mission concluded in 2013, these results are constantly evolving. In particular, I will explain the current state of the field (including some of my own research) in understanding: 1) the frequency of planets of different sizes and periods (including Earth-like planets), 2) the typical "architectures" of planetary systems, and 3) the composition of known planets.
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Early Science Results from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
- AB02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Denise Stephens
- Type: Invited
- The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is NASA's first all-sky transiting exoplanet survey. Launched in May of 2018, TESS has spent its first year of observations scanning the southern sky and will switch to the northern sky this summer. During its lifetime, TESS will survey 200,000 of the brightest stars in the sky to try and detect small drops in light corresponding to the eclipse of the star by a transiting planet. Each candidate identified by TESS triggers an alert that is sent to the follow-up working groups, who then obtain observations from the ground to rule out false positive events. Data from all of the groups is shared, and used to determine physical parameters for the star and transiting object. In this talk I will discuss the basic goals of the mission, the process by which a detection by TESS ends up being confirmed as a extrasolar planet, and I will highlight some of the more interesting planet discoveries.
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Stars, Galaxies, and the History of the Universe: Two Decades (and Counting!) of Exploration with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
- AB03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Gail Zasowski
- Type: Invited
- The stars in the night sky have inspired questions about our place in the Universe throughout recorded history. The invention of the telescope showed us that the stars visible to the naked eye merely hint at the vast tapestry of stars within our own Galaxy. As telescope design has advanced, energy signatures invisible to the human senses have been revealed. We now know that there are billions of stars in our galaxy, billions of galaxies in our Universe, and nearly 14 billion years of cosmic evolution that have led to where and what we are today. Over the last 20 years, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has had an unprecedented impact in its efforts to systematically study the stars, galaxies, and history of the Universe, and to make its data available for the world to use. I will describe some of the key insights that the SDSS has provided into the nature of our Universe, along with the big questions that we are excited to tackle next.
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Tension in the Cosmological Distance Scale
- AB04
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
- by Joseph Jensen
- Type: Invited
- Observational astronomers continue to improve the precision of their measurements of the local (i.e., current) expansion rate of the Universe, but the more precise those measurements get, the more they disagree with the model-based predictions derived from the properties of the early Universe. What started out as “tension” with the standard cold dark matter + dark energy model is looking more and more like disagreement. What could be wrong? Are there systematic errors in the distance ladder? Are there problems with the cosmological models? If the model assumptions are wrong there could be exciting new physics just around the corner.
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Get the Facts Out: Changing the Conversation About Teaching*
- AC01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Wendy Adams
- Type: Invited
- The Get the Facts Out campaign is a joint effort between four societies and the Colorado School of Mines to change the conversation about high school and middle school physics, chemistry, and math teaching careers. We have developed a toolkit which is designed to be customizable and adaptable to the local situation. The resources in the toolkit are based on pilot interventions that show positive results in shifting perceptions among students and faculty, and which have been shown to outperform traditional recruitment efforts. The materials include posters and brochures that incorporate tested messaging strategies as well as both student- and faculty-facing presentations that share national survey data on retention, job satisfaction, and student loan forgiveness as well as teacher salaries, and retirement benefits, with instructions on how to customize these with local data. In this presentation we will share these materials and strategies and the research behind them.
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Want More Students Excited About Teaching? Be a Change Agent!
- AC02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Gay Stewart
- Type: Invited
- Misperceptions about high school teaching discourage STEM undergraduates from exploring teaching as a viable career option. The Get the Facts Out campaign toolkit is designed to support faculty efforts to change the conversation about STEM teaching careers in their departments. Funded by NSF grants 1821710 and 1821462, this project involves professional societies in physics, mathematics, and chemistry. In each field "Change Agents" have been chosen to help get the facts out. The author is one of those change agents in physics and will share information about what this looks like and why you should, and how you can, get involved.
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GFO to Guide Community College Students to HS STEM Teaching
- AC03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Karen Magee-Sauer
- Type: Invited
- Community colleges provide access to higher education at affordable prices and have a highly diverse student population including many first-generation and low-income college students. Thus, recruiting community college students is a promising way to increase the diversity of future STEM teachers. As part of the “Get the Facts Out” project, a series of workshops were given for students/faculty/advisors/administrators at community colleges in the South Jersey region. The goals of the workshops were to ensure that community college students/faculty/advisors/administrators were aware of the high need, job satisfaction, benefits, loan forgiveness, and other aspects of High School STEM teaching as a career and understand how to access resources from the GFO toolkit. This presentation will describe activities and feedback from the workshops and offer advice to others on how to create a relationship with area community colleges to help recruit students to High School STEM Teaching and STEM majors
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Secondary Physics Teaching Let Look at the Facts
- AC04
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
- by Duane Merrell
- Type: Invited
- Secondary Teachers have great opportunities to do what they love, work with students that need great physics teachers. Many times students question entering the secondary teaching profession do not understand reasons so many teachers love their jobs. We will take a look at Salary, Benefits, Job Satisfaction and some other intangible or hidden advantages of being a secondary physics teacher.
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How Do You Put Python in Your Introductory Course?
- EN01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Rhett Allain
- Type: Invited
- Solving physics problems with computer code should no longer be something reserved for upper level physics courses. With the introduction of tools like python and Glowscript, the barriers for students creating numerical calculations is very low. In this presentation, I will address the following questions: Why use python? How do you address student concerns about coding? How do you assess student understanding for numerical calculations?
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Incorporating Computational Exercise Sets into the Physics Curriculum
- EN02
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Deva O'Neil
- Type: Invited
- The physics program at Bridgewater College incorporates computer programming at all levels of the curriculum. By the time students reach upper-level coursework, they are expected to be able to complete assignments in python and Mathematica. Instructors have experimented with different models for incorporating computational exercise sets into Introductory Physics, Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Math Methods, and Senior Capstone. Unexpected obstacles were encountered (especially at the introductory physics level), as well as noticeable benefits. Sample assignments (including exercise sets from the PICUP collection), student responses, and lessons learned will be discussed.
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Using PICUP Computational Exercise Sets in Upper-level Optics and Mechanics
- EN03
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Ernest Behringer
- Type: Invited
- At Eastern Michigan University, computational physics is a growing, and required, portion of physics programs. One barrier to increasing the amount of computation in the curriculum is the effort needed to develop new instructional materials that make useof computation. Fortunately, this effort can be reduced by using computational exercise sets (CES) from the PICUP collection. These CES are freely available to verified instructors and can be adapted to local student cohorts and needs. Here, the use of CES in an optics laboratory and in intermediate mechanics will be presented. The use of CES can help students learn to analyze laboratory data and quantify the limits of scientific claims. The use of CES can also help students to take on more realistic mechanical systems that cannot be treated with traditional techniques. Details regarding materials, implementation, and student response will be discussed.
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Chaos Experiments and Computer Modeling in the Advanced Lab
- EN04
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Eric Ayars
- Type: Invited
- Chaos ensues in the Advanced Lab anyway, so why not model it? I will present a variety of chaotic systems: electronic simulations of the Duffing Oscillator and a bouncing ball on a vertically-driven floor, Kiers' Circuit, and a magnetic rotor in an oscillating B field. All of these systems are accessible to Advanced Lab students, and the chaotic electronic circuits are dirt cheap and easy to make. Simulation of the systems in Python requires only standard numpy/scipy libraries. Depending on the programming abilities of the students one can either give them a working program and let them explore parameter space, or turn them loose on the underlying differential equations.
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Mathematica PICUP Assignments: Examples, Support, and Assessments
- EN05
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Andy Rundquist
- Type: Invited
- I’ll talk about my experiences assigning, supporting, and assessing student projects using the Mathematica-based PICUP submissions I developed. Most are for upper-division courses ranging from Modern Physics to Theoretical Mechanics. I’ll talk about the affordances of Mathematica and the decisions around whether to hide the details of built-in functions. I’ll talk about using video conference software in class to allow students to help each other with their code. I’ll also talk about utilizing screen recording approaches to assess student work. Most of my projects involve numerically solving differential equations. The ice-formation exercise set is a great example of taking a system that is symbolically solvable (when the outside temperature is fixed) and adding features that require numeric integration (like real temperature data).
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How Scientific Societies Are Addressing Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Issue
- DN
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Beth Cunningham and Laura Greene
- Type: Panel
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Improving Students’ Understanding of Quantum Mechanics Using Research-validated Learning Tools*
- EL01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Invited
- Learning quantum mechanics is challenging. To help improve student understanding of quantum mechanics concepts, we have been conducting investigation of the difficulties that students have in learning quantum mechanics and we are using research as a guide to develop Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorials (QuILTs) as well as tools for peer-instruction. The goal of QuILTs and peer-instruction tools is to actively engage students in the learning process and to help them build links between the formalism and the conceptual aspects of quantum physics. These learning tools focus on helping students integrate qualitative and quantitative understanding without compromising technical content. In this talk, I will discuss a framework for understanding students' difficulties with quantum mechanics and give examples of how research-validated learning tools and pedagogies can help students develop a good grasp of quantum mechanics.
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Teaching Quantum Mechanics with a Lab*
- EL02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Enrique Galvez
- Type: Invited
- I discuss the offering of a laboratory section of quantum mechanics. The lab experiments involve students setting up and conducting photon experiments. The setting-up phase takes two to three weeks of a three-hour lab period. Students do experiments, such as polarization Stern-Gerlachs, quantum erasing and entanglement. The goal is for students to exercise their understanding of quantum mechanics fundamentals and algebra with an apparatus that they set up from scratch. Besides the virtues of confronting issues related to experimentation, the labs provide vivid implementations of quantum mechanics, where optical elements are represented by operators, results are compared to those of bra-ket linear algebra, and seemingly counter-intuitive concepts are confirmed by real measurements that students perform. I will also present updates to our setup, which include sending entangled photons in opposite directions and a new demonstration of delayed choice involving a minor change to a standard single-photon interference experiment.
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Combined Simulation-tutorials to Support Visual Learning of Quantum Mechanics
- EL03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
by Antje Kohnle, Gina Passante
- Type: Invited
- Analyzing, constructing, and translating between graphical, pictorial, and mathematical representations of physics ideas and reasoning flexibly through them is a key characteristic of expertise but challenging for learners to develop. This presentation will discuss resources intentionally designed to support the development of graphical/visual understanding and representational competence in quantum mechanics that combine interactive computer simulations and University of Washington style tutorials. We describe how learning theories have shaped the overall structure of the simulation-tutorials, whereby students first work on problems independently, constructing representations they will later see in the simulation followed by further problems with simulation support, as well as the sequencing of individual questions and the use of sketching to learn. We present results from pre-, mid- and post-tests to assess transitions in student thinking.
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Improving Student Understanding of Quantum Mechanics Using Research-Validated Clicker Question Sequences
- EL04
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- by Paul Justice
- Type: Invited
- Engaging students with clicker questions is a frequently used evidence-based active-engagement pedagogy in physics courses because it has a lower barrier to implementation than other pedagogical approaches. Moreover, robust validated sequences of clickerquestions are more likely to help students build a good knowledge structure of physics than individual clicker questions on various topics. I will discuss the development, validation and in-class implementation of sequences of clicker questions focusing on helping students learn quantum mechanics, taking advantage of the guided inquiry-based learning sequences in interactive tutorials on some on the same topics. The extensive research in developing and validating the clicker question sequences strives to make them effective for a variety of students in upper-level undergraduate quantum physics courses. I will also discuss what we have learned through this research and development process about the bandwidth of implementation of these sequences by different instructors and how students often get stuck either in ‘math mode’ versus ‘physics mode’ when answering challenging quantum mechanics questions.
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Informal Physics Education Research: An international communityInformal Physics Education Research - IPER community
- DK
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Claudia Fracchiolla
- Type: Topical
- The Informal PER Community is growing. Now is the time to begin offering opportunities and supports for those who participate in this community. With this topical discussion we seek to begin the discussion about how best to address the needs of the members of this community, what do we want as a community, how can we present ourselves as a community. However, we cannot seek to address the needs of this community without directly involving the community. In this roundtable discussion at AAPT 2019. We hope to create a space for community supports and professional development that is targeted to those who are interested in IPER. We want this community to be interdisciplinary and intersectoral, that is that we want practitioners and researchers from different backgrounds.
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Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Whats New? ILDs Using Clickers and Video Analysis
- BL01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by David Sokoloff, Ronald Thornton
- Type: Invited
- The results of physics education research and the availability of computer-based tools have led to the development of the active learning materials for the introductory physics course. Some of these materials are designed for hands-on learning in the lab, for example the student-centered laboratory curriculum, RealTime Physics (1), (2). One reason for the success of these materials is that they encourage students to take an active part in their learning. This interactive session will demonstrate through active audience participation materials designed to implement active learning in lecture, Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) (3) including those using clickers and video analysis.
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Interactive Lecture Demonstrations: Effectiveness in Teaching Concepts
- BL02
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
by Ronald Thornton, David Sokoloff
- Type: Invited
- The effectiveness of Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) in teaching physics concepts has been studied using physics education research based, multiple-choice conceptual evaluations. (1), (2) Results of such studies will be presented, including studies with clicker ILDs. These results should be encouraging to those who wish to improve conceptual learning in their introductory physics course.
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Interactive Lecture Demonstrations as a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Activity
- BL03
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
- by Shiladitya Chaudhury
- Type: Contributed
- Active learning designs that leverage the affordances of information and computer technologies (ICT) can vary tremendously in how they engage students – individuals, small groups or whole class. Interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) are well known inthe PER literature for their impact on improving student conceptual understanding through instructor-led activities which engage the whole class (Thornton and Sokoloff, 1997). From the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), we adapt the idea that all active learning designs incorporate two concepts -- enactment scripts and orchestration. The script for doing ILDs is well known, but expert orchestration only comes about with practice. In this presentation we present the script and orchestration considerations for a typical kinematics ILD using the PhET Moving Man simulation to generate real time data. We also present a visualization of the flow of an ILD through creation of an 'orchestration graph' following the model of Pierre Dillenbourg.
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What Clicks in a Clicker Classroom
- BL04
- Mon 07/22, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
by Jacqueline Bao, Shaona Zhou, Joseph Fritchman
- Type: Contributed
- Clickers have been widely used as a tool for promoting active learning in a classroom. Ample research has also shown the effectiveness of clickers on student learning in a wide range of STEM courses. This research takes a behavioral approach to study thevariations of students’ learning behaviors in clicker and non-clicker classrooms in order to understand the mechanisms underlying the learning effectiveness of clicker usage. Building on a web-based clicker app, this study investigates how students’ attentions in lecture classes are influenced by the use of clickers and how variations on attention impact learning outcomes. Results from a controlled experiment in a mid-sized lecture classroom will be presented, which show the impacts from clicker usage on students’ attention and learning performance. The outcomes of this study can provide useful empirical evidence to help modeling the cognitive learning mechanisms underlying clicker based active learning approaches.
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Interactive Video AND Simulations: A Powerful Combination
- FE01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
- by Peter Bohacek
- Type: Contributed
- Interactive video and computer simulations have both been shown to be effective tools for teaching science. We'll explore how simulations can be combined with interactive videos to create a new method with new advantages. Interactive video allows students to explore macroscopic effects, while simulations show particle-level interactions. Using this combination, we'll show examples of intermolecular forces affecting physical properties, motion of charge in RC circuits, and the mechanisms underlying greenhouse effect, and others. In each case, we'll see how interactive video can be combined with computer simulation to help students develop a powerful mental models for these phenomena.
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What's Interactive Video and How Can it Help Students Learn
- FE02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Matthew Vonk, Peter Bohacek
- Type: Contributed
- Interactive video is a relatively new educational technology that lets students carefully observe high-resolution video of real phenomena. It's called interactive because students can manipulate online tools to make measurements for themselves and characterize the event depicted in the video. It's also interactive because students can change important parameters in the video. For example, when observing waves on a spring, students can independently change the frequency of the waves, the amplitude of the waves, or the tension in the spring. This freedom allows them to ask their own questions: "I wonder if the wave speed will increase if I speed up the frequency?" or "I wonder if the wave speed will decrease if I decrease the amplitude of the driver?" Another group of students in the same class might be curious about how the wavelength of the wave depends on the frequency of the wave. In each case, students can design and execute an experiment to answer their own questions. They can collect and analyze their own data, and draw data-driven conclusions.
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Teaching Science with Interactive Video Tutorials*
- FE03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Robert Teese, Kathleen Koenig, Michelle Chabot, Alexandru Maries
- Type: Contributed
- Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs) were designed as short, ungraded, single-topic, online activities for physics students. However, the Vignette Studio software developed for them is also being used to make longer, more complicated activities. One project created 14 classroom modules for teaching biology. Each module included an IVV to be used as a pre-class priming activity. Another project made six pre-lab exercises for advanced-lab courses in physics. A current project is making Interactive Video-Enhanced Tutorials (IVETs) for teaching problem-solving in physics. Each IVET will lead the student through a solution using an important problem-solving approach (e.g., energy conservation) in physics. IVETs are based on multimedia learning principles and research on human learning and memory. They will also be affect-adaptive, which means that targeted help will be offered to students who report confusion, frustration, or other difficulties while working through the tutorial.
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Gamificiation of Learning: Circuit Games
- FE04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
- by Gerd Kortemeyer
- Type: Contributed
- We describe the development and use of Kirchhoff's Revenge, a freely available computer game designed to teach circuit laws in introductory physics courses at the high school and undergraduate level. We share design principles, effort involved in developing and testing the game (using the Unity 3D platform), as well as experiences and player feedback. We also report on concept test results for time-independent scenarios (batteries, wires, and lightbulbs), where we find that learning gains are similar to those in traditional instruction, but inferior to investigative, physical laboratory experiments.
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Examining Interactive Simulation Use in an Informal Physics Program
- FE05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Brett Fiedler, Emily Moore
- Type: Contributed
- Informal physics programs construct unique environments to introduce students to scientific practices, including hands-on experimentation. The programs often seek to promote science interest and reasoning with an emphasis on tangible exploration of physics concepts. Interactive simulations are designed with a similar goal to promote interest and deeper science reasoning of concepts connected to the real world. Therefore, simulation use presents an opportunity to supplement hands-on experimentation in informal settings. We investigate the impacts of using interactive simulations in informal physics programs by implementing PhET Interactive Simulations into the Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) after school physics outreach program. We focus on how students engage with and use the simulations in a program designed around student agency and hands-on activities. Video data of group use of the simulations, including screen capture, are analyzed for student behavior and group discourse.
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Middle-School Student’s Spatial Skill Influence on Understanding 3D Computer Visualization
- FE06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Colleen Epler-Ruths
- Type: Contributed
- Spatial skills are predictors of a student's ability to understand science content such as force diagrams. With more computer availability in classrooms, teachers have access to computerized 3D visualizations that have previously been taught through flatmodels. Through mixed-methods, I investigated the hypothesis that 3D computer models will assist middle school learners with low spatial skills to better understand science content. Participants of various spatial skill level (57 female, 57 male) worked with embedded computer visualization where I collected demographic information, pre- and post-test content scores, spatial scores, classwork and marking period grades. Students (n=8) at far extremes of spatial scores were interviewed while using the 3D visualization to understand what they noticed. Findings indicate that student spatial skill level will influence the noticing-interpreting cycle used to comprehend the computer visualization. This presentation will highlight what educators can do to help students of various spatial skill levels learn from 3D computer visualization.
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Bringing the Virtual Universe into the Classroom
- FE07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by Jackie Bondell*
- Type: Contributed
- The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) is committed to bringing cutting-edge STEM content to the public and to schools as part of its Education and Public Outreach Program. OzGrav educators have developed a program called Mission Gravity which combines scientific modeling with interactive virtual reality (VR). This program was piloted in 2018 and is now being delivered in classrooms in Australia. In this program, students collaborate in teams, creating models of stellar evolution via collecting and analysing data from virtual trips to stars. Students use Physics and VR to model how stars evolve using virtual scientific tools. To develop this program, OzGrav focused on designing a science lesson that effectively incorporates VR into student-centred activities while aligning with curriculum standards. In this talk, participants will learn about the design process used and choices made to: maintain pedagogical integrity, value the scientific process, and embrace VR technology.
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Virtual Reality Implementation for a Scanning Electron Microscope
- FE08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Scott Kaiser, Matthew Meyers, Daniel Rodriguez, Paul Weber, Reza Kamali-Sarvestani
- Type: Contributed
- We have developed a virtual reality simulation of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for training students in its proper use. This simulation enables students to have full access to a scanning electron microscope in the classroom, to develop their understanding of its physics and prepare them to work efficiently before they encounter the instrument in the laboratory. We discuss the processes used to create this pedagogical tool for the classroom, and demonstrate its use as well as its fidelity in representing the real instrument. The simulation uses hand motions via virtual reality controllers in an environment that simulates a complete electron microscopy experiment. This tool will benefit institutions who do not have access to a scanning electron microscope and better prepare students in advance to work safely, effectively and efficiently with this sensitive instrument.
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Physics Lab In Brazil: Do As I Say, Not As I Do?
- AN01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Katemari Rosa
- Type: Invited
- Most people agree that laboratory courses are important in physics education. Numerous physics education research (PER) investigations and results help us understand the relationships between engaging in experimental practices, learning physics, and being enculturated into physics. However, when we go into the “real world” of high school physics labs, practices may differ greatly from what we have learned about how they should be. The same happens when we enter physics lab classes at the university. At least that is what I have been experiencing in Brazil, and that is what I will be sharing in this presentation. I will discuss the practices of high school physics teachers in Brazil as well as higher education physics faculty when it comes to labs. One of the results we will see is that Brazilian lab classes are very structured, lack technology, and may not foster deeper learning of physics concepts.
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Development of Stand-alone Lab Courses in China
- AN02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Yongkang Le
- Type: Invited
- In order to host several thousand students in science, engineering and medicine each year, including several hundred students majoring physics, lab courses in Chinese universities are overwhelmingly stand-alone. Most universities provide fundamental, comprehensive, and advanced lab courses. Some also provide research-oriented lab course or open-projects training. With the increasing attraction of the International Young Physicists’ Tournament, open projects have been adopted by more and more universities. Supported by increasing investment into undergraduate education from the government, universities are improving their infrastructure for lab training. At the same time, the lab community realizes that the outcomes are impacted by two key factors: competence of the lab faculty and the need to update lab contents. Nationwide competition among lab supervisors and related training programs were organized recently. Newly developed labs tend to cover more topics, such as vacuum physics, mass spectrometer and plasma physics. In this presentation, I will discuss these and other aspects of physics labs in China, using Fudan University as an example.
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Physics Laboratory Experiences at the University of Nigeria
- AN03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Finbarr Odo*
- Type: Invited
- Laboratory teaching is an essential component of teaching physics and other sciences at all levels. However, research findings on laboratory education in Nigerian universities have revealed a rapid dwindling of students’ interest in laboratory courses. In this presentation, I will draw on 10 years of experience teaching physics laboratory courses at the University of Nigeria, and four years training other physics educators through the West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers (WAISSYA) to discuss the challenges faced by both teachers and learners of laboratory physics courses, and the creative teaching strategies developed by teachers for effective teaching of physics laboratory classes at the University of Nigeria and WAISSYA. Based on my experiences over these years, I recommend that in conducting lab courses, emphasis ought to be placed on what students can learn from the experience rather than the mere actions they perform in conducting the laboratory courses.
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Introductory Physics Laboratories in the South African Context
- AN04
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
- by Nuraan Majiet
- Type: Invited
- First-year physics students at the University of Cape Town come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. This is reflected in levels of educational preparedness for first year physics, in particular where experimentation is concerned. The introductory physics laboratory needs to be suitably accommodating of students’ prior experience. The Physics and Astronomy Education Research (Phaser) Group at UCT has over a period of several years undertaken an array of studies investigating different areas of laboratory work with a view to informing the curriculum. In the same way that framing theory problems can lead to answer-making rather than sense-making, framing the lab can lead to “follow the instructions,” answer-making or sense-making. Therefore, framing the lab such that students can make sense of the overall purpose of the activity resulting in meaningful engagement both during the experiment and in the reporting of it, has been a key focus of our research.
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Evaluating Students’ Performance on the FCI (force concept inventory) at a Minority Serving PUI (primary undergraduate institution)
- GD01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Qing Ryan, Darwin Del Agunos, Armando Villasenor, Alexander Small, Homeyra Sadaghiani
- Type: Contributed
- As part of an effort to provide evidence for the reproducibility of educational studies for a variety of student body, as well as gaining insights of possible gender or racial gaps in students’ performance, we collected a year-long data in introductory physics courses at Cal Poly Pomona (both a PUI and Hispanic serving institution) to understand aspects that affect students’ performance on the FCI. In this talk, we discuss background variables that predict students’ FCI scores at the end of the term. Such a baseline measure can be used for any future studies conducted at our institution to evaluate the effectiveness of any pedagogical reforms. We will also explore possible gender or racial gaps for our students.
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Comparison of FCI Results: K12 and Undergrad, Same Instructor
- GD02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
- by John Barr
- Type: Contributed
- The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was given as a pre/post test to high school and undergraduate students in introductory physics classes over a number of years. While the students were almost all unique, the instructor was the same. This talk will explore the FCI normalized gain for students in several types of introductory physics courses at both the high school and undergraduate levels. A comparison of outcomes for the two student education levels will be made. Possible modifiers may include evolving instructional methodology, functional differences in student populations, differences arising from the education levels themselves, or cultural disparity of the two educational institutions.
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Investigation of Success Outcomes for FTIC and Transfer Students in LA-Supported Introductory Courses
- GD03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Deepa Chari, Geoff Potvin, Hagit Kornreich-Leshem, Laird Kramer
- Type: Contributed
- Historically, course grades have been used to characterize student success in undergraduate education. More recently, grade anomalies (the difference between student grades in a particular course compared to their other performances) are being used to characterize student outcomes. In an ongoing study, we report on an analysis of both of these outcomes in Learning Assistant (LA)-supported introductory physics and biology courses. These two courses combine a number of instructional practices and LA-supported student discourse. We are particularly interested in comparing outcomes for FTIC (first time in college) and transfer students, and look at the potential mitigation effect of LA-related pedagogies on grade anomalies for these courses.
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Assessing Student Performance Outcomes in Introductory Physics Using Multilevel Modeling.
- GD04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Srividya Suresh, Amber Simmons, Andrew Heckler
- Type: Contributed
- We are studying the effects instructors have on student performances in introductory physics. Most introductory physics courses come in a two-semester sequence and our analysis is from the first course in the sequence. Our project’s goal is to determinewhether student performance outcomes vary by instructor. We analyze three binomial outcomes, getting a DFW, A- and above, and repeating the course, using multilevel logistic regression. We conduct our study at the Ohio State University where we analyze registrar data from students enrolled from the fall term in 2012 to the spring term in 2018. The data includes student course grades in physics, standardized test scores, as well as student demographics such as gender, ethnicity, and age. While for most instructors students perform within the average, we do find significant variation in student performance outcomes among some of the instructors while controlling for ACT score and student’s age.
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Temporal Patterns of Students Using Online Essential Skills Application
- GD05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Megan Nieberding, Andrew Heckler
- Type: Contributed
- There are a variety of basic skills that are critical for success in a physics course. To help students master these skills, we have developed and implemented an online learning application called Essential Skills, which involves 15-30 minutes of practice with instant feedback every week. These assignments have been implemented in both algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics for the last five years. While Essential Skills has been successful in improving performance on several skills, many questions remain regarding student learning and fluency with specific skills and student engagement with the application. Here we present preliminary findings on timing aspects of student use of the application. We will examine elapsed time to completion, earliness of completion, and time of day that the students work on the assignment. Further, we will describe how this timing data evolves over the course of the semester, including comparisons to student scores in the course.
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Development of Math Diagnostic Test for Algebra-based Physics Course
- GD06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Beatriz Burrola Gabilondo, Andrew Heckler
- Type: Contributed
- Our overall goal is to develop “diagnose-and-practice” resources to help students in our algebra-based college physics course improve their performance on math skills necessary for success in the course. In this initial phase of the project, we are developing a diagnostic tool that will be useful for both teachers and students, informing them which skills to practice. The process is iterative, aimed at producing statistically reliable subscales for each skill. Iteration included analysis of individual items and identification and classification of the math skills needed for completing course assignments, including exams. Based on this analysis, we modified the test to better reflect the skills that are relevant to the course. Results show improved reliability. A new version of the test will be implemented in the Autumn 2019 semester. This will lead to a tool that is reliable and easy to implement online.
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An Activity to Get Students to Draw Better Pictures
- DF01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
- by Matthew Olmstead
- Type: Contributed
- One of the most important steps in solving introductory physics problems is drawing an appropriately labeled and detailed picture. I slightly modified the game Telestrations as an activity used several times in class to help show students the value of good picture. With Telestrations, players alternate between writing down a word and drawing a word. I had the students start with a physics question, they had to draw a detailed picture representing that question, hand it to a neighbor who then tried to write what the question was based only off the picture, and then pass it to another student who would then draw the picture for this question. I will discuss specific examples of this as well as what students found useful about this activity.
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To Reflect or not to Reflect? Reflect, Duh!
- DF02
- Tue 07/23, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
- by Taoufik Nadji
- Type: Contributed
- The presenter will share examples of students’ reflections in their respective physics and astronomy classes. These reflections on various readings, video-watching assignments, and STEAM projects require that the students tie the physics and astronomy concepts they learned to their arts areas, to real life, or to other fields of learning. Throughout the years, these writing pieces have been exceeding beauties of STEAM and the fusion of the arts and the sciences.
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Peer-Led Team Learning on the Galactic Scale
- DF03
- Tue 07/23, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
- by John Mason
- Type: Contributed
- With over 1000 students enrolled in its entry-level mechanics course, Texas A&M University boasts one of the largest physics educational efforts in the country. To improve the quality of instruction and the student experience in the course, a peer-led team learning model was implemented in recitations. While many educational programs have implemented a peer-based model over the years, few have had to deal with the challenges of implementing a program that reaches as many students as Texas A&M. I will discuss the challenges and lessons learned from my experiences running a large scale PLTL program and how these findings can be incorporated into any educational program.
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Bringing Hands-on, Service-Learning Experience to Introductory Physics Classroom
- DF04
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
- by Tatiana Erukhimova
- Type: Contributed
- We will present the results of an innovative program at Texas A&M University that aims to add hands-on, teamwork, and outreach components to the learning and research experiences of undergraduate students. In this program, undergraduates taking introductory physics classes work throughout the school year in small teams led by physics graduate students on design and fabrication of exciting physics demonstration experiments: from a giant Galilean cannon to liquid sand pool, Texas-sized Tesla coil, and superconducting train. Student teams demonstrate their experiments at high-profile outreach events such as the Texas A&M Physics & Engineering Festival, Physics Shows, Just Add Science, and Game Day Physics. They film their experiments in 2-3 min video clips posted at realphysicslive.com. The demonstrations are used in regular physics classes at Texas A&M.
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Initiating Studio Physics Transformation for the Introductory Physics Courses
- DF05
- Tue 07/23, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
by Xian Wu, Diego Valente, Jason Hancock
- Type: Contributed
- The physics department at the University of Connecticut is preparing to launch its own studio physics program in the 2019 fall semester. Our program is planned to bring impact to 2300 undergraduate students on a yearly basis by providing studio-based instruction to three calculus-based introductory course sequences serving physics majors, engineering, and life sciences students accordingly. Of these course sequences, two are considered as large enrollment: engineering physics and physics for life sciences. Currently, each course sequence is piloting certain aspects of a studio-style teaching approach. The engineering physics sequence is facilitating the “flipped classroom” pedagogy, while the physics for life sciences sequence is currently developing problem-solving tutorials through an iterative design cycle. Our third calculus-based course sequence, for physics majors, is taking advantage of its smaller enrollment to test out the physical infrastructure, class scheduling, and cohesion of the lectures, problem-solving, and lab components. We would like to share with the PER community our current progress on the redesign process of these courses and the evaluations of teaching effectiveness we envision for them. We hope to initiate inter-institute conversations about how interactive teaching approaches can be adopted and evaluated within the framework of a given institution’s support and constraints.
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Making Physics Appealing to Non-Science Students
- DF06
- Tue 07/23, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
- by Elizabeth Angstmann
- Type: Contributed
- At UNSW, Sydney, Fundamentals of Physics is a traditionally taught, algebra-based introductory physics course. A number of students, planning on sitting the medical entry exam, wanted to take this course but were unable to fit it into their packed timetables. Everyday Physics was designed to cover similar physics content in an online format aimed at non-physics students. To make it relevant students look at the physics behind how a different object works each week. Unexpectedly this course became increasingly popular with business students; it grew from 560 enrollments in 2013 to 1100 in 2018. These students freely elected to study physics, saying that they liked the flexibility offered by online delivery and the real-life applicability of the subject. Average FMCE learning gains are somewhat higher in Everyday Physics (with females gaining more than males) so students are learning at least as much from this course as Fundamentals of Physics.
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Using Ebooks To Design Your Class Syllabus
- DF08
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Donald Franklin
- Type: Contributed
- With the availability of online textbooks gives educators these options: 1. Lower the cost of textbooks by using online texts. 2. Develop a multi textbook syllabus using online texts to save on buying multiple texts or copying chapters from other text. 3. Reorganize an ebook into the format that matches the syllabus you wish to use: Example -- Medical Physics has a greater relevance if one starts with the last part of the text and peak the student's interest in physics, rather than having them memorize chapters that have little value to Pre-Med Students.
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What a Validation/Confirmation Lab Looks Like When It Grows Up
- DF09
- Tue 07/23, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
- by Richard Zajac
- Type: Contributed
- The reformed use of undergraduate labs for inquiry/exploration has not eliminated the traditional confirmation lab, in which a formula/theorem derived in lecture is applied by students to a real system. At their worst, these confirmation labs frequently foster the perception by students that lab results need to conform to an unimpeachable, authoritative textbook formula in order for students to get a good grade. Still, the need for corroboration and reification is unavoidable. Methods are discussed by which particular undergraduate general physics labs have been redeemed by steering them away from the conformist mentality. The evolution of these labs over decades demonstrates that simple adjustments can also be useful in giving physics back its real-world “street cred.”
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Using Coding to Enforce the Physics: Interactive Modules for Electromagnetism*
- CF01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Richelle Teeling-Smith, Chris Orban
- Type: Contributed
- There is a need to integrate computation into the introductory physics curriculum. Incorporating new content into an already jam-packed introductory course is a challenging task for absolute beginner programmers. We present a series of interactive electricity and magnetism programming modules that can be easily integrated into an algebra-based introductory physics course, at the high school or undergraduate level. These programming modules are game-like, browser-based, and are designed to highlight only the physical behavior of an interactive simulation, making them ideal for beginner programmers. We will describe the effort to integrate these programming modules into an existing introductory physics lab and the ongoing effort to probe the impact of these coding activities on student conceptual learning through an animated Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment. These activities are currently being used at Mount Union and OSU Marion, as well in as in high school physics classrooms across Ohio.
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Designing a Reynolds Number Tutorial for an IPLS Course
- CF02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Jessica Hobbs, Brandon Lunk
- Type: Contributed
- My research focuses on creating in-class learning material covering Reynolds number for students in an introductory physics course for life sciences (IPLS). A significant number of students who take general-level physics courses are biology and health science majors. There’s a growing initiative to implement biologically relevant material into these courses to provide students with motivation in physics and new insights into biological systems. One biologically-relevant physics concept is Reynolds number (Re); this is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces for fluids. Reynolds number can help us to understand whether organisms experience viscous flow or turbulent flow when moving through a fluid; this in turn gives us physical insight into biological phenomena. In order to help support a deeper understanding of the Reynolds Number, we created an in-class instructional worksheet (tutorial). In this talk, I will discuss the development and testing of this tutorial.
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Using Seismic Design Specifications to Help Teach Introductory Physics*
- CF03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Frederick Thomas, Robert Chaney, Richard Tseng
- Type: Contributed
- Whether in higher-risk areas like San Francisco and Provo or lower-risk Detroit, civil and structural engineers are required to design all major structures to withstand a clearly defined “maximum considered earthquake” (MCE). The primary quantity which defines the MCE is the peak horizontal ground acceleration (PGA) with a 2 percent probability of occurring within a 50-year period. This session will show how physics learners can obtain PGA specifications for any onshore location in the world, and (in the U.S.) detailed spectral information important to resonance considerations. Suggested activities for introductory physics labs or classrooms include calculations of maximum earthquake loading as a direct application of F = ma, calculation and testing of likely resonant frequencies, modeling of earthquake wave refraction based on near-surface soil and rock characteristics, and investigation of the connection between soil density and “soil liquefaction.”
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A Kinesthetic Activity to Teach Apparent Retrograde Motion
- CF04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Paul DeStefano, Ralf Widenhorn
- Type: Contributed
- The apparent retrograde motion of a planet (e.g. the retrograde of Mars as observed from Earth) is a natural consequence of the prograde motion of two bodies orbiting a common focus in combination with parallax. While this situation is easy to replicate in a classroom kinesthetic activity, visualizing the apparent retrograde motion that emerges is more difficult. Using Local Positioning System technology, two students walking concentric paths are tracked in 2D and the emergent phenomenon is clearly demonstrated. Firstly, the displacement between the two students is plotted, which is a view that mimics a observer-centric conception of the system, with the wanderer circling the observer at the origin and exhibiting epicycles. In a second transform, the phase of the wanderer in an arbitrary absolute coordinate system is plotted over time, showing characteristic changes of direction across the "heavens."
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Surprising Ways to Make Introductory Physics Problems Much More Difficult
- CF05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by A. James Mallmann, Steven Mayer
- Type: Contributed
- Many problems assigned in introductory general physics courses include simplifying assumptions that make solutions of the problems easy—and sometimes possible. Typical assumptions include: no friction, massless cords, and the sine of an angle approximately equal to the tangent of the angle. Removing those simplifying assumptions often makes the problems much more difficult. The difficult versions of the problems is a good source of extra-credit problems for exams—and the most difficult of those problems can be used to challenge the best students in a class.
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The Apollo 1 Fire and the Flammability of Fabrics
- CF06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Gregory DiLisi, Stella McLean
- Type: Contributed
- This January marked the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire. On Jan. 27, 1967, the interior of NASA’s “AS-204” Command Module (CM), occupied by American astronauts Roger Chaffee, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, and Ed White, caught fire during a ground test. Thethree astronauts perished. In this case study, we conduct a basic horizontal flame test, patterned after the protocols set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to measure the ignitability of solids. The laboratory activity is a complementary exercise to the vertical flame test described in our previous article that examined the initial source of fuel for the fire that destroyed the massive German zeppelin Hindenburg, in 1937. Combining techniques from both case studies gives students a quantitative understanding of how the flammability of materials is tested and how a forensics-approach to physics can be used to understand significant historical events.
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Hurricanes, Trade Winds, Sunspots and Angular Momentum
- CF07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by L. Millet
- Type: Contributed
- Hurricanes (alias typhoons or tropical cyclones) have three basic motions described in terms of Coriolis forces or, equivalently, conservation of zero angular momentum. They cause trade winds to move away from, not toward, the equator. Comparison of sunspots to hurricanes allows explanation of the origin and motion of sunspots, their cycles, why there is a dark umbra and less-dark penumbra, why the Sun shows differential rotation, and why the Sun’s upper atmosphere is hotter than its surface.
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The Lasting Impact of IPLS
- AI01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
by Benjamin Geller, Chandra Turpen, Catherine Crouch
- Type: Invited
- There are multiple ways in which students’ experiences in an IPLS classroom might impact their future learning. IPLS students may be better prepared to use physical reasoning skills in their later biology classes, or they may develop the enduring attitude that physics has relevance and significance for their work in the life sciences. In this talk I will describe the challenges and initial successes from the first two years of an exploratory study aimed at identifying the ways in which students exhibit IPLS skills and attitudes in their later biology coursework. I will describe the methodological challenges inherent in a longitudinal study that traverses multiple disciplines, and the ways in which we have addressed these challenges. I will draw on student written work in biology courses, and student interviews focusing on both reasoning and attitudes, to highlight how IPLS can have a lasting impact on the life science student experience.
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Students’ Attitudes Toward Physics After Biomedically Relevant Instruction*
- AI02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
by Elliot Mylott, Warren Christensen, Ralf Widenhorn
- Type: Invited
- Many pre-health students are required to take introductory physics as undergraduates, though they often struggle to see the relationship between medicine and what they learn in these courses. We developed instructional material that presents physics in abiomedical context. Our research explored whether students’ opinions on the relevance of physics to medicine was impacted by the biomedically focused physics instruction. Shifts in attitudes were assessed using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS), original course surveys, and student interviews. Specific questions from the real-world connection and personal interest sections of the CLASS were rewritten to have a focus on the connection to biomedical content. The results show that students' attitudes were affected by the reforms in multiple ways including students' ability to contextualize physical phenomenon through biomedical applications. The results also suggest that questions from the standard CLASS might not capture the connection students are making between physics and biomedicine.
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Assessing the Briggs Life Science Studio (BLiSS) Physics Course
- AI03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
by Vashti Sawtelle, Abhilash Nair
- Type: Invited
- At Michigan State University, we have designed an integrated lab-lecture (studio style) introduction physics course that meets the needs of life science students. Our design of the Briggs Life Science Studio (BLiSS) physics course emphasizes (1) connecting the disciplines of physics, biology, and chemistry through designing authentic tasks for students, (2) incorporating computational simulations that model complex biological phenomenon, and (3) building positive relationships for life science students with physics. A challenge that many Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) curriculum designers have faced is how to assess these curricular transformations when the transformation is more than an activity but less than an entire course. In this presentation we will focus on the assessment tools and strategies that we use to examine the outcomes of the BLiSS course design. We will address how design-based research informs our assessment of transformations at the curricular thread grain-size.
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Content Knowledge for Teaching Energy: Construct and Assessment
- AG01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
by Eugenia Etkina, Lane Seeley, Stamatis Vokos
- Type: Invited
- What is Content Knowledge for Teaching, how can we assess it, and what do we learn from this assessment? This talk will answer these questions in the domain of high school energy. We will report on a multi-year, multi-institutional effort to study physics teachers' knowledge for teaching energy. In particular, we describe the framework that we developed to clarify Content Knowledge for Teaching (CKT) construct in the context of high school energy learning and the process through which we developed, tested, and refined an on-line assessment that we administered to several hundred physics teachers and physics majors. The findings of the assessment are encouraging and surprising at the same time, especially in the area related to the role of subject matter knowledge in the content knowledge for teaching.
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Promoting High School Students' Physics Identity Through Explicit and Implicit Recognition
- AG02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
by Jianlan Wang, Zahra Hazari
- Type: Invited
- Using the theoretical framework of physics identity and emotional scaffolding, we investigate the impact of two types of recognizing strategies, i.e. explicit (ER) and implicit recognizing (IR), on high school students' sense of recognition and physics identity. ER is teachers directly conveying their acknowledgment of students' qualities or abilities, such as acknowledging good work and expressing faith in student ability, and IR is teachers indirectly acknowledging students' qualities or abilities via assigning them a position or a task that demands those qualities or abilities, such as valuing student opinions and assigning a challenging task. We trace the physics identity development of 134 students from three high school physics classes in one year. Our findings indicate that the synergy with ER and IR strategies are used as well as the nature of the activities (i.e. attainable success) are critical features of effective teacher recognition that can be internalized by the student.
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A Learner based Perspective on STEM Learning in AP Courses
- AG03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
- by Albert Bao*
- Type: Contributed
- STEM fields are at the core of 21st Century Innovation. However very few American students pursue STEM disciplines as their future careers. In high school, AP STEM courses provide unique opportunities to improve students’ awareness, interests, and accessto STEM learning in the school environment. A positive experience in these AP courses can be a catalyst to shaping a student’s career interests and preferences towards STEM fields. However, these courses are also the most challenging among all high school curricula, and the situation is even more complicated by the shortage of teachers skilled in STEM subjects. It is then important to help students develop effective learning strategies for these courses. Through surveying high school students who have studied AP STEM courses, this research seeks to develop a student based perspective on best practices to effectively manage learning and achieve good performance.
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Effects of Investigative Learning on Student Attitudes, Confidence, and Motivation
- AG04
- Mon 07/22, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Danielle Bugge, Eugenia Etkina
- Type: Contributed
- During the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 school years, high school students learned physics through the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE). Each year, the first-year honors physics students regularly designed experiments that engagedthem in the science practices and focused on the development of various scientific abilities. Based on prior studies, we know that this sample of high school students is capable of achieving proficiency with the scientific abilities. However, does learning in a collaborative, investigative environment have an influence on student goals, attitudes, and confidence? During this three-year period, we collected pre and post surveys for first year honors physics students. We report on the study in which we analyze student responses and growth to questions associated with motivation to take a physics course, goal setting, comfort and confidence with scientific abilities, and attitudes via the E-CLASS survey.
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Coping with Reform: Epistemic Contradictions for Highly Successful Physics Students
- AG05
- Mon 07/22, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
by William Lindsay, Khadijih Mitchell, Valerie Otero
- Type: Contributed
- This physics education research study focuses on students who have been successful learning science in traditional classrooms when they interact with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned instruction. For students who have developed positive identities as science learners within traditional contexts, the shifts in participation required to learn physics in a NGSS-aligned, reformed context may result in frustration, contradictions, and other affective outcomes. We explored this hypothesis using interviews and video observations collected in the classrooms of teachers implementing the Physics through Evidence, Empowerment through Reasoning (PEER) curricular suite. From this data, we constructed case studies outlining the experiences of four highly successful students engaging in scientific practices while learning physics for the first time. Findings indicate that case students experienced a host of epistemic contradictions and tensions that were challenging to navigate. Implications of these findings for physics teachers attempting NGSS implementation are discussed.
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Integrating Standards Based Grading into a First-Year HS Physics Course
- AG06
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
- by Debbie Andres
- Type: Contributed
- The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for teachers to incorporate science practices into the instruction of their students. How can we best assess our students’ progress on targeted learning objectives? Teachers can use various assessment techniques to measure student proficiency such as Standards Based Grading (SBG). How can we use a SBG model while abiding by a school district’s online grading policy? During the 2018-2019 academic year, I piloted a version of SBG in freshmen Physics Honors classes. Rather than receiving number grades on assessments, I gave students descriptors regarding their level of mastery on specific standards. Every marking period, the standards were given to students along with rubrics that helped them monitor their progress. The standards fell within three categories: Professional Expectations, STEM Practices, and Content Specific Standards. In this talk I will share the SBG model developed, strategies for implementation, and student feedback on this assessment strategy.
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Building NASA Rovers to Demonstrate Conservation of Energy
- AG07
- Mon 07/22, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
- by Brandon Rodriguez
- Type: Contributed
- The Education Department at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has created numerous activities for K-12 schools to explore STEM through space science. Once such activity is the creation of small rubber band-powered vehicles for 'roving on Mars'. This activity, originally targeting middle school standards, was revised by high school physics teachers to address NGSS standards on the conservation of energy. Using cheap and simple supplies, students build vehicles and use kinematics and energy calculations to determine their velocity, kinetic/potential energy and friction to calculate the strength of their rubber bands. In this presentation we will look at student created models and the materials used to set the stage for student engagement.
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High School Student Perspectives on Computation in Different Classroom Contexts
- GE01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Paul Hamerski, Daryl McPadden, Marcos Caballero, Paul Irving
- Type: Contributed
- For many of today’s educators and researchers, computation goes hand-in-hand with science education. Integrating computational practices with STEM classrooms gives learners a more realistic view of what science is, and better prepares students for pursuing careers in a world where computation is ubiquitous. This study examines one instance of such integration in the physics classroom of a suburban, racially diverse high school. The students whose perspectives we investigate have multiple formal computation experiences – both in their physics class and their computer science class. Using interviews, in-class recordings, and field notes, we produce a case study on the dual experience that some high school students have with computation, and from this case study we provide an in-depth, organic perspective on the difference between learning computation inside and outside of the physics classroom.
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Identifying Teacher Learning Goals Involving Computation in High School Physics
- GE02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Daniel Weller, Theo Bott, Marcos Caballero, Paul Irving
- Type: Contributed
- As a state-wide effort to integrate computational practices into high school physics curricula around Michigan, we developed and administered a week-long summer workshop for high school physics teachers to learn how to program and teach basic programmingto their students. Over the course of the year, we followed three teachers as they integrated computation into their physics curriculum. Through structured interviews, we explored their learning goals related to computation. The learning goals spanned conceptual physics, computational thinking practices, and attitudinal outcomes. By characterizing these goals, we were able to evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development series at helping teachers develop computational physics activities designed to address their specific learning goals.
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Learning Physics Concepts Through Computational Modeling
- GE03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
- by Luke Conlin
- Type: Contributed
- High school physics classrooms are beginning to provide students opportunities to learn physics through building computational models. A focus on computational modeling has the potential to support students’ learning of physics concepts, but there is a risk that the cognitive load of learning a new programming language could distract from the physics. We designed a block-based computational modeling environment and embedding curriculum called C2STEM to support learning of concepts and computation in ways that are mutually reinforcing. In this talk I report on the results of a classroom study (n=174) in which an experimental group of 84 students used C2STEM instead of laboratory investigations. Pre-post performance on assessments of both physics concepts and computational thinking suggests that students were able to learn physics concepts and computational thinking skills in complementary ways. An examination of screen capture video reveals the processes by which the modeling environment supported students learning of physics concepts.
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Nature of Science in Chinese High School Physics Textbooks
- GE04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Haoli Zhuang*, Jianwen Xiong, Lei Bao
- Type: Contributed
- This study analyzed the representation of nature of science (NOS) in high school physical textbooks of five editions authorized by the Ministry of Education of China. Specifically, the chapters and sections direct relevant to NOS (e.g., chapter on the “scientific method”) and frequently appear with some historical treatment of the development of a topic (e.g. chapters related to Newton’s laws of motion) were sampled. It was found that all five editions of physics textbooks were poor in representations of NOS, and on average, only a few pages of the selected textbook samples were dedicated to addressing NOS constructs. The results suggest that the representation of NOS in Chinese high school physics textbooks is desired to be improved to meet the emphasis on helping students to be scientific literacy citizens proposed by the recent reform of the school science curriculum in China.
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STEM Stories in Dayton, Ohio
- GE05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Todd Smith, Margaret Pinnell, Mary Kate Sableski, Shannon Driskell
- Type: Contributed
- The goal of the Dayton STEM Stories project is to increase interest in and ability to pursue science, engineering, and other technical fields. Literacy is key to a student’s success as it's a critical skill required for the learning of all other subjects, including science and engineering. Because Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee encourages PK-3 teachers to focus primarily on mathematics and reading, students in these early grades are rarely exposed to science and engineering. This is very unfortunate since research shows that early exposure to science and engineering increases a student’s likelihood of pursuing these career fields. STEM Stories provides an innovative, engaging, fun, and highly integrated STEM and Literacy curriculum to second and third grade students. This presentation will provide an overview of the STEM Stories project along with our assessment results.
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Assessing Students’ Explanation and Argumentation in Scientific and Socio-scientific Contexts
- GE06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Yunzhi Mei*, Jianwen Xiong
- Type: Contributed
- Constructing scientific explanations and participating in argumentative discourse are seen as essential practices of scientifc inquiry. In this paper, we attempt to clarify the distinction and relation between these two practices in science education. Based on two researchers’ achievements (Osborne, 2016; McNeill, 2013), we developed two versions of the test to assess students’ writing explanation and argumentation. They contained 4 questions divided among scientific contexts and socio-scientific issues. These tests were administered to almost 900 students of 10th,11st,13rd grade in China. The results of students’ performance are presented by comparing students of different grades and genders through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The paper concludes by suggesting extensions of these two scientific practices for further research in science education.
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Teachers’ CKT-Energy and the Depth of Content During Energy Instruction
- GE07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Robert Zisk, Eugenia Etkina
- Type: Contributed
- Content Knowledge for Teaching (CKT; Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008) describes the knowledge that teachers have for teaching a particular subject. As such, there should be a relationship between teachers’ CKT and their classroom practice. In this study, wefocus on the relationship between high school teachers’ CKT for teaching energy (CKT-E) and the content of their instructional unit on energy in mechanics as measured by their instructional goals and the content of their assessments. We investigate the depth and breadth of the content of teachers’ goals and their unit assessment as well as the alignment between teachers’ goals and assessments. We then assess the relationship between the content of instruction and teachers’ CKT-E as measured by an assessment of teacher’s knowledge of teaching energy. While all teachers in the study addressed the same breadth of content, teachers with high CKT-E scores addressed content at a deeper level.
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Preparing Students for Research and the Workplace
- FN01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Daniel Borrero-Echeverry
- Type: Invited
- Over the last five years the physics department at Willamette University has taken significant steps to update our advanced laboratory curriculum. The goal of this push has been to prepare students to successfully contribute to faculty research, while providing them with skills that are transferable to the workplace. In this talk, I will discuss how we have created engaging laboratory experiences integrating experiment, theory, and computation based on faculty research. This coursework serves as an apprenticeship, reducing the time that faculty spend training students to work in their labs and allowing students to make significant research contributions in their senior projects. I will discuss how these efforts have been influenced by faculty participation in the 2018 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year (BFY III), the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association’s (ALPhA) Immersions program, and the Partnership for Integration of Computation into the Undergraduate Physics (PICUP) Faculty Development Workshop.
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From Student-Built NMR to MRI
- FN02
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Steven Morgan
- Type: Invited
- In 2016 the students in our advanced lab course built a low-cost Earth's field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. During the fall semester of 2018 students in the same course added one-dimensional imaging capabilities to the existing spectrometer and made other improvements to the spectrometer. In addition to the magnetic resonance work, this year some new experiments were added to our lab courses based upon workshops at the Third Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year (BFY III) held last summer. I will discuss these and other modifications or additions to the advanced lab and electronics courses this year that stemmed from interactions at the BFY Conference.
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Lessons Learned: Let's Listen To Women and International Persons' Experiences
- BH
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by MacKenzie Estelle Lenz
- Type: Panel
- The panelists offer a multitude of perspectives on being a woman or international person in physics. Panelists will speak of their individual experiences, physics careers, as well as their attendance to and participation in conferences similar to AAPT.
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A Venezuelan Perspective on International PER
- BH02
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Claudia Fracchiolla
- Type: Panel
- Different cultures have different perceptions of what inclusiveness and diversity mean. Europe, for example, could be considered culturally diverse. However, not necessarily racially diverse. When I first moved to the U.S. I had already lived, studied, and done research in five other countries, including my home country Venezuela. But it was not until then that I understood why discussions of inclusiveness and diversity were so important. I soon realized I was part of a minority. It was a hard awakening. Today, after working in three continents and multiple countries, I am more appreciative of others’ perspective, which I believe have make my research stronger and inspired me to become an advocate for these issues
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Starting with a Spark: (Central) Ohio Modeling Teachers
- CN01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Kathleen Harper
- Type: Invited
- A phone call from one high school science teacher to one staff member at a local university in early 2003 led to a physics Modeling workshop offered in central Ohio in the summer of 2004. One of the goals specifically articulated in the grant proposal tofund this workshop was creating community. That first workshop had 22 attendees, mostly from around Columbus. Now, 15+ years later, over 400 Ohio science teachers, plus some from other states, have participated in workshops, joining the central Ohio Modeling community. Although grant support for workshops has disappeared recently, the community remains, finding ways to reconnect friends and welcome new members. Further, the friendships and teaching practices rooted in the Columbus-area workshops have nucleated other communities. In the context of the program’s history, this presentation will highlight features of the program that are believed to have created and nurtured this community.
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STEMteachersNYC — Building a Community "For Teachers, By Teachers, About Teaching”
- CN02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Mark Schober
- Type: Invited
- I have been fortunate to be deeply involved with two successful local area physics groups, the St. Louis Area Physics Teachers and STEMteachersNYC. The long-standing St. Louis Area Physics Teachers was ever present in my formative professional development. When I moved to New York City, I found that no such equivalent organization existed. Leveraging our connections, we assembled a group of teachers for our first workshop in the spring of 2011. Eight years later, we’ve offered over a hundred workshops serving over a thousand teachers with ever-expanding plans. I’ll share a step-by-step roadmap of the key components of these organizations that will help you to start or strengthen your own.
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QuarkNet: Supporting Local Physics Teacher Groups for 20 Years
- CN03
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Shane Wood
- Type: Invited
- QuarkNet is a National Science Foundation sponsored, long-term teacher professional development program that immerses teachers in cutting-edge physics research and supports them in developing instructional strategies that bring authentic scientific and engineering practices into their classrooms. QuarkNet began in 1999, and continues to support collaborations between physics teachers and mentor physicists at over 50 centers at universities and national labs across the country today. In this talk, you will learn about some of the factors that continue to keep these partnerships strong over time.
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The Learning Machines Lab: A Research Group Using Machine Learning In STEM Education
- GH01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:30PM
by Marcos Caballero, John Aiken, Rachel Henderson, Nick Young
- Type: Invited
- Physics Education Research has helped support and enhance physics education through a wide variety of research studies. In fact, some of the most compelling evidence for making use of evidence-based teaching methods stem from quantitative research studies in PER. Until recently, this work has employed traditional statistical and modeling techniques such as the analysis of the variance and linear regression. As educational data have become more plentiful and complex, quantitative physics education researchers have begun to revisit how we develop and conduct research studies. Some have started to borrow approaches from other fields including data science. In this talk, we will explore the use of machine learning techniques in education research through a series of studies being actively conducted by the Learning Machines Lab, a research collaboration between Michigan State University and the University of Oslo. How the group supports undergraduate researchers to engage with this work will be highlighted.
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Lessons Learned in Teaching Machine Learning to Physics Students
- GH02
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 1:00PM
by Tuan Do*, Bernadette Boscoe
- Type: Invited
- Machine Learning techniques offer the potential to help scientific fields such as physics and astronomy process and analyze the ever-increasing amounts of data that scientists accrue. In addition, as demand for course offerings grows, fields such as physics struggle to create curricula tailored to suit the needs of students. I will discuss lessons learned in my experiences researching and teaching with machine learning approaches. Since Machine Learning encompasses multiple disciplines spanning computer science, math, and statistics, this presents difficulties in identifying what students need to learn and how this relates to domain-specific knowledge, in this case, physics and astronomy. Another challenge is that popular tools used to analyze data were created by the tech industry, and might not be well-suited for scientific aims. I will discuss some examples of machine learning projects in astronomy which may be helpful for graduate students or advanced undergrad courses and seminars. I will also cover successes and challenges in facilitating these projects.
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Statistical Modeling and Machine Learning Techniques for Predicting Student Outcomes
- GH03
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
- by Devyn Shafer
- Type: Contributed
- New machine learning techniques may offer insight into complex data that violates assumptions of standard regression methods. I will describe and compare several methods used to analyze course-level and institution-level data from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with the goal of predicting outcomes such as student performance in courses and retention in the engineering program.
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Using Machine Learning to Predict Student Success in Physics Classes
- GH04
- Wed 07/24, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by John Stewart, Seth DeVore, Cabot Zabriskie
- Type: Contributed
- Physics classes form one of the key matriculation barriers for STEM students. If one could identify students at risk of failure very early in the semester, interventions could be directed at these students before they were so far behind that they cannot be salvaged. This work uses a combination of institutional data and data collected within the physics class to predict whether a student will receive an A or B in the class. Both logistic regression and random forests were used to predict student outcomes. Both methods produced similar accuracy but provided complementary insights. Using only institutional variables, an accuracy of 70% was achieved before the semester began. The combination of institutional and in-class variables achieved an accuracy of 78% in the second week of the class which was not matched by in-class variables alone until the fifth week when the first test was given.
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Methods vs. Topics: Scaffolding & the 3-Legged Stool
- FJ
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Gabriel Spalding
- Type: Panel
- This panel session discusses the distinction between TOPICS associated with a single course within the major (Statistical Physics, AstroPhysics, etc.), and foundational METHODS that should be distributed throughout the major. Failure to make this distinction is one reason why many programs fail to "scaffold in" a developmental set of experiences that, overall, co-values the foundational METHODS often described as the "three-legged stool" of the major: (1) the formalisms of Physics; (2) the many ways in which computers are used in Physics (integrated into offerings within the department); and (3) hands-on instruction in (and grappling with) experimentation and troubleshooting, offering exposure to a wide range of high technologies. Regarding the last of these, AAPT engaged in more than a decade of focused conversation about the broad range of goals embedded in hands-on lab instruction, followed up by a research-based document, namely, the "AAPT Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum," which unpacks these goals, making a clear case that no single course can meet all of these developmental goals in 15 weeks. Similar statements can be made of each of the three legs.
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Overhauling a Laboratory Curriculum to Focus on Methods
- FJ01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Ashley Carter
- Type: Panel
- Overhauling a laboratory curriculum is a daunting process for a department. Here, I describe a four-step process our department used to overhaul our laboratory curriculum so that it would focus on METHODS (theoretical, experimental, and computational methods) rather than TOPICS (mechanics, electromagnetism, etc.). The four-step process for overhauling the curriculum included: 1) identifying learning goals, 2) describing current practices, 3) making changes, and 4) planning for assessment. In addition, I describe how we updated experiments in a single course within the curriculum to meet our curriculum goals. This involved creating a set of “plug and play” experiments. These are experiments that can be “plugged” into a METHODS-based course because they have theoretical, experimental, and computational goals, and they can be “played” in a variety of ways since their laboratory manuals are organized by METHOD rather than TOPIC.
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Preparing Students for Many Futures: Caltech’s Introductory Physics Lab
- FJ02
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Eric Black
- Type: Panel
- Caltech requires all of its undergraduates to take two introductory labs, one of which must be chemistry. About half of our students opt for physics as their other lab. Fortunately, most of the skills that prepare physics majors for more advanced lab courses in their specialty are also extremely useful in other STEM fields. In this talk I will describe how we serve both populations in what is by nature a very “methods”-heavy course.
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Effective Undergraduate Programs: Career Inspired Courses, Tools, and Resources
- FJ03
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Brad Conrad
- Type: Panel
- As faculty aim to build thriving undergraduate programs, developing course sequences and content that both serve and recruit undergraduates for a broad array of career outcomes is vital for a successful department. Course sequences and material can be made to include tools that serve students aiming for both graduate school and careers immediately after graduation. This session aims to tie educational outcomes within course sequences to career objectives through specific examples and tools. By empowering a broad range of students to manage their career goals and objectives, departments can both self-evaluate and promote an inclusive environment for a diverse student population. The findings, results, and suggestions from a wide variety of source will be touched on. Special attention will be given to the SPS careers toolbox and comprehensive course design that compliments department education objectives.
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Balancing Methods and Content: Good for Everyone and for Inclusion
- FJ04
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Catherine Crouch
- Type: Panel
- Although several reformed instructional and curricular approaches have sought to prioritize supporting students’ mastery of methods at the same level as content, structural challenges inherent to academia make it more difficult to prioritize methods thancontent. In my own department at Swarthmore College, our increasingly diverse population of students and our commitment to inclusion and equity in our major has heightened our awareness of both the challenges and the importance of supporting students to develop deep skills in methods as well as content. We believe that modifying our curriculum to achieve this goal is good for all students, not only for those coming from backgrounds not well represented among physicists. I will share examples from our very early stage efforts to balance choices about teaching content with cultivating the skills and practice of physics in a manner that supports a diverse population of physics majors.
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Successes and Challenges Balancing the Three-legged Stool at UWRF
- FJ05
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Earl Blodgett
- Type: Panel
- The physics program at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls intentionally embraced the idea of distributing foundational methods of experimental physics across the curriculum in the early 1970s. At that time, computational methods were viewed as a tool of the experimental physicist. As a result, our physics majors have been required to take at least one programming course ever since 1975. Our emphasis on experimental methods has tended towards concentrating computation in several laboratory courses and only a few theory classes. To use the analogy of the three-legged stool, we have a very sturdy leg representing experimental physics, a strong leg representing the formalisms of physics and a slender leg for computational physics. I will share our successes and challenges in attempting to balance the three-legged stool over the past several decades.
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Technical Competencies in Undergraduate Physics Education
- FJ06
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Randall Tagg
- Type: Panel
- An initiative is under way to create a working group within the AAPT Area Committee on Laboratories to foster development of learning materials for technical competencies. Such competencies span a range of practical knowledge, including design (e.g., mechanical or circuit design), procedures (e.g., machining or soldering), and instrumentation (e.g., use of digital oscilloscopes or lock-in amplifiers). By pooling expertise across the physics education community, we can offer a rich resource for students to expand their skills for research, technical innovation, and employment.
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Monday Afternoon Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH04
- Mon 07/22, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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Monday Afternoon Exhibit Hall Raffle - Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ Telescope
- EXH05
- Mon 07/22, 3:50PM - 3:55PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- The power seeker 70eq telescope is a Great way to open up the Wonders of the universe to the aspiring astronomer! it is designed to give the first-time buyer a great combination of quality, value, features, and power. Set up is quick and easy with no tools necessary. View the stars with slow motion controls for smooth tracking. Erect image optics are excellent for terrestrial and astronomical use. Fully coated glass optical components are covered with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity while the 3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying power of each eyepiece. An accessory tray is provided for easy storage of your accessories.
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Monday Morning Break in the Exhbit Hall
- EXH02
- Mon 07/22, 10:30AM - 11:00AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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Monday Morning Exhibit Hall Raffle: Fire TV Stick 4K with all-new Alexa Voice Remote, Streaming Media Player
- EXH03
- Mon 07/22, 10:50AM - 10:55AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- The most powerful 4K streaming media stick with a new Wi-Fi antenna design optimized for 4K Ultra HD streaming. Launch and control content with the all-new Alexa Voice Remote. Watch favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, STARZ, SHOWTIME, or CBS All Access, plus stream for free with Pluto TV, IMDb Freedive, and others.
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Monday Registration
- REG05
- Mon 07/22, 7:00AM - 5:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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Education Researchers’ Characterizations of Physics Faculty
- EC01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Linda Strubbe, Brycen Parker, Adrian Madsen, Sarah McKagan, Eleanor Sayre
- Type: Invited
- The education research community has been studying physics teaching for over 40 years. Part of this work includes characterizing people who teach physics. The PhysPort team is conducting a review of how our community talks about university physics instructors in our published papers. Looking at the top three physics education research journals (PR-PER, AJP, PERC Proceedings), our preliminary results suggest that the dominant characterization of physics faculty follows a deficit model. A deficit model, in contrast to an asset model, focuses on faculty deficiencies and problems rather than on their strengths and opportunities. This is important because how we talk about our colleagues offers insights into how we as a field view the big-picture mission of our work; these results may encourage us to reflect critically. In this talk, I will describe our research into how the education research field characterizes physics faculty and discuss our results so far.
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Living Physics Portal - Connecting Physics Educators with Life Science Students
- EC02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Dawn Meredith
- Type: Invited
- Several national policy documents about the education of future life scientists were published in late 2000’s. These called for their education to be more grounded in the physical sciences and mathematics. Independently, several physics educators across the country took up the challenge to make the introductory physics course for life science students (IPLS) more relevant and appropriate for the next generation of life scientists. Each institution solved the problem in a unique way. In 2016, a group of eight such institutions formed a collaboration to create an on-line portal (funded by NSF grant) that would be both a repository of materials for this course and an on-line community to support instructors as they implemented changes. This talk will outline the challenges in creating an impactful IPLS course and the value of the on-line portal.
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Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics: Faculty Development for Community Transformation*
- EC03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
by Larry Engelhardt, Danny Caballero, Marie Lopez del Puerto, Kelly Roos, Norman Chonacky
- Type: Invited
- We are currently in the fourth year of an NSF-funded project to help faculty integrate computation throughout the undergraduate physics curriculum. This project is all about improving physics education, and creating and sustaining a community of faculty that have the tools and support to integrate computation. The model of transformation that we have been building should be relevant to faculty in other disciplines in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Integrating computation into the introductory physics sequence impacts students in all of the disciplines previously mentioned, and many of the exercise sets that have been developed as part of the project are interdisciplinary. We will discuss the current state of this project, what we have been doing, where we are going, and how this relates to other disciplines.
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University-wide Teamwork Minor for STEM Majors
- EC04
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
by Justin Fair, Anne Kondo, Mimi Benjamin, Rachel Desoto-Jackson, Melanie Hildebrandt
- Type: Invited
- Recent employer surveys indicate employers feel many new university graduates lack interpersonal and teamwork skills, which are critical in today's market. Providing specific training in these skills is difficult because few scientific majors have room in their tech.-heavy course load. To fill this gap, Indiana University of Pennsylvania has created a focused teamwork minor that spans across a student's education, introducing the concepts in Liberal Studies courses and allowing for repeated application, practice, and evaluation of these skills in STEM courses. Social science, theater, and communication courses introduce the theory, practice, and self-assessment of skills required for good teamwork. Students enhance and reflect on their skills through team-based interdisciplinary research projects, both in science courses required for their majors and through independent research. With our curricular model, future graduates will be better prepared for the necessary future interdisciplinary collaborations the workforce needs to advance its competitive edge.
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Research on Chinese College Students’ Learning Attitudes to Physics Experiments
- CA01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
- by Yunlin Chen
- Type: Contributed
- Physics experiments, as the core section of the physics education, have already become the main contents of higher education. And students’ attitudes to physics experiments play a significant role in physics teaching and learning. So this research focuses on the learning attitudes of Chinese college students toward physics experiments. The research objects are college students who had a physics experiment course in East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. And the measurement tool is the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS). The original E-CLASS was translated into Mandarin through a rigorous process. We found that students’ learning attitudes to physics experiments were ordinary in general and they varied from different factors.
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Measurement of Kinetic Friction with Different Velocity Using Timoshenko Oscillator
- CA02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Yangming Li, Yichen Gao
- Type: Contributed
- A Timoshenko oscillator, which consists of a plate with periodic motion with the combined influence between gravity and kinetic friction on its rotating supports, is built to illustrate the relation between the frequency of the vibration and the coefficient of kinetic friction. Our experiment allows us to explore the friction’s low in relatively high velocity regime. Our experimental results show that the Coulomb’s law of kinetic friction is only valid under the situation of small relative velocities and the kinetic friction becomes smaller when the velocity is increased. Usually the measurement of coefficient of kinetic friction is done at a low relative velocity, but our experiment allow us to explore the friction’s low in higher relative velocities.
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Light Rings Around Water Jet
- CA03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
- by Liu Ziyi
- Type: Contributed
- When a water jet freely falls onto a rigid horizontal plane and the contact point is illuminated by a laser beam, rings of light around the jet will appear. Based on Plateau-Rayleigh instability theory, the equation of corrugated stability can be established. According to the theory of equivalent surface light source, we are able to explain the cause of light rings. Through experiment, it is proved that there is equal relationship among the distance of two light rings, double of the width of one light ring and the wavelength of the ripple. However, if the plane is tilted, water column with stable corrugated structure becomes asymmetry. Due to the Plateau-Rayleigh instability, if the inclination of the plane is not very big, water column with stable corrugated structure can still exist. On the other hand, when the plane is steep enough, the corrugated structure becomes unstable and the light rings become invisible. As a result, relevant theory and experiment can be established. On account of the difference in the distance between the contact point and the water outlet, there are different wave numbers and wavelengths distributing at different angles. If the contact point is illuminated by a laser beam, tilted light rings around the jet can be observed. Consequently, relevant theory can satisfy a more extensive observation effect.
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The Dynamics of the Motion of Looping Pendulum
- CA04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
- by Ding Zimin
- Type: Contributed
- A looping pendulum consists of a horizontal rod and a string connected to a heavy load and a light load. The string is put over the horizontal rod and the light load is pulled down so that the heavy load is lift up. After the light load is released, it will sweep around the rod, keeping the heavy load from falling to the ground. Our experiment allows us to explore the relationship between the falling distance and the mass of the heavy load. And the trajectory of the light load can also be figured out. Our experimental and theoretical results show that the falling distance of the heavy load increase with the increase of the mass of the heavy load. The trajectory of the light load is the combination of two different Archimedes curves.
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Relation between Water Temperature and Its Sounds.
- CA05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
- by Yu Hangyuan
- Type: Contributed
- The research is aimed to find out whether there is a relation between water temperature and its sounds. In this article, we will discuss how the temperature of water influences viscosity and in turn the frequency of sound that water makes when it is poured down under fixed conditions--water is poured down at a fixed speed and angle. Several experiments are made to figure out the relationship among temperature, viscosity and sound frequency, ruling out the effects of density at the same time. During the experiment, we also use certain ways to wipe out irrelevant sounds made by air and container. In the research, we find an apparent rise of frequency as temperature increases. And we are looking forward to getting a more explicit correspondence between them as to get water's temperature if its frequency is given.
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Investigation on New Teachers’ Categorization of Kinematics and Mechanics Problems
- CA06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Jingyao Chen
- Type: Contributed
- Novices and experts choose different strategies to categorize the physics problems, which reflects their different expertise in problem solving. Since the students’ categorization is affected by their teachers, we conducted a study to investigate the physics teachers’ method of categorization. Over 50 Chinese teachers from different schools were involved in our study. In general, the teachers can categorize problems of kinematics and mechanics into suitable categories based on the underlying principles.
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Students' Conceptual Understanding of Quantum Physics
- CA07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by Siyou Wang
- Type: Contributed
- Nowadays, Quantum Physics is a heated topic among almost all sectors of the international community. However, many college students, especially those non-physics majors, are not familiar with the physics terms and concepts appearing in hot movies and other forms of entertainment, which is a phenomenon worthy of attention. In order to know the degree of students’ understanding of the concepts of Quantum Physics, we conducted investigations in different ways, such as giving out questionnaires and so on. After analyzing the results, we found that faced with the given concepts, most of the students majoring in arts responded with incomprehension, while the science majors showed a superficial understanding of them. The conclusion we’ve made, to some extent, can provide a reference for college teachers to adjust their teaching approach in order to improve students’ understanding of the related concepts.
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Top Ten Women in the History of Physics
- CA08
- Mon 07/22, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
- by James Lincoln
- Type: Contributed
- Although there have been many accomplished female physicists, their contributions are not as well-known as their male counterparts. We physics teachers often lecture on their contributions and discoveries without realizing who we are referencing. In thistalk, I spotlight 10 women from the history of physics and explain the physics behind their specific contributions to the field. In this work I have decided to focus specifically on physicists, as opposed to astronomers, in order to bring into the light the less well-known and raise awareness of these women to inspire a new generation of physicists.
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Counting Stars – A Citizen Science Mass-Experiment on Light Pollution
- CA09
- Mon 07/22, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
- by Urban Eriksson
- Type: Contributed
- Street lamps, illuminated signs, buildings, cars – lights at night improve safety and make cities more attractive, but have also been shown to have negative effects for humans and animals. Scientific studies have shown that scattered artificial light —light pollution—have unexpected and worrying effects on the biology of many organisms, ecosystems, and on human health. In the Star-Spotting Experiment, hundreds of thousands of pupils, scouts, and members of the public in Sweden and other European countries are being invited to contribute to scientific research about light pollution. The experiment builds on the fact that the more light there is, the fewer stars you see. Hence, we encourage people to count stars where they live, using a simple method, and report via an App. We present results on 1) peoples’ awareness of the night sky, 2) how this method compares to other measures of light pollution, 3) possible consequences for society.
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Refuges Exploring the Foundations of Undergraduate Education in Science (REFUGES)
- AH01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Tino Nyawelo
- Type: Invited
- Approximately one-third of refugees who resettle in the U.S. are youth. Although the refugees come from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, they have similar, challenging experiences when resettling in the U.S. Refugee youth often encounter difficulties related to language barriers, cultural adjustments, and a history of interrupted schooling is a primary cause of the low rate of high school completion and college matriculation among refugee students across the U.S. Without positive intervention, many of these youth are at risk of dropping out of school and engaging in illegal activities. This presentation will describe Refuges Exploring the Foundations of Undergraduate Education in Science (REFUGES), a Utah-based, STEM-focused afterschool program that supports new American and refugee students in achieving college readiness, and is designed to change these statistics through two program components: 1) an afterschool program for refugee and immigrant students (grades 7-12) that provides academic support, hands-on science enrichment, and social services such as family counseling, health and wellness workshops, and recreational activities; and 2) a bridge program for incoming University of Utah students from marginalized populations to adjust to college life, course work and research. During the summer, participating students live on campus for seven weeks and complete two courses that count towards University of Utah undergraduate degree requirements and prepare students for success in STEM. It also offers research lab placement positions to students during students’ freshmen years. This experience launches interaction with peers, graduate students and faculty and helps students develop a network of colleagues who will help them throughout their academic careers.
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Fidgeting with Fabrication: Students with ADHD Making Tools to Focus
- AH02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Alexandria Hansen
- Type: Invited
- Students with learning disabilities often have unique needs that require innovative approaches to ensure accessibility in the classroom and beyond. This talk will describe a design-based research project that worked with a small group of middle school students who were diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Students were tasked with designing and fabricating a personalized fidget tool—a small hand-held object to use in a classroom with the goal of increasing focus—by following the process of engineering design described in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students teamed with a local science museum to access tools and expertise. Analysis of student interviews and recorded design sessions revealed that students accurately defined the problem and design constraints. Further, despite issues in measurement precision, students successfully optimized their design solution over time through multiple rounds of revision. Implications for educators and researchers interested in better supporting students with disabilities will be shared.
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Engaging People with Disabilities in the Practices of Science
- AH03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Ron Skinner
- Type: Invited
- By focusing science outreach goals on engaging a diverse audience in the practices of science and incorporating multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression, outreach activities can be designed for equal access by all learners, including people with physical or developmental disabilities. Accessibility has been a focal point in the development of MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, a new interactive science center in Santa Barbara, CA. Practice-Based Learning and Universal Design for Learning have informed the design and implementation of our physics-focused exhibits and educational programs. Creating learning experiences that are open-ended and multi-sensory and incorporating Practice-Based Facilitation to engage learners in the practices of science has broadened our audience to include learning opportunities for any and all people.
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A Service Learning Project for Introductory Physics Students
- AH04
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
- by Nicholas Conklin
- Type: Contributed
- Service learning is a type of experiential education that applies the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to meet a community need. The requirements of a service learning project, compared to simple community service, are alignment with the learning objectives of a course or program, demonstrated student self-reflection, and assessment of learning, often contributing to a final course grade. While many physics programs engage in extensive outreach, service learning at the course level remains somewhat uncommon. For the past two years at Gannon University, a service learning project has been implemented in the second-semester, calculus-based, honors introductory course. After visiting the local children’s museum situated in downtown Erie, PA, students designed their own projects based on the course content. They then built exhibits and developed activities in cooperation with the museum staff. Details on how the project was implemented and assessed will be presented.
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Cross-Disciplinary Strategies for Engaging Broader Audiences in Science Advocacy
- AH05
- Mon 07/22, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
by Anne Wise*, S. Raj Chaudhury
- Type: Contributed
- The Phi Beta Kappa Society (PBK), the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society, is a leading voice championing liberal arts and sciences education, fostering freedom of thought, and recognizing academic excellence. Physics plays a prominent role in the Society’s cross-disciplinary efforts. We explore PBK's strategies for embedding science advocacy into public-facing events and identifying unlikely community champions to voice their support through its National Arts & Sciences Initiative. We will share tactics, tips, and resources that have proven effective for embedding advocacy into programming. We explore : can we cultivate unlikely champions to voice support for the liberal arts and sciences after attending a public facing event? Is there a way to broaden science advocacy audiences (socio-economically, politically, geographically, etc.) to counter entry barriers? Can we find a balance between giving audiences what they want and making sure this engagement achieves its objectives?
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Leading Departmentally Based Change Initiatives: The Science Education Initiative Handbook
- AA01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Stephanie Chasteen, Warren Code
- Type: Contributed
- Educational change efforts focused at the department level can be particularly powerful. Positive outcomes, however, are not automatic. This talk will share some of the big lessons-learned from the Science Education Initiatives (SEIs) designed by Carl Wieman, in which postdoctoral fellows were embedded directly within disciplinary departments as catalysts of change. Come see our messages for initiative leaders, departmental faculty, and embedded postdocs and instructors on effectively leading change through embedded experts within departments.
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Teaching Assistant Reflections on Practice Sessions in a Mixed-reality Classroom Simulator
- AA02
- Mon 07/22, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Constance Doty, Tong Wan, Ashley Geraets, Erin Saitta, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Multiple STEM disciplines have adopted student-centered active learning laboratory activities as an alternative to traditional laboratories. However, the professional development received by GTAs that lead these courses has been reported to vary across STEM disciplines. In this study, practice teaching sessions in the mixed-reality simulator, TeachLivE, were integrated into the professional development for GTAs leading student-centered active learning introductory physics and chemistry laboratories. During their session, GTAs were given two opportunities to practice two teaching skills (normalize error and cold call) while leading a discussion with avatar-students. Between times in the simulator, GTAs were asked to reflect on their performance before trying again. Here, we discuss GTA reflections on their performance in the simulator focused on their opinions about how the simulator supported their practice with the teaching skills. In addition, we describe the relationship between their reflection and the actual implementation of teaching skills in their practice sessions.
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Characterizing Instructional Practices in Inquiry-Oriented Laboratories
- AA03
- Mon 07/22, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
by Tong Wan, Constance Doty, Ashley Geraets, Erin Saitta, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- While the discipline-based education community has been dedicated to developing inquiry-oriented labs, little research has investigated instructional practices of graduate teaching assistants (GTA), who are often the ones leading such laboratories. Thus,the goal of this study is to characterize GTAs’ instructional practices in inquiry-oriented laboratories. Specifically, we focused on algebra-based introductory physics “mini-studios” (which combine student-centered recitation with inquiry-oriented lab) and an introductory general chemistry inquiry-oriented lab at the University of Central Florida. We used a classroom observation protocol adapted from the Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (LOPUS) to document both GTA and student behaviors. We present data to demonstrate different GTA instructional styles, including the extent to which GTAs use pedagogical strategies such as lecture and posing questions. We compare our identified instructional styles to those previously identified in a traditional general chemistry lab. These results provide insight for developing strategies for GTA professional development.
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Students’ Sense of Belonging in Introductory Science Labs: Does GTA Training Matter?
- AA04
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
by Caitlin Kepple, Kim Coble
- Type: Contributed
- Over the past year, the Physics and Astronomy Department at San Francisco State University has implemented a pedagogical training course for incoming graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). While it has been widely accepted that students’ sense of belongingin the classroom can be influenced by many factors, our focus is on those that may be created or impacted by the GTA. These factors may include students’ interpersonal relationships in lab, perceived competence, or their science identity. We have collected both interview and survey data from new and returning GTAs, as well as a number of attitudinal surveys from students taking introductory physics and astronomy labs. Our goal is to identify potential key factors that may affect students’ sense of belonging and ultimately provide insight for future lab instructors to help create an inclusive and accessible laboratory environment.
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Looking Back on Six Years of GTA Preparation
- AA05
- Mon 07/22, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
- by Emily Alicea-Munoz
- Type: Contributed
- Six years ago, the School of Physics at Georgia Tech began a new graduate teaching assistant (GTA) preparation program that integrated physics content, pedagogy, and professional development strategies. To date, over 130 graduate students total, accounting for around 80% of the current grad student population, have participated in the program. Here we will talk about how the program came into being, how its curriculum has evolved over the years, a brief overview of its assessments, and what changes and expansions the program will have in the near future.
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Supporting the LA Model Weekly Preparation Session: A Tool for Practitioners*
- AA06
- Mon 07/22, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by Mel Sabella, Felicia Davenport, Fidel Amezcua, Andrea Van Duzor
- Type: Contributed
- The Learning Assistant (LA) Model involves undergraduate students as peer support in STEM classrooms. Ideally, LAs meet weekly with the instructors of the classes they serve. The weekly sessions provide multiple benefits for the students in LA supported classes, the LAs, and the instructors. While the weekly preparation session has the least amount of structure in the LA Model and has the most variation from institution to institution and from instructor to instructor, it is an essential part of the model. Our work has focused on how we can better understand what is happening in the weekly preparation session and how we can better support instructors to (1) recognize the importance of the weekly preparation session and (2) effectively reflect on these sessions. This work has led to the development of a tool for the practitioner to support their thinking around these sessions.
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Analyzing Fieldnotes to Characterize Teaching Approaches in Physics Help Sessions
- AA07
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Laura Wood, Vashti Sawtelle
- Type: Contributed
- Students learn physics in many settings outside of the classroom. This work builds on research that examines how students interact with instructors in physics help session environments. In this presentation we will discuss data collected from an experience that is part of a cohort program at a large baccalaureate granting institution. This program is for students intending to major in natural sciences and is primarily made up of students of color. The program provides academic, advising, social, and professional support, including the opportunity to attend help sessions for particular classes. We collected fieldnotes in several of the physics sessions, focusing on the instructors and the student-instructor interactions, and paying attention to researcher questions that emerged across the sessions. In this talk we will describe how two different instructors’ teaching styles emerged from our fieldnotes of these help sessions and how these styles impacted interactions with students.
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Characterizing Active Learning Environments in Physics: Preliminary Results
- AA08
- Mon 07/22, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Kelley Commeford, Eric Brewe, Adrienne Traxler
- Type: Contributed
- There is broad evidence that active learning leads to improved student outcomes as compared with traditional lecture, but relatively little work has been done to distinguish outcomes between different types of active learning. Before differentiation can occur, we need a way to characterize the different active learning curricula. We have looked at six active learning curricula in physics, using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), as well as self-reported student social network data. Together, these data will show how classroom activities drive student social network development for each curriculum. In this talk, we will discuss preliminary findings.
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Graduate Teaching Assistants' Views of Broken-into-Parts Physics Problems
- AA09
- Mon 07/22, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
by Melanie Good, Emily Marshman, Edit Yerushalmi, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- In this investigation, we examined TAs' views about introductory physics problem "types", i.e., different ways of posing the same underlying physics problem, within the context of a semester-long TA professional development course. Here, we focus on TAs' views about two broken-into-parts problems. TAs reported that they found broken-into-parts problems to be the most instructionally beneficial out of all the problem types and would use a broken-into-parts problem often and in a variety of ways stating the guidance such problems offer as a major pro. The instructional benefits of gradually removing the scaffolding support to help students develop self-reliance in solving problems appeared to be overlooked by most TAs. In particular, most TAs did not mention a long-term goal of helping students acquire more independence in problem-solving in written responses or in interviews.
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Preparing the Next Generation of Educators
- AA10
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
- by Alexandru Maries
- Type: Contributed
- Graduate students across the United States are currently playing an important role in the education of students as they often teach laboratories, recitations, and discussion sections. It is important to provide professional development for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), not only because this will have a positive impact on students now, but also because it can have an impact on the students of tomorrow. In this talk I will first summarize the important takeaways from the literature on effective TA programs and discuss how this literature has helped shape a particular GTA professional development program. Finally, I will discuss results from over three years of implementing this program, in particular, by focusing on the pedagogical practices of the GTAs.
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Graduate Teaching Assistant Fidelity of Implementation in Introductory Physics Laboratories*
- AA11
- Mon 07/22, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
by Annalisa Smith-Joyner, Feng Li, Steven Wolf, Joi Walker
- Type: Contributed
- This study reports the fidelity of implementation by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) of the Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) instructional model in introductory physics laboratories. An ADI specific observation protocol was used to document the facilitation techniques of two GTAs during three investigations of a semester long course. This observation protocol considers each aspect of the ADI instructional model and therefore reveals fidelity of implementation. GTAs in general physics 1 and general physics 2 were observed during the first semester of course wide implementation. The results from the implementation of the observation protocol for two semesters of introductory physics will be discussed as well as implications for GTA facilitation for our facility.
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Influence of Assessment Features on Student Epistemologies in Physics
- FA01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Kelli Shar, Rosemary Russ, James Laverty
- Type: Contributed
- Assessment is a fundamental aspect of education and usually is considered as a route to obtain information about student learning. Instead, this project explores the ability of physics assessment questions to send information to the students about what faculty and researchers think it means to know and do physics. We focused on the effects of assessment features on how students engaged with the assignment. To do this, we analyzed recordings of students completing a variety of introductory level physics problems for Epistemological Frame and Resource use. We found that Frame shifts are rare, but they can be triggered by a shift in Resource, which can be activated by assessment feature. This work extends existing work on epistemological framing into the realm of assessment and allows us to consider the effects of assessments on our students' understanding of physics teaching and learning.
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Comparing Learning Outcomes With and Without the Use of Simulations*
- FA02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Manher Jariwala, Emily Allen, Andrew Duffy
- Type: Contributed
- Computer simulations and supporting instructional materials for topics in mechanics were developed and investigated in a five-section, algebra-based, studio physics class. Simulations were implemented in a lab activity on collisions for three of the fivesections, taking the place of hands-on equipment. The groups were reversed for a simple harmonic motion lab. A similar A/B research design was used to evaluate discussion-based activities, with simulations supplementing either a conservation of energy or rotational dynamics exercise. We compare learning outcomes between groups, based on an array of scores from quizzes, relevant exam questions, and pre/post testing using the Energy and Momentum Conceptual Survey (EMCS).
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Comparing Student Learning Behavior Under Mastery-Based Vs. Traditional Online Instruction
- FA03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Matthew Guthrie, Zhongzhou Chen
- Type: Contributed
- Mastery-based online (MBO) learning has been the focus of recent studies aimed at improving the effectiveness of online physics education. While traditional instruction, practice, and assessments are organized separately in larger units, MBO learning integrates these elements into learning module sequences, enabling students to proceed based on individual mastery level. MBO homework has been shown to improve learning outcomes while generating more interpretable and informative learning data. However, MBO systems may lead students to focus on passing assessments rather than learning. To compare student learning and behavior under MBO and traditional systems, we created two forms of modules using each design principle for the same introductory physics level content. Two module sequences were assigned as homework to classes of approximately 250 students, and the two designs were switched between the classes after the first unit. This presentation will detail what we learned by analyzing student interaction throughout the two conditions.
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Developing and Sharing Weekly Topical Assessment for Introductory Mechanics
- FA04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Byron Drury, Dave Pritchard
- Type: Contributed
- We have developed a comprehensive set of online topical quizzes for calculus based introductory mechanics courses. The quizzes are designed to be administered weekly or bi-weekly and take 30 minutes to complete. They are composed of questions from research validated assessments supplemented with questions tested on hundreds of students in both MOOCs and on-campus courses. We will make the quizzes available to interested college and high school instructors for use this fall. We present analysis of results from the administration of these quizzes to approximately 250 students across five classes. The online quizzes were administered concurrently with traditional rubric-graded written quizzes. We argue that weekly online assessment presents numerous advantages over traditional written tests. The online quizzes provide more reliable measurement of student ability, timelier feedback to both students and teachers, and already electronic data for education research, as well as reducing time spent grading.
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Do We Make Students Do Too Much or Too Little? A Cognitive Load Study
- FA05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Diego Valente, Xian Wu
- Type: Contributed
- Cognitive load theory is a useful theoretical framework in founded on principles of educational research. It grants us insights on how students perceive instructional interventions and assessments. Currently, one of the biggest challenges in cognitive load theory is developing a validated measurement instrument for the different aspects of cognitive load, i.e., intrinsic, extraneous and germane cognitive load, with little to no training given to students regardless of their level, major, and the content of instructional interventions. We have adopted a likert-scale survey to measure student cognitive loads in class. Two courses were included in the present study: one is a small enrollment introductory physics course specific to physics majors, and the other a traditional large enrollment engineering physics course. Statistical analysis was facilitated to reveal how this measurement instrument differentiates between three types of cognitive load. This study may shed light on further validation of this instrument.
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Understanding Informal Physics Efforts Through Organizational Theory
- FA08
- Tue 07/23, 6:02PM - 6:35PM
by Dena Izadi, Julia Willison, Claudia Fracchiolla, Noah Finkelstein, Kathleen Hinko
- Type: Contributed
- We are undertaking a nationwide effort to develop a systemic understanding of the landscape of informal physics, including how informal physics programs are facilitated and assessed. We have collected initial survey and interview data along with some site visit field-notes for several different informal physics activities sponsored by physics departments in academic institutes and physics national labs. At this stage of the project, we are operationalizing existing organizational assessment tools and adapting them to our data. By making modifications to frameworks used to understand the functionality of the non-profit organizations, we have developed a codebook that could be used for large-scale data analysis. Here, we share findings from the responses of a number of institutes, as well as the challenges faced in data collection and methodology. Additionally, we invite facilitators, practitioners, and groups to contribute to the study.
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Exploring the Alignment of Laboratory Learning Goals Through E-CLASS Results*
- FA06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Rachel Henderson, Kelsey Funkhouser, Marcos Caballero
- Type: Contributed
- Recently, the Michigan State University (MSU) physics department has transformed its introductory physics laboratory curriculum. In line with the AAPT Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum, this newly transformed course, Design, Analysis, Tools, and Apprenticeship (DATA) Lab, emphasizes the development of experimental skills and laboratory practices and provides students with an authentic physics laboratory experience. In this presentation, we will discuss the differences in Colorado Learning Attitudes and Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) data between the context of the traditional laboratory course and the newly developed DATA Lab. Results showed a significant difference in post-test scores between the traditional laboratory and the transformed DATA Lab with the transformed course having a higher percentage of expert-like responses. Item-level statistics were also analyzed and results showed the largest post-test difference between the two courses for the E-CLASS items that were directly aligned with the DATA Lab learning goals.
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Impact of Lab Curricula on Students' Critical Thinking Skills
- FA07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Cole Walsh, N.G. Holmes
- Type: Contributed
- Physics lab instruction has been receiving increased attention of late, with a larger emphasis being placed on developing students’ experimentation and critical thinking skills. We investigate student responses to a diagnostic assessment aimed at evaluating students’ critical thinking skills in a physics lab context --- the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking. We compare student performance based on lab type, particularly to gauge the impact of labs taught using curricula transformed to teach experimentation and critical thinking. We also address variations in the effect of instruction across various student-level variables, as well implications of these results for future research and undergraduate physics lab transformations. Data used in this study are part of a growing dataset of student responses that includes over 4000 students from more than 30 institutions.
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Topical, Randomized Quizzes in Electromagnetism
- DE01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Alexander Shvonski, Michelle Tomasik, Byron Drury, David Pritchard
- Type: Contributed
- We developed five 30-minute topical quizzes in an introductory electromagnetism course (n~150) at MIT, and administered them electronically in class. For each problem on the quiz, students were given a randomized variant from a subset of three variants. We analyzed both the self-consistency of these quizzes and their correlation with other components of the course, including the final exam. We also looked at correlations between “types” of problems on both quizzes and the final. Interestingly, the quizzes exhibited a low score of consistency, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, perhaps reflecting the compartmentalized nature of the material. However, quizzes, as a category, correlated more strongly with the final exam than any other component of the course, including the midterm exam. We argue that frequent quizzes are an effective and superior assessment compared to other assessments in the course. We intend to make these materials available to instructors at other institutions.
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Using Rutgers Rubrics to Optimise Learning and Instructor Workload
- DE02
- Tue 07/23, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Sergej Faletic, Gorazd Planinsic
- Type: Contributed
- Rubrics are a well known assessment tool. Well designed rubrics provide feedback to student on what they did well, and also feed-forward on what they need to improve to do even better. We introduced scientific abilities rubrics, developed at Rutgers University, NJ, into a project based course “Project Laboratory” for first-year physics students. In this course, students solve open-ended physics problems and submit a written report, which is assessed and students are allowed to improve it until it is done well enough to be accepted. Before, feedback and feed-forward were provided in the form of comments/annotations to the report. Now they are provided in the form of scores on the rubrics. We will show that the rubrics decreased the workload of the instructor, increased the quality of the reports and were very useful to provide guidance to the students during their work.
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Lab TAs Facilitate and/or Hinder Experimental Design in Learning Physics
- DE03
- Tue 07/23, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
by David McKenna, Abigail Mechtenberg
- Type: Contributed
- Our 700+ students/year introductory labs implemented an experimental design (ED) pedagogy over four years for students to move from cookbook to inquiry-based labs. Three ED thought spheres scaffold all labs into pattern recognition: measurements, calculations, and variations. Three ED connection pathways teach students how to think about doing science (regression versus derivation approaches MVC versus CMV). Using Google Classroom, Lab TAs gave feedback (9,000+ comments) as well as the rubric-based grade (1,050 lab reports). We analyzed all comments in terms of total words, tone, complexity, probing level, and instructional efficacy of the Lab TA and calculate correlations between these and student evaluations of lab as well as lab final exam and rubric-based grades over time. We present these relationships between how Lab TAs communicate with students in laboratory settings using ED with 35-45 student lab sizes and how students learned and think they learned.
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Scientific Practices in Introductory Physics Labs*
- DE04
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
by Steven Wolf, Feng Li, Mark Sprague, Joi Walker
- Type: Contributed
- This talk discusses the results of course transformation efforts in place at ECU to privilege scientific practices in our introductory physics lab courses. Transformed curricula were piloted in spring 2018 in Physics 1, and fall 2018 in Physics 2. We will discuss our curricular framework, practical assessment, and implementation challenges. In particular we will discuss how we have worked with faculty to forge a consensus around the transformed learning goals, as well as the administrative changes that are required to sustain the new curricula.
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Student Behavior and Test Security in Online Conceptual Assessments
- DE05
- Tue 07/23, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
by Bethany Wilcox, Steven Pollock
- Type: Contributed
- Historically, the implementation of research-based assessments (RBAs) has been a driver of education change within physics and helped motivate adoption of interactive engagement pedagogies. Until recently, RBAs were given to students exclusively on paperand in-class; however, this approach has important drawbacks including decentralized data collection and the need to sacrifice class time. Recently, some RBAs have been moved to online platforms to address these limitations. Yet, online RBAs present new concerns such as student participation rates, test security, and students’ use of outside resources. Here, we report on a study addressing the second two concerns. We gave two upper-division RBAs to courses at five institutions; the RBAs were hosted online and featured embedded JavaScript code which collected information on students’ behaviors (e.g., copying text, printing). With these data, we examine the prevalence of these behaviors, and their correlation with students’ scores, to determine if online and paper-based RBAs are comparable.
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Student Performance and Stress Level in Different Testing Environments
- DE06
- Tue 07/23, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by Sarah Muller, Archana Dubey
- Type: Contributed
- This study examines how student quiz scores and behavior differ when taking quizzes in an Evaluation and Proficiency Center (EPC) vs. a studio classroom setting. The studio classroom promotes collaborative learning by having the students work in groups of about three. All focus groups have the same professor, a graduate TA, and an undergraduate Learning Assistant. Student quiz scores and stress levels will be compared in the two environments to see if one setting is more favorable than the other. Quiz scores from the EPC will be compared to paper quiz scores. A statistical analysis will be run to see the difference between the two locations. Student self-evaluation of stress levels will be analyzed via an anonymous survey given at the end of each semester. The spring 2019 data will be compared to the data to be attained in the fall 2019 semester when we will implement Personalized Adaptive Learning.
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How can we assess scientific practices? The case of “Using-Mathematics”
- DE07
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Amali Priyanka Jambuge, James Laverty
- Type: Contributed
- Recently, there is an emphasis on including scientific practices into introductory-level college physics curricula, instruction, and assessments. We conducted a study to develop assessment tasks to elicit evidence of students’ abilities to engage in the scientific practice, Using Mathematics. We used Evidence-Centered Design to develop these tasks and these tasks were given to students along with one on one think-aloud interviews. The students’ written work was compared to the video of them solving the problem aloud to determine if what they wrote down can reliably predict whether or not they engaged in the scientific practice. In this talk, I focus on interesting aspects of the students’ work that gives us evidence about how reliably we can assess students’ use of mathematics. This work informs developing future classroom and standardized assessments that can assess scientific practices.
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How Can We Develop Assessment Tasks for “Planning Investigations”?
- DE08
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Hien Khong, James Laverty
- Type: Contributed
- The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP) was introduced to transform assessments so that we can see students using their knowledge to do physics and NGSS has called them as scientific practices. This research focuses on developing assessment tasks for introductory courses where we can assess student abilities to plan investigations in physics. In order to figure out how to assess this practice, we first identified steps that go into the process of planning investigations. Then we collected data using a think-aloud protocol to identify observable in students’ written work, which may provide evidences of the students engaging in the scientific practice. This will help us to design the assessments which both assess students conceptual understanding and their ability to do physics.
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Faculty’s Reasoning about Life Science Students: Varying Between Assets and Deficits*
- FC01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Adrian Madsen, Mary Chessey, Chandra Turpen
- Type: Contributed
- There is a growing body of literature that establishes that highly effective educators orient positively toward their students. This positive stance toward students may play out through acknowledging students’ expertise and seeking to understand where students are starting from and supporting their growth. To better support physics faculty in teaching interdisciplinary physics courses, we can help faculty become more aware of their stances toward their students. We analyzed the ways that faculty reasoned about their life science students, documenting more asset-oriented and more deficit-oriented stances at different moments. For example, one faculty talked about his students’ lack of preparedness with trigonometry as a constraint on what physics he can teach his life science students, while at other moments, he highly valued the physiology and biology knowledge they bring to his physics class. This analysis suggests ways of broadening the narratives that faculty use to understand their life science students.
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Situational Factors that Shape Faculty’s Reasoning About Life Science Students
- FC02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Mary Chessey, Adrian Madsen, Chandra Turpen
- Type: Contributed
- As physics classrooms grow more varied in format from traditional lecture, college faculty interact with students across many different situations, including clicker responses, peer discussions, and concept inventory results. Similarly, the development of stronger interdisciplinary ties in some physics classes for life science majors also exposes physics faculty to interactions where students sometimes hold greater expertise in a subject area than their instructor. At the same time, institutional and environmental pressures, including class size, course structure, and instructional colleagues shape faculty’s interactions with and understandings of their students. We analyzed the ways that physics faculty reasoned about their life science students, documenting more asset-oriented and more deficit-oriented stances at different moments. We report on how these situational factors related to faculty’s reasoning about their life science students in patterned ways across episodes of storytelling in interviews.
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How Faculty Perceptions of Three-Dimensional Learning Change Over Time
- FC03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Lydia Bender, James Laverty
- Type: Contributed
- The Next Generation Science Standards aim to improve K-12 science learning through the implementation of Three-Dimensional Learning (3DL). 3DL was designed to increase student understanding of science by combining core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and scientific practices into science curricula, instruction, and assessment. In response to calls to bring 3DL to college courses, the 3DL for Undergraduate Science (3DL4US) collaboration created a fellowship to support faculty adoption of 3DL. During the fellowship, faculty members participate in discussions and activities during monthly meetings and in an online forum. The conversations between the fellows provide insight into how faculty think about and view 3DL, and how these views change over time. We analyzed these conversations to identify changes and the factors that led to those changes in order to improve future faculty development.
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The Baseline Data of the PTaP and FPTaP*
- FC04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Richard Pearson, Savannah Logan, Wendy Adams
- Type: Contributed
- Initial scoring results of the first, large data collection of two perceptions surveys will be presented here: the (student-facing) Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession (PTaP) survey and Faculty Perception of Teaching as a Profession (FPTaP). Both surveys measure each group’s interest in and view of teaching as a career. Data has been collected across the United States in various types of institutions and disciplines. These initial results set the baseline of perceptions of teaching across the United States as we begin our efforts to transform those perceptions by getting the facts out about teaching as a profession.
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Instructional Change of Physics Faculty
- FC05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Dina Zohrabi Alaee, Linda Strubbe, Adrian Madsen, Eleanor Sayre, Sarah McKagan
- Type: Contributed
- As part of research on developing resources to support faculty change, we investigate how physics faculty approach changes to their teaching. The PhysPort team interviewed 23 physics faculty at diverse U.S. institutions about their instructional practices. Our research takes a faculty-centered perspective: what are the ways in which faculty think and talk about their teaching practice? In this talk, we report on a phenomenographic study of faculty approaches to and motivations for change. Our phenomenography explored six different themes: how faculty approach their teaching; their motivation to make changes; their assessment practices for change; resources that they use; how they use those resources; and challenges they experience in the term.
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Survey of Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry Faculty
- FC06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Melissa Dancy, Naneh Apkarian, Charles Henderson, Jeff Raker , Estrella Johnson
- Type: Contributed
- We report initial findings from a survey of a representative sample of physics, mathematics and chemistry instructors in the United States. Faculty who recently taught an introductory course were asked about their instructional practices, knowledge of research based instructional strategies, local context, beliefs about teaching and learning, and personal background. The survey design allows us to document the extent to which faculty know about and use research-based pedagogies and to connect this use to correlating factors and to compare across disciplines.
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What Factors Influence Pedagogical Methods in Informal Learning Spaces?
- FC07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Michael Bennett, Brett Fiedler, Noah Finkelstein
- Type: Contributed
- Informal physics education environments, such as the University of Colorado Boulder’s Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) program, present unique opportunities to study instructors’ pedagogical methods. Previous studies have observed that PISEC “University Educators” (UEs) tend to employ three broad pedagogical “modes” as they engage with PISEC students and that training in these modes influences UEs’ stated pedagogical preferences. To complete an analysis of the factors that may influence UEs’ pedagogy, we recorded in-situ video of their teaching and conducted semi-structured interviews involving, in part, stimulated recall of that video. These data were analyzed for examples of coordination and discoordination between UEs’ stated and enacted preferences, as well as insight into the factors, both structural and emergent, that influence UEs’ choices among the modes. We will present findings and discuss implications both for improving teacher preparation in PISEC and for connections to the formal sector.
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Personas of Undergraduate Physics Researchers
- FC08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Tra Huynh, Adrian Madsen, Eleanor Sayre
- Type: Contributed
- Engaging in undergraduate research supports students’ professional development in physics. However, many departments struggle with how to pitch research projects to increasingly diverse student populations. In our research, we develop personas to help departments design appealing, fruitful undergraduate research programs. Creating personas is a common user-centered design technique where a rich set of qualitative data is synthesized into person-like archetypes. Personas represent the key characteristics and motivations of the students and feel like real people yet protect students' identity better than pseudonyms and anonymized case studies. In this talk, I will present personas as a methodology and a set of personas of undergraduate researchers developed from interviews with undergraduate physics students.
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Framing the Undergraduate Physics Experience as a Hero's Journey*
- FC09
- Tue 07/23, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Gabriel Mestas, Hunter Close
- Type: Contributed
- In an historical period in which students face a reality of ever increasing chaos, direction can be difficult to attain, especially in the murk of pursuing a degree as rigorous and attention-demanding as physics. Our project aims to frame the journey toward a physics degree as a heroic journey ("The Hero with a Thousand Faces", Campbell, 1949) in order to present discussion points for undergraduates to reflect upon their experience in a manner that connects them with the timeless mythological forms in which which they participate. We also coordinate stages of this journey with various observed subjective experiences for undergraduate STEM students, as reported in "Talking About Leaving", (Seymour, 1994). Our goal is to help students understand their experiences studying physics in a manner that promotes productive, responsible, prideful, and mentally healthy engagement in their own adventure of accomplishment.
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A Revision of a Traditional Astronomy Course through Active Learning
- CE01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Raymond Zich, Amber Sammons, Rebecca Rosenblatt
- Type: Contributed
- We report on the conversion of a general education sophomore-level astronomy course from traditional lecture based methods to a more active learning course. The course was reworked into an active learning environment through the addition of concept oriented group worksheets, hands-on experimental activities, planetarium-based lessons, and observing sessions. We reflect on the process of this transition and report on factors that led to the adoption of active learning, factors that supported the change, and barriers faced while implementing this change. We compare and contrast these findings with other case studies of instructional change and theories of adoption. In addition, student learning pre to post was measured with the TOAST and LPCI, and qualitative data was collected to determine student attitudes and perceptions of the course as currently presented.
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Balancing Agency and Deliberate Practice in Lab Materials
- CE02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Emily Smith, N. Holmes
- Type: Contributed
- At Cornell University, we are in the process of transforming the labs for the calculus-based introductory physics sequences. The redesign aligns with the Laboratory Guidelines by AAPT and has focused on shifting the labs to develop students' experimentation and critical thinking skills. We define critical thinking in this context as the evidence-based ways through which we make decisions about what to do and what to trust. In this talk, I will discuss the theoretical basis for curricular decisions involved in lab instruction. We explore how deliberate practice and agency interact in lab materials for two iterations of lab materials used by students in an electricity and magnetism course.
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Can Students Conduct Authentic Scientific Investigations with Video Experiments?*
- CE03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by David Brookes, Anna Karelina, Eugenia Etkina, Matthew Vonk, Peter Bohacek
- Type: Contributed
- We have developed an e-learning resource called video-based Investigative Science Learning Environment, or vISLE, built around a matrix of interactive high-quality Direct-Measurement Videos (DMVs) and the ISLE curriculum. To gain a deeper understanding of whether and how students engage in authentic scientific practices using an e-learning resource we have implemented an experimental study where half the class conducted laboratory investigations using videos while the other half did the same experiments using physical apparatus. Our primary research questions are, i) do students learn fundamental physics principles using vISLE, and ii) what scientific reasoning abilities do they develop using vISLE? We have gathered data from multiple sources including videos, lab reports and exams. In this talk we will report on the results of our experimental study and discuss the potential of vISLE to blur the lines between lecture and lab, opening up the possibility for authentic scientific investigations in non-traditional settings.
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Cluster Analysis of Strategies for Designing Labs and Activities
- CE04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Amin Bayat Barooni, Joshua Von Korff, Brian Thoms, Zeynep Topdemir
- Type: Contributed
- Our research project aims to assist instructors who want to design new lab manuals. These instructors may discover that no PER-based activity exactly meets their instructional objectives. We analyze the design strategies used in research-based activitiesto develop a reliable coding scheme. We use this coding scheme to consider 66 different lab activities from 11 different academic sources and analyze these results using K-means cluster analysis. The best results were found when the labs grouped into two separate clusters: scientific thinking and conceptual understanding. The activities that fit in the first category mainly concentrate on discussion and student design of experiments. The second cluster focuses on student observation and prediction. It mostly covers the labs of designers whose primary goal is student conceptual understanding.
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Comparing Student Problem-solving Sub-skills between Lecture and Adapted Modeling Instruction
- CE05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Justin Gambrell, Roy Smith, Jacob Wikowsky, Eric Brewe
- Type: Contributed
- We investigate problem-solving approaches used in two introductory physics class sections at one university taught by the same instructor. One section is taught by traditional lecture N=53 and one section is taught with a modified version of Modeling Instruction N=52. Modifying a list of problem solving sub-skills identified by Adams et al (2015), we reduced the sub-skills from 40 down to 11 and coded problem solutions. Two researchers independently coded problem solutions identifying the use or lack of subskills. We compared the two separate codes to check consistency, and accepted a consistency of at least 80 percent. We find that there are significant differences between two sub-skills across sections: visualization and judgement of information. This is one part of a larger study involving the adaptation of a 16-week Modeling Instruction curriculum for studio format instruction to a 10-week curriculum combining lecture and recitation.
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Differences Between Adapted Modeling Instruction and Lecture in Introductory Mechanics
- CE06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Jacob Wikowsky, Justin Gambrell, Eric Brewe
- Type: Contributed
- Modeling Instruction (MI) in physics has been shown to improve student outcomes over standard lectures across a variety of metrics. However, MI is not commonly implemented at the university level. As is typical, Drexel does not have an ideal classroom setting for MI, which was developed with the intention of use in an integrated lab/lecture. We are in the initial phase of adapting MI to accommodate such constraints, perhaps at the cost of efficacy. To evaluate the implementation in introductory mechanics, we compare DFW rates, grades in the course and on exams, and responses on FCI and C-LASS. Contrasting our results with previously published results will inform the ongoing efforts to improve the uptake of MI.
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Factors Influencing Students' Experience with Online Instructional Videos
- CE07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by Guangtian Zhu
- Type: Contributed
- Online instructional videos are commonly used in both remote and on-campus curricula. We investigated students’ experience with online instructional videos using a user experience study method called the “UX curve.” One hundred and 53 students from threehigh schools reported their real-time experiences while watching three instructional videos on kinematics and electrostatics. The results suggested that the crucial factors influencing students’ experience can be generally classified as sensory factors and pedagogical factors. The sensory factors include oral presentation, blackboard writing, and monitoring visibility. The pedagogical factors include sample question selection, tempo of instruction, and interaction between teachers and students.
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Lessons Learned While Creating a Learning Progression for Partial Derivatives
- CE08
- Mon 07/22, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Michael Vignal, David Roundy, Elizabeth Gire, Tevian Dray, Corinne Manogue
- Type: Contributed
- The physics education research group at Oregon State University is creating a learning progression for partial derivatives. This learning progression maps desired student learning of partial derivatives and can be a useful tool for instructors, curriculum developers, and physics education researchers. The learning progression highlights connections between physical concepts, different representations, and instructional activities. One of the most important things we have learned is that different representations - graphs, contour plots, equations, tangible models, etc. - convey different aspects of a concept to students, even if they feel repetitive to experts. In this talk, we discuss some of what we learned while making the learning progression, how it has impacted our teaching, and how other instructors might use our learning progression (or others) as a tool for curriculum design.
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Out-of-Class Social and Online Resources: Student and Instructor Perspectives
- CE09
- Mon 07/22, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Brandon James Johnson, Erin Ronayne Sohr, Ayush Gupta, Andrew Elby
- Type: Contributed
- Many students’ out-of-class learning experience includes working with other people, such as peers and tutors, and using online and social-media resources, such as Khan Academy, YouTube, Chegg, GroupMe, and Wikipedia. Online resources have recently emerged; they change rapidly, are widely used and understudied. One might ask whether these resources help or hurt students’ learning, which resources are fair or unfair to use, what emotions are associated with the use of certain resources, and why. Perhaps students and instructors differ in their opinions to the previous questions, and in ways that depend on how they identify. We conducted semi-structured interviews with introductory physics and engineering students and instructors focusing on their ethical and epistemological stances regarding use of out-of-class resources. We will open with a literature review, putting into context our viewpoint of out-of-class resource use. Then we will present preliminary analysis of interview segments.
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Quantum Mechanics in the Paradigms and Tutorials
- GB01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Paul Emigh, Elizabeth Gire, Corinne Manogue, Gina Passante
- Type: Contributed
- The increasing body of literature on student understanding of quantum mechanics has led to the development of several different curricula for teaching quantum mechanics. However, few studies have detailed how such material is developed and evaluated. We discuss the design of two of these efforts: the Paradigms in Physics program and the Tutorials in Physics. We describe and contrast the design principles that shaped each curriculum, including the instructional strategies chosen, the theories underlying the chosen strategies, and the institutional constraints. The Paradigms is a reformed sequence of upper-division courses that makes heavy use of active engagement and takes a non-traditional approach to the sequencing of physics content. The Tutorials are supplementary worksheets intended to support conceptual understanding in a small-group problem solving setting.
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Small Group Activities with Surfaces for Thermodynamics
- GB02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Jonathan Alfson, Paul Emigh, Aaron Wangberg, Robyn Wangberg, Elizabeth Gire
- Type: Contributed
- Thermodynamics is notoriously tricky, in part because thermal systems have multiple dependent variables, the independent variables are non-spatial, and there is freedom to choose which variables are independent. The Raising Physics to the Surface team has created a suite of small-group activities that use 3D plastic graphs for water vapor to explore thermal states and state variables. In particular, students work in groups to consider: degrees of freedom, partial derivatives as ratios of small changes, and how partial derivatives depend on direction. We will discuss the design and implementation of these activities at Oregon State University.
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Student Perception and Use of Online Resources in Introductory Physics
- GB03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
- by Charles Ruggieri
- Type: Contributed
- In the context of our large enrollment introductory physics service courses, we investigated student perception and spontaneous use of online resources as learning supplements to course-provided materials and activities. In this mixed methods study, we first surveyed students on their usage frequency of online resources such as YouTube, Khan Academy, and Chegg, and compared to textbook usage frequency. We then interviewed a subset of surveyed students to investigate the contexts and situations in which they use online resources. We found that students used online resources more frequently than the textbook, and the reported role of the online resources was either to actively support their learning or to provide a means of passive homework completion. Students’ decision-making process for actively engaging with online resources as learning tools depended on the time they leave themselves for homework, and the relevance and alignment of course-provided learning materials to the homework and exams.
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Students’ Perceptions of the Math-Physics Interactions Throughout Spins-first Quantum Mechanics
- GB04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Homeyra Sadaghiani*, Benjamin Schermerhorn, Armondo Villasenor, Darwin Del Agunos, Gina Passante
- Type: Contributed
- One of the purported benefits of teaching a spins-first approach to quantum mechanics is that it allows students to build up quantum mechanical ideas and learn postulates before moving to the more complicated mathematics used in the context of wave functions. In order to begin to explore this claim in a spins-first course, a survey was developed and administered as an extra credit activity at 3 different universities. All universities teach spins-first quantum mechanics but to different student populations. This work compares students’ responses to identical questions about the relationship between and difficulty of math and physics from two administrations of the survey given at the ends of the spins and wavefunctions portions of the course. Results offer insight into students’ perspectives about the nature and difficulty of mathematics in these two paradigms of quantum mechanics.
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Teaching Electric Circuits with Air Pressure in Middle Schools
- GB05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Jan-Philipp Burde, Thomas Wilhelm
- Type: Contributed
- Understanding the basic concepts of electricity represents a major challenge to most students. In particular, they often fail to develop a robust understanding of voltage and instead tend to reason exclusively with current and resistance. In order to address these difficulties, a new teaching concept based on the electron gas model was developed. The key idea of the new teaching concept is to introduce voltage even before the electric current by comparing it with air pressure differences. Voltage as an “electric pressure” difference can then be understood as the causal agent of current propulsion just as air pressure differences are the cause of air flow (e.g. bicycle tires). The new approach to teaching electric circuits has proven to be effective in an empirical study with 790 students. The talk will focus on the key ideas of the concept and highlight key findings of the multiple-choice diagnostic assessment.
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Teaching Nonphysics Majors Vector Superposition Through a Limiting Case Approach
- GB06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Sheh Lit Chang, Peter Shaffer
- Type: Contributed
- Adding vectors is one of the essential skills that students need to learn in order to gain competence in physics. We have been administering multiple questions, posed to students in various physical contexts, to track their performance in applying vectorsuperposition as they progress through introductory algebra-based mechanics and electromagnetism courses. An exploratory analysis indicates that student responses often vary, depending on context. To address the difficulties that arise, we are designing isomorphic tasks that ask students to reason about vector superposition from a limiting case approach. We report results from a series of repeated interventions and discuss how they might guide us in helping students develop a functional understanding of vector addition.
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Tracking Students' Learning Behavior Through an Online Learning Module Sequence
- GB07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Geoffrey Garrido, Zhongzhou Chen, Matt Guthrie
- Type: Contributed
- This study investigates changes in students’ learning behavior as they proceed through a sequence of 10 mastery-based online learning modules in order. In an earlier study, we divided students’ interaction patterns into multiple categories via a clustering algorithm on the time-on-task information. In this study, we use the same categories to sort students’ interaction patterns into one of 28 states. Those states are arranged in an order that reflects the amount of learning effort for each module. Students’ interactions can be visualized in a sequence of parallel coordinate graphs, and the most common pathways can be identified through a hierarchical clustering algorithm. Dividing the student population into three cohorts based on their total course credit, we found that after encountering a challenge on module 7, most of the bottom cohort significantly lowered their learning effort, while the top cohort kept the same high level of learning effort.
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Using Daily “Bell Ringers” To Broach Nature of Science, Pedagogy, and Science Identity
- GB08
- Wed 07/24, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
- by Steven Maier
- Type: Contributed
- While implementing the Next Generation Physics and Everyday Thinking (NG PET) for elementary education majors, I have used "bell ringers" at the beginning of each class meeting. These bell ringers consist of puzzles, riddles, and logic problems that usually take just a few minutes for students to complete. The intention for using these bell ringers is help students develop a more accurate understanding of the nature of science, model effective pedagogy, and positively impact science identity. In this talk, I'll present examples of activities used as bell ringers* and share preliminary results of a pilot study of students' perceptions.
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Zoom Scale Explanations of Radiation Sickness: Learning Diagnostic? Learning Difficulty?*
- GB09
- Wed 07/24, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
- by Andy Johnson
- Type: Contributed
- The Inquiry into Radioactivity (IiR) project develops radiation literacy among non-science undergraduates. IiR's research-based tools and strategies enable most students to understand fundamental ideas about ionizing radiation. To explain radiation – induced cancer and acute radiation sickness, students must trace a chain of causality from interactions with electrons (at the subatomic scale) through ionization, molecular damage, cell damage, and finally to the organism scale. This is called zoom scale thinking. Characteristic student difficulties with this reasoning task point to - something. Do some students just not understand what’s going on at one or more size scales? Or is there an intrinsic difficulty in conceptualizing effects across multiple size scales? This talk will analyze student data to illuminate the challenges students have with zoom scale reasoning on the health effects of radiation.
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Epistemology, Sense Making, and Social Dynamics in Group Work
- FL01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Jessica Hoehn, Julian Gifford, Noah Finkelstein, Ayush Gupta, Andrew Elby
- Type: Contributed
- We often ask our physics students to work in groups---on tutorials, during in-class discussions, and on homeworks, projects, or exams. Researchers have documented the benefits of group work for students’ conceptual mastery and problem solving skills, andhave worked to optimize the productivity of group work by assigning roles and composing groups based on performance levels or gender. However, it is less common for us as instructors and researchers to attend to the social dynamics and interactions among students within a collaborative setting. In this talk, we identify an epistemological element of group work---students’ stances towards what it means to generate knowledge in a group---and investigate how these stances interact with the sense making and social dynamics in one group problem solving session. Understanding these fine-grained interactions is one way to begin to understand how to support students in engaging in productive and equitable group work.
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Hogwarts Houses as a Substitute for Learning Styles
- FL02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Paul Irving, Marcos Caballero, Daryl McPadden
- Type: Contributed
- Learning styles or by proxy personality types are frequently used as a tool to place students into bins to account for performance. Tests such as the Myers-Briggs are frequently used in the formation of learning groups with the idea that different personalities can complement each other. We asked ourselves, what if we substitute Hogwarts houses for learning styles or personality types? Does belonging to a particular Hogwarts house predict performance in coursework? Does identifying as a Hufflepuff mean you will achieve a higher normalized gain on a conceptual evaluation such as the FMCE. How many Gryffindor’s can actually spell Gryffindor correctly? Spanning multiple years and encompassing both upper division and introductory physics we present our study examining the role of the sorting hat in predicting student performance in physics.
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Impact of the Next GEN PET Curriculum on Science Identity*
- FL03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Robynne Lock, William Newton, Ben Van Dusen, Steven Maier
- Type: Contributed
- The Next GEN Physical Science and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum was designed for physical science courses for future elementary teachers. However, this curriculum may also be used in general education conceptual science courses. The materials are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and use a guided-inquiry approach. Next GEN PET is currently being implemented at many universities nationwide. We examine the impact of this curriculum on students’ science identities at a subset of these universities. The identity framework consists of three dimensions. Recognition is the extent to which a student believes that parents, peers, and professors view them as a science person. Interest describes their enjoyment of science. Finally, performance/competence represents a student’s belief in their abilities to understand science and complete science related tasks. The shift in science identities was measured with items adapted from a previously developed physics identity instrument.
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Measuring Students’ Emotional Engagement with Physics Experiments
- FL04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Aesha Bhansali, Manjula Sharma
- Type: Contributed
- Students’ emotional engagement is one of the important factors to be considered in Physics Education Research. Yet no instruments have been developed to measure the emotions of students studying physics. We have adapted and validated the Achievement Emotion Questionnaire, developed by Pekrun, for first year physics experiments. We constructed an ‘intervention’ experiment on thermal physics. This was a guided inquiry experiment with clear instructions. We included a colorful story on the ‘History of Heat’ in the introduction of the experiment. The ‘control’ experiment on ‘ultrasound waves’ was written in a standard manner and was not modified. Our pilot study was done over three weeks of first semester laboratories. Surveys were collected from 320 students. The same cohort of students was surveyed for the intervention and for the control. We found more emotional engagement of students for the Intervention compared to Control.
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Perceptions of the Teaching Profession at Universities Across the US*
- FL05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Savannah Logan, Richard Pearson, Wendy Admas
- Type: Contributed
- Recent research in STEM teacher preparation has identified strongly held beliefs about the teaching profession, many of which are misperceptions. These misperceptions discourage STEM undergraduates from exploring teaching as a viable career option. To measure perceptions among university faculty and students, six universities of varying sizes and demographics were visited during spring 2019. Focus groups were used to qualitatively measure perceptions of the teaching profession among students and faculty from physics, chemistry, and mathematics departments at these institutions. Results will be shared.
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Physics Road Trip as Increasing Membership in Community of Practice
- FL06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Brean Prefontaine, Caleb Rispler, Claudia Fracchiolla, Kathleen Hinko
- Type: Contributed
- We are interested in how different levels of involvement within informal physics experiences can shape or transform students’ physics identities. Science Theatre is a student group at Michigan State University that offers outreach opportunities for university students to interact with physics outside of classes and research. We analyzed interviews from undergraduate students before and after they engaged in an intense outreach trip over spring break using the Communities of Practice (CoP) framework. Analysis using the CoP framework indicates that the greater level of accountability a student has to the group, the more integral their role becomes within Science Theatre, such as taking an officer position. We also find the spring break trip acts as a mechanism for allowing members to become more central in the community by 1) increasing meaningful interactions with other members of the Science Theater community, and 2) facilitating their skill in presenting physics demos.
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Practice-based Identity Survey for Physics Labs: From Design to Validation
- FL07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Kelsey Funkhouser, Rachel Henderson, Marcos Caballero, Vashti Sawtelle
- Type: Contributed
- We have worked to develop a survey to measure students’ physics identity in lab classes. We assert that the survey development process we have undergone to produce a practice-based identity survey, has ensured that the survey accurately represents how students interpret these practices and how they identify with them. The process has used three distinct steps. We started by examining students’ alignment with specific physics lab practices. From there we developed a closed- and free-response pilot survey. From the pilot survey analysis we determined the common themes in the identity statements that students made. These themes and the practice questions were combined to create a new fully closed-response pilot survey, which was distributed to a variety of courses and institutions. In this talk, I will summarize each part of the process and how they lead to the practice-based identity survey.
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Students’ Understanding of Perceived Types of Forces Within Circular Motion
- FL08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Moa Eriksson, Urban Eriksson, Cedric Linder, Ann-Marie Pendrill, Lassana Ouattara
- Type: Contributed
- An integral, yet challenging, part of introductory physics courses is circular motion. An important part of these challenges is investigated using video data of students who, working in interactive tutorials, need to correctly specify the relevant forceson a given vertical-motion system in order to solve a tutorial problem. The reasoning that these students use to attempt to convince one another what the relevant forces are will be used to illustrate two things: (1) how the concept of centripetal force needs much more unpacking than may be apparent; and (2) how students’ personal commitments to particular pieces of understanding can present major stumbling blocks to interactive group learning (which teachers may find hard to detect). Discussion will draw on the variation theory of learning.
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What Group Exam Performance Tells Us About Forming Effective Groups
- FL09
- Tue 07/23, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Joss Ives, Jared Stang
- Type: Contributed
- Two-Phase (or two-Stage) Collaborative Group Exams are an easy to implement technique that leverages students’ desire to discuss challenging exam questions with each other immediately after an exam. This instructional technique adds an additional group phase immediately after a regular solo exam. Based on over 1200 student-groups, we have developed a model that predicts how a group will perform on the group phase, based on their individual scores from the solo exam. This model has allowed us to investigate factors (based on demographic and survey information) that may result in groups under- or over-performing relative to the model.
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Accessibility Analyses Demonstrate Physics Websites Create Barriers to Participation
- GK01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Erin Scanlon, Zachary Taylor, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- There have been numerous recent calls to increase the representation of people with disabilities in STEM. One common entry point to physics programs is through departmental web pages where prospective students can find information about the program, including the undergraduate curriculum requirements and graduate research opportunities. If these web pages are inaccessible, they create a barrier to participation for people with disabilities. In order to assess the digital accessibility of undergraduate physics curriculum and graduate physics research web pages, we analyzed a representative sample of 74 institutions using Tenon (web accessibility audit software) and Voiceover (screen reading assistive technology). Overall, we found that all but one institution’s web pages were inaccessible. In this talk, we will present five common accessibility errors as well as possible solutions to these errors. If we don’t build accessible websites, then we indicate we do not anticipate people with disabilities to participate in our community.
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Assessing Instructors Using Student Motivational Factors and Student Performance Outcomes
- GK02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Amber Simmons, Srividya Suresh, Andrew Heckler
- Type: Contributed
- We describe a project in its initial stages to examine the effects of an individual instructor on student motivational factors and performance outcomes. This project analyzes students' outcomes using data of students enrolled in introductory physics courses anytime from the fall term of 2016 through the spring term of 2018 at The Ohio State University, representing over 5000 students and 15 instructors. The data includes grades in physics and math courses, cumulative GPA, standardized test math scores, cognitive and motivational factor survey data, and demographics such as major, race, and sex. The project is ultimately aimed at answering: do students’ outcomes (e.g. receiving an A or DFW) and motivational factors (e.g. belonging and cost) vary by instructor in the introductory physics series? We will present some preliminary results of the analysis.
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Interactive Video-Enhanced Tutorials on Problem-Solving in Physics: Preliminary Results*
- GK03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Kathleen Koenig, Alexandru Maries, Robert Teese, Michelle Chabot
- Type: Contributed
- Interactive video-enhanced tutorials (IVETs) are designed for online learning environments and based, in part, on the problem-solving tutorials created by the PER group at the University of Pittsburgh. The tutorials are adaptive and provide various levels of guidance and scaffolding depending on students’ needs. Previous research found the tutorials to be effective when students used them as intended under the supervision of a researcher, i.e., properly engaged with the guidance, but less effective when assigned as homework, suggesting that students do not always mentally engage at the level necessary for learning on their own. This presentation will discuss how the tutorials were redesigned for web-based delivery, such that they can be assigned by instructors along with the regular end-of-chapter homework problems. Preliminary results regarding the behaviors of students as they engage with IVETs at home, as well as impact of these behaviors on their subsequent learning, will be presented.
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Results from the Force Concept Inventory Supplemental Assessment Test (FCISAT)
- GK04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Alex Chediak, Kyle Stewart , Jennifer Esswein
- Type: Contributed
- The FCI is invaluable for gauging student understanding of Newtonian concepts. But semester-long physics courses cover topics that go beyond its scope. To broaden coverage, 15 test items addressing energy, momentum and rotational dynamics have been created to fit seamlessly with the FCI. Data from the FCISAT have now been collected on over 200 students from three different institutions. One has an acceptance rate of 16%. While some consider the FCI to be “too easy” for top-flight students, the similarly-formatted supplemental test items proved more challenging. An Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis reveals that our supplemental test items are of similar difficulty, so the greater challenge comes from the added concepts. Moreover, the supplemental test items appear to have a smaller gender gap (1%) compared to what we observed on the FCI (9%). Therefore the FCISAT has advantages over the FCI, particularly for students with a strong physics background.
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The PIPELINE Survey: Investigating Perceptions, Experiences, and Pathways in Physics
- GK05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Anne Leak, Daryl Moore, Benjamin Zwickl
- Type: Contributed
- To prepare physics majors for a range of careers, we need to understand their perceptions about the value and role of learning physics for the career path they hope to pursue. Additionally, many careers in physics require that students develop skills related to innovation & entrepreneurship that students may not have the opportunity or interest in developing. To better support students in learning career-relevant physics, we designed and implemented the PIPELINE survey. The survey uses a combination of multiple select, Likert, and open-ended response questions to explore physics perceptions, experiences, and pathways. Initial findings from responses of 100 physics majors nationally, have been used to provide summary reports for departments to assist with planning and aligning learning opportunities with career interests. Cross-case and thematic analysis across eight universities have informed research and curriculum-development for instructors and departments to better integrate innovation and entrepreneurship in physics through the NSF-funded PIPELINE project.
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Understanding Student Perspectives on Their Self-Efficacy and Learning Experiences
- GK06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Jillian Mellen, Antonio Silva, Geraldine Cochran, John Kerrigan, Lydia Prendergast
- Type: Contributed
- Students’ perceptions of their self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), or confidence in their ability to perform a task, impact their learning experiences (Zimmerman, 2000) and conversely, classroom dynamics impact students’ self-efficacy by allowing for different kinds of self-efficacy opportunities (Sawtelle, Brewe, Goertzen, & Kramer, 2012). Previous research indicates that self-efficacy is context specific (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003) and there are specific sources of self-efficacy (Zeldin & Pajares, 2000; Sawtelle, Brewe, & Kramer, 2012). The purpose of this study is to investigate student perceptions of their self-efficacy and sources of self-efficacy in a gateway, flipped, integral calculus course. In this study, we analyzed interviews from 12 students enrolled in a course in integral calculus to understand their perceptions of self-efficacy and how they impact their learning experiences. Findings reveal that students believe that classroom activities and confidence resulting from these experiences impact their learning experiences both inside and outside of the classroom.
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Investigating Changes in Student Self-Efficacy in a Flipped, Integral Calculus Course
- GK07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Antonio Silva*, John Kerrigan, Geraldine Cochran, Jillian Mellen, Lydia Prendergast
- Type: Contributed
- Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), an individual’s belief in their ability to succeed at a specific task, is a predictor of student performance and persistence in math (Pajares & Miller, 1994; Cervone & Peake, 1986; Zeldin & Pajares, 2000). Thus, it is important to understand how student self-efficacy changes in different settings. Certain classroom dynamics are more conducive to students’ development of self-efficacy as they allow for multiple self-efficacy opportunities (Sawtelle, 2012). Flipped classrooms (Lage, Platt, & Treglia, 2000) reverse traditional classroom lecture and assignments, and may increase self-efficacy. In our study, students used multimedia instruction outside of the classroom, and focused on collaborative problem solving and peer teaching in the classroom, for the purpose of creating a more active learning environment.The purpose of our study was to investigate changes in student self-efficacy in a flipped integral calculus course. Findings included statistically significant increases in student self-efficacy in calculus and some aspects of mathematics.
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The Relation of Personality, Gender, and Achievement in Physics Classes
- GK08
- Wed 07/24, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by Dona Hewagallage, John Stewart
- Type: Contributed
- This research compares the personality facets of 1911 students in an introductory physics class taken primarily by future engineers and physical scientists using the Big Five Inventory (BFI). The relation of personality to four measures of academic achievement were compared: high school GPA (HSGPA), ACT/SAT mathematics score, physics test average, and physics course grade. Personality explained more variance in college achievement measures than in high school measures. Conscientiousness facet was the strongest predictor of achievement for HSGPA, test average, and grade, but not for ACT/SAT score. A secondary analysis was carried out to investigate whether self-efficacy mediated the relation of personality facets to academic achievement. Self-efficacy was a significant mediator for the conscientiousness facet only. These results were similar for men and women.
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Values Affirmation Study at the University of Illinois
- FD01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Tim Stelzer, Brianne Gutmann
- Type: Contributed
- A study from the University of Colorado at Boulder showed they were able to eliminate the gender gap through the use of two short writing activities. Inspired by these results, we conducted a replication study in two large introductory physics courses atthe University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. This talk will review the results from Boulder and describe the existing courses, population and relative performance before introducing the affirmation activities.
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Values Affirmation Study at the University of Illinois: Results/Discussion
- FD02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Brianne Gutmann, Tim Stelzer
- Type: Contributed
- A study from the University of Colorado at Boulder showed they were able to eliminate the gender gap through the use of two short writing activities. Inspired by these results, we conducted a replication study in two large introductory physics courses atthe University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. This talk will present results from the replication which were statistically different from the Colorado results and discuss possible reasons for the differences.
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Improving Physics Students' Self-Efficacy with a Brief Mindset Intervention
- FD03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Ian Beatty, Stephanie Sedberry-Carrino, William Gerace, Michael Kane, Jason Strickhouser
- Type: Contributed
- Helping more university students, especially under-represented minorities, complete STEM degrees and enter the STEM workforce has proven to be surprisingly difficult. Those most at risk benefit least from innovations addressing only pedagogy or curriculum. Research shows that we must influence students' self-efficacy: their belief that they can overcome setbacks and ultimately succeed. Our NSF-funded project is developing and validating a short, inexpensive, easily-used intervention to improve students' self-efficacy, suitable for any university STEM course. It builds on two different kinds of research-based intervention: "attributional retraining," about ascribing successes and failures to internal rather than external factors; and "growth mindset," about becoming smarter and more successful through perseverance and conscious attention to thinking and learning strategies. While interventions of demonstrated efficacy exist for each, none address both attribution and mindset, and none are suitable for widespread use in university-level STEM instruction.
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How Engineering Majors Reproduce and Challenge Meritocratic Ideologies*
- FD04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Hannah Sabo, Jennifer Radoff, Chandra Turpen, Ayush Gupta, Andrew Elby
- Type: Contributed
- Meritocracy, a problematic worldview, conveys that "worth" accrues with an individual based solely on their own accomplishment. In physics culture, meritocracy is often paired with a technocratic ideology, which draws a line between technical and “soft” (e.g., social) skills and assigns more worth to the technical. Cultures of meritocracy and technocracy negatively affect equity and inclusion in STEM. Yet, students are steeped in these values during college, and PER interventions are rarely designed to disrupt the culture of meritocracy/technocracy. To inform such designed disruptions, we examine how STEM majors’ views align and don’t align with meritocratic/technocratic ideologies. Specifically, we present an example of undergraduate engineering students discussing the validity of adages such as "Some people are just superior to other people." Using tools of discourse analysis, we document how meritocratic and technocratic stances are reproduced or challenged in their talk.
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Research on Holistic Support of University STEM Students
- FD05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Angela Little, Vashti Sawtelle
- Type: Contributed
- There are a number of scholars programs at universities across the country that work to build supportive communities for students historically underrepresented in STEM fields. We will highlight one such program at a large primarily white midwestern research university. The staff who run this program have a number of innovative structures in place to support students holistically. We will share out research from interviews with these staff members. Lessons learned from this research are applicable to anyone interested in the work of supporting students holistically, particularly students who are navigating a transition to a new university environment.
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The Reproduction and Challenging of Technocracy in Peer-educators’ Discourse*
- FD06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Ayush Gupta, Chandra Turpen, Jennifer Radoff, Hannah Sabo, Andrew Elby
- Type: Contributed
- Ideologies of technocracy (distinguishing the social from the technical and valuing the latter more) and meritocracy have been mechanisms of reifying inequities within engineering education (and a version of this argument likely applies to physics education, too). We have been iteratively redesigning a pedagogy seminar for engineering peer educators working within a college-level introduction to engineering design course. Peer educators are uniquely positioned to do harm if ideologies of meritocracy and technocracy aren't challenged, and, likewise, to do good if they disrupt these ideologies in the introductory engineering design course. Using tools of discourse analysis, we analyze how technocratic stances are reproduced or challenged in engineering peer educators’ talk within particular pedagogy seminar discussions. While situated in engineering, the discourses we document are likely prevalent in physics learning environments, too. We discuss implications of our findings for peer educator preparation programs in physics.
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Role of Elite Universities in Improving Diversity Among Physics Faculty
- FD07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Lindsay Owens, Jacob Mekker, Benjamin Zwickl, Scott Franklin, Casey Miller
- Type: Contributed
- The physics community is striving to encourage greater racial and gender diversity among graduate students and faculty. According to the APS, approximately 50% of students in physics graduate programs envision themselves as future faculty. We collected data from over 6500 current faculty and determined that one in six PhD graduates from the top 10% of programs (top 18 as ranked by NRC) secure a faculty position compared to an average of one in 29 from all remaining programs (programs 19-216). Our findings suggest that institutions disproportionately hire faculty who received their doctoral degree from elite institutions. Increasing diversity in elite programs cohorts has the potential to dramatically influence the diversity of future physics faculty. We strongly suggest the need for utilizing holistic practices in elite programs because of their equitable nature in terms of race and gender. (Supported by NSF-1633275)
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Can We Foster Autonomy within Communities of Practice?
- FD08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Claudia Fracchiolla, Brean Prefontaine, Kathleen Hinko
- Type: Contributed
- Previous research shows that engaging in science outreach activities benefits academics in different ways, one of which is reinforcing their excitement about science. This, it is believed that this comes is in large part due to the fact that in the social space that provided by outreach provides, allows scientists to feel connected to their science community and experience a strong sense of purpose and enjoyment while engaging others in science activities. A person’s physics identity is deeply related to one’s perceived self-association with the field, therefore excitement about the field, connection with members of that community, and feeling that you are contributing to that community are strong indicators of identity development. In this project, we explore the development of physics identity, through participation in informal physics program by testing a blended-framework that incorporates the perception of the self (Self-Determination Theory), as well as a social context (Community of Practices).
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Scientific Modeling Instruction about Magnetism: Scaffolding for Equity
- FD09
- Tue 07/23, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Lauren Barth-Cohen, Sarah Braden
- Type: Contributed
- Given the importance of scientific practices in Next Generation Science Standards, we implemented a middle school magnetism curriculum that forefronts scientific modeling. Students first explored an unexpected magnetic phenomenon, generated initial models, then collected data about magnetic properties and fields, and then revised their models. Finally, the students engaged in a series of small-group consensus building discussions to collaborate and revise their final models. In this presentation, participants will learn about how they can implement scientific modeling consensus building activities. Furthermore, drawing from our experiences, we will discuss how this approach can be used with English language learners to support those students in participating in meaningful scientific discourse. We will present scaffolds used to support students model revision and show examples of student work.
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Introductory Physics Students’ Insights for Improving Physics Culture
- AO04
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
by Acacia Arielle, Kai Bretl, Amad Ross, Abigail Daane
- Type: Contributed
- Women and people of color are underrepresented in classrooms and the field of physics. We can work to address this disparity by empowering students to change the physics culture within their own spheres of influence. Students in introductory, calculus-based physics classes from both two- and four-year institutions participated in lessons from the Underrepresentation Curriculum, a freely available curriculum designed to bring social justice conversations to the classroom. Post unit, students brainstormed ideas about how to raise awareness of, and ultimately remove, this inequity. We coded students’ responses grouping analogous key words and phrases. Our analysis showed that students from both institutions generated similar sets of propositions. Their responses included having intentional conversations about equity issues and actively learning about their own biases. By following students’ suggestions, we can create a more inclusive and diverse physics community.
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Underrepresentation Curriculum for Teachers: Physics Lessons on Equity and Society
- AO05
- Mon 07/22, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
by Moses Rifkin, Chris Gosling, Abigail Daane, Johan Tabora, Danny Doucette
- Type: Contributed
- The Underrepresentation Curriculum is a freely available, adjustable curriculum designed to support STEM teachers in bringing conversations about equity, identity, society, and justice into their classrooms. Since its launch a year ago, it has been enthusiastically received by physics teachers across the country. In this presentation, we will share aspects that have been particularly successful in our own implementation and among the users. We will share different approaches and advice from instructors who have taught a unit in their own classrooms.
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Underrepresentation Curriculum: Pilot Surveys to Identify Growth
- AO06
- Mon 07/22, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by Chris Gosling, Abigail Daane, Moses Rifkin, Johan Tabora, Danny Doucette
- Type: Contributed
- Several instructors over the past few years have implemented the Underrepresentation Curriculum, a freely available, adjustable curriculum designed to bring conversations about equity, identity, society, and justice into the classroom. Anecdotally, the curriculum has been successful. However, as its use becomes more widespread, we have begun to work towards better articulating the nature and scale of students' learning as we revise the curriculum. We will share a preliminary analysis of student responses to pre- and post- survey questions regarding students’ views of physics and their awareness of the intersection of society and science. These results will be incorporated in the curriculum to improve students’ learning experiences.
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Physics is Objective - or is it?
- AO07
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Abigail Daane, Chris Gosling, Moses Rifkin, Johan Tabora, Danny Doucette
- Type: Contributed
- Physics is widely perceived as an objective field. Students often echo that perception of physics as bias-free and not subject to human influence. In reality, a host of humans determine the focus of research, the projects that receive funding, and what is published. Using the Underrepresentation Curriculum, a freely available resource designed to bring conversations about equity to the classroom, students explore the question “is physics subjective or objective?” In this presentation, we share students’ ideas about the nature of physics and how those ideas may influence their orientation to the scientific community. We posit that the illumination of subjectivity in hard sciences can be a powerful tool for motivating classroom conversations of social justice.
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Voices in the Classroom
- AO08
- Mon 07/22, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Ruth Saunders
- Type: Contributed
- This talk describes my efforts to enhance the diversity of student voices in the classroom. I have implemented strategies to give students more opportunities to have their voices 'heard' in the classroom.
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The Physics Class as a Source of Empowerment and Self-advocacy
- AO09
- Mon 07/22, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
by Khadijih Mitchell, Valerie Otero
- Type: Contributed
- Physics is often perceived as a gatekeeper rather than as an opportunity for empowerment. We report on physics education research involving a physics class using the Physics through Evidence, Empowerment through Reasoning (PEER) curriculum suite. Throughthe process of inducing principles from data (inductive methods), and supporting claims with evidence, students learned to advocate for themselves as they used evidence and consensus, rather than the teacher and text, to sanction knowledge claims. Qualitative and quantitative findings will be used to support preliminary claims of how physics courses can be a source of empowerment for many students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the field.
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Exploring FCI Misconceptions by Gender Using Modified Module Analysis
- BI01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
by James Wells, Rachel Henderson, John Stewart, Adrienne Traxler
- Type: Contributed
- In recent work by Traxler, et al., several items on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) were identified as being unfair toward either female or male students. To determine whether these unfair items represent coherent misconceptions that vary by gender, weapplied a modified version of the Module Analysis for Multiple Choice Responses created by Brewe, et al. to a dataset of over 4000 students. In our Modified Module Analysis, the correlation between each incorrect response serves as the edge strength in a network of wrong answers. A clustering algorithm found highly connected, incorrect-response modules indicating coherent misconceptions. Female and male students have slightly different misconceptions, but they do not incorporate the unfair items. Most modules represented true misconceptions; others connected consistent, but incorrect, responses from blocked sets of questions, indicating that the traditional scoring system of the FCI may underestimate a student’s conceptual understanding of the material.
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Gender Differences in Self-efficacy States in High School Physics
- BI02
- Mon 07/22, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
- by Jayson Nissen
- Type: Contributed
- Self-efficacy, the belief in one’s ability to succeed in learning tasks, predicts learning and success in education broadly and physics specifically. While self-efficacy increases for students in most introductory science and mathematics courses, self-efficacy consistently decreases for women in physics courses. This study investigated gender differences in the self-efficacy high school students experienced in physics, other math and science classes, and other classes. Data for the study came from the Sloan Survey of Youth and Social Development and included data from 1,332 students at 12 different schools collected between 1993 and 1997. Comparisons of self-efficacy across gender and activity identified a large gender difference in self-efficacy experienced in physics and only in physics. These results add to the growing evidence that female students’ physics self-efficacy tends to decrease after taking physics courses.
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An Examination of Gender Differences in Self-efficacy and Academic Performance in Different STEM Domains
- BI03
- Mon 07/22, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
by Kyle Whitcomb, Z. Yasemin Kalender, Timothy Nokes-Malach, Christian Schunn, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- Prior research has shown that self-efficacy can be a critical factor in student learning and performance in STEM. Although past research has documented self-efficacy differences between females and males students in some STEM disciplines, relatively little work has compared these relations across disciplines. In order to better understand these relations and how self-efficacy and academic achievement are related, we analyzed engineering student grades since 2009 and the self-reported self-efficacy of these students since 2012 to examine gender differences in both self-efficacy and course grades. We discuss some interesting and alarming domain-dependent trends found in the relationship between these two measures. We thank the National Science Foundation for support.
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How Is Perception of Being Recognized by Others as Someone Good at Physics Related to Female and Male Students’ Physics Identities?
- BI04
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
by Timothy Nokes-Malach, Yasemin Kalender, Emily Marshman, Christian Schunn, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- Prior research on underrepresentation of women in physics has focused on gender differences in various attitudes and beliefs students have towards physics. One open area of investigation is the foundation of students’ identities in physics, a particularly powerful driver of career decisions. We present an investigation involving approximately 500 students in introductory level calculus-based physics courses, a context in which less than one third of the students are women. The analysis tested a new physics identity framework, specifically examining whether the relation between gender and physics identity was mediated by motivational factors such as self-efficacy, interest, and perceived recognition.
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Understanding Motivational Characteristics of Students Who Repeat Algebra-based Introductory Physics Courses
- BI05
- Mon 07/22, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
by Yangqiuting Li, Yasemin Kalender, Christian Schunn, Tim Nokes-Malach, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- In introductory algebra-based physics courses at the University of Pittsburgh, the majority of students are on pre-health professional track who aspire to become future health professionals. Two introductory physics courses are mandatory for students with these types of ambitions and many students who do not perform to their satisfaction the first time repeat these physics courses. We present an investigation in which we compared the motivational characteristics of male and female students who repeated an introductory algebra-based physics course across different racial and ethnic minority groups. These findings can be beneficial in providing appropriate advising and support to help all students excel in algebra-based physics courses.
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Understanding Motivational Characteristics of Students Who Repeat Calculus-based Introductory Level Physics Courses
- BI06
- Mon 07/22, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
by Sonja Cwik, Yasemin Kalender, Christian Schunn, Tim Nokes-Malach, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- College level introductory physics courses are often perceived as weed-out courses by students. In introductory calculus-based physics courses, the self-doubt that many first-year college students, especially women or racial and ethnic minority students,experience can cause them to perform even worse than they otherwise would. Moreover, students who repeat introductory-level physics courses in college due to various reasons can experience an even higher level of self-doubt. We present an investigation in which we compared the motivational characteristics of male and female students who repeated an introductory calculus-based physics course across different racial and ethnic minority groups in order to develop interventions that can help all students learn physics.
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Physics Self-Belief Among Secondary School Students
- BI07
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Elizabeth Parisi, Giovanna Masia, Cynthia Reynolds, AJ Richards
- Type: Contributed
- There is a dramatic underrepresentation of ethnic minorities and women within physics. The reasons for this underrepresentation are not fully understood. To explore this, we have surveyed high school physics students in order to investigate the relationship between a student’s physics self-belief, their likeliness to pursue a career in physics, and their sense of belonging within physics. In our analysis we paid special attention to how a student’s demographic data affected these variables. In this presentation, we will detail the trends we found between the students’ self-belief, their sense of belonging, their likelihood to pursue a career in physics, and their demographics.
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Investigating the Role of Prior Preparation and Self-Efficacy on Female and Male Students’ Introductory Physics Learning Outcomes
- BI08
- Mon 07/22, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
by Z. Yasemin Kalender, Emily Marshman, Christian Schunn, Timothy Nokes-Malach, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- Research suggests that self-efficacy is a central factor predicting students’ engagement, participation, and retention in STEM. Physics is one STEM field in which women are severely under-represented and prior research suggests that women often underperform on conceptual assessments and exams. Women also tend to report lower self-efficacy than men in physics. We studied female and male students’ self-efficacy and its relation to learning outcomes in introductory physics courses. We report the extent to which self-efficacy mediates learning outcomes for male and female students controlling for students’ prior academic preparation.
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The Impacts of Students as Partners on Departmental Action Teams
- CL01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Gina Quan, Joel Corbo, Alanna Pawlak, Daniel Reinholz, Courtney Ngai
- Type: Contributed
- Within colleges and universities, it is rare for faculty and students to work together on change efforts related to undergraduate education. However, research in the higher education community suggests that student-faculty partnerships, or “Students as Partners” (SaP) can be a productive. Within our work, we implement SaP in efforts aimed at department-level changes. Our team facilitates Departmental Action Teams (DATs), teams of faculty, students, and staff within a single STEM department working on some issue related to undergraduate education. We study what it looks like for students and faculty to work in partnership with one another. We will first synthesize literature that suggests the transformative potential of SaP. We then describe how we designed toward SaP in the DAT model. We use preliminary data to discuss how SaP supported faculty learning and positive student outcomes. Finally, we reflect on how SaP can create new opportunities for transforming departments.
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“Don’t just say, ‘You’re wrong’”: GTAs Normalize Error in a Classroom Simulator
- CL02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Jacquelyn Chini, Tong Wan, Constance Doty, Ashley Geraets, Erin Saitta
- Type: Contributed
- Student-centered active learning strategies require instructors to use complex pedagogical skills. Such strategies often require students to share their ideas verballing in class in front of their peers. Research has demonstrated that active learning canboth increase and decrease anxiety among college students and that certain strategies, like cold calling, frequently lead to an increase in anxiety. However, research also shows that cold calling can increase participation equity. Instructors may be able to decrease students’ fear of negative evaluation with error framing by framing mistakes as natural and useful. We tasked physics and chemistry graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) to rehearse cold calling paired with normalizing error in a mixed-reality classroom simulator, TeachLivE. In the simulator, GTAs themselves had the opportunity to make mistakes while trying to normalize error without impacting their actual students. In this talk, we will demonstrate how the simulator facilitated GTAs’ rehearsal of this complex pedagogical skill.
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Impact of Online Discussion in Forming a Community of Practice of Educators
- CL03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Bahar Modir, Robynne Lock, William Newton
- Type: Contributed
- Community formation is important in identity development of teachers. However, many teacher communities form in isolation from each other, and demonstrate limited sustainability over time. Texas A&M University-Commerce has designed a new and unique online Master program to prepare high school teachers with better informed teaching practices in their own high schools by reinforcing foundational and pedagogical content knowledge within a remote collaborative learning environment. In this study, we investigate the role of this program in community formation and development for educators nationwide. Using the community of practice theoretical framework, we discuss the role of course structure in promoting an ongoing online discourse among participants as they practice: learning physics, teaching, and overcoming their challenges. The result of this research can help us to gain further evidence supporting formation of teacher communities in high schools.
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Developing Reflective Practitioners: A Case from Faculty Online Learning Communities
- CL04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Alexandra Lau, Melissa Dancy, Charles Henderson, Andy Rundquist
- Type: Contributed
- One of the main goals of the New Faculty Workshop Faculty Online Learning Community (NFW-FOLC) program is to develop the reflective practices of our participants. By increasing the reflective teaching practices of our new physics and astronomy faculty, we hope to promote the sustained adoption of research-based instructional strategies and a dedication to continuous teaching improvement. One of the ways we try to achieve these goals is by guiding our FOLC participants through the completion of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects. In this talk we report on our analysis of participants’ conversations about their SoTL projects, from the beginning stages through final presentations, documenting their trajectories through different levels of reflectiveness. Additionally, we identify mechanisms in the FOLC that seem to support participants through the stages of reflection. This work illustrates in detail one impact of FOLC participation and it offers implications for similar professional development efforts.
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Online Faculty Communities: Meeting Virtually Is Better than IRL*
- CL05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
- by Edward Price
- Type: Contributed
- Faculty learning communities provide opportunities for faculty to learn from each other, develop new skills, and deepen their understanding of teaching and learning. The complexity and subtly of these issues might suggest that faculty learning communities require the richness of in-person meetings. However, our experience with a faculty online learning community (FOLC) shows that not only can online faculty communities be effective, but that being a virtual community offers distinct advantages. Without being limited to a particular place, faculty in an online community can connect with others who share particular interests (eg, a specific course), even if there are not others at their institution with similar interests, motivation, or time. Faculty can "meet" from their offices, where they have access to materials they might not bring to an in-person meeting. This talk will describe the advantages and limitations of FOLCs, and lessons learned to maximize their potential.
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Peer Support for Instructors Negotiating New Pedagogical Approaches with Students
- CL06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by Stephanie Williams, Chandra Turpen, Adriana Corrales, Melissa Dancy, Edward Price
- Type: Contributed
- Many research-based curricula move classrooms toward more student-centered and activity-based formats. As a result, instructors are expected to attend and respond to students in ways that may not be familiar. Research has shown that one prevalent category of challenges college instructors face involves responding to students’ in-class engagement (e.g. managing resistance, navigating expectations about learning, eliciting participation within in-class discussions, and responding to varied understanding of specific physics concepts and representations). In this analysis, we examine the student-centered challenges instructors share while adapting the Next Generation Physical Sciences and Everyday Thinking curriculum [1]. We analyze recordings of conversations within faculty online learning communities to understand the varied forms of support they offer instructors in responding to their students. Across these moments we see faculty at times blaming students, and at times analyzing classroom events to understand the ways that current instructional practices may be contributing to the emergent challenges.
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Online Learning Communities: How Do they Support Instructors Through Challenges?
- CL07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Chandra Turpen, Stephanie Williams, Adriana Corrales, Melissa Dancy, Edward Price*
- Type: Contributed
- Research has shown that physics instructors encounter challenges in adapting research-based curricula and instructional strategies to their own contexts. Change scholars have called for curriculum developers to move from dissemination approaches toward propagation models that more deliberately and explicitly build supportive activities relevant to the uptake of their specific innovations. We investigate faculty online learning communities (FOLCs) as a potential mechanism for supporting faculty through the challenges they face in adapting the Next Generation Physical Sciences and Everyday Thinking curriculum [1]. Based on recordings of online discussions between faculty using this curricula, we document the challenges that instructors share and the ways in which community members react or respond to those challenges in conversations. We find that our FOLCs discussions often normalize challenges and generate possible solutions, and more rarely invite joint problem-solving. We model how variations in these reactions or responses create different outcomes for faculty participants.
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A DAT’s Impact on Equity and Inclusion, Several Years Later
- CL08
- Mon 07/22, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Joel Corbo, Alanna Pawlak, Sarah Wise
- Type: Contributed
- Departmental Action Teams (DATs) are facilitated groups of faculty, students, and staff in a department with the goal of creating sustainable change with respect to undergraduate education and supporting its members in becoming change agents. One of theoldest DATs ran in a physical science department from 2013 to 2015 and focused on improving departmental climate and support for underrepresented students. Since the end of the DAT, the team has continued as a standing committee and a separate offshoot organization, both of which have been active in continuing the DAT’s work through a variety of interventions. We discuss the work that these groups have continued to do and the ways in which maintaining “DAT culture” has helped them do so. We also comment on the substantial impact they have had both on the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and on the discourse in the department around equity and inclusion.
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Faculty and Student Conceptions of Success Regarding Departmental Change Work
- CL09
- Mon 07/22, 6:35PM - 6:45PM
by Alanna Pawlak, Joel Corbo, Gina Quan
- Type: Contributed
- It is often a challenge for STEM departments to implement and maintain changes to their undergraduate programs. The Departmental Action Team model seeks to facilitate more sustainable departmental changes. In the model, teams known as DATs, which are comprised of students, faculty, and staff, work on collectively-determined goals and projects aimed at improving the undergraduate experience in their department. Even though these goals are consensus-driven, individual DAT members can have very different opinions on the success of their team and on their personal success as a team member. To investigate these differences, we interviewed and surveyed DAT members regarding their DAT’s work and their personal experiences on their DAT. We present here the results of our analysis, which describe the different ways that DAT members may perceive and assess the success of their team and their involvement in it.
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Assessing the Longitudinal Impact of IPLS on Student Reasoning
- CB01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Nathaniel Peters, Aqil MacMood, Haley Gerardi, Catherine Crouch, Benjamin Geller
- Type: Contributed
- Although we have found that students in our Introductory Physics for Life Science (IPLS) course describe physics as more relevant to their primary interests than do their counterparts in a traditional introductory physics environment, we do not yet know whether these students subsequently apply the physics they have learned in later biology coursework. That is, we have yet to determine whether IPLS courses better prepare life science students to use physical reasoning in other contexts. In this talk, we describe preliminary findings from the first two years of an exploratory study comparing the reasoning exhibited by IPLS and non-IPLS students enrolled in upper level biology courses. We analyze student written work obtained from these biology courses, and data collected from think-aloud interviews of students enrolled in them. We describe the ways in which different physics backgrounds appear to influence student reasoning, and the challenges inherent in a longitudinal interdisciplinary study.
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Exploring the Impact of IPLS on Student Learning in Neurobiology
- CB02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Aqil MacMood, Nathaniel Peters, Haley Gerardi, Catherine Crouch, Benjamin Geller
- Type: Contributed
- In this second of two paired talks exploring the longitudinal impact of Introductory Physics for Life Science (IPLS), we examine whether and how student experiences in an upper level Neurobiology course are impacted by their prior exposure to relevant physics. In particular, we look at the ways in which students connect an IPLS treatment of membrane potential and nerve signal propagation to the treatment of similar topics in the Neurobiology course. As a substantial portion of the second-semester IPLS course at Swarthmore is devoted to these topics, the Neurobiology course is a particularly relevant place to look for whether students apply what they learn in IPLS to a biology setting. We report on initial findings from an analysis of student work obtained in both the IPLS and Neurobiology courses.
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The Role of IPLS in Shaping Long-term Attitudes Toward Physics
- CB03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Haley Gerardi, Chandra Turpen, Catherine Crouch, Benjamin Geller
- Type: Contributed
- While there is evidence that life science students enrolled in Introductory Physics for Life Science (IPLS) courses find physics to be more engaging and relevant to their primary interests than do their counterparts in more traditional introductory physics environments, we do not yet know whether those attitudes and affective responses persist. By studying the attitudes toward physics and interdisciplinarity learning of life science students both during and after their IPLS experience, we hope to unpack how enduring these attitudes actually are. In this talk we describe the results of preliminary efforts to assess this durability. We report on data obtained from surveys, journaling prompts, and interviews conducted with students in both the IPLS course and in subsequent upper level biology courses.
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Interdisciplinary Energy Theme Integrated Across the Science Curriculum
- CB04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Nancy Donaldson, Lisa Felzien, Michael Marvin, Joanna Cielocha
- Type: Contributed
- An ongoing need exists for the creation of interdisciplinary working groups in the sciences and the development of pedagogical approaches to content themes that integrate different scientific disciplines. This talk introduces a collaborative effort by physics, biology and chemistry faculty at Rockhurst University on the development of content and pedagogical curriculum supporting the central theme of energy conservation and transfer taught in various lower and upper level science courses. Our main goal was to design conceptual, visual models that addressed our energy topic and provided related, challenging, active-learning experiences that students could integrate across the science curriculum. We used an assessment-first approach in which we designed models with our student outcomes in mind and then created course approaches around our assessment tools. Early indications suggest that students are challenged by and appreciative of these learning approaches, especially when more advanced models are developed in upper division Physics of Medicine curriculum.
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Topic Clustering in PER Abstracts Using Computational Linguistics
- CB05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Aurora Meyer, Eleanor Sayre
- Type: Contributed
- Since the mid 1990s, there have been over 26,000 abstracts submitted to AAPT national conferences and PERC, and sorting abstracts into sessions by hand for each National Meeting has become difficult. We use computational linguistics methods to cluster abstracts by topic. We investigate which topics are interesting to PERers over time, as shown in their abstracts, and track changes to the community and its membership. In this talk, we present major clusters and their changes over time for both AAPT and PERC abstracts. We suggest how these methods can be used to sort papers for future AAPT conferences, alleviating some of the strain on human paper sorters.
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Nature of Students’ Mathematical Difficulties in Introductory Physics Courses*
- BJ01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 1:40PM
by David Meltzer, Dakota King
- Type: Contributed
- We report findings from our three-year investigation into mathematical difficulties encountered by students in introductory physics courses. We have administered over 4000 written diagnostic tests in dozens of different algebra- and calculus-based physics courses on two different campuses at Arizona State University, and carried out over 60 individual problem-solving interviews. We find that regardless of course (i.e., algebra- or calculus-based), campus, or semester (spring or fall), that (1) difficulties with basic mathematical operations (algebra, trigonometry, graphing, geometry) are widespread, with average error rates ranging from 20-70%; (2) performance on problems using symbols for constants is consistently and significantly worse than on problems using numbers; and (3) during problem-solving interviews, students self-correct approximately 50% of all errors with only minimal prompting.
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Exploring Student Difficulties in Mathematics Used in Introductory Physics*
- BJ02
- Mon 07/22, 1:40PM - 1:50PM
by Dakota King, David Meltzer
- Type: Contributed
- To study students’ mathematical difficulties in introductory university physics courses, we continue to administer written diagnostics, as well as conduct one-on-one problem-solving interviews. After reviewing many interviews and thousands of diagnosticsover the past three years, we have found that many students in both algebra- and calculus-based courses have significant difficulties in solving high-school-level (and lower) mathematics problems. Some of these problems include basic trigonometry and algebra posed both in numeric and symbolic form (“numeric” and “symbolic” refer to the nature of the constant coefficients and/or given information). We will report our most recent findings on these test problems, but will focus on new items including basic fraction manipulation and symbolic algebra involving Greek letters.
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Mathematical Sense Making as a Lens for Understanding Student Reasoning
- BJ03
- Mon 07/22, 1:50PM - 2:00PM
by Julian Gifford, Jessica Hoehn, Noah Finkelstein
- Type: Contributed
- Mathematical formalisms are pervasive in physics, and coordinating between these mathematical formalisms and a conceptual understanding of the physical system is an important aspect of sense making. We add to existing frameworks for Mathematical Sense Making (MSM) by positing two broad categories for how physics students engage with mathematical formalisms: MSM-Math and MSM-Physics, which differ primarily in the object of focus (what students are trying to “figure out”). Here, we demonstrate the utility of these constructs by analyzing student responses to a question regarding the photoelectric effect that requires students to draw on both mathematical (symbolic and graphical) representations and a conceptual understanding. Using this framework we unpack the physical and mathematical reasoning involved in this process, and discuss how MSM can be used as a lens to help us understand student reasoning and develop curricula that support such reasoning.
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Assigning Physical Significance to Elements in Mathematical Expressions*
- BJ04
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
by Abolaji Akinyemi, John Thompson, Michael Loverude
- Type: Contributed
- One expected student outcome of physics instruction is a set of quantitative reasoning skills that includes evaluation of problem solutions, whether expressions or numerical results. We developed and administered tasks to physics students that probe their use of validity checks of symbolic expressions. In one task, students were given a figure and an expression for the electric field due to three point charges of equal magnitude, and asked how they would check whether the expression was reasonable. We administered written tasks to 174 introductory students and 18 students in junior electricity and magnetism; 10 introductory students were interviewed. In addition to strategies we have previously described, we noticed that many students connect individual terms in the expression to their physical significance (e.g., tying one term to a specific point charge). We explore the significance of these responses and present some evidence of similar reasoning in unrelated tasks in mechanics.
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The Ratio Table: A Tool for Making Meaning of Ratios, and Units Involving “Per”
- BJ05
- Mon 07/22, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
- by Philip Southey
- Type: Contributed
- Arnold Arons described an inadequate understanding of ratios as “one of the most serious impediments to the study of science.” Yet, ample math and physics education research demonstrates that STEM university students struggle with ratios. Our pilot studyinvestigates a technique for both (a) working algebraically with ratios, and (b) making physical sense of ratios and units involving “per.” For example, students are familiar with the notion of “meters per second,” but many do not attribute meaning to the notion of “seconds per meter.” This pre-/post-test pilot study is based on a questionnaire developed by Kanim et al., and demonstrates that a brief introduction of “the ratio table” can have a significant positive impact on students’ understanding.
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Comparing Covariational Reasoning of Experts in Physics and in Mathematics
- BJ06
- Mon 07/22, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
by Charlotte Zimmerman, Alexis Olsho, Andrew Boudreaux, Trevor Smith, Suzanne White Brahmia
- Type: Contributed
- Interpreting how quantities change with respect to each other (covariational reasoning) is a habit of mind of physics experts, and integral in physics students’ quantitative literacy. Understanding gaps between instructor mental habits and the mathematical preparation of students informs instructional innovations targeting mathematical reasoning in physics. Covariational reasoning has been studied extensively in mathematics education research, giving rise to a framework of its characteristics and a recent study examining expert covarational thinking in mathematics graduate students during think-out-loud interviews (1,2). Motivated by preliminary results suggesting differences in physics and mathematics experts’ covariational reasoning, I will present results from an analogous study conducted with physics graduate students.
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Examining Consistency of Student Errors in Vector Operations Using Networks
- BJ07
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Nekeisha Johnson, John Buncher
- Type: Contributed
- Student difficulties with vector addition and subtraction have been documented extensively in the literature. We examine the consistency of students’ incorrect responses in a multiple-choice assessment of adding and subtracting one- and two-dimensional vectors, represented as arrows. Students in a large-enrollment algebra-based sequence responded to an online assessment at the end of the course. The results of this assessment were analyzed using Module Analysis for Multiple Choice Responses, a type of network analysis which constructs groups of responses typically chosen together. Examining the groups of responses allows us to see if the kinds of mistakes students make are consistent across problems with similar features. We will present evidence that students make similar types of mistakes across questions of the same type, but that the type of mistake depends on the features of the question.
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Exploring Student Reasoning in Physics via Reasoning Chain Construction Tasks*
- GL01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by MacKenzie Stetzer, J. Caleb Speirs, Beth Lindsey, Mila Kryjevskaia
- Type: Contributed
- An emerging body of research suggests that poor student performance on certain physics tasks – even after research-based instruction – may stem more from the nature of human reasoning than from specific conceptual difficulties. As part of a multi-institutional effort to investigate the nature of student reasoning in physics and to leverage the findings to improve instruction, we have designed research tasks focused on student construction of qualitative inferential reasoning chains. In these “chaining” tasks, students are provided with correct reasoning elements and are asked to assemble them into an argument in order to answer a physics question. This talk will highlight our efforts to leverage dual-process theories of reasoning to impact student performance by manipulating aspects of the chaining task format.
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Investigating Student Reasoning Chains via Network Analysis*
- GL02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by J. Caleb Speirs, MacKenzie Stetzer, Beth Lindsey
- Type: Contributed
- Students are often asked to construct qualitative reasoning chains during scaffolded, research-based physics instruction. As part of an ongoing, multi-institutional effort to investigate and assess the development of student reasoning skills in physics,we have been designing tasks that probe the extent to which students can create and evaluate reasoning chains. We have recently reported on a novel online “chaining” task in which students are provided with correct reasoning elements (i.e., true statements about the physical situation as well as correct concepts and mathematical relationships) and are asked to assemble them into an argument that they can use to answer a specified physics problem. This talk will illustrate the role that network analysis techniques may play in extracting meaningful information about student reasoning from these chaining tasks.
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Classroom Interventions to Promote Coherence in Student Reasoning*
- GL03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Mila Kryjevskaia, Beth Lindsey, MacKenzie Stetzer, Andrew Boudreaux, Paula Heron
- Type: Contributed
- Research has shown that, even after research-based instruction, students who demonstrate correct conceptual understanding on one task often fail to use that knowledge on related tasks. Observed inconsistencies can be accounted for by dual-process theories of reasoning (DPToR), which assert that human cognition involves two thinking processes: a fast and automatic “heuristic” process, and a slower, more deliberate “analytic” process. Inconsistent responses can arise when the heuristic process generates an incorrect response that the analytic process fails to reject. While DPToR have been used to explain observed response patterns, few validated classroom interventions have thus far been produced. In this collaborative investigation, we have been developing and testing practical, classroom interventions designed to promote coherence in student reasoning. These interventions, designed for situations in which the requisite conceptual understanding is likely to be present, seek to “slow down” student thinking, creating space for productive engagement of the analytic thinking process.
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Studying Student Physics Thinking with a Cognitive Network Model
- GL04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Timothy Sault, Steven Wolf, Aaron Bain
- Type: Contributed
- Students express their ideas, both correct and incorrect, based on the responses they give to exam questions. We utilize the analytical framework of network analysis to analyze common student ideas. Cognitive networks are made of multiple-choice exam responses (nodes) that are connected by the joint selection frequency (edges). These networks are useful in identifying student logical connections between physics ideas. By developing a model to describe these cognitive networks, we study their structure as well as structural differences between novice and intermediate physics students. When specifically examining the network structure of incorrect responses, we can identify whether students are making "smarter" mistakes based on logic, or simply guessing. We believe these response methods will be associated with more defined network structure, and more random network structure, respectively.
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Comparing Instructional Implications of Misconceptions, Resources and Dual Process Theory
- GL05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Andrew Heckler
- Type: Contributed
- Over the past few decades, there has been much discussion about implicit and explicit instructional implications of adopting the perspectives of misconceptions or resources when considering student responses to questions and student thinking. Meanwhile, in the field of cognitive psychology, there has advanced a perspective of dual process theory when considering human responses to questions, decision making, and problem solving. However, there has been relatively little discussion about the instructional implications about such a perspective, especially in PER. Here I will discuss such instructional implications for dual process theory and compare and contrast with other perspectives.
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Context-Sensitivity of Resources for Understanding Mechanical Waves: Procedural versus Mechanistic Resources
- GL06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Lisa Goodhew, Amy Robertson, Paula Heron, Rachel Scherr
- Type: Contributed
- The resources theoretical framework models thinking as the context-sensitive activation of pieces of knowledge. In this talk, we highlight one aspect of the context-sensitivity of resource use: that different kinds of questions reproducibly elicit different kinds of resources. We identified the conceptual resources used by students from multiple universities, in response to written questions about superposition and reflection of mechanical pulses. Some of these resources are parts of mathematical models, problem-solving steps, or algebraic procedures (“procedural” resources), while other resources are pieces of causal, mechanistic, or explanatory reasoning about wave phenomena (“mechanistic” resources). Our preliminary results suggest that questions that ask students to predict an outcome of some physical process more commonly elicit “procedural” resources, while questions that tell student the outcome of some physical process and ask them to explain the outcome more commonly elicit “mechanistic” resources. The context-sensitivity demonstrated by our analysis may have implications for how instructors design their teaching.
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Cognitive Impact of Explicit and Implicit Retrieval Practice on Learning
- GL07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Tianlong Zu, Jeremy Munsell, N. Sanjay Rebello
- Type: Contributed
- Retrieval based learning has been demonstrated to be effective in promoting deeper learning and better retention than restudying in psychology. Consistent with this idea, different pedagogical methods have been demonstrated efficiency in promoting physics learning. Two examples are the popular clicker/peer interaction method developed by Eric Mazur, and frequent quizzes implemented in online courses such as MOOC. Despite these successes, to a lesser degree is our knowledge about the cognitive impact of retrieval based strategies on learning. Thus, in this study, we compared two forms of retrieval practice: explicit and implicit. After a pretest and learning, half of the students practiced explicit retrieval with guided questions, the other half practiced implicit retrieval by engaging with cued problem solving. Together with students’ immediate and delayed problem solving performance, we report how the two groups of students reacted to two cognitive tasks differently: judgment of learning and cognitive load measurement.
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Effect of Visual Cues and Outcome Feedback in Online Assessment
- GL08
- Wed 07/24, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by Jeremy Munsell, Tianlong Zu, Sanjay Rebello
- Type: Contributed
- A study measuring the effect of visual cues and outcome feedback on transfer and delayed transfer problem solving conducted both in an algebra-based physics course as well as on Amazon Turk Prime. The study consisted of four problem sets related to motion and energy and the participants were randomly organized into four conditions where they saw some combination of visual cues and answer feedback or a control condition where they received neither. We found statistically significant improvements on near transfer in the feedback conditions (cue + feedback and feedback only) on one problem set and marginal improvements on the other problem sets. Interestingly, the cued condition was lowest performing when initial problem or pre-survey performance, were used as a covariate. These results contrast with previous research on the use of visual cues and feedback completed in a face-to-face interview setting
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Affect in Physics Problem Solving
- GL09
- Wed 07/24, 1:20PM - 1:30PM
- by Muxin Zhang
- Type: Contributed
- In the past decades, physics education researchers have developed many cognitive models to explain students’ problem solving difficulties, with recent evidence supporting epistemological framing and automatic, bottom-up mechanisms. However, these cognitive models usually exclude students’ emotions and affect, when in fact, research in psychology has shown that affect can influence information processing and memory forming. In this talk, I will discuss my exploration of the interaction between affect and cognition in physics problem solving with a review of literature and a study design.
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Prompting Special-Case Analysis in Classical Mechanics
- DB01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Kelby Hahn, Paul Emigh, MacKenzie Lenz, Elizabeth Gire
- Type: Contributed
- One way that physics experts check and gain new insights into their answers is by performing special-case analysis. Special-case analysis involves (1) restricting the parameter space of a problem to a case where the solution is either known or can be intuited, and then (2) either making a judgement about answer correctness or gaining new insight into the problem. This research project examines how students in classical mechanics perform special-cases analysis. We present analysis of homework problems where students were either (1) explicitly prompted to perform a special-case analysis for given cases or (2) asked to make sense of their answer but the special-case-analysis strategy was not specifically prompted. We found that the cases students chose to analyze varied and that students used a variety of reasoning to defend and understand their cases. Surprisingly, few students made judgments. Of those who did, the types of judgments differed with prompting style.
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Prompted Evaluation in Second Term Calculus-based Introductory Physics
- DB02
- Tue 07/23, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Travis Herring, Elizabeth Gire, MacKenzie Lenz, Kelby Hahn, Paul Emigh
- Type: Contributed
- Introductory physics instructors often ask students to make sense of their answers to problems, both in class and on written homework. This sensemaking generally includes checking for correctness and understanding the meanings of their answers. Checking for correctness - or evaluative sensemaking - can include a variety of strategies such as: checking units and dimensions, evaluating limiting or special cases, verifying correct signs, or judging the reasonableness or magnitude of an answer. We will present results from an analysis of students’ responses to explicit reflection prompting on homework problems in three lecture sections of a large-enrollment second term calculus-based physics course. Our results include a description of strategies students employed, how frequently these strategies were used, and how the use of strategies varied by instructor and by physics topic.
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Measuring Conceptual Understanding Through Students’ Judgments of Certainty
- DB03
- Tue 07/23, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
by Eric Kuo, Nolan Weinlader, Timothy Nokes-Malach, Benjamin Rottman
- Type: Contributed
- When answering a physics question, students possess multiple, relevant ideas. Learning to reliably employ the correct physics concepts is a gradual process of re-coordinating and re-organizing one’s knowledge, not a sudden, all-or-nothing leap in understanding. Yet, typical multiple-choice questions that measure conceptual understanding in physics are all-or-nothing: either the student is right or wrong. We will present initial results of a new approach to measuring conceptual thinking: asking students to judge their certainty that a response is correct (from 0% certain to 100% certain). Contrasting with simple correct/incorrect coding, the results reveal finer-grained detail and dynamics in students’ conceptual thinking. We will discuss future directions for this approach to assessment and connections to existing work in conceptual change and metacognition.
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The Effectiveness of Student Diagramming for Self-reflection
- DB04
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
by Catherine Herne, Brian Bodnar
- Type: Contributed
- In this talk, we outline the foundational research about drawing in the science classroom and describe our own study in an introductory physics class. Studies demonstrate that students who utilize drawing and diagramming for self-reflection perform better on tests. Also, teachers can gauge their students’ understanding more effectively from reflective drawing than from reflective writing. We describe the design and outcomes of our study investigating the effects of self-reflective diagramming on students’ performance. We found that there was a greater increase in performance on exams for those who were asked to diagram in class in comparison to those who wrote verbal reflections in class. We also found correlations between reflective drawing in class and the number of diagrams drawn on exams. This work has implications for course design in physics teaching.
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Observing Students Revise their Conceptual Understanding Through Revision of Writing
- DB05
- Tue 07/23, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
- by Robert Dalka
- Type: Contributed
- In the Introduction to the Mechanics course at the University of Michigan, we have implemented Writing-to-Learn (WTL) activities that engage students in writing about physics concepts related to real-world scenarios. During these activities, there is a revision process in which students are asked to revise what they originally wrote in their First Draft and ultimately submit a Revised Draft. While students work through this revision process, they revise their own knowledge and take control of their own learning. As researchers, we are able to use this as an opportunity to witness student learning and understand how students change the ways they explain different concepts. In this talk, I will discuss this learning and revision process by examining specific concepts that students were asked to address in the activities. I will share our findings using both quantitative measures of revision and qualitative examples of student learning.
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Examining the Effectiveness of Two Methods to Improve Student Transfer
- DB06
- Tue 07/23, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by Zhongzhou Chen, Kyle Whitcomb, Matthew Guthrie, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- An earlier study using online learning modules found that students lack the ability to transfer learning from a problem-solving tutorial to similar new problems. The current study examines the effectiveness of two methods to improve students’ ability to transfer. First, we added an “on-ramp” module developing proficiency on basic skills. Second, we added a new module containing a new problem, for which half of the students were asked to compare and contrast the new problem with a previous one, and the other half were given a tutorial on the problem. We found that the on-ramp module significantly improved students’ performance on transfer tasks compared to last year, whereas neither the compare-contrast condition nor the tutorial condition had a significant impact on students’ performance, nor were the performance between the two groups significantly different. The study demonstrated a flexible and sensitive new method for measuring the effectiveness of new instructional designs.
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Learning to Learn by Inquiry: Are Simulations too Challenging for Novices?
- DB07
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Jonathan Massey-Allard, Ido Roll, Joss Ives
- Type: Contributed
- Inductive inquiry learning activities, where students are tasked with quantitatively modelling physics phenomena with little guidance from an instructor, have been shown to have substantial conceptual learning benefits. A common implementation is an “invention activity” where students invent a general rule from patterns in instructor-provided data before receiving direct instruction on the target topic. Alternatively, students could be provided with an interactive simulation where students then have the agency to explore and collect data on their own. While this provides a promising opportunity for developing more robust inquiry process skills, it also introduces substantial challenges for novices that may, for instance, only do a shallow exploration and miss crucial features of the domain. We discuss the impact on conceptual learning outcomes and process skill development from a study that tested the impact of these different affordances in a sequence of inductive inquiry activities implemented throughout an introductory E/M course.
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Creating Comfortable and Accessible Virtual Reality Physics Education Tools
- DB08
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Jared Canright
- Type: Contributed
- The recent advent of affordable and mature virtual reality (VR) technology has spurred the development of educational virtual reality experiences in many fields, including physics. These experiences require special consideration of many aspects of user comfort and accessibility previously minimal or absent, such as implementing locomotion without motion sickness, visual overstimulation, and choice of hardware and user interface designs that minimize time spent teaching students how to interact with the experience. In this work, these problems are explained in context of a VR electromagnetism laboratory, and their solutions motivated and described. Examples are also drawn from VR experiences unrelated to physics education such as Tilt Brush and Fantastic Contraption, and the lessons VR physics education developers may learn from them are detailed.
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Transforming Traditional Lecturing in Physics to Interactive Teaching
- GA01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Elmar Junker, Claudia Schäfle, Silke Stanzel, Michaela Weber, Franziska Graupner
- Type: Contributed
- Three physics lecturers at a German University of Applied Sciences changed their teaching style from commonly spread traditional lecturing to fostering student activating methods like peer instruction and just-in-time-teaching. By evaluating student questionnaires, results with force concept inventory (FCI) and exam statistics we report the following aspects for a successful transformation: 1. Online quiz results of student preparation give input about their deficits and misconcepts to adapt individual lessons. 2. E-mail feedback to students to their preparation questions and bonus for quiz participation have motivating impact. 3. The central theme is ‘lectured’, but interwoven with student questions and well planned peer instruction sessions. 4. The methods are adapted to the teacher’s personality and study program needs. 5. Changing a few lessons suffice to start the transformation process, sharing new materials is helpful. After transformation we see higher student activity in lessons, doubled gain in FCI and quicker passed exams.
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Learning and Retaining Physics Through Social Interaction (LPSI)
- GA02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
- by Pratheesh Jakkala
- Type: Contributed
- Learning and retaining Physics through Social Interaction (LPSI) is a new pedagogy I developed that produced tremendous results in learning and retaining physics concepts in both introductory and advanced undergraduate physics classes at a small liberal arts college. Each student participates in three different LPSI sessions through out the semester. LPSI involve students discuss physics with their friends, classmates, faculty/staff from the college or family members who are enthusiastic and curious about physics in a casual and informal setting. The topic of interaction is a real-world application of the concepts learned in the class, assigned by instructor two-three weeks in advance. All interactions are either video recorded or audio recorded. The duration of each LPSI session varies from 25 minutes to 45 minutes. A total of 54 students during two semesters participated in LPSI sessions, every student participating in at least three sessions. A whopping 95.4% of the participated students preferred LPSI over regular homework or exams.
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Examining Study Habits Related to Student Success in Introductory Physics
- GA03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Seth DeVore, John Stewart
- Type: Contributed
- Student interaction with class materials is a major element of success in any course, especially in physics courses in which expertise is earned largely through exposure to the problem-solving process. Despite this, student time use has shown incredibly limited correlation with student success even when controlling for factors related to ability. In this study, we will discuss the results of several surveys intended to measure the number of times students make use of resources both provided as part of the class (E.G. reviewing lecture notes, working additional textbook problems, reviewing practice tests) and available through other means (E.G. looking up problems online, watching videos, using the solution manual), both during test preparation weeks and during non-test weeks. The correlations between interaction with these resources and student success will be discussed.
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Studying Small Group Interactions in a Collaborative Learning Environment Through the Lens of Social Interdependence Theory
- GA04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Miguel Rodriguez, Geoff Potvin
- Type: Contributed
- Social interdependence theory provides a framework for understanding how groups of individuals may (or may not) cooperate productively towards common goals. Using this lens, we observed student groups that exhibited both high and low social interdependence. These observations took place in a modeling instruction introductory physics course, which is a highly collaborative learning environment in which students spend much of their time working in small groups. We present results of a thematic analysis on in-class video data to highlight variations between the different socially interdependent groups, and also consider student interviews and survey responses on their dispositions towards socially interdependent interactions. The findings of this work will help to highlight group practices that support productive student engagement and learning.
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Exploring Group Processes and Decision-making for Generating Kinematic Problems
- GA05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Javier Pulgar, Alexis Spina, Danielle Harlow
- Type: Contributed
- We explore student groups solving ill-structured problems in a mechanics course at a Chilean University. The learning activity consisted of designing a set of circular motion problems for high school students. Subjects identified real-world situations involving circular motion, and implemented kinematic concepts and principles to design questions and activities for hypothetical high school students. Transcriptions of audio files of five student teams during problem-solving sessions allowed us to understand the process of the groups when solving this activity. Evidence suggests that groups engaged in different sequences of processes for deciding and creating problems for younger students. However, they tended to rely on previous activities implemented in the class for generating problems. Further, physics ideas were more frequently addressed in context compared to their theoretical and isolated version. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of designing and implementing ill-structured problems in physics courses at a University.
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Introductory Laboratory Behaviors: Just Doing, or Doing with Good Reason?
- GA06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Katherine Ansell, Mats Selen
- Type: Contributed
- Introductory physics laboratories aim to enculturate students into the practices of scientists, whether by explicit or implicit methods. However, practices that appear expert-like on the surface may be used by students for less sophisticated purposes. Inrecent semesters, we have studied the experimental behaviors of students doing a simple physics experiment in groups, looking specifically for what strategies they use in their experiments and evidence indicating the reasons (or lack thereof) for their actions. Using video and written data, we compare groups from two laboratory classroom settings – one explicitly training skills by focusing on the experimental process, and the other implicitly addressing skills and focusing on experimental results. This talk will focus on an experimental practice shared by both groups and explore students’ different reasons for engaging in this practice.
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Student-equipment Interactions in Undergraduate Laboratory Courses
- GA07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Austin Hahner, Eleanor Sayre
- Type: Contributed
- Laboratory instruction is a core element of undergraduate programs, but there is little research on how diverse students actually interact in lab groups and with equipment. In this project, we use video-based observations of lab groups enrolled in a prematriculation program for underrepresented minority students. We build a framework for student-equipment and student-student interactions in lab based on linking students' behavior to their epistemological frames. Our framework characterizes the interactions and can be applied in real-time or faster to video data. In this talk, we present the framework. We show how prevalence and sequences of frames is affected by both laboratory activity and participant identities.
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Teaching Problem-Solving for Transfer to STEM Careers: Understanding Disciplinary Variation
- GJ01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Benjamin Zwickl, Vina Macias, Jacob Poirier, Susan Rothwell
- Type: Contributed
- Developing general problem-solving abilities that transfer into students' careers is a common goal of introductory physics. Studies suggest that the similarity between training and application affects the effectiveness of transfer, as does the amount of variation present during training. This study examines problem-solving in four STEM disciplines, all of which routinely take introductory physics. We collected approximately 200 interviews with students, faculty, and employers, and provide three cases that highlight variation in problem-solving task and context. Healthcare emphasized diagnosis and treatment with empathy and compassion. High-risk workplaces in energy emphasized problem prevention and large collaborative teams. Advanced manufacturing identified root causes of process failures to improve yield on high precision parts. Understanding problem-solving across STEM classrooms and careers should inspire problem-solving approaches within introductory physics courses that relate more broadly to STEM careers. (Supported by NSF-1561493)
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Exploring Students’ Understanding of the Conceptual Knowledge Behind Problem Solving
- GJ02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Shih-Yin Lin, Ting-Chi Yang
- Type: Contributed
- Understanding the conditions under which a physics principle is applicable is essential in problem solving. However, our experience suggests that students may not necessarily understand the conceptual underpinnings behind the equations they use in their solutions. Even for students who are competent in recognizing which principle(s) or concept(s) should be used to solve a given problem, they may have difficulty providing a good justification for why the particular physics principle(s) or concept(s) can be applicable based on the underlying physics involved. We conducted a study to explore students’ understanding of the conditions of applicability required for five basic concepts in introductory mechanics, including the kinematics equations, Newton’s second law, conservation of momentum, conservation of mechanical energy, and conservation of angular momentum. Findings will be reported.
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How Do Students Explain their Reasoning?*
- GJ03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Anne Alesandrini, Paula Heron
- Type: Contributed
- In addition to getting correct answers, we as instructors want our students to be able to use—and communicate—correct and complete reasoning. Here, we examine written explanations from students in introductory university physics courses to illustrate thebreadth of the responses given when students are prompted to explain their reasoning. We analyze these explanations in terms of types, forms, and features, paying attention to what is present beyond what might score points on an instructor’s rubric. Rather than focusing on context-specific reasoning difficulties, we examine the commonalities across multiple physics content contexts in what, to students, may constitute satisfying explanations. This broad view of student explanations has the potential to guide instruction aimed at the development of student explanation skills in ways that leverage and are responsive to how students currently explain their reasoning.
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Students’ Sensemaking Skills and Habits: Two Years Later
- GJ04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by MacKenzie Lenz, Paul Emigh, Kelby Hahn, Elizabeth Gire
- Type: Contributed
- Physics sensemaking is an expert-like skill that can be difficult to teach. A sophomore-level theoretical mechanics course developed at Oregon State University emphasizes sensemaking on par with physics and math concepts. This emphasis includes both explicit instruction and assessment of student sensemaking. We have found that student sensemaking improves during this new course but were curious to see what lasting impacts the course has on students. Seven students were interviewed approximately two years after taking this course. We asked the students about their current understanding and use of sensemaking and to what extent the new course contributed to their sensemaking skills and habits. We found that students have a variety of ideas about what sense making is -- from answer-checking to how you understand anything -- but that this sensemaking-focused course was instrumental in developing their sensemaking.
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Students’ Conceptual Resources for Understanding the Principle of Superposition*
- GJ05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Lauren Bauman, Lisa Goodhew, Amy Robertson
- Type: Contributed
- Superposition is central to understanding numerous physical phenomena, from pulses on a string to electric fields. In this poster, we report the preliminary results of our investigation into introductory undergraduate students' conceptual resources for understanding the principle of superposition. We analyzed 368 written responses to a conceptual question that explored applications and attributes of superposition. We identified four recurring resources related to superposition: (1) additiveness; (2) separability; (3) quantifiability; and (4) localization. Our objective is to support educators by drawing attention to these resources and by suggesting how they can be taken up alongside students to enhance instruction.
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Perceived Effect on Buoyancy of Weight vs. Gravitational Force
- GJ06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
- by DJ Wagner
- Type: Contributed
- As part of a larger investigation into students’ conceptions about buoyancy, we investigated the prevalence of the belief that the gravitational force on an object changes when the object is placed in a fluid. We also investigated the effect of describing the force as “weight” instead of “gravitational force.” During the first phase of the study (spring 2016 to spring 2017), students at two different institutions were asked to identify the correct free-body diagram (FBD) for a ball floating in water, and then for the same ball held down while fully submerged under water. Half of the students were shown FBDs involving “weight,” and the other half were shown FBDs involving the “gravitational force.” During the second phase of the study (fall 2017 to fall 2018), students at one of the institutions were asked to explicitly compare the strength of either the weight or the gravitational force on the ball when it was falling, floating, and held submerged. This talk will report on the fraction of students who indicated that the weight or gravitational force differed between the scenarios, and will discuss the effects both of the type of question asked and of the wording used to describe the force.
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The Research on Students’ Perconceptions About Rigid Body Rotation
- GJ07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
- by Yijing Bian
- Type: Contributed
- This paper is about the study of students’ preconceptions in the process of learning the concepts of rigid body rotation. The sample of the study consists of 30 students who had not learned the concepts of rigid body rotation at the east of China Normal University. we deeply understand the students' thinking about the problem of rigid body rotation through the think-aloud interviews, and discover the students’ potential difficulties in the process of learning the concepts of rigid body rotation. We find that student always think mass will affect the rolling motion.They often cannot know whether objects can be regarded as the point or not.
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Do I Belong Here?: Understanding Participation and Non-participation in Whole-Class “Board” Meetings
- GC01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Brant Hinrichs, Jared Durden
- Type: Contributed
- In University Modeling Instruction, students work in small groups on a problem and then hold a student-led whole-class discussion to develop consensus. While this kind of interactive-engagement has been shown to help students learn, evidence suggests notall students have the same experience or feel equally included. We have developed a preliminary coding scheme based on Wegner’s framework from “Communities of Practice”, which identifies student modes of belonging through participation and non-participation. In this talk, we present initial results from coding and analyzing reflective student writing assignments on a particularly contentious mid-semester whole-class discussion. Using this lens, we identify students’ varying perceptions of the whole-class discussion and how it influenced their participation. By developing a descriptive model of student engagement, we seek to create a predictive model to inform professional development for instructors who teach in student centered classrooms.
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Locating Agency in Women’s Conceptualizations of Success and Physics
- GC02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
by Brian Zamarripa Roman, Claudia Ragosta, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- The physics community has invested in addressing gender underrepresentation in physics by supporting women in achieving “success.” However, we need to examine our (assumed) shared definitions of success and the extent to which they represent women’s personal views of success. In this qualitative phenomenological study, we examine tacit conceptualizations of success and physics, employing a metaphor analysis of the language expressed by 11 women at different career stages in the same physics department during an hour-long interview. A central tenant of metaphor analysis is that metaphors used in everyday life structure our thoughts, which shape our behavior. Thus, locating agency in the expressed metaphors can inform our understandings of an individual’s identity formation (thoughts) and persistence (behavior) as a successful physicist. We present conceptualizations of physics and success in terms of structural, ontological and orientational spontaneous metaphors and describe the location of agency expressed in the participants’ metaphors.
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Determining Motivators of Undergraduate Women Pursuing a Physics Degree*
- GC03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Virginia Price, Valerie Klein, Zahra Hazari, Theodore Hodapp, Eric Brewe
- Type: Contributed
- There are several explanations that have been proposed for the low numbers of women completing physics degrees. Determining what influences women to pursue degrees in physics can inform how we recruit and engage women as physics majors. We collected textresponses from a sample of undergraduate women physics majors attending the 2015 APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics. Qualitative analysis of 828 responses was used to extract positive and negative motivational factors, including people, fields of physics, exposure to science, and various aspects of the fields of physics. Strong motivators included people such as high school teachers, parents, and professors. Topics in astronomy inspired much early interest in physics, and respondents also reported a strong affinity to scientific inquiry. By knowing what women find appealing about a physics degree, we can use these results to inform educators and undergraduate physics programs about ways to better engage young women.
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Identity Performances of Women of Color and LGBQ+ Physicists at MSIs
- GC04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Xandria Quichocho, Jessica Conn, Erin Schipull, Eleanor Close
- Type: Contributed
- Existing research on underrepresented/minority students focuses mainly on gender or race/ethnicity and largely ignores the intersection of identities embodied by women of color and on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ+) students. In addition, the research typically is conducted at Predominately White Institutions. Our current project examines the personal narratives of women of color and LGBQ+ students at a Hispanic Serving Institution through semi-structured interviews and written narratives. The project is proposing a new physics identity framework to better understand the unique experiences of women of color and LGBQ+ physicists. The framework builds on the work of Ong et. al by assuming a critical race and queer lens in our analysis. We propose that these physicists perform their intersectional identities in different ways to achieve success in their environments.
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The Effect of Culture on Muslim Women Physicists’ Career Choice
- GC05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Saeed Moshfeghyeganeh, Zahra Hazari
- Type: Contributed
- The underrepresentation of women in physics and engineering has been a matter of concern in the United States for decades. At the same time, many Muslim majority countries have the highest rates of women’s participation in physics and engineering. To examine how cultural practices and norms influence women’s participation in physics, we conducted several interviews with female physicists who were educated in Muslim majority countries and are now faculty at universities in the US. We will present the results of a thematic analysis of the interviews. These results help us to understand differing cultural factors in Muslim majority countries and the U.S. that may affect women’s participation in physics as well as lend insight to improving participation and persistence of women in physics career.
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Dos Neplanteras in Physics/Education/Research
- GC06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Idaykis Rodriguez, Brian Zamarripa Roman
- Type: Contributed
- Students of Hispanic descent are highly underrepresented in physics and few studies exist focusing on their experiences and reasons for their underrepresentation. Although the Hispanic experience is traditionally reduced to a monolithic ethnicity, it is a complex and rich identity deserving closer attention for the physics community to develop its critical sociocultural knowledge of these students. Combining the process of duoethnography, self-analysis and auto history, we engage in dialogic and collaborative discussions as two Hispanic researchers contrasting and analyzing our trajectories into physics and physics education research. We use Anzaldua’s Critical Feminist Chicano theory of nepantla, identity development as seen from the in-between state in changing from one identity to another, to reflect and reconstruct our narrative. We compare and contrast our cultural histories and intersecting ethnic, gender, and professional identities to unpack the cultural underpinnings influencing our career trajectories and views of being (in) physics education research(ers).
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Incorporating Computation into UCLA Physics Curriculum: Progress and Challenges
- BK01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Joshua Samani
- Type: Invited
- Computational physics instruction has been incorporated into the UCLA Physics curriculum in labs and upper-division courses, but many challenges remain in making sure this computational curriculum is coherent and achieves desired objectives for the major. We review these challenges and the progress that has been made toward meeting them.
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I’m Not Teaching You Programming
- BK02
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Todd Zimmerman
- Type: Invited
- One of the complaints students have when computation is introduced in courses is to ask why they need to learn programming in a physics course. This is just one of the hurdles faced when trying to add a computational component to physics courses. I’ll discuss how PICUP has helped me overcome many of these challenges and talk about the successes and failures my colleagues and I had trying to integrate computation into the physics curriculum.
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Computation in the Physics Classroom: A Census of Instructor Beliefs
- BK03
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Thomas Finzell, Sameer Barretto, Marcos Caballero, Timothy Mckay
- Type: Contributed
- Computation has become ubiquitous in physics; however, at most college-level institutions, it is underrepresented in physics instruction. We conducted approximately 20 interviews with faculty, instructors, and graduate students, to learn about their beliefs regarding the utility of computation in the physics classroom. We report on the themes gleaned from these interviews.
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Teaching Computational Physics for the First Time (and Surviving)
- BK04
- Mon 07/22, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
- by David Jackson
- Type: Contributed
- The physics department at Dickinson College has been discussing how to implement computational physics into our curriculum for a very long time. Unfortunately, because of differing levels of expertise using different computing platforms, we could never fully agree on a coherent plan of action. The result is that our program lacks any significant focus on computational techniques. After attending a PICUP workshop in the summer of 2018, I decided to take the plunge and teach a computational physics course even though we had no agreed upon departmental plan. The idea was simply to get a computational course in place and then to discuss how best to implement computational physics into our curriculum after the fact. In this talk I will present a brief overview of my experience and the response of the students and my department.
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Using VPython with Engineering Students in Matter and Interactions
- BK05
- Mon 07/22, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
- by Jack Dostal
- Type: Contributed
- During the past year, my first-semester calculus-based physics class used the Matter and Interactions curriculum. I worked closely with a small class of 13 students composed primarily of prospective engineering majors in the second semester of their freshman year. I will describe my efforts to incorporate computation into the course via VPython coding. In addition, I will describe some of the conclusions I have drawn about effective (and ineffective) ways to engage students who have a broad range of coding backgrounds.
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Costs and Benefits of a Functional Programming Language in Physics Teaching
- BK06
- Mon 07/22, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
- by Scott Walck
- Type: Contributed
- Functional programming languages, such as Haskell, have a reputation for being difficult to learn and use. There is some truth to this, but functional languages are difficult to learn in the same way that physics is difficult to learn; both invite and sometimes require a structured thinking. The thinking required to use Haskell matches surprisingly well with that required for physics. The benefit is that, once learned, functional language allows one to focus less on the computer's needs and more on the structure of physics. We show an example of a PICUP exercise implemented in Haskell to see the benefits. The presenter will also speak from his experience about the costs.
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Simplified Analysis of Phase Transitions in Thermodynamics
- BK07
- Mon 07/22, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
by Jay Wang, Nick Moniz
- Type: Contributed
- Understanding critical phenomena in physical systems such as thermodynamic phase transitions is important in the study of physics, but often such topics pose challenges including advanced mathematics hindering the discussion of them at earlier stages of the curriculum. In this presentation we discuss simplified analysis of two problems in thermodynamics in terms of the Lambert W function, including the mean field approximation of the Ising model and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). Utilizing appropriate simplifying approximations, we find a closed-form mean-field solution to the Ising model, and an approximate but quantitative dependence of the chemical potential on temperature in BEC in terms of the special W function. This analytic approach illuminates the essential physics in a clear and direct manner, allows for visualization with VPython (see http://www.faculty.umassd.edu/j.wang/), complements but does not require full numerical computation in the standard treatment of these problems, and highlights the use of special functions as a powerful toolkit in the physicist's arsenal.
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Integrating Computation in High School and Early College Physics*
- BK08
- Mon 07/22, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
by Chris Orban, Richelle Teeling-Smith
- Type: Contributed
- Over the last year, the STEMcoding project has released a number of new coding activities and video tutorials designed to integrate computation into high school and non-major college physics courses. This includes three new activities for hourofcode.com,and many others for the STEMcoding youtube channel (http://youtube.com/c/STEMcoding) and the PICUP site. Importantly, our youtube videos feature women and underrepresented groups in order to let students see people who look like them coding, doing physics, and having a good time. We discuss our experiences using this content in classrooms, camps, and hackathons and we comment on approaches to assess “computational thinking” at this level.
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PTRA: Gravitational Waves
- FF
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by PTRA PTRA
- Type: Topical
- Join us for an engaging session where we share hands-on resources to help students understand gravitational waves and LIGO. You can easily help students make connections between this cutting edge topic and traditional physics concepts by using resourcesthat are inexpensive and yet provide visual models. Some materials used during the session will be given to participants and electronic resources are available online.
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PTRA: Make, Play, Do to Learn
- AL
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Nina Daye
- Type: other
- This session needs tables and chairs spaced so people can easily move around the room. This session is sponsored by the Pre-High School Committee and hosted by PTRAs. Come and get a variety of ideas for things you can make for a small investment of money and time. Students can make many of these items. These can be used to teach physics concepts at a variety of levels. Each item will have the instructions available and is linked to the NGSS.
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Literature Based Make, Play & Do to Learn Activities
- AL01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by William Reitz
- Type: Contributed
- A range of physical science topics will be explored using activities inspired by Graphic Novels and YA( Young Adult) literature. Participants will be able “Make, Play & Do” the activities at their own pace. They will also be able to interact with the literature driving those activities. This is one of several sets of activities other presenters will offer in the "Make, Play & Do to Learn" session.
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Scribble Bots
- AL02
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Alice Flarend
- Type: Contributed
- We will make small bots from common materials including plastic cups, markers and motors, and experiment with them to control their motion. They are also an engaging way to practice distance and velocity measurements, even in 2-D!
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Using Paper Dice To Practice Calculating Newton’s Law of Gravity
- AL03
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Bree Dreyfuss
- Type: Contributed
- While learning about Newton’s law of gravitation physics students often struggle with the inverse square in the equation. Computational practice of orbiting objects in the solar system can be dry and repetitive. Using paper dice with planet information and calculation prompts students can practice using the equation and Kepler’s laws. Students roll two dice that have the mass, radius, and distance to the Sun to randomly select two objects, such as Jupiter and Mercury. Students also roll a calculation die with prompts about what to calculate such as the force of gravity between the two, what the orbital speed would be if they one were to orbit, etc. A set of copies of the dice will be available for teachers to keep.
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Ball Bounce Lab Using Argument Driven Inquiry
- AL04
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Ann Robinson
- Type: Contributed
- (Adaptation from Teaching Physics for the First Time by Jan Mader and Mary Winn) Problem: How does dropping a ball from a certain height affect the height it bounces? How is the time of free fall related to the distance fallen? (Grades 5-12)
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Demonstrate 5 Physics Concepts Using this DIY Straw Sprinkler
- AL05
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
by Gyaneshwaran Gomathinayagam, Aditya Garg
- Type: Contributed
- The Straw Sprinkler can be assembled easily in minutes using just a couple of straws, a water hose and a bucket of water. This innovation was made by modifying the famous Action-Reaction Straw Propeller (found in Arvind Gupta's youtube channel and Think Tac website) to use water instead of air as the working fluid. To provide a continuous flow of water of adjustable velocity, a siphon is connected to a bucket kept on a raised platform whose height can be varied to vary the velocity of water. It can be used to demonstrate the Laws of Conservation of Energy and Angular Momentum, Newton's second and third laws, and uniform circular motion in horizontal or vertical plane. The hole size, number of holes, height of water reservoir, and angle of hole can also be varied to study their effect on the angular velocity of the straw sprinkler.
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PTRA: Paper Drag Racers in Your Classroom
- BF
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Tommi Holsenbeck
- Type: other
- Physics is NOT a Drag!! (new title) But it can be a drag race. Making paper drag racers is an engaging way to involve students at several grade levels in understanding principles of motion. Designing the inexpensive cars involves students in engineering a design to go fast (or go a certain distance) and covers concepts such as force, speed, impulse, graphing, and acceleration.
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PTRA: Physics of Sound
- AM
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Ann Robinson
- Type: other
- Sounds have identi?able characteristics, and the basic idea that all sounds result from vibrating objects is the focus for this interactive presentation. Sounds are produced with a variety of common objects at stations set up using rulers, tuning forks, straws and toys. These stations will also have a variety of game-like activities involving participants locating sounds from unseen sources, learning about decibels, and calculating the speed of sound. Many of the activities will feature some of “Heck’s Physics” as a tribute to Richard Heckthorn and presented by PTRA.
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PTRA: Quantum Computing in YOUR Classroom
- CK
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Kenric Davies
- Type: other
- Quantum computing is an exciting branch of quantum mechanics and has the prospect of making cyber security practically unbreakable. With a simple hands-on demonstration, you can bring the ideas of quantum cryptography into your classroom and model the sending of a message and cipher while learning how an eavesdropper is detected.
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150 Years Later, Introductory Labs Are Poised for Change
- GF01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
- by Ashley Carter
- Type: Contributed
- Introductory laboratory courses have been a staple of the undergraduate curriculum for 150 years. Yet, since their inception, the courses have drawn the ire of both student and professor alike. Now with calls to update the introductory laboratory that are louder than ever, a look back at the history of the course seems necessary. In this talk, I will describe three historical periods: the lecture-theater style course of the 1700-1800’s, the research-grade experiment course in the late 1800’s, and the concept-exercise experiment course of the 1900’s. I will find that throughout these time periods instructors have faced the same questions we do today. What is the role of the lab course and how much preparation, instruction, authenticity, and complexity are required? With the advent of Physics Education Research, we may start to answer some of these long-debated questions, poising the introductory laboratory for change.
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Reforming the Introductory Laboratory Using the Investigative Science Learning Environment
- GF02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
- by James Moore
- Type: Contributed
- We have used the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) as a framework for reforming the introductory physics laboratory sequence at a university in the Midwest U.S. Lab experiences have been reformed to focus on science abilities and experiment design, in contrast to “cook-book” content-verification labs. Students were tasked with designing and executing observation, testing, and application experiments to answer specified research questions, with these experiences scaffolded to build abilities. Measurements where made using the IOLab system developed at UIUC. We report on a multiple-group quasi-experiment comparing groups completing traditional labs and the reformed labs. Student views and scores on the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC) will be compared.
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Implementing a Design-style Lab Reform in Introductory Algebra-based Electrodynamics
- GF03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by William Evans, Mats Selen, Michelle McCord, Spencer Hulsey
- Type: Contributed
- At the University of Illinois, we have undertaken a major reform of the lab component of our two-semester algebra-based introductory physics sequence. This reform focuses on sense-making and scientific skills acquisition, inspired by the ISLE framework, and was fully implemented in the first semester of the sequence (mechanics) in the spring of 2018 and in the second semester of the sequence (electricity and magnetism) in the fall of 2018. We present preliminary results on student attitude and performance from the electricity and magnetism course, looking at student surveys and lab work. We compare results from students who took the labs in the reformed, design-style approach with students who took the labs in the older, step-by-step guided approach.
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Effects of Accurate Feedback in Introductory Lab Courses
- GF04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Joshua Rutberg, Marina Malysheva, Eugenia Etkina
- Type: Contributed
- Building on previous efforts to reform an introductory physics lab for engineering students, we investigated the role of accurate teacher feedback on the development of students’ scientific abilities. ISLE labs were used in a second-semester physics lab focusing on electricity and magnetism. The associated lecture course and recitations were not modified in any way. The instructors responsible for the implementation of the labs were undergraduate students who had received minimal training in ISLE beforehand. Student lab reports were scored using the Scientific Abilities rubrics to give feedback to the students. The labs were then scored by experts in ISLE to determine the accuracy of the feedback given by instructors. We then looked at the performance of students taught by different instructors to ascertain the effects that the accuracy of this feedback had on their development throughout the course.
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Expanding a Model for Design-based Labs Supported by Whiteboards
- GF05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
- by Benjamin Spike
- Type: Contributed
- One year ago, we reported on our development of a suite of introductory mechanics labs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a particular focus on experimental design and scientific thinking. These labs feature open-ended design challenges, a mini-“symposium,” and collaborative whiteboarding in place of a formal lab report. Over the past year, we have expanded this model to the second semester physics environment by developing an additional 10 lab experiments covering electricity, magnetism, and optics. In this presentation, we will describe our experience developing the expanded set of design-based labs, present student survey data, and discuss what we have learned about the scalability and sustainability of the overall model.
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"Choose Your Own Adventure" Project-based Labs for Introductory Physics
- GF06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
- by Dan Roth
- Type: Contributed
- I have been dissatisfied with my traditional laboratory exercises using a cookbook-style approach and following a "flavor of the week" schedule which often does not align with content in the lecture. I did not feel that my students were learning the course material (an opinion that has been backed up by some research) or gaining an understanding of the experimental process, including measurement uncertainty. Simply paring down on instructions in an effort to encourage more critical thought did not seem to improve outcomes, and a single lab period is not enough time for students to fully develop an experiment, take preliminary data, consider uncertainty, and revise their experiments. So, I have developed what I call "choose your own adventure" lab projects in which the students work on over the course of several lab sessions to develop and revise their own experiments.
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All Aboard! Challenges and Successes in Training Lab TAs
- GF07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Danny Doucette, Russell Clark, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- At large universities, introductory physics labs are often run by student teaching assistants (TAs). Thus, efforts to reform introductory labs should address the need for effective and relevant TA training. We developed and implemented a research-backed training program that focuses on preparing TAs to support inquiry-based learning, to discuss issues of epistemology, and to establish supportive and equitable learning spaces. Primary impacts of this training were identified using observational and ethnographic protocols, and secondary impacts were assessed through an attitudinal survey of students. We will discuss details of the training program and share results that suggest effective training can positively impact both TA practice and student experiences in the physics lab.
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Implementing Undergraduate Learning Assistants in Introductory physics labs
- GF08
- Wed 07/24, 1:10PM - 1:20PM
by Samuel Engblom, Morten Lundsgaard, Mats Selen
- Type: Contributed
- Many programs have made extensive use of Undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) in discussion and tutorial sections. Our LA program has been designed with the intention of supporting reformed introductory physics labs at the University of Illinois. Preliminary results of implementing undergraduate LAs in a lab environment will be presented, along with plans for scaling up the program to encompass all introductory course labs.
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PhysTEC: Building a Solution to the National Physics Teacher Shortage
- EM01
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Monica Plisch
- Type: Invited
- There is a severe national shortage of qualified high school physics teachers in the U.S. Since 2001, the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) project has been working to engage physics departments in establishing the infrastructure needed to address the national physics teacher shortage. The project has developed model teacher preparation programs, disseminated information on effective practices, and advocated for teacher preparation within the physics community. PhysTEC Supported Sites have more than doubled their production of highly qualified physics teachers; they have also demonstrated considerable success in sustaining their programs beyond the funding period. The project has established a national coalition of more than 300 Member Institutions located in all 50 states, which collectively educate over half of the nation’s highly qualified physics teachers. PhysTEC is a project of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, with support from the National Science Foundation (#1707990).
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Learning About Teacher Recruitment and Retention from Our Math Department*
- EM02
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Kushal Das, Hunter Close
- Type: Contributed
- At Texas State University, there are many more pre-service secondary math teachers than physics teachers, despite a successful Physics Learning Assistant Program and many other recruitment and retention activities in the physics department. Math and physics high school teaching are similar in some ways, and it seems like the numbers ought to be more similar than they are. We aim to understand from the point of view of these math teachers, what factors contribute to their recruitment and retention in their program. To learn this, we invited all of these teachers to respond to an electronic survey about their experiences in their program, and we invited a subset of those respondents to follow-up focus group discussions. We will present our findings from the surveys and interviews, emphasizing points of contrast between the physics and math teacher preparation programs.
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Meaning and Purpose in the Pursuit of Physics Teaching Careers*
- EM03
- Tue 07/23, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
- by Hunter Close
- Type: Contributed
- Many factors enter into the decision to teach high school physics: scholarships and salary, working conditions and hours, professional preparation and support, job satisfaction, etc. Another element is how teaching might contribute to one's sense of meaning and purpose in life. To investigate the dynamic interplay between the path of teaching and the human spirit, I developed the "Journeys" interview protocol, which adapts archetypal forms from the Hero's Journey (Campbell, 1949) to the journey of earning a bachelor's degree in physics and pursuing teacher certification; I used this protocol as a basis for discussion with several physics teacher candidates at Texas State University. In this talk I will describe the development and content of the protocol and some of the initial results from interviews.
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Mental Illness IS a Disability: Imposter Syndrome-ing my Disability
- CO01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Rachel Maxwell
- Type: Invited
- I will discuss the difficulties in coming to accept mental illness as a (typically unseen) disability and its impacts on my ability to navigate the field of academia from undergrad to grad school. I hope to encourage those with mental health problems to find a healthy path for themselves, and offer advice and strategies to people with depression/anxiety, either as a chronic disability or with single/intermittent episodes.
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The Value in Support: Lifting Those Around Us
- CO02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Dedra Demaree
- Type: Invited
- My story is not a simple one – my path has not been linear or clear. This is in part due to my personal struggles with mental health – struggles that, while serious, are not uncommon. In fact, the symptoms I deal with on a daily basis hit everyone at some point in their life. My anxiety disorder can be debilitating and throw what should be my safe spaces into chaos, making it very hard for me to function. I have also floundered without appropriate role models. It's the people in my life that have helped me without any knowledge of how deeply I struggle that have made the most impact on me. In telling my story, I will emphasize what can be done to assist students, mentees, and peers in finding their personal version of success, and hopefully make a compelling argument that everyone deserves this support regardless of their personal struggles.
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Using head-mounted-displays to deliver American Sign Language
- CO03
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by M. Jeannette Lawler, Michael Jones
- Type: Contributed
- One of the logistical issues Deaf and hard-of-hearing students face is the need to divide their attention between the visual and the visually-delivered-verbal components of a classroom presentation. Head mounted displays provide a technology that allows for a new and promising approach for delivering the verbal portion. Here we present some preliminary results regarding the usefulness of this approach in providing an ASL narration in the visually challenging environment of a planetarium.
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Take a Deep Breath – Physics of the Respiratory System
- EF01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Nancy Donaldson
- Type: Invited
- The Physics of the Respiratory System Module is an NSF-funded, vetted, curricular resource on the Living Physics Portal – an online, community-sourced platform for physics for the life sciences faculty. Using hands-on active learning curriculum, this module guides students through an investigation of the mechanics of breathing and the pressure differences that guide air flow in health and disease. The target learning audience is students pursuing graduate school/careers in medicine or healthcare. Module activities address Pre-Health Competency E3 (Demonstrate knowledge of basic physical principles and their applications to the understanding of living systems) and Foundational Concept 4B (Importance of fluids for the circulation of blood, gas movement, and gas exchange) and are directed toward an application of physics to medicine. This Living Physics Portal curriculum includes complete instructor resources including pedagogy, materials, all solutions to qualitative and quantitative assessment questions, building instructions, and suggestions for use in different educational environments.
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The Drinking Bird:Converting Low-quality Energy into High-quality Energy
- EF02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
by James Vesenka, Anyssa Fisher
- Type: Invited
- The drinking bird (DB) converts low-quality thermal energy to high-quality mechanical energy, conceptually similar to energy transitions that have enabled life to develop on Earth. We interviewed a range of student and faculty participants based on a list of energy questions exploring the DB as a model for biological energy conversion. The responses indicate that the subtle energy interactions in this deceptively simple toy are difficult to disambiguate without a systematic development of energy concepts. Participant explanations occasionally included irrelevant prior knowledge (e.g. capillary action) and often excluded one of the most important elements that drive DB's motion, namely the thermal energy of dry air responsible for evaporating water from the beak. Responses have informed us of changes to be made in our instruction in order to develop a more holistic IPLS presentation of energy.
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Bodies–on Lab Activities
- EF03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Nancy Beverly
- Type: Invited
- The algebra-based introductory physics course for pre-health students at Mercy College is run in a workshop style, allowing students to integrate hands-on and bodies-on activities in every class. As much as possible, students do activities where their own bodies are part of the experiment or demonstration. In the biomechanics portion of the course, the bodies-on activities naturally predominate, as measurements of their own movement and forces are easy to acquire, and their own kinesthetic sense can help reinforce their physics intuition. However, students’ interest in their own body functioning in bodies-on activities, throughout the entire two-semester course sequence, helps motivate their exploration of underlying physical mechanisms of body senses and processes, connected to a wide range of physics concepts. Examples of these bodies-on activities, of varying time scales from 1 minute to 45 minutes, will be presented.
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Exploring Mindset and Response to Failure in Reformed IPLS Labs
- EF04
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Jordan Gerton, Jason May, Claudia De Grandi, Lisa Corwin, Shayla Shorter
- Type: Contributed
- Failure as a part of Learning: A Mindset Education network (FLAMEnet) is a diverse consortium of science education practitioners and researchers studying the impact of mindset interventions on student success and persistence in various instructional contexts. Through FLAMEnet, research-based interventions are co-constructed and deployed at diverse institutions. At the University of Utah, we are reforming a large-enrollment introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) lab sequence and have implemented an intervention consisting of a sequence of short reflection prompts that students complete throughout the semester at strategic points in their investigations. These individual reflections are used by student teams to create short digital communications (e.g., YouTube videos) that discuss strategies for overcoming challenges in the course, which can then be used to help motivate future students. An overview of the FLAMEnet interventions will be presented along with a preliminary analysis of the individual reflections from the Utah IPLS labs.
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Probing Introductory Astronomy Students’ Notions of Sizes and Distances
- CC01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Tshiamiso Makwela, Alexander Sivitilli, Dale Taylor, Sarah Blyth, Saalih Allie
- Type: Contributed
- Size and distance are important in astronomy teaching and learning, as these are key concepts to understanding basic astronomy. In 2014 an instrument, Introductory Astronomy Questionnaire (IAQ)[1] was constructed at UCT, South Africa. The IAQ was a broadquestionnaire, which looked at students’ understanding of basic ideas of astronomy. The IAQ was then translated into Norwegian (NIAQ)[2] and was given to pre- service teachers and middle school students in Norway. Both studies [1][2] yielded similar poor results in terms of students’ views regarding size and distance. In order to deepen our understanding of students ideas with regard to size and distance, we constructed a short instrument to probe these aspects. We selected and modified ranking task questions from the IAQ. We then administered this instrument (IAQ_R), as a pre and post test. We discuss the modifications to the ranking task as well as preliminary results of this study.
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Teaching Physics to Career Students: Curriculum Redesign and Project-based Approach
- CC02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
- by Philomena Agu
- Type: Contributed
- The Jordan Career Center is a high school turned into a career hub for 11th and 12 graders from nine different high schools. A student spends a half day at the school training in a chosen career, math and science only. The demands to simulate a learning environment similar to hands-on experiences in career classes and to allow some students to build their mathematics skills necessitated a change in the sequence of physics topics and embedding of projects in teaching and learning physics concepts. Typically, I teach mechanics first, but with the redesign, I begin with the concept of constant speed and proceed to waves, electricity, magnetism, thermodynamics, mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics. The students build cars, optical and musical instruments, conductivity testers, and roller coaster in addition to conducting experiments and demonstrations. Overall, the students find the class interesting and are motivated to learn; their grades in physics improved.
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Engineering Explorations: Integrating Physics and Engineering Activities into Classrooms
- CC03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Alexandria Muller*, Jasmine Marckwordt, Danielle Harlow, Ron Skinner
- Type: Contributed
- In an effort to encourage critical thinking and problem solving, the Next Generation Science Standards have incorporated engineering standards for the first time. Unfortunately, teachers are under prepared and have little comfort to introduce these unfamiliar complex topics into their classrooms. The University of California at Santa Barbara and MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation partnered up to tackle this problem and bring physics-related engineering activities to teachers through the MOXI Engineering Explorations program. Our task is to develop nine engineering programs over the next three years. These programs will include museum-based field trip activities and grade-appropriate physics and engineering activities that teachers can implement in their classrooms before and after their field trip. This talk will discuss the development and implementation of the first three sets of activities which focused on air pressure and balanced forces, transmission of light and infrared radiation, and resonance frequencies.
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Setting the Tone on Day One: Lessons from Psychology
- CC04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
- by Kristine Lui
- Type: Contributed
- Many students are still resistant to non-traditional methods of teaching. Selling the idea of having students’ “brains on” during class (aka active-learning) seems to occupy many instructors. First impressions do make a big impact, thus it is important to do more than read through the syllabus on the first day of class. Relying on research from psychology, I will outline some strategies that have helped me set the right tone on the first day of class.
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The Core Literacy Investigation of Shanghai Physics Examination Questions
- CC05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
- by Haomin Zhang
- Type: Contributed
- In recent years, China's college entrance examination reform is constantly being optimized and promoted, and Shanghai has been at the forefront of reform. In order to put forward a set of evaluation dimensions and standards that can reflect students' academic performance and physical quality, we optimized the performance of each secondary index on the basis of the national curriculum standards, and developed a specific framework of core literacy. Then, we selected some test questions from the past college entrance examination and conducted a survey in the form of questionnaire and interview for physics teachers. Through the analysis of the results, we found some problems and rules of core literacy and teachers' daily teaching: 8 of the 15 core literacy are difficult to examine in traditional examinations, and teachers are also trying to help students develop these abilities in daily teaching.
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AP Physics Results and their Implications for Diversity in Physics*
- CC06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Andrew Duffy
- Type: Contributed
- The importance of diversity in the physics community has, in recent years, become widely recognized. The College Board publishes data that breaks down AP results along racial and ethnic lines. An important connection between the previous two sentences isthat the demographic information from the College Board, pertaining to the AP Physics exams, indicates that the exact groups that we would like to attract to the physics community are, in general, doing rather poorly on AP Physics. Visualizations of this data will be presented in this talk, in hopes of starting some useful discussions about what to do about the issue.
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Investigating How Middle School Students View Different Science Disciplines
- CC07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Cynthia Reynolds, Giovanna Masia, Elizabeth Parisi, AJ Richards
- Type: Contributed
- In previous research we found that a large fraction of secondary level students expressed that they disliked physics while also saying they had never been taught about the subject. We also found that students struggled to correctly identify what physics IS, and frequently conflated physics with chemistry or other branches of science. To understand this phenomenon, we have chosen to investigate how students develop their attitudes and beliefs about physics and other sciences. We administered a survey to 5th-8th grade students that revealed how they conceptualize different branches of science. In this presentation we will detail our findings and discuss whether or not students have an accurate understanding of the content encompassed by the different branches of science. We will also discuss how that understanding impacts a student’s perception of working in that field.
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Making Quantum Computing More Accessible Through Interactive Activities
- CC08
- Mon 07/22, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
by Jasmine Marckwordt*, Alexandria Muller, Danielle Harlow, Randall Landsberg, Diana Franklin
- Type: Contributed
- Quantum computers, which depend on quantum properties to solve complex problems, have the potential to transform the way we solve problems as diverse as data encryption, finding cures for cancer, and solving world hunger. The goals of the NSF-funded research project EPiQC include activities and resources to help the public develop ideas related to quantum computing. As part of this goal, we developed interactive activities to introduce ideas that will help the public grapple with ideas that will build a foundation for thinking about quantum computing. These activities are appropriate for museums, science nights, and other outreach events that serve an audience of varied ages and backgrounds. These activities developed through designed-based research by an interdisciplinary team that includes computer scientists, education researchers, and museum staff. Iterative development of each activity was informed by the trials with visitors of various ages and educational backgrounds at an interactive science center.
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Physics for Refugees and Street Children in Germany and Colombia
- FG01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
by Manuela Welzel-Breuer*, Elmar Breuer
- Type: Invited
- As part of the international collaboration project “Patio 13- school for street children” in Colombia, we are developing ways to educate so called street children who are used to live disconnected from the official school system. We are cooperating with a teacher training institution in Colombia and linking cultural aspects of education with previous experiences in pedagogy for street children and modern ways of teaching science. Together with advanced teacher students we could develop and implement different ways to teach physics as part of a curriculum for street children using an inquiry-based science education (IBSE) approach, simple experiments and material. Meanwhile, the existence of vulnerable children became visible as a worldwide increasing problem. Hence, we adapted these ideas for two series of physics experiments for refugees in Germany and qualified multipliers. Within this presentation we will report on the approaches, activities and results and draw conclusions for further work.
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Physics for Refugee Children in Germany
- FG02
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
by Dan MacIsaac, Florian Genz, Michael Resvoll
- Type: Invited
- Physik fu?r Flu?chtlinge: We report on recent initiatives led by the German Physical Society to improve the welfare of refugee children in German refugee centers and grade schools using physics and physical science experiments. We plan to lead through atypical simple small group activity with discussion.
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Developing Physics Kits for Use in Non-Formal Refugee Settings*
- FG03
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:45PM
by Erika Gillette, Brian Gillette
- Type: Invited
- Science education supports socio-scientific decision making and scientific problem solving and is important to support true scientific literacy for global citizenship. Children around the world who have experienced interrupted education often come from conflict-affected areas and have not had the opportunities to engage in science instruction. Also, many of them have recently arrived in refugee camps and community centers that provide them with some of their first experiences with education. Through the teaching of Physics, refugee children get to explore phenomena and learn about force and motion through multiple inquiry-based activities. This paper will present the development of the Physics kits for refugees and responses from volunteer educators about the value of Physics instruction in non-formal refugee classrooms.
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The Physics of Video Games: Interactive Modules for Beginner Programmers*
- AD01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
by Richelle Teeling-Smith, Chris Orban
- Type: Invited
- There is an ever-growing need to integrate computation into the physics curriculum. Incorporating new content into an introductory physics course is a challenging task that can be made much easier by utilizing avenues of student interest – specifically, digital games. We introduce a series of hour-long video game-like programming activities for classical mechanics and electricity and magnetism topics. These interactive modules resemble popular games such as “Asteroids”, “Angry Birds”, “Pong”, and “Bonk.io” and require students to write and modify the code to control the physical behavior they see in the game. The 20+ activities are browser-based (requiring no software installation) and modular in nature so that they can be easily integrated into existing courses or labs. We will discuss our experiences in integrating these video game-like programming exercises into the introductory physics courses at Mount Union and OSU Marion, as well as in high school physics classes in Ohio.
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Assessing the Value of Physics-Rich Digital Games and Coding Activities*
- AD02
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
by Chris Orban, Richelle Teeling-Smith
- Type: Invited
- The STEMcoding project has developed a number of “Physics of Video Games” that are fusion of PhET-like web interactives and traditional coding activities. A crucial question is whether activities that merge computer science content and physics instruction do anything more than build student’s familiarity with computer science. I briefly overview efforts to assess the conceptual physics knowledge of students completing coding activities that produce physics-rich digital games. Our hypothesis is that these activities naturally encourage students to look more critically at the behavior of a physics-rich digital game than they would if the code behind an interactive were hidden. I also briefly discuss efforts to assess “computational thinking” which is an emerging field of research.
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Mechanics and Optics in Game Engines
- AD03
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Alejandro Garcia*
- Type: Invited
- Modern game engines, such as Unity and Frostbite, can use advanced physics simulations to create realistic, immersive worlds. This talk describes how such engines perform these calculations for two specific examples from the fields of mechanics and optics.
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Disciplinarily Integrated Games: Manipulating Formal Representations as Core Game Mechanics
- AD04
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
by Douglas Clark, Pratim Sengupta
- Type: Invited
- Interpreting, translating, and manipulating across formal representations is central to scientific practice and modeling (Pickering, 1995; Lehrer & Schauble, 2006a, 2006b; Duschl et al., 2007). We developed disciplinarily integrated games (DIGs) such that players’ actions involve the iterative development and manipulation of formal representations as the core game mechanics (Clark, Sengupta, Brady, Martinez-Garza, & Killingsworth, 2015; Clark et al., 2016; Sengupta & Clark, 2016). The core design commitment in DIGs involves: (a) leveraging formal representations as the means of communicating challenges to players and (b) leveraging formal representations as the players’ means of control within the game. In their strongest form, DIGs can help us structure meaningful connections between epistemic and representational forms across the semester, year, or multi-year curriculum to support the development of epistemic and representational practices that are central to the long-term development of scientific expertise in an authentic manner.
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Using Video Games to Build Models
- AD05
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Rhett Allain
- Type: Invited
- If you want to discover new fundamental models in physics, you might need to build a very expensive experiment like a particle accelerator or a gravitational wave detector. However, there is a much cheaper option to practice model building - video games. Just like the real world, video games have their own fundamental rules that govern the motions of characters. By examining different levels in a game, it’s possible to collect data and build models that reflect the nature of the physics in the video game. In this talk I will share some of my favorite examples of model building in physics games.
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ISLE Framework and the Development of the Preservice Physics Teachers
- HA01
- Wed 07/24, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Marianne Vanier, Eugenia Etkina
- Type: Contributed
- We report on the study that examines how pre-service physic teachers (PSTs) develop habits* and skills necessary to center their teaching on science practices through the use of the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) ** framework. PSTs at Rutgers University teach laboratories in an ISLE-reformed introductory physics course as part of their teacher preparation program. This additional teaching experience is coupled with weekly reflections on a Google group page and the traditional mandatory student teaching in schools. The analysis of the PSTs’ reflections on teaching in this course and traditional student teaching internship beholds how they learn and develop the skills and habits corresponding to the NGSS role of the physics teacher.
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Redesigning the Upper-level Research Experience for BS Physics Major at Rowan University
- HA02
- Wed 07/24, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by David Klassen
- Type: Contributed
- As originally designed our BS Physics degree had an upper-level experimental capstone experience that we labeled Advanced Lab. The concept was that since we had a thriving research environment we could get students into the experimental physics labs where they would learn lab techniques and gain experience with modern equipment (e.g. SEM, XRD, sputtering deposition, etc.). Students would work for half the semester on one project with one mentor then change projects and mentors for the second half. This put considerable strain on the experimentalists and also did not really give students enough time with the projects to be meaningful. We recently reconfigured the experience by converting into two Physics Research Methods courses and moved them into the junior year. I will discuss our reasonings and an initial look at our outcomes after having run the sequence for a full year.
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Development of an Undergraduate Science of Martial Arts Course
- HA03
- Wed 07/24, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
by Joseph Johnson, Katie Kilmer, Paul Ashcraft, Mihwa Park
- Type: Contributed
- It is often the case that universities offer a limited number of options for non-science majors to take interesting science courses to meet their general education elective requirements. This is particularly true for physics-based courses meeting this requirement. With the aim of meeting this need while also increasing interest and enrollment in physics courses in general, a Science of the Martial Arts course was developed, marrying physics content, anatomy and physiology, and the martial arts. The course was also coupled with a study abroad option to Japan. This presentation will describe the development and implementation of this course at our medium sized, liberal arts university to a pool of students that do not have scientific backgrounds. Specifically, we will describe the course development process, the lab and lecture strategies implemented, and the learning outcomes associated with the study abroad component of the course.
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Faraday Rotation
- HA04
- Wed 07/24, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
by Jin Wang, Thomas Sutter, Magnolia Landman, Fedda Saleh
- Type: Contributed
- In this work, observations of Faraday Rotation on linearly polarized laser light is presented as well as an experimental method of measuring the Verdet constant of transparent dielectrics. Historically, Faraday rotation was the first experimental evidence of a connection between electromagnetism and light. It was first observed by Michael Faraday in 1845. This phenomena is of immense practical and historical importance, it has applications such as optical isolators and measuring intense magnetic fields. Faraday rotation is a rotation of the polarization angle of linearly polarized light passing through a medium immersed in a magnetic field parallel to the path of the light. The Verdet constant parameterizes the degree of rotation for a specific material and wavelength of light. In the experiment presented here, an alternating and approximately spatially uniform magnetic field was produced by driving a solenoidal coil of wire with square wave voltage waveform. The Verdet constant of SF–59 Schott glass at 654.3 nm was found to be 21.26 ± 0.57 rad/(T m). The linear dependence of Faraday rotation on the strength of the magnetic field is demonstrated.
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Investigating Common Middle School Physical Science Misconceptions with Network Clustering
- HA05
- Wed 07/24, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
by Jacqueline Doyle, Philip Sadler, Gerhard Sonnert
- Type: Contributed
- We surveyed N = 24630 middle school students across the country with 30 questions covering the NRC physical science standards, drawn from the expert-validated MOSART item bank. Items were designed to include incorrect responses are commonly chosen by students (i.e., misconceptions). We cluster the responses to these questions to find patterns in student understanding and misconception of these topics. We discuss the most common patterns of correct and incorrect responses, how these patterns are similar and dissimilar to each other, and how identifying these patterns in their students may help teachers better assess their students' reasoning in a classroom setting.
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Implementation of a Variation of Studio Physics at the American University in Cairo
- HA06
- Wed 07/24, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
by Mohammad AlFiky, Ehab Abdel-Rahman, Karim Addas, Hosny Omar
- Type: Contributed
- At the American University in Cairo (AUC), the physics department is reforming the traditional way of teaching the calculus-based introductory sequence of Mechanics and EM courses by implementing a variation of the studio format, a hybrid version. The course sequence format has changed from the traditional two lecture sessions (75-minute each) plus one lab session (of 3 hours) per week to two 75-minute sessions (with variety of active learning techniques) each is followed directly by another 75-minute session (of hands-on experimental activity focusing on the main concept of the preceding session). The hybrid version is hosted in two newly renovated labs (of capacity around 30 students) with modern equipment which was purchased by the ASHA grant a few years ago. In addition, the physics department offers regular problem sessions and physics clinic (where students have more opportunities to discuss physics problems) whose structures have been improved. The lecture and lab session activities are guided by PER. We would like to share our experience during this implementation and to get the feed back from the AAPT community on these changes.
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Development of Maker education-linked Physics Teaching Material for High School
- HA07
- Wed 07/24, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
by SE HWAN YOON, Kwang soo Ryu
- Type: Contributed
- The term of 4th Industrial Revolution emerged from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2016 and, it became a paradigm of modern society based on ICT. To prepare for this, the Korean government has been gradually introducing the maker education to the elementary and middle schools as of 2019. However, the high schools has been still lacking the curriculum and space conditions to experience the maker education. In this study, we has developed the physics teaching material for the high school students to experience the maker education easily. Specifically, the students can explore the features of the retro-reflection phenomenon under the theme of ‘reflection of light’ in the physics I curriculum. and we have designed the teaching material with the aim of using retro-reflection to make objects that can be useful in everyday life in their own form. Finally, we hope that the results of this study can induce the positive awareness of the maker education by providing the opportunities to experience the purpose of maker education in everyday topics, and it contributes to the spread of the maker education-linked science education culture in school.
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Action Research for Implementing Active-Learning High School Physics Lessons in Japan
- HA08
- Wed 07/24, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
- by Sachiko Tosa
- Type: Contributed
- In spite of a strong emphasis on the use of active-learning type instructional strategies, high school lessons in Japan are known to be one-way knowledge transmission (Ministry of Education, 2018). This study examines the effects of implementing active-learning type instructional strategies in a particular high school physics class in Japan As the first step, characteristics of the physics class were identified through an analysis of the observation data of the class for three months. The results indicate that the lessons were conducted mostly by the transmission of knowledge despite the fact that the teacher included elements that would help students relate physics knowledge to their daily lives. A plan for implementing active-learning type instructional strategies was developed by the teacher and researchers. Impacts of action research on student academic performance, teacher teaching, and teacher’s beliefs will be discussed in the presentation.
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Robeson Planetarium: After the Floods
- HA09
- Wed 07/24, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
- by Ken Brandt
- Type: Contributed
- The Robeson Planetarium and Science Center succumbed to the floodwaters associated with Hurricanes Matthew in 2016, and Florence in 2018. That could have been the end of the story, but it is not. Come find out about partnerships, perseverance, and resilience as we plot a course towards rebuilding.
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The Room Escape Game at Physics Classes
- HA09
- Wed 07/24, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
by Juri Seo, Dukkuen Im, Doyeong Kim, Namhwa Kang
- Type: Contributed
- The room escape game is an event that has been held in the U.S. and Europe. It is a game that aims to escape by finding clues while trapped in a room. The theme of escape was applied to class through a physics approach. Students who are not interested inphysics can also be interested in the principles of LED, convex lens, plane mirror, and polarized light. To do this, new research can be done by developing related fields by utilizing existing contents. This study introduces a method to implement room escape contents in school class time. In addition, students can develop engineering creativity by creating trick devices, and apply them to STEAM classes as they produce other subjects, devices, and stories.
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Concept Question Use Across Multiple Sections of Introductory Electromagnetism
- HC01
- Wed 07/24, 3:30PM - 3:40PM
by Aidan MacDonagh, Alexander Shvonski, Michelle Tomasik, Peter Dourmashkin
- Type: Contributed
- We examine student responses to in-class concept questions given in a large-scale, introductory electromagnetism course at MIT. The course has 8 sections with approximately 90 students per section, and each section’s instructor uses the same set of in-class concept questions, to which students submit responses using our LMS. By analyzing the comprehensive dataset of student responses, we sought to understand how concept questions were used in class, thereby determining the educational experience of the students between sections. We found that most students were asked a majority of the questions at least once (instructors used anywhere from 73% to 92% of available questions), but there was much more variation in the number of follow-up attempts given (ranging from 0% to 77% amongst sections). We consider the effects that these differences in concept question use might have on learning outcomes.
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Assessment of Relevance in Algebra-based Physics for Non-Majors
- HC02
- Wed 07/24, 3:40PM - 3:50PM
- by Gen Long
- Type: Contributed
- In this presentation, we report an ongoing exploration of assessing the teaching of College Physics to non-major students including Biology, Toxicology and Biomedical, etc. In our traditional classroom setting, we try to educate the students about the relevance of Physics to their own majors, which wasn’t emphasized in previous teaching. We’re working on to find out whether or not this helps students learn more actively, through self-assessment, and assessment done on the learning outcomes. Pre and post assessments on physics and math prerequisite were also conducted.
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Integration of Cost-effective Sensors into Introductory Physics Labs
- HC03
- Wed 07/24, 3:50PM - 4:00PM
- by Matthew Fairbanks
- Type: Contributed
- The physics faculty of California State University Maritime Academy are in the process of modernizing the University’s physics lab curriculum to include more modern sensors and more inquiry-based experiments and activities. To that end, we have begun using wireless PocketLab sensors - which integrate many standard sensors into a single, compact package - into our existing experimental apparatus. We will discuss some of the lessons learned during this process: student response, the strengths and weaknesses of the PocketLab platform, and plans for the future.
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Let’s Get Physical: Exploring Kinematics in the Gym
- HC04
- Wed 07/24, 4:00PM - 4:10PM
by Jyl Stoltenberg, Azita Seyed Fadaei
- Type: Contributed
- In the series of lab experiments, students were to observe patterns of motion of objects, uniform motion and then non-uniform motion in an Algebra-based physics course. We extended the idea to the daily life. In the viewpoint of a personal trainer, humanmovement derives from the very basic concepts of kinematics. So delving into further exploration of how the role plays into the body mechanics, exercise execution and strength development is of the great import to this study. The purpose of the recorded elements was to be able to simplify the concepts of motion witnessed in the gym and make comparisons of kinematic variables. By comparing the graphs from each sport activity, both in lab and from client training sessions, we sought to show how uniform and non-uniform motion and the subsequent relationships of position vs. time and velocity vs. time make up the very foundation of training.
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Demo Based Recitations
- HC05
- Wed 07/24, 4:10PM - 4:20PM
- by Joseph Brinkley
- Type: Contributed
- In a demo based recitation section, students are asked to analyze a physical apparatus, and make necessary measurements before solving problems. In their problem solving, they must use their own measurements as part of the problem solving process. In this talk, I will give a couple of examples of demo based recitation questions used in first year physics courses.
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Current Political New York Times Articles Which Help Teach Physics
- HC06
- Wed 07/24, 4:20PM - 4:30PM
- by John cise
- Type: Contributed
- Recent political events reported in the New York Times have been rich with physics applications. Political event articles involving: Newton, Statics, Centripetal force, Projectiles, Energy, Power, Buoyancy will be presented as useful physics learning applications. These one page edited New York Times political articles are used by the author as : introductions to physics concepts, quiz questions, etc. They are listed as at AAPT ComPADRE site and this specific talk is at http;//CisePhysics.homestead.com/files/NYTPoliticalPhysics.pdf and at the vast NYT Physics Application site: http://CisePhysics.homestead.com/files/NYTPhysics2016E.pdf
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Teachers’ Disciplinary-Boundedness in the Implementation of Integrated Computational Modeling in Physics
- HC07
- Wed 07/24, 4:30PM - 4:40PM
by Rebecca Vieyra, Joshua Himmelsbach, Andrew Elby
- Type: Contributed
- Computational modeling has received significant attention as a way to support and expand an understanding of physics. However, the use of programming as a representative tool to model physics often challenges high school teachers' historic dependencies on algebra-based thinking. In this presentation, we will provide a synthesis of teachers' perceptions about the discipline of physics, and show data that suggest that teachers who display stronger "boundary-stretching" attitudes about physics are significantly more likely to persist in the inclusion of computational modeling across a four-year program funded by 100Kin10 and the NSF. We will present the tool we developed to assess teachers' thinking, correlate these thinking patterns to teachers’ long-term persistence project, and describe the potential implications of our findings.
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The Trouble with Significant Figures
- HC08
- Wed 07/24, 4:40PM - 4:50PM
by Larry Smith, John Denker
- Type: Contributed
- Consider: (a) deciding how much to round off, (b) representing uncertainty, and (c) representing actual significance, in the sense of importance or meaningfulness. These are three important things, but they are not the same thing. Unfortunately, some introductory science texts use the method of "significant figures" (also known as "significant digits") to cover all of these things. Blurring the distinctions leads to conceptual errors, incorrect numerical results, and wasted effort. There are good reasons why students don't like and don't understand significant figures. Various problems with significant figures are explained.
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The Secondary Pre-teachers’ Perception of Good Science Teaching in Korea
- HC09
- Wed 07/24, 4:50PM - 5:00PM
by Arum Noh, NamIn Hong, HyukJun Choi
- Type: Contributed
- This research surveys how the secondary pre-service teachers (hereinafter referred to as pre-teachers) recognize good science teaching, and lets the pre-teachers evaluate their teaching based on their survey to see whether their science teaching is good.This study intends to compare differences between their perception about good science teaching and their actual teaching. Based on a good science teaching questionnaire (Lee, 2016), the good science teaching perception survey questionnaire were created and implemented for 48 pre-teachers. As a result, in the three areas of educational content, method and environment and atmosphere, pre-teachers gave a lower score in their science teaching than the perception score for good science teaching. In addition, their teaching execution required in the conventional method was achieved while they felt it was more difficult to develop teaching for high-dimensional thinking power. Based on the results, we present some suggestions for overcoming the difficulties that pre-teachers have in carrying out good science teaching.
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Operate gifted education program to cultivate various competencies
- HC10
- Wed 07/24, 5:00PM - 5:10PM
- by Yongsik Lym
- Type: Contributed
- This school is a middle school that operates a local community gifted school and has been operating math and science gifted education for many years. The problem has been that the number of applicants has gradually decreased over the years, and there have often been cases of even underperforming middle school seniors. The reasons for this include the uniform teaching method that has been customary in the past and the curriculum that does not reflect various educational factors such as career, personality and creativity. In order to break away from this formalized education system, the school attempted to converge gifted education with diverse capabilities of students. The four elements of the program were career, scientific aptitude, personality, and creativity. As a result of its operation, it explored science-related high schools and universities and conducted activities with counselors to develop awareness of career. The elements of scientific literacy were allowed to study the facilities related to mathematics and science and to build virtues by operating an exploratory classroom. The character category was designed to foster a sense of cooperation and social skills by visiting a group training center to encounter various group activities and team work tasks. Activities to cultivate creative elements led to an opportunity to visit the invention center and make similar inventions in person, and took a long time to select and solve research tasks for each group in the school. This year's operation indicated that overall satisfaction with the activity was higher than in the past.
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Professional Skills for Graduate Students
- EH
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Hannah Sabo
- Type: Panel
- This interactive panel focuses on developing professional skills for graduate students and other early-stage researchers. This session will address professional concerns brought up by graduate students during the past Graduate Student Topical Discussions. Topics covered may include: preparing for careers after graduate school, becoming integrated with the community, developing research skills, and disseminating your work. While this session is aimed toward graduate students, we welcome undergraduates who are interested this professional development opportunity or curious about life as a graduate student!
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Quantitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination
- FK
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by John Aiken
- Type: Panel
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Neither an Elixir nor a Heresy: Quantitative Methods in Physics Education Research
- FK01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
- by Lin Ding
- Type: Panel
- As with many other social sciences, physics education research (PER) is a field where investigators use various methods to make empirical inquiries. The general category of quantitative methods, commonly known as practices of quantifying and interpretingnumerical information, is perhaps one of the most frequently applied genres in PER. Despite its regular use and long history, quantitative PER is often misjudged. It can be either idolized as the only objective approach to PER or demonized as statistical lies created by researchers to make a point. In this talk, I argue that quantitative PER is neither an elixir nor a heresy. Instead, it should be evaluated, at least in part, within the norms and traditions of quantitative paradigm. To that end, I discuss paradigmatic underpinnings of quantitative methodologies, including their ontological assumptions, epistemological commitments and practical implications.
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Comparing the FCI and FMCE with Multidimensional Item Response Theory
- FK02
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
by Cabot Zabriskie, John Stewart, Jie Yang
- Type: Panel
- Constrained Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) is a powerful tool to understand the detailed structure of a multiple-choice instrument. A detailed model of the conceptual solution of the instrument developed by experts in the field can be mapped onto the MIRT model and the degree to which the expert solution models student thinking can be evaluated. Small, theoretically motivated, changes to the model are then explored to find an optimal model of student thinking. This process was applied to the FCI and FMCE, two instruments used interchangeably to characterize Newtonian thinking. Under the lens of MIRT, the two instruments are shown to be dramatically different with differing coverage and connectivity. Further, which the FCI is unidimensional, the FMCE demonstrates some subscale structure, but far less connection between concepts. This suggests the two instruments may be complementary with the FCI measuring an integrated Newtonian force concept and the FMCE components of that force concept.
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Reconsidering the Encoding of Data in Physics Education Research
- FK03
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
by R. Padraic Springuel, Micahel Wittmann, John Thompson
- Type: Panel
- In performing quantitative analysis, the data collection method and the data analysis method are often well considered choices. However, data encoding, which forms the connection between the two, is often taken for granted. Either the chosen data collection method leads to an "obvious" encoding method, or the chosen data analysis method's demands on the encoded data that dictate an "obvious" choice of encoding. Researchers seldom publish their reasoning about this process and consider whether these two “obvious” choices are the same or how differences between them might affect their ability to draw conclusions and generalize them. We propose that encoding practices and decisions need to be be made explicit in conducting quantitative research. In this fashion, PER will be able to have more productive discussions about how these decisions are made, how they can be made well, and what sort of effect they have on research.
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Using Machine Learning to Understand the Retention of STEM Students
- FK04
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 6:45PM
by John Stewart, Cabot Zabriskie
- Type: Panel
- Retention of STEM students is a critical national problem. Introductory physics classes play a key role in the retention of these students. This talk will first explore retention through survival analysis to show the critical role of time in understanding retention. Machine learning algorithms including logistic regression, decision trees, and random forests are then applied to understand the variables important in predicting retention through the first year of college. This analysis identifies being a successful student in high school and arriving on campus “calculus-ready” as critical predictors of success. The student’s progression through the network of introductory science and mathematics courses is then explored. Machine learning algorithms are applied to understand a student’s risk factors as they matriculate from Calculus 1 and Chemistry 1 through Physics 1 and Physics 2. This will show students who matriculate through the network along different paths have different risk factors and chances of success.
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STEP UP: Examining the Impacts of Classroom Lessons on Students' Physics Identities and Career Intentions*
- ED01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Hemeng Cheng, Raina Khatri, Robynne Lock
- Type: Invited
- This talk reports on work related to the STEP UP project. In the first phase of this multi-year, multi-institutional project, we developed and tested a set of classroom materials to help teachers expose students to career options for physics majors and to discuss the underrepresentation of women in physics. The development was based on prior research on these topics and followed an initial pilot phase with one group of teachers followed by a quasi-experimental phase with another group of teachers. In this talk, we summarize the development and design logic of the lessons and present findings on their impacts on students' physics identities and future physics intentions, with a particular focus on women. These results should inform future improvements and adoption of the materials in high schools across the U.S.
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STEP UP: Applying Multiple Frameworks in Curriculum Development*
- ED02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:10PM
by Raina Khatri, Zahra Hazari, Robynne Lock, Geoff Potvin, Ingelise Giles
- Type: Contributed
- This talk reports on work related to the STEP UP project. The project had two primary criteria in creating classroom resources to support the project’s goals of increasing the recruitment of women to undergraduate physics: 1) they must be based in the research literature on gender issues in physics, and 2) they must be usable across many classroom contexts. Thus, the team explicitly drew upon multiple frameworks from both gender and dissemination literature, integrating knowledge from traditionally disparate fields in the creation and revisions of the materials. This talk provides examples of the frameworks used and how they informed improvements of materials in concurrence with classroom field-testing data. This may serve as a model for other educators to promote transferability of their materials while maintaining core intervention content.
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STEP UP: Analyzing Student Identity Development in Two Classroom Interventions*
- ED03
- Tue 07/23, 2:10PM - 2:20PM
by Hemeng Cheng, Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Raina Khatri, Robynne Lock
- Type: Contributed
- This talk reports on work related to the STEP UP project. Based on an earlier successful pilot study, in fall 2018, a second group of teachers from three regions in the U.S. were recruited to participate in a quasi-experimental test of a set of classroommaterials intended to expose students to careers in physics and a discussion of underrepresentation of women in physics. Students completed multiple rounds of attitudinal surveys that probed both physics identities and future career intentions. This talk will report on a quantitative analysis of the pre/post data for both lessons as well as the implications of these findings for future improvements of the lessons and adoption of these lessons across the country.
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STEP UP: Analyzing Discussions of Underrepresentation*
- ED04
- Tue 07/23, 2:20PM - 2:30PM
by Benjamin Archibeque, Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Laird Kramer, Raina Khatri
- Type: Contributed
- This talk reports on work related to the STEP UP project. In previous research, in-class discussions of underrepresentation have been found to increase women’s interest in physics-related careers as well as their physics identities. Understanding which facets of these conversations are important and how they affect broader classroom discussion might offer insight into what instructors can do to bolster women’s physics identities and career interests. This talk will present an analysis of certain aspects of an in-class discussion of underrepresentation: how speaking time changes, and how students’ hedging and warranting progresses throughout the discussion.
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STEP UP: Analyzing Student Perceptions of Physics Following a Career in Physics Lesson*
- ED05
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
by Thomas Head, Robynne Lock, Allan Teer, Zahra Hazari, Geoff Potvin
- Type: Contributed
- In fall 2018, we conducted an experimental study on the effects of the project interventions, including the Careers in Physics lesson. In this lesson, students explored the profiles of modern day physicists and the many career options available to physics majors. The students then connected physics to their own career aspirations. In this talk, we discuss how students’ perceptions of physics align with their own career goals. Students’ career goals are analyzed under the framework of agentic and communal goals. We examine to what extent the lesson communicates that communal goals align with physics and how this perception varies with gender. Data collected include student open-ended survey responses, survey items, and student work such as a career profile in which students envision themselves achieving their career goals with a physics degree.
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STEP UP: An Examination of Teachers’ Changing Beliefs about Discrimination during the Implementation of Classroom Lessons on Women in Physics*
- ED06
- Tue 07/23, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
by Camila Monsalve, Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Robynne Lock, T. Blake Head
- Type: Contributed
- This talk reports on work related to the STEP UP project. STEP UP is focused on mobilizing high school teachers to inspire more female high school students to pursue physics majors in college. Participating high school teachers are asked to teach two lessons about physics careers and women’s representation in physics. Teachers’ own beliefs regarding women’s discrimination in physics are important to understand, both in terms of how these beliefs affect the way they implement the lesson and what teachers learn from the experience. Surveys and interviews were conducted with both teachers and students in high schools in three regions of the U.S. We will present an analysis of how teachers’ and students’ beliefs shift after the lesson on women’s representation.
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STEP UP: Discussing the Implementation of Strategies with High School Physics Teachers*
- ED07
- Tue 07/23, 2:50PM - 3:20PM
by Bree Barnett Dreyfuss, Colleen Epler-Ruths, Brian Kays, Susan Johnston, Jolene Johnson
- Type: Invited
- The STEP UP project includes Master Teachers who participated in the initial research phase of the project and teacher Ambassadors that will prepare other teachers to implement the classroom materials. The Master Teachers helped refine and test the engagement strategies amongst their high school students to facilitate the development of students’ physics identities, engage more female students, and encourage them to consider pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics. The Ambassadors will lead the projects’ propagation efforts by coordinating teacher workshops and providing support to physics teachers in implementing the materials. In this moderated panel, both Master Teachers and Ambassadors will discuss their perspectives on all of these activities.
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Saturday Registration
- REG02
- Sat 07/20, 7:00AM - 4:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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Can We Inoculate Science Students Against Pseudoscience?
- CI01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
by Eric Schiff, Walter Freeman
- Type: Invited
- Climate change and other “hot button” topics in science confront science teachers with a quandary. Ordinarily, in teaching science we use streamlined narratives. These are successful in improving students’ understanding. However, outside the classroom, similarly streamlined narratives are being used to give credibility to conclusions that are far from the science mainstream. Consequently, we are adding material to introductory physics and astronomy courses that may inoculate students against aberrant narratives. Recognizing and understanding “cherry picking” is one example. What distinguishes a discovery such as X-rays from an apparent discovery such as N-rays? In climate science, is the recent rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just cherry picking of data from millennia of fluctuating levels? Such questions are not commonly included in textbooks, nor are they typically included in learning outcomes for introductory courses. Inoculation strategies need more instructional materials and guidance in assessment.
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The M&M Problem
- CI02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 6:15PM
- by Brad Hoge
- Type: Invited
- NCSE's teacher ambassador program has operated under the catch phrase "turning misinformation into educational opportunities" or TMEO. To the consternation of colleagues who hate acronyms, I have often replaced the M in TMEO with the word misconceptions.Why would I do this? Is it just to confuse and annoy my colleagues? Well, maybe, but the program uses misconception-based pedagogy to inoculate students against the misinformation they encounter from sources such as the Heartland Institute and some fairly high-profile politicians, so either word actually works. And it's not simply that I can't decide which word I like best. There is a method to my madness and it has to do with the power the chimeric M provides when explaining the impact of our approach. This works outside of the classroom too and I'll explain how to use this technique to talk to climate change deniers tactfully and without conflict.
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Cloud Physics II
- CI03
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by Celia Chow
- Type: Contributed
- A continuation of “Cloud Physics I “ presented at AAPTSM17.
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Science and Society: Towards Teaching a Structural Understanding of Science
- EI
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Deepak Iyer
- Type: Panel
- In this session, our goal is to connect physics educators, physicists, and physics education researchers with the community that studies the larger contexts in which science is done -- power structures, socio-political issues, militarism, for example -- and bring their insights into science education, physics in particular. In a sequence of invited presentations, speakers will raise and discuss questions pertaining to the ownership of science and its products, the role of capital and private corporations in science, the marginalization of indigenous knowledges and epistemologies and the corresponding strong focus on eurocentric means of “knowing”, the separation of technical from social ways of knowing, and how these ideologies of individualism, meritocracy, technocracy, and eurocentrism impact ways of thinking about climate change, nuclear power, invasive technologies, data, and related issues. These will be followed by a guided discussion session with the active participation of the audience. We strongly believe that such participation is crucial to beginning and sustaining a dialogue on this subject and internalizing these notions so that it influences how we as a community think about physics and physics education.
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What Young and Aspiring Engineers Should Know About Structural Violence
- EI01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by David Banks*
- Type: Invited
- Engineers are responsible for building some of the most consequential pieces of our technological world. Much like lawyers are essential to the writing and passage of law and policy, engineers are inextricably linked to how things get built and who benefits from their existence. However, unlike lawyers (or doctors, or teachers), and with the exception of structural failure, engineers are rarely asked to consider the ethical consequences of their work. If issues like climate change or the carceral state are to be truly dealt with, engineers will have to do better than off-loading the moral dimensions of their work to the people who hired them. Engineers, instead, must be taught how to think through and integrate structural violence theory into safety pedagogy. In other words, ideals such as reparations and dignity must be just as important as tensile strength or maximum load capacity.
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'Service Science' and the Urgency to Reimagine How STEM Helps Communities in Need
- EI02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Yanna Lambrinidou
- Type: Invited
- When examining the causes of environmental injustice, we typically focus on corporations and governments that promote the interests of the few to the detriment of the many. I foreground a third institution that can contribute to the harm: 'service science.' Implemented under umbrella concepts such as 'community engagement' and 'citizen science,' 'service science' is a growing branch of STEM that brings scientists and engineers into communities in need with the purpose to 'do good.' I suggest that 'service science' is not inherently 'neutral,' 'objective,' or 'altruistic.' Rather, it is a political act, often informed by a dominant discourse that privileges the views of experts over those of the communities they aim to help. Consequently, ‘service science’ can systematically augment the power of STEM while replicating the very inequities at the root of environmental injustice. I posit that reimagining how STEM helps communities in need is not only necessary but also urgent.
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Re-Imagining “Western/Modern Science”:“Othering” of the Non-West in the History of the Scientific Revolution
- EI03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Amit Prasad
- Type: Invited
- Teaching of structural understanding of science has to confront the discursive imaginaries of “modern science” that constitute not just the non-West, but also people of color and women within the West as the “other.” Such discursive imaginaries are ofteninvisible, because, as social anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu pointed out in relation to dominant discourses that operate as doxa, they are internalized through repetition and as such become naturalized categories. Modern science is perhaps the most important constituent in the imaginary of the West and its superiority to the rest and as such this imaginary is imbibed through pedagogy and other forms of socialization. In this regard the Scientific Revolution, which is seen as marking the birth of modern science in Western Europe, becomes the point de capiton. In the presentation, I show how historical engagements with the Scientific Revolution started at a time when European colonialism was coming to an end and how they end up constituting the history and culture of the West as universal and the model for the rest of the world. I would also show how the historical framing of the origin of modern science in the West relies on “othering” of the non-West, in particular that of the Asians. The issue at stake in confronting such West-centric discursive imaginaries, I further argue, is not simply to critically interrogate the history of modern science, but to also make our students and citizens better equipped to engage with the dramatically changing global landscape of science and technology.
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Share-a-thon: Active Learning for the 2-Year College
- BA
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Raeghan Graessle and Theo Gotis
- Type: Panel
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Comparing the Cook Book and Non-Cook Book Lab Activitiesin an Active Learning Environment
- BA01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Azita Seyed Fadaei
- Type: Contributed
- We have compared the effects of cook book based lab activities with the impacts of doing lab inquiry based on a small introductory engineering physics course. Performance in lab activities that did and did not require the cookbook procedure were comparedusing a final questionnaire from the participating students in that course. The population of students who did the lab in each scenario was the same because they enrolled in the same course. In the course we planned five lab activities of three different types. The first type that we call Cook Book activities were prepared and then completed by students. The second type of activities, which we call Non- Cook Book were inquiry-based and orally guide. The final activity type was called Both and was a combination of two other activities. We analyzed the results of the activities-related questionnaire.
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An Integrated Model for Teaching Writing in the Introductory Laboratory*
- EE01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Scott Bonham
- Type: Invited
- Because it is a challenge to learn to write scientifically, many students can benefit from a good pedagogical approach to help them master this important, complex skill. Different pedagogical strategies have been used for teaching students writing: repeated practice, instructor feedback, good—and maybe not so good—examples, explicit grading rubrics, pre-lab questions, and scaffolding where students focus on just one section at a time, building up towards a complete report. In this talk I will describe a pedagogical model that we developed to incorporate all of these elements together to support students learning to write in our introductory physics lab. I will also share evidence that demonstrates its effectiveness in improving student writing skills that we have collected from surveys, lab reports, and final exams. I will also discuss some experiments in using student peer review, results and lessons learned.
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Incorporating the Scientific Practice of Lab Notebook Documentation into Physics Lab Courses at All Levels
- EE02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
by Heather Lewandowski, Jacob Stanley
- Type: Invited
- Documentation of plans, procedures, results, interpretations, and in-the-moment thinking while working on a physics experiment is an authentic scientific practice. We have studied how experts learn how to keep a lab notebook and their professional practices while keeping a notebook. Additionally, we have studied the outcomes from replacing lab reports with lab notebooks as the primary course artifact in both introductory and upper-division level labs. Using these data, we will present recommendations for incorporating lab notebooks into lab classes and some outcomes from our own courses.
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The Feasibility Proposal: An Alternative to Lab Reports
- EE03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 2:40PM
- by Stefan Jeglinski
- Type: Contributed
- A course in Physical Computing, modeled after one of the same name at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, has been developed. The course is project and Makerspace oriented, and focuses on sensing, computing, and interacting. In lieu of lab reports, students write and implement a feasibility proposal that parallels their physical project work. In contrast to the typical elements of Abstract, Analysis, and Discussion in a formal lab report, student focus on Abstract, Background, Significance, Technical Objectives, and How to Measure Success – all elements of real proposals submitted as SBIRs, STTRs, or requests for internal company funding. Students learn as much about written organization and communication as they would by writing a lab report, but also gain valuable knowledge about real-world scientific proposals. I will present examples of the evolution of student understanding and skill in writing such a proposal, outcomes, and student feedback.
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Exit Tickets for Formative Writing Practice
- EE04
- Tue 07/23, 2:40PM - 2:50PM
- by Bradley McCoy
- Type: Contributed
- Depending on course goals, short in-class writing exercises may be more effective for learning than longer lab reports. For example, if a course objective is for students to draw conclusions from their data, this objective can be practiced without writing all portions of a full lab report. In this talk, I describe the purpose, design, and implementation of Exit Tickets, short formative writing assignments that students complete at the end of each lab experiment.
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Reflection and Analysis of Peer Review in Junior Physics Lab
- EE05
- Tue 07/23, 2:50PM - 3:00PM
- by Karen Williams
- Type: Contributed
- Peer review was implemented in Junior Physics Lab the last two semesters that the course was offered. The students used the rubric that was used to grade their formal lab reports to grade each other's reports before turning the reports in for grading by the professor. The effectiveness of peer review on their scores will be examined. The peer review class scores will be compared with non-peer review lab scores and non-peer review class scores.
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Supporting Claims with Evidence: Scaffolding Student Lab Writing*
- EE06
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Krista Wood, Kathleen Koenig, Lei Bao
- Type: Contributed
- How can we get students to make valid claims supported with evidence? In our labs designed to develop students’ scientific reasoning skills, we found that students struggled with stating valid claims based on evidence. In addition, students had difficulty coordinating theory with evidence. We redesigned our lab curriculum to intentionally scaffold students through this process. The redesigned lab curriculum was implemented during spring 2019. We will share how we scaffolded the writing of evidence-based claims that coordinates theory with evidence, as well as how student writing of evidence-based claims improved.
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Better Lab Learning; Easier Lab Grading
- EE08
- Tue 07/23, 3:20PM - 3:30PM
- by Mark Schober
- Type: Contributed
- In my introductory physics course, labs are used to develop fundamental science concepts, build laboratory skills, and assess laboratory skills — but not at the same time. Matching labs with particular purposes breaks down the idea of “lab” into manageable pieces for the students, and for me, too, when it comes to assessed labs. I assess several lab skills at a time according to a list of lab objectives based on the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices and the needs of my physics course. Students work in teams to demonstrate their abilities relative to selected lab objectives, and I assess their work according to the objectives. In my observation, students learn laboratory skills better, and it is easier for me to give students specific, useful feedback.
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Enabling the Digital Ecosystem Through Standards
- AF01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Cary Brown
- Type: Invited
- One of the significant challenges facing educational institutions, both technically as well as pedagogically, is the continued fractured and disparate nature of learning tools and platforms on campus. By encouraging the adoption of standards to ensure interoperability between these systems, we also facilitate the convergent flow of learning data to record stores and other repositories that provide the opportunity for meaningful learning data analytics. We’ll review a number of the standards provided by IMS Global Learning Consortium, how they work together to provide a framework for interoperability in the next generation digital learning ecosystem, and look at new initiatives and next steps to achieve the promise of analytics to drive efficiencies and student success on campus.
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Using Analytics to Nudge Student Responsibility for Learning
- AF02
- Mon 07/22, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by John Fritz*
- Type: Invited
- For 10 years, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has provided a Check My Activity (CMA) feedback tool allowing students to compare how active they are in the campus Learning Management System (LMS) compared to an anonymous summary of course peers earning the same, higher or lower grade on any assignment -- If instructors use the gradebook. Typically, students earning a D/F tend to use the LMS 40% less than more successful peers, but we've also seen that students who use the CMA are about 1.5-2 times more likely to earn a C or higher. In this talk, I will share how the CMA came about, lessons learned, and possible implications for course design. For a demo, see https://youtu.be/rpU1GdvS_yc. For a more detailed write-up, see https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20244 as well as related links about UMBC analytics at doit.umbc.edu/analytics.
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Improving Equity and Inclusion in Physics Through the SEISMIC Project
- AF03
- Mon 07/22, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
- by Nita Kedharnath
- Type: Contributed
- SEISMIC, the Sloan Equity & Inclusion in STEM Introductory Courses project, aims to improve equity and inclusion in foundational STEM courses enrolling more than 60,000 new students per year. Bringing together 10 large, public research universities throughout the country, this three-year project will share data, execute parallel data analysis, and run coordinated experiments across the collaboration. SEISMIC creates an opportunity for STEM instructors, discipline-based education researchers, data analysts, staff in teaching and learning centers, and many other stakeholders in STEM education to share ideas, experiments, and data to help us improve our courses. Modeled on other large scientific collaborations, the SEISMIC project relies on a Scientific Working Group structure to achieve its goals. This talk will describe the activities of the Measurement Working Group, whose central goal is to characterize and make new measurements of equity and inclusion in introductory STEM courses using educational data from each member institution.
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The Metadata and Resource Quality Bottleneck
- AF04
- Mon 07/22, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
- by Bruce Mason
- Type: Contributed
- The creation, organization, and application of information about content and resources in digital collections is the well-known "Metadata Bottleneck". This barrier has been a re-discovered by many groups and projects wishing to share their work or build collections of high-quality online resources. Providing detailed, quality information is particularly difficult in support of groups with very specific and arcane needs, such educators. This talk will review a few examples of information cataloging in digital library projects
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Data Driven Evidence-based Instructional Design Using Open Resources and Tools
- AF05
- Mon 07/22, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
- by Kenneth Walsh
- Type: Contributed
- Active learning sparked a flipped classroom movement at Oregon State University. Modular shared open resources and learning tools enabled ultimate control for instructors and equity for students. Click-stream tracking and learning objectives-based analysis opened up a whole new world of evidence-based instructional design possibilities. My journey from building a few lecture videos to using data analytics and predictive modeling has led me to create a curriculum embedded with the research tools necessary to close-the-loop on its efficacy. I will talk about the resources and tools we use, share initial results of what helps students learn in this environment, and where the project is headed.
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Modernizing PERs Analysis of the CLASS and Similar Assessments
- AF06
- Mon 07/22, 10:00AM - 10:10AM
by Ben Van Dusen, Jayson Nissen
- Type: Contributed
- Many assessments in PER include questions with ordered categorical answers such as Likert-style questions. As a field, PER has used a range of methods to analyze this data. For example, when analyzing Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) data, researchers typically collapse student responses into two categories, calculate average scores in each category, and then analyze the overall scores using linear regression models. In this talk, we will explore the limitations of transforming categorical data and including it in linear regressions. We offer proportional odds logistic regression as an alternative solution that does not require transforming the data nor violates the assumptions of the statistical model used. To illustrate the differences between these two methods, we will apply them both to the same set of CLASS data, explore the model outputs, and discuss how to interpret them.
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Describing Student Interaction with Interactive Simulations Using a Teacher Dashboard
- AF07
- Mon 07/22, 10:10AM - 10:20AM
by Diana Lopez Tavares, Katherine Perkins, Michael Kauzmann, Carlos Aguirre Velez
- Type: Contributed
- Student engagement with interactive simulations is affected by the prompts and activities teachers choose to couple with such simulations. In this work, we introduce a prototype dashboard to visualize and evaluate student interaction generated by simulation centered activities. We compare student interaction resulting from two different prompts using PhET’s Energy Skate Park: Basics and Forces and Motion: Basics simulations. The first prompt invites students to find the variables that affect movement via challenge-style questions. The second prompt asks students to predict and observe movement given specific parameters and variables. The dashboard shows information such as the time spent in the activity and information about the controls used in the sim. Results show that activities based in challenges get that students explore with more sim’s elements and they interact for longer time. We reflect on the differences in student how a teacher dashboard can guide instructional design.
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Using Analytics to Understand Affect and Content Knowledge
- AF08
- Mon 07/22, 10:20AM - 10:30AM
by Andrew Gavrin, Patrick Kelley
- Type: Contributed
- In this talk, we will present examples of analytics used to understand student affect and content knowledge in an introductory calculus-based mechanics class. Enrollment in the course is 150–200 students each semester, and the setting is an urban public institution. We will discuss analytic data reflecting two distinct areas and originating from three data sources: content knowledge (homework, personal response system) and affect (an online forum). Our results suggest the potential for using these data sources to understand student behavior and improve instruction. Our results also highlight one of the difficulties of using this data. Because the data and analysis are complex, they are difficult to use, and even more difficult to merge, in real time. We will conclude with a discussion of our interactions with one of the application developers to begin moving towards a resolution of this problem.
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Solo PER
- DL
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Steve Maier
- Type: Topical
- Are you the only professional active in PER within your department? Are there only one or two colleagues in close proximity you can talk “PER shop” with? The membership of Solo PER is larger than you may think, and more diverse than most suspect. Join usfor this topical discussion to connect with other Solo PER professionals and learn what is being done to help our/your endeavors. As in the past, bring questions, ideas and professional concerns to share. Consider joining the Solo PER group at PERcentral ahead of the meeting for occasional updates (https://www.compadre.org/per/programs/). Also, you can join in on live conversations using our Discord server (https://discord.gg/5fADGZr).
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The Physics of Star Wars
- CJ01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:45PM
- by Patrick Greenleaf Johnson
- Type: Invited
- Since he was young, Patrick has loved both science and Star Wars. As an adult, he wrote a book that tries to explain different theories as to how scenes and devices in the Star Wars universe work. Have you ever wondered how the Death Star works? How shields can stop catapults, but droids can walk right through? This talk will offer possible explanations of these scenes and more. This will be an enjoyable talk for anybody who is a fan of Star Wars, physics, or both.
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It's a Small World in a Vast Galaxy
- CJ02
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
- by Richard Gelderman
- Type: Contributed
- In the Star Wars series, the creators much of the time present correct aspects of distances and sizes in our galaxy, though times when they fumble can be just as useful as teachable moments. Students learning how long it takes to send spacecraft to the Moon or Mars can address whether popping in and out of hyperspace within a solar system would work as it does for the Rebellion. A real-time holographic teleconference with Jedi located on worlds scattered across the galaxy becomes a paradox to students learning about the constant speed of light in a war that spans tens or hundreds of light-years. Attempts will be made to not get trapped into prolonged arguments for, or against, Hans Solo's claim for making the Kessel Run.
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Classical Mechanics with a Quantum Twist
- CJ03
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Boaz Almog, Gil Taran
- Type: Contributed
- Classical mechanics hasn’t changed since the times of Sir Isaac Newton, but experiencing it as a teacher or a learner has now been given a modern twist. We will demonstrate how using tabletop modern physics and a quantum levitation experiment setup to teach classical topics can inject enthusiasm and appeal into somewhat ordinary experiments while also providing a unique learning experience. In this session, we will demonstrate how to conduct classroom classical mechanics experiments including circular motion, harmonic motion, collision and conservation of energy using the Quantum Wave: a specifically designed flexible linear magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) track, suitable for both high school and university classes. Using the Quantum Wave will allow students to conduct experiments in classical mechanics while giving them a taste of quantum mechanics along the way.
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Conceptualizing which Solar System Objects Can Form an Exosphere
- CJ04
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Jordan Steckloff
- Type: Contributed
- The distribution of atmospheres on solid objects in the Solar System appears random, with large airless bodies (e.g., Mercury, asteroids, icy moons) intermixed with objects with atmospheres (Mars, Titan, Pluto). However, the presence of atmospheres is rooted in concepts taught in introductory mechanics. Here I present the mechanisms students must consider for an object to form and retain an atmosphere over time. To form an atmosphere, molecules condensed on the surface of an airless body must be sufficiently warm to sublimate during the day, otherwise such volatile species (e.g., nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane) will remain condensed as ice. Additionally, the object must have an escape speed greater than the molecular speed of the gas to preventing atmospheric loss. These two processes create a sweet spot in which an object is warm enough to form an atmosphere, yet cool and large enough that atmospheric molecules are moving slower than escape speed.
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Sunday Evening Registration
- REG04
- Sun 07/21, 6:30PM - 8:30PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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Sunday Registration
- REG03
- Sun 07/21, 7:00AM - 4:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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Supporting Accessibility in Physics Education
- BC
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Rebecca Lindell & Dimitri Dounas-Frazer
- Type: Panel
- The STEM Inclusion Study AAPT Organization Report (2017) found that disability status was a significant factor in many measures of AAPT members’ experiences or observations of marginalization and devaluation in the workplace. In this invited panel session, panelists will give short presentations about their efforts to combat ableism and support accessibility in science education. Ableism refers to interpersonal, institutional, ideological, or internalized factors that negatively impact people with disabilities. Examples include discriminatory interactions, inaccessible classroom layouts, or stereotypes. Accessibility refers to the design of learning environments and materials by and for people with disabilities. After the presentations, there will be an hour-long question-and-answer period, during which the audience can participate in a dialogue with the panelists about implications for physics education.
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Strategies for Creating an Inclusive Classroom for Deaf or Hard-of-hearing Students
- BC01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by David Spiecker
- Type: Panel
- In a typical classroom, artificial barriers can be created that prevent deaf or hard-of-hearing students from being included. By considering how those barriers are created in the first place, several strategies can be utilized to remove barriers and create an inclusive classroom for everyone in it. The strategies utilized address effective communication, accessibility of information, and cultural sensitivity.
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Inclusive Teaching Strategies Can Increase Accessibility in Physics Education
- BC02
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
by Jacquelyn Chini, Westley James, Jillian Schreffler, Eleazar Vasquez III, Erin Scanlon
- Type: Panel
- The physics education research community has a strong tradition of working to match pedagogical strategies to students’ needs. In recent years, we have examined the student population typically included in our research studies and have identified differences in areas such as math preparation between the populations in our studies and the population of students taking undergraduate physics courses. Continuing in this vein, we investigated successful student-centered active learning strategies and curricula with an accessibility lens to examine the extent to which our community’s focus on improving student learning has either explicitly or implicitly considered students with disabilities. Additionally, we have surveyed instructors about their views and self-reported use of inclusive teaching strategies. We will share examples of how inclusive teaching strategies, often based on the framework of Universal Design for Learning, can be used to make physics education more accessible to students with disabilities.
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ACS-CWD: Providing Resources and Support for the Scientific Community
- BC03
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Debra Feakes
- Type: Panel
- The mission of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Chemists with Disabilities (CWD) committee is to “promote educational and professional opportunities in the chemical sciences and in fields requiring knowledge of chemistry for persons with disabilities.The committee will champion the capabilities of those persons to educators, employers, and peers.” Composed of 19 members and 10 associate members, the committee represents higher education, the chemical industry, and government agencies. Through the volunteer efforts of its members, the committee creates, compiles, and distributes resources to promote and advance the full participation of people with disabilities and serves as a resource to the scientific community. The resources and opportunities provided by this committee, particularly with regards to the education of individuals with disabilities, will be presented.
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The Third Decade of Efforts Helping Blind Students Learn Science
- BC05
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by George Bodner
- Type: Panel
- This paper will examine efforts going back almost 25 years to help students who are blind or low-vision (BLV) successfully complete high school and college-level courses in chemistry and, to a lesser extent, physics. Genesis for this project occurred when the dean asked what he thought was a rhetorical question: “You wouldn’t let a blind student take general chemistry, would you?” He was shocked when my response was: “Why not?” Our work has taken a three-pronged approach. At the institutional level, we helped create a campus-wide Tactile Access to Education for Visually Impaired Srtudents (TAEVIS) program. As chemical educators, we developed adaptive technology approaches to help students who are blind take an active role in collecting data in the laboratory. As practitioners of discipline-based educational research, we have completed three PhD dissertations devoted to understanding and overcoming problems BLV students encounter in the lecture and lab portions of science courses.
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Disability Justice + Queer Justice: Integrated accessibility approaches in the classroom
- BC06
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 3:30PM
- by Melissa Kelley Colibrí
- Type: Panel
- This interactive session will introduce participants to the key issues of accessibility in the classroom for students with disabilities and students who experience intersectional oppressions. Participants will leave with practical tools and resources to make their classroom more accessible, the ability to address accessibility through the intersecting lenses of economic, disability, racial, queer and gender justice, and the skills to work with their disability service organizations to enhance accessibility services in their classrooms. They will also be introduced to inclusive language for all students.
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An Editor’s View of TPT Favorites
- DH01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Gary White
- Type: Invited
- After 6 years at The Physics Teacher, I am eager to share some of my favorite articles….but how to pick? It’s like indicating favorites among children---sure, they might exist, but is it wise to admit it? So rather than suggesting a “Best of TPT” collection, I’ll highlight favorites that stand out when examined in light of either online popularity or personal impact. With the former, I hope to showcase articles that get downloaded the most, whether classic papers from the TPT archives or recent additions to the literature. With the latter, I’ll promote papers whose clever ideas and thoughtful approaches have ended up in my own classroom, hopefully in a way that does justice to the authors’ visions. Wise or not, perhaps I’ll provide some context for this session, which features authors who have been invited to tell us a little more about their recent contributions to TPT.
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The Two-Bullet Problem with ConstantMagnitude Drag Force
- DH02
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
by Jennifer Burris, Brooke Hester, Karl Mamola
- Type: Invited
- It is common in introductory physics to show that in the absence of air drag, an object dropped from rest will reach the level ground at exactly the same time as one that is projected horizontally from the same height. However, the situation is differentin the presence of a speed-dependent drag force, as either object may hit first or they may hit at the same time. Drag force is quite complex, and the dependence of the drag force on speed is related to a number of factors, some of which are beyond the scope of this talk. This talk focuses on the cases of drag forces with a magnitude dependent on an integer power (2, 1, and 0) of the speed as these are suitable for study in introductory courses.
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Classroom Simulation of Gravitational Waves from Orbiting Binaries
- DH03
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
by Jonathan Perry, James Overduin, Rachael Huxford, Jim Selway
- Type: Invited
- With appropriate caveats, demonstrations using stretched spandex fabric as a stand-in for curved space-time can convey some of the wonder of general relativity to non-experts. We have extended this idea to simulate gravitational waves from orbiting binaries using a pair of caster wheels attached to a hand drill and illuminated by a strobe light. This setup reproduces the pattern of outgoing spiral ripples that has entered the public imagination through LIGO animations. We use a paperclip plumb bob to measure the amplitude of these two-dimensional spandex waves as a function of orbital frequency and diameter, as well as distance from the center of mass. We compare our results with those that hold for gravitational waves propagating in three-dimensional space. Our simulation should not be confused with a demonstration of general relativity, but does exhibit some of the same features that gravitational waves share with other forms of radiation in general.
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Responding to the Call: Addressing Equity in Physics
- DH04
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Geraldine Cochran
- Type: Invited
- The editorial “Unique voices in harmony: Call-and-response to address race and physics teaching” was based on conversations between The Physics Teacher editor, Gary White, and me regarding submissions in response to a call for papers on race and physics teaching. In that editorial, we shared our experiences with call-and-response and our thoughts on the included papers. We expressed our appreciation for the submissions; they were unique in their content and appropriate to the theme. In a follow up article on this focused collection, “Continuing conversations on equity in the physics classroom,” we discussed the impact of the work in this collection. In particular, the authors of these articles thought deeply about issues of equity and the need for social justice in physics. This moved me to begin creating spaces where physics educators and physics education researchers could continue conversations on this important topic, which I will discuss in this presentation.
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Teaching about Racial Equity in Introductory Physics Courses
- DH05
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
by Abigail Daane, Sierra Sybertz nee Decker, Vashti Sawtelle
- Type: Invited
- Even after you decide to tackle a problem like racial inequity, it may seem daunting to broach the subject in a physics classroom. After all, the idea of an instructor tackling a sensitive topics such as social justice can be scary in any context. Not only that, but physics is typically viewed as a "culture with no culture." The physicist's quest for objectivity supports the treatment of this subject as untouched by people. Sometimes it is easier just to focus on Newton’s laws. However, ignoring the striking underrepresentation of ethnic/racial minorities in both the physics classroom and field is a great disservice to all our students. We take the position that the persistence of representation disparities is evidence that culture plays a role in who and what is involved in physics. Instructors have an opportunity engage students in this effort through the Underrepresentation Curriculum, shared in this talk.
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The Importance of Physics Teachers' Recognition for Physics Identity Development*
- DH06
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
by Zahra Hazari, Eric Brewe, Renee-Michelle Goertzen, Theodore Hodapp, Cheryl Cass
- Type: Invited
- In a series of two papers we published in The Physics Teacher, we presented: (i) evidence of the positive effect that high school physics teachers' recognition has on female students' likelihood to intend a physics career and (ii) how this recognition isenacted in a high school physics class. The first paper drew on survey data from a large sample of female students in undergraduate physics majors (N~900) while the second was a case study of one teacher and a female student in his class who felt recognized by him. This talk will summarize the results of this work as well as the implications for future research and practice.
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Video Abstracts and Highlights from the Technology Column
- DH07
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by James Lincoln
- Type: Invited
- The new "Technology in the Classroom" has been around for two years now and in that time we have created several video abstracts to illustrate these and other articles. This column has seen some of the most innovative and exciting articles and in this talk I discuss the creation of these and the creation of video abstracts. Tips for successful video abstracts are discussed as well as a preview of upcoming article ideas that should tantalize our readers and viewers.
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The Joy of Solving Physics Problems
- DH08
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Carl Mungan
- Type: Invited
- The column "Physics Challenges for Teachers and Students" started appearing in The Physics Teacher in the October 2001 issue. Originally, three problems were presented per month, with solutions appearing a few months later. In the spring of 2005, weekly challenges became the basis of a World Year of Physics competition. Subsequently, the column editor (Boris Korsunsky) settled on one problem per monthly issue. For every Challenge, Boris chooses a solution (based on clarity, elegance, and originality) to be published. The problems are intended to be solvable at the advanced high school or introductory college level. I will present statistics and comments based on my experience in tackling all of the problems since the inception of this marvelous column. Members of AAPT who are not currently engaging these challenges should give it a try and they should encourage their students to do the same!
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iPhysicsLabs: A Lot of Physics with Smartphones
- DH09
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 10:00AM
by Martín Monteiro, Arturo Marti, Cecilia Cabeza, Cecilia Stari
- Type: Invited
- Smartphones and other similar devices has spread dramatically in the last decade around the world. This revolution also impacted in the physics laboratories where several experiments are possible by the use of their built-in sensors. From a physicist's point of view, it is impressive that smartphones incorporate several sensors, including accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, light sensor, microphone and many others according to the specific hardware. These sensors are not supplied for educational purpose, nevertheless they can be employed in a wide range of physical experiments, in high school or college. Moreover, experiments with smartphones can be easily performed outside the traditional laboratory. Since 2012, The Physics Teacher has been publishing the iPhysicsLabs column, where several experiments are proposed, taking advantage of the capabilities of the smartphones, covering many topics of physics, like mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, among others. References at: http://smarterphysics.blogspot.com/
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Construction of National Excellent Course for Chinese Pre-service Physics Teachers
- FO01
- Tue 07/23, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Wei Yang*, Yanjie Chi, Yuying Guo, Chunmi Li, Lin Ding
- Type: Contributed
- As one of the only four courses for pre-service physics teachers in China, “Teaching Design of Physics in Middle school”, which I was in charge of, was approved by the Ministry of Education of China to build “High-Quality Teacher Education Course” in 2013 and named “National Excellent Course” in 2017. It is now freely available on the website. Course adopts question mode and develops 10 modules gradually--the learning process is also a process of problem solving. Learners carry out practical training alternately as teachers and students emphasize the cultivation process of special ability, and diversified texts and dynamic resources more than 2200. Team members include teachers from different universities, outstanding middle school teachers, teaching and research staff and educational technology professionals. By setting up group tasks to build the dual-track learning time and space inside and outside class, and combining with the activities of teachers entering and entering the middle school classroom, the interactive training channels between middle schools and colleges are integrated. It is not only used for pre-service teachers’ learning and practical guidance, but also for in-service teachers.
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Using Guitars as a Vehicle for Problem-based Learning
- FO02
- Tue 07/23, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Debbie French, Sean Hauze, Richard French, Doug Hunt, Tom Singer
- Type: Contributed
- The STEM Guitar Project is a National Science Foundation-funded program designed to enable teachers to integrate STEM activates into their curriculum through guitar building. The STEM Guitar Project supports guitar building programs in 307 schools in 48 states. To increase student understanding of STEM concepts, the STEM Guitar Project team worked with business and industry partners to develop 12 learning activities aligned with STEM workforce skills. Faculty professional development institute participants implement this problem-based curriculum in their classrooms, through which student mastery of the 12 MLA concepts is achieved via the guitar building process. In addition to building their own custom instrument over the course of the semester, students complete the course with STEM skills and knowledge related to the guitar and aligned to workforce skills. This presentation will focus on the problem-based learning activities associated with the guitar building process.
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NextGenPET Curriculum in Integrated Science Course for Preservice Elementary Teachers*
- FO03
- Tue 07/23, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
- by Nicole Gugliucci
- Type: Contributed
- Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking (NextGenPET) curriculum is an NGSS-aligned curriculum for preservice elementary teachers that covers topics in physics and chemistry. It is fully supported with powerpoints, worksheets, answer keys, extensions, quizzes, and more, making it straightforward for new educators to adopt. At Saint Anselm College, preservice elementary teachers are required to take a one-semester integrated science course that covers all science topics in preparation for their work as educators. Similar curricula for biology and earth science exist or are in preparation, but they do not have has much supporting material as the NextGenPET. This talk will describe how NextGenPET was used and extended with these supporting materials as part of the NextGenPET Faculty Online Learning Community to create a cohesive, integrated science course for preservice elementary teachers called “Science and Everyday Thinking.”
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Correlating Teacher Preparation Program Admission Standards with Classroom Outcomes
- FO04
- Tue 07/23, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Jill Marshall, Brett Westbrook, Michael Marder, Bernard David
- Type: Contributed
- Graduates of the UTeach secondary STEM teacher certification programs have been shown to go into teaching in larger numbers, stay in the classroom longer, and succeed with students from all demographics compared with graduates of other programs producingteachers in Texas. We predict this success has come, in part, from recruiting broadly and removing barriers to entry in the admission process. I will present a statistical analysis modeling admission variables, such as GPA and scores on our admission rubric, with outcomes such as likelihood of entering and remaining in teaching.
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Applied Physics Workshop and PhysFESTT: Teacher and Student Teams
- FO05
- Tue 07/23, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
by Matthew Perkins Coppola, Mark Masters
- Type: Contributed
- In summer 2018, teachers from across the United States met in Indiana for a week-long Applied Physics Workshop. A broad call went out to find teams of teachers and students interested in building apparatus to take home and investigate over the course of the next school year. These teacher-student teams were invited to present their demo research at PhysFESTT (FEstival of Student-Teacher Teams) in March 2019. We will share about our experiences recruiting and training student-teacher teams, what we have learned, and what our students and teachers have learned.
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Training and Supporting In-service High School Physics Teachers: An Online MS Physics Program
- FO06
- Tue 07/23, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
by William Newton, Robynne Lock, Bahar Modir
- Type: Contributed
- It is well documented that significantly less than 50% of physics teachers received their primary training in physics or physics pedagogy. I will report on the progress of a new online Master's in Physics designed specifically to train in-service high school physics teachers with little previous physics background and create a community of practice to support those teachers. Piloted as six face-to-face courses to an initial cohort of seven in 2014-15, there are currently over 60 students enrolled from 16 different states and three countries. The program is intended to help physics teachers by reinforcing their content knowledge, introduce them to advanced physics topics, enhance their teaching by studying the content through the lens of physics education research, and provide access to teaching resources and a community of fellow physics teachers with whom to share ideas and support. In this talk we discuss the challenges of creating a physics Master's program to meet the needs of the physics teachers and cater to a variety of backgrounds, give an overview of the content of our classes, and report on the successes of the program.
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Modeling Instruction at Arizona State University: Update
- FO07
- Tue 07/23, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
- by Jane Jackson
- Type: Contributed
- Modeling Instruction* is the research-based foundation of an ASU summer graduate program in physics and chemistry education that is primarily for lifelong professional development but can lead to a Master of Natural Science degree in physics. Since inception in 2001, the program has served 1200 teachers. Each summer, 60 Arizona teachers and another 15 nationwide participate. Singapore has sent 54 physics and chemistry teachers in 12 years. Teachers choose from 20 rotating courses (7 each summer), including contemporary physics, interdisciplinary science, and eight distinct Modeling Workshops in physics and chemistry. I will update you on our work and on recent supportive legislation in Arizona.
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Meta-curricular choices in a Professional Development Workshops
- FO08
- Tue 07/23, 6:25PM - 6:35PM
- by Dedra Demaree
- Type: Contributed
- In August 2018, Eugenia Etkina at Rutgers University led a week-long professional development (PD) workshop for teachers interested in learning more about the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE). Teachers returned for half-day workshops on four different Saturdays over the next six months. In addition to facilitating the teacher’s progression through ISLE cycles, Eugenia demonstrated many skills including techniques and teacher habits that go beyond the physics content. These skills were integrated into the PD as a meta-curriculum, teachers reflected on what they saw, and Eugenia was deliberate in discussing the pedagogical choices she made. These choices are rooted in theories of educational psychology, and are important for shaping teaching philosophies that promote student learning, such as growth mindset.This talk will focus on a few of these meta-curricular goals, their theoretical foundations, and why they are critical for teacher success in any physics classroom.
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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Promoting Change at FIU
- EG01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
- by Laird Kramer
- Type: Invited
- Transformation of STEM learning at Florida International University (FIU) began in the physics department in 2003. Early efforts established Modeling Instruction, transformed labs and launched an undergraduate Learning Assistant (LA) program. Foundational to these efforts was intentional engagement of FIU’s diverse students through authentic and culturally responsive mechanisms, leading to improved learning, attitudes about physics, and student success. The result of these other coordinated reforms was a dramatic increase in the number of physics majors at FIU. The early work was used to create momentum to continue and expand educational change on campus, leading to an institution-wide STEM education transformation movement that engages students, faculty and administrators. FIU is a public research university in Miami, Florida serving over 58,000 students, the majority of which come from historically underrepresented groups. The discussion will focus on the mechanisms, strategies and partnerships that are enabling FIU’s students to thrive.
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Preparing Students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution at an HSI
- EG02
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
by Paul Walter, Andrea Holgado, Raychelle Burks, Charles Hauser, Bilal Shebaro
- Type: Invited
- Having received an NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (IUSE-HSI) grant, the newly established Institute of Interdisciplinary Science at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, aims to prepare students for the fourth industrial revolution. The institute provides an infrastructure that promotes students’ workforce training, cross-sector cooperation, and interdisciplinary opportunities for faculty and students. The institute will: (i) coordinate on-campus interdisciplinary seminars in conjunction with experiential learning events that will challenge us to explore complicated problems with cross-disciplinary approaches; (ii) organize cross-sector cooperative agreements with public and private entities around the Austin, TX, area and beyond; (iii) expose STEM majors to the postgraduate landscape by networking them with employers and graduate programs through guaranteed internships; (iv) finance faculty and student professional development by offering awards to faculty and micro-credentialing scholarships to students; and (v) catalyze faculty advancement, interdisciplinary collaborations, and innovative research by offering research opportunity awards.
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A Controlled Study of Stereoscopic Virtual Reality in Freshman Electrostatics
- CD01
- Mon 07/22, 5:15PM - 5:25PM
by Christopher Porter, Chris Orban, Joseph Smith, Amber Simmons, Nick Young
- Type: Contributed
- Smartphone-based stereoscopic VR is a relatively new tool for teaching heavily three-dimensional concepts. Amazing content is available in a variety of areas including physics. But very little has been done to test whether learning gains can be improved by using smartphone-based VR in place of more traditional media. We have designed short VR training sessions and have studied the utility of this training in the context of Gauss’s Law and electrostatics in a cohort of students in calculus-based introductory physics at The Ohio State University. We compare performance on pre-post tests between students trained using VR, those trained using a video of the VR content, and those trained using static 2D images as in a traditional text. Based on preliminary results, we modified the treatment to include an introduction to the VR learning space. We discuss the effects of preliminary acclimation on the effectiveness of later training.
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Safety and Medical Context in a Ionizing Radiation Lab Curriculum
- CD02
- Mon 07/22, 5:25PM - 5:35PM
by Jan Beks, Ad Mooldijk, Rob van Rijn
- Type: Contributed
- The Ionizing Radiation Lab (ISP) based at the University of Utrecht has provided visits with three mobile ionizing radiation labs to secondary schools for almost five decades now. From a selection of 22 lab experiments, students learn about ionizing radiation. All experiments contain context about safety regarding ionizing radiation and students continuously have to implement safety rules. We will describe and discuss the safety aspect with its eye-openers, and exposure awareness. Some years ago content in the Dutch Physics Ionizing Radiation curriculum started to move towards medical context. Why do hospitals choose generators to provide the radioactive substances in nuclear medicine? What is the exposure while an X-ray is taken? We will describe some particular experiments and discuss (i) how the experiments support the Dutch Physics curriculum, and (ii) how the experiments support medical context.
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Using Machine Learning to Understand Physics Graduate School Admissions
- CD03
- Mon 07/22, 5:35PM - 5:45PM
by Nicholas Young, Marcos Caballero
- Type: Contributed
- Among all of the first-year graduate students enrolled in doctoral-granting physics departments, the percentage of women and underrepresented minorities has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. The current graduate program admissions process can create challenges for achieving diversity goals in physics. In this presentation, we will investigate how the various aspects of a prospective student’s application to a physics doctoral program affect the likelihood the applicant will be admitted. Admissions data was collected from a large, Midwestern public research university that has a decentralized admissions process and included applicants’ undergraduate GPAs and institutions, GRE and physics GRE scores, and demographic information such as gender and race/ethnicity. Supervised machine learning algorithms were used to create models that predict who was admitted into the PhD program. Here, we will present the results of this analysis as well as compare models between the various subdisciplines of physics represented in this department.
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Natural-based Pigments in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- CD04
- Mon 07/22, 5:45PM - 5:55PM
by Orlando Patricio, Emiliano Castillo, Javier Flores, Jr., Saul Parra, Ruben Perez
- Type: Contributed
- Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are the next step towards a non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and economical alternative to current solar cells. We are comparing the efficiency between dye extracts of fruits, flowers, and roots produced locally in the South Texas region, or available in local markets. Our experimental design involves using pigments extracted from the fruits, flowers, and roots of the pomegranate and orange tree. Based on our results, we will be able to determine which part of locally grown plants have the greater potential for dye-sensitized solar cells; fruit, flower, or root. In future research, we will compare the effects of the pigments found in giant ragweed, Osage orange, sunflowers, ginger, and saffron.
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Just-in-time Teaching (JiTT) & Use of Mobile Devices in Active Learning
- CD05
- Mon 07/22, 5:55PM - 6:05PM
- by Shahida Dar
- Type: Contributed
- JiTT (Just-in-time teaching) is a pedagogical strategy that uses feedback between classroom activities and work that students do at home, in preparation for the classroom meeting. I will share the ways I've been using JiTT and other active learning techniques in my classes. My focus will be on the use of mobile devices.
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Teaching Mars Exploration with a Landing Selection Activity
- CD06
- Mon 07/22, 6:05PM - 6:15PM
- by Ken Brandt
- Type: Contributed
- With the upcoming launch of the Mars2020 Rover, students are curious about the process of selection of the landing site. Find out how you can engage students while teaching basic concepts about Mars, and how it's being explored with robots.
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Incorporating Data Visualization Technology into Astronomy Education Research
- CD07
- Mon 07/22, 6:15PM - 6:25PM
by Alexander Sivitilli, Tshiamiso Makwela, Thomas Jarrett, Saalih Allie
- Type: Contributed
- The Iziko Planetarium in Cape Town recently underwent a complete renovation to bring its dome into the digital era. Concurrently, the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) established a Visualization Lab that includes its own immersive projection display as well as a virtual reality system. These new tools are planned to serve multiple purposes, particularly in analyzing large data sets from the Square Kilometer Array. The new Digital Dome also offers itself as an excellent public outreach facility and potential modern teaching tool [1]. This talk will describe these new facilities as well as indicate the research directions being undertaken by the Physics and Astronomy Education Research (PhAsER) group at UCT with regard to exploring their use as teaching instruments.
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Is Research on Teaching an Art or a Science?*
- DI01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Paula Heron
- Type: Invited
- The PER community has made a compelling case that the teaching of physics can be regarded not only as an art, but a science. Evidence from research on student learning, attitudes, and participation have driven significant changes in how physics is taught. As in other scientific endeavors, systematic investigations and theoretical speculation, supported by publication and peer review have led to cumulative progress. However, the accumulated expertise of PER cannot be distilled into well-defined principles. Moreover, as in all scientific pursuits, creativity and insight in PER do not follow from clearly defined procedures. Researchers draw on theory where it is robust, profit from the experience of perceptive teachers, and exploit regularities, even without a clear understanding of underlying mechanisms. In this talk, I will illustrate how creativity and “clinical wisdom” play a role in the design of experiments, the development of interpretative frameworks, and the implementation of findings.
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The Evolution of an Intro Physics Lab Reform Effort
- DI02
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Mats Selen
- Type: Invited
- At the University of Illinois, we are in the process of reforming the lab component of introductory physics courses taken by over 5000 students per year. We are moving away from highly structured activities focused on concepts, and implementing ISLE-inspired open-ended activities that focus on scientific skills (enabled by the IOLab system). When we started this work several years ago we did not anticipate the interesting twists and turns we would encounter, nor did we appreciate that the most challenging aspects of the reform would have as much to do with instructors and infrastructure as with lab content and pedagogy. With the benefit of hindsight I will try to shine some light on the path that has led us to the current milestone at which all students enrolled in our algebra-based intro courses (about 700 per semester) are doing the reformed labs. I will describe the Learning Assistant program that we developed as part of this effort, and will finish by outlining our plans for the coming year as we scale this approach to include the 2000 physics and engineering majors taking our calculus-based intro mechanics and E&M courses each semester.
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Reflections and Projections: The Promises of Scholarship in Physics Education
- DI03
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Noah Finkelstein
- Type: Invited
- Significant, perhaps unprecedented, attention is being paid to the need for transformation of the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Building on early work and discussions in the field, this talk will examine how physics education research (PER) has grown to address many more opportunities that advance education for our students. I present examples from work at the Colorado PER Group that scale from the individual to institutional: how we have moved from introductory to advanced topics, growth of technologies in education, studies that examine more than traditional content understanding and how our environments do and do not support students from populations historically underrepresented, and models for engaging in sustainable and scalable transformation.
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LIGO, Black Holes, and Our New View of the Universe
- DD01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 9:00AM
- by Joey Shapiro Key
- Type: Invited
- We live in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy, with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo gravitational wave detectors partnering with telescopes around the world to study cosmic collisions of black holes and neutron stars. This new astronomy allows us to peer deeper into the cosmos and reach farther back into the history of our Universe than ever before. In the coming decades we will explore our Universe using detectors that reach across the gravitational wave spectrum, including a world-wide network of Earth-based detectors, the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), and the galactic-scale pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) such as the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational waves (NANOGrav). We have learned from the history of astronomy to expect the unexpected when opening a new window on the Universe and we now sit on the threshold of a wealth of exciting discoveries.
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What We Have Learned from Gravitational Waves
- DD02
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:30AM
- by Raymond Frey
- Type: Invited
- The last four years have been transformational to the field of gravitational wave science and astrophysics. On Sept. 14, 2015, LIGO announced the observation of a strong gravitational wave (GW) signal from a binary black hole merger. One of Einstein’s most amazing predictions was confirmed. The GW discovery was just the start of a new paradigm in astronomy and astrophysics – LIGO had opened the door to a new way to observe the universe. Indeed, in 2017 this vision was realized spectacularly with the discovery of the gravitational wave signal from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger, accompanied within 2 seconds by a gamma-ray burst, and over the next hours, days, weeks, and months by observations across the electromagnetic wavelengths of the merger’s afterglow. The era of “multi-messenger astronomy” involving GWs was born. In this talk, I will discuss the implications of these observations to astrophysics, fundamental physics, and cosmology, and some guesses for near-future prospects.
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“Listening” for the Background Buzz of Gravitational Waves
- DD03
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
- by Gwynne Crowder
- Type: Invited
- Long predicted but only recently observed, gravitational waves (GWs) have revealed colliding black holes and colliding neutron stars. What more is out there to discover with this exciting new approach to the universe? Theoretical models predict GWs from a multitude of sources, spanning supernovae to spinning neutron stars to early universe sources. Yet these “quieter” sources are below the current sensitivity level of operating GW detectors and cannot be individually detected. Nonetheless, every one of these potential sources emits GWs that contribute to a background “buzz” of their superposition. In this talk, I discuss prospects for observing the buzz (also known as the stochastic gravitational-wave background) and how this form of GW detection might transform our understanding of the “quieter” elements of the universe.
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Examining Prospective Graduate Students' Views on Barriers and Motivations Towards Physics Graduate School*
- BD01
- Mon 07/22, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Geoff Potvin, Deepa Chari
- Type: Invited
- Diversity in graduate physics remains a persistent problem, and there are many factors that may hold back efforts to improve the situation. In prior work, we considered how faculty members' values in admissions decisions may limit the diversity of accepted graduate students. In this talk, we instead examine the perceptions of prospective graduate students (upper division undergraduate physics majors) on potential barriers to graduate school and their motivations towards the pursuit of a graduate degree. This is accomplished through an analysis of a recent, nationally-representative survey of over 1000 undergraduate physics majors in the U.S. The results indicate specific factors that may be limiting the opportunities for the diversification of graduate physics by dissuading students from even applying.
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The Intersection of Content, Student, and Institution in Graduate Physics
- BD02
- Mon 07/22, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
by Christopher Porter, Andrew Heckler, Sara Mueller, Amber Simmons
- Type: Invited
- There are many reasons to study graduate-level physics education. These include the 55% 10-year completion rate, and the chronic underrepresentation of certain groups. One might add to that the overall poor performance on conceptual assessments in the handful of studies that have looked at graduate physics education. Such concerning outcomes cannot be entirely attributed to any one part of the physics graduate experience; rather the students, content, and institution should all be viewed as important parts. In this talk, we will review recent efforts to examine each of these areas. Specifically, we will discuss attitudinal and motivational factors measured in physics graduate students, factors that are known to be linked to retention in undergraduate STEM. We will also address a number of content misunderstandings that persist through the end of core course instruction. We will briefly discuss programmatic differences between several participating departments and how these might affect students.
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Effective Professional Development for Graduate Teaching Assistants
- BD03
- Mon 07/22, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Alexandru Maries
- Type: Invited
- Graduate students across the United States are currently playing an important role in the education of students as they often teach laboratories, recitations, and discussion sections. It is important to provide professional development for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), not only because this will have a positive impact on students now, but also because it can have an impact on the students of tomorrow. GTA professional development can also provide an opportunity to improve graduate students’ sense of belonging by recognizing them as partners in furthering the educational mission of the department and using their feedback to improve teaching and learning. This talk will discuss productive approaches to designing an effective GTA professional development program that helps improve GTAs’ pedagogical content knowledge as well as their sense of belonging.
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Physics PhD Student Social Networks and Experiences
- BD04
- Mon 07/22, 3:00PM - 3:30PM
- by Alexis Knaub
- Type: Invited
- Graduate school is a social endeavor where students form ties with faculty, staff, and fellow students for many reasons including research, coursework, and social support. Using social network analysis, the community structures of physics doctoral students in one department were studied. Different purposes (e.g., purely social, research) for each network were examined. The networks were studied with respect to a variety of demographic variables. Interviews delved into how the students viewed their networks and whether they felt supported. Findings indicate that despite having social ties to others within the department and not having any particularly dire negative social experiences, the doctoral students in this study felt as though they are not a part of a community and may not seek out support that they need.
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The History of the Last few Decades of Computation in Physics Education
- AJ
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Larry Engelhardt
- Type: Panel
- We will hear the stories of how the computational tools and resources that we use for physics education today came to be, told by the pioneers who developed them.
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Five Decades of Computers in Physics Education
- AJ01
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Bruce Sherwood
- Type: Panel
- Over the decades there has been an oscillation of emphasis on students writing programs themselves and students running educational programs written by faculty for student use. I wrote my first computer program in 1962 and my first educational physics program in 1969, in the graphics-oriented PLATO computer-based education system. PLATO had a powerful programming language, TUTOR, that showed it was possible to design a programming language that enabled people without high-level programming expertise to be able to write programs that do remarkable things. I’ve been involved in the development of such programming environments ever since, culminating in GlowScript VPython (2014). I will discuss historical links between ease of programming and the feasibility of engaging physics students in modeling physical systems by writing programs themselves. Ease of programming can also facilitate writing educational programs for students to use.
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Early Computational Physics Leading to a Software Company
- AJ02
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by David Vernier
- Type: Panel
- As a high school physics teacher in the late 1970s, I was lucky to have access to some early microcomputers with graphic displays. I quickly discovered that they were very helpful in my physics teaching. One of my first useful programs was a projectile-motion program. It was a BASIC computational physics program and I encouraged students to modify the code, changing various parameters, including the drag coefficients. This program and a program simulating satellite motion eventually became commercial Apple II programs and led to the start of Vernier Software. Lately we have mostly concentrated on data-collection software, but I will explain how we have continued to encourage students and teachers to write their own programs for reading our sensors.
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Computer-based Physics Education at Davidson College and Beyond
- AJ03
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Wolfgang Christian
- Type: Panel
- Over the past 25 years, the Davidson College Physics Department has produced some of the most widely used interactive computer-based curricular materials for the teaching of introductory and advanced physics courses. Our curricular development began withour involvement in the Pascal-based MUPPET and CUPS projects and the distribution of interactive material during the dawn of the Internet using a WebPhysics server running on a NeXT computer. This early work led to the hosting of computational physics conferences and later the publication of Physlet and Open Source Physics based curricular material by commercial publishers and by the AAPT-ComPADRE National Science Digital Library. It continues with the development of Python Jupyter notebooks and JavaScript apps for mobile devices. This talk describes the academic environment and the many collaborations that made this development possible at a small liberal arts college.
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Lessons Learned in Sharing Computational Resources for Physics Education
- AJ04
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Bruce Mason
- Type: Panel
- Many of the best efforts to develop, test, and use resources for integrating computation into the physics curriculum have included the difficult chore of sharing and encouraging adoption by other instructors. Many different avenues of dissemination have been used: journal articles, workshops, conferences, online repositories, startup companies, and commercial partnerships. Some efforts have been successful while others have come and gone. All have faced issues of training, debugging, and technology change. This talk will highlight some notable examples, past and present, of including computation in physics education, with the hope of providing some lessons for the future.
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Topical Discussion & Social for Students
- AK
- Mon 07/22, 8:30AM - 10:30AM
- by Danny Doucette
- Type: Topical
- This session is the primary opportunity for student members of the PER community to meet and discuss common issues. While this session is aimed toward graduate students, we welcome undergraduates who are interested in studying PER or curious about life as a graduate student!
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Tuesday Afternoon Break In the Exhibit Hall
- EXH08
- Tue 07/23, 3:30PM - 4:00PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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Tuesday Afternoon Exhibit Hall Raffle - Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope
- EXH09
- Tue 07/23, 3:50PM - 3:55PM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
- Celestron PowerSeeker telescopes are a great way to open up the wonders of the Universe to the aspiring astronomer. The PowerSeeker series is designed to give the first-time telescope user the perfect combination of quality, value, features and power.Amateur astronomy is a great family hobby that can be enjoyed year round, and Celestron’s PowerSeekers are the ideal choice for an affordable and high quality telescope that will provide many hours of enjoyment for the entire family. PowerSeekers are quick and easy to set up – even for the novice. No tools are required for assembly! Their sturdy equatorial mounts are perfect for tracking objects in the night sky, and the collapsible alt-azimuth mounts are perfectly suited for terrestrial (land) viewing as well as astronomical use. All of Celestron’s PowerSeekers include a full range of eyepieces plus a 3x Barlow lens that provides an increase in viewing power hundreds of times greater than that of the unaided eye! PowerSeekers are designed and manufactured using all fully coated glass optical components with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity. Erect Image Optics are ideal for terretrial (land) and astronomical (sky) use. Locate and identify thousands of celestial objects on your laptop or PC with “TheSky®” Level 1 software included FREE with every PowerSeeker model.
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Tuesday Morning Break in the Exhibit Hall
- EXH06
- Tue 07/23, 10:00AM - 10:30AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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Tuesday Morning Exhibit Hall Raffle - All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet | 8" HD Display, 32 GB, Black - with Special Offers
- EXH07
- Tue 07/23, 10:20AM - 10:25AM
- Dan Cooke
- Type: Exhibit Hall
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Tuesday Registration
- REG06
- Tue 07/23, 7:00AM - 4:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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What Are the Supports and Barriers in Introductory Physics Curricula for Students with Disabilities?
- EO01
- Tue 07/23, 1:30PM - 2:00PM
by Erin Scanlon, Westley James, Jillian Schreffler, Eleazar Vasquez, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Invited
- To investigate how well the physics postsecondary education communities support variations in learners’ skills, interests, and needs, we analyzed reformed, research-based introductory physics curricular materials through an accessibility lens, operationalized through the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. The UDL framework proposes three guidelines and 31 finer-grained checkpoints which support curriculum development that provides all students equal opportunities to learn and engage with the course. Overall, we found little alignment between the physics curricula and the UDL guidelines. However, we also found ways in which the curricular materials aligned with the framework. Specifically, these curricular materials: supported planning and strategy development; fostered collaboration and community; clarified vocabulary and symbols; and highlighted patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships. The ways in which the curricular materials currently support learners with a variety of needs, abilities, and interests, examples of alignment and unalignment, and suggestions for future curriculum development will be discussed.
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Teaching Physics: Lowering Access Barriers Using Universal Design for Learning
- EO02
- Tue 07/23, 2:00PM - 2:30PM
- by Amanda Lannan
- Type: Invited
- When courses are taught with a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach, learning opportunities are inclusive and effective for both students with and without disabilities. For many, though, the process of developing a highly rigorous course with theflexibility of UDL, may be overwhelming. By first examining the why, what, and how of our teaching, we are able to identify barriers our students frequently encounter. "Why do my students often have difficulty understanding a particular concept?" "What assignment or lesson do I receive the most questions?" "How do students engage?" Once the common obstacles are recognized, we can begin to offer students an additional way to learn and interact with the course. Practical applications, and useful resources such as accessible text, 2D/3D images, and virtual labs, will support physics instructors as they begin to facilitate the design and implementation of a flexible, responsive course.
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Holistic Support for Success
- EO03
- Tue 07/23, 2:30PM - 3:00PM
- by Melanie Lee
- Type: Invited
- Join us for an exploration of ways to support students holistically for success - in and out of the lab. We will identify tools to employ that keep you learner-centered in your engagement with students. Additionally, we will gain understanding about strategies to coach and support each student in your course.
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Supporting Learner Variability in Physics Courses with a Universal Design for Learning Lens
- EO04
- Tue 07/23, 3:00PM - 3:10PM
by Westley James, Abdelkader Kara, Jillian Schreffler, Eleazar Vasquez III, Jacquelyn Chini
- Type: Contributed
- Students with disabilities are a significant portion of the college student population, but few instructors have received training on how to design courses to support this population. Our research team is working with instructors to address this by usinga Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens to identify barriers that could be reduced through accessible practices. This presentation will focus on a specific algebra-based introductory physics studio-mode course (taught by A.K). We will discuss how a perspective recognizing variability in learners is critical to this process. We will present strategies the instructor implemented in his class, including: providing time for students to reflect on their understanding of new concepts, incentivizing a reduced distraction environment, and providing opportunities for students to re-earn points lost on tests. We will also present how the research team disseminated these practices to a new instructor who began teaching the same course for the first time.
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Accessible Interactive Simulations for Learning Physics
- EO05
- Tue 07/23, 3:10PM - 3:20PM
by Amy Rouinfar, Emily Moore
- Type: Contributed
- The PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder, a resource that includes more than 150 popular free science and mathematics simulations, has been designing and implementing multiple new accessibility features into simulations to support access for students with disabilities - including students with visual impairments. These accessibility features include alternative input, auditory description accessible using many common screen readers, and sonification (non-speech sound). In this presentation, we will share our work developing accessible interactive physics simulations. We will introduce PhET simulations, describe our design process which includes iterative user studies with students who use screen readers, demonstrate some of our accessible simulations, and share resources that can support teachers in effective use of the simulations.
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Quantum Matrix Diagonalization Visualized
- GN01
- Wed 07/24, 12:00PM - 12:10PM
by Daniel Schroeder, Kevin Randles, Bruce Thomas
- Type: Contributed
- Numerical matrix methods are becoming more common in quantum mechanics courses, thanks to the availability of software with easy-to-use diagonalization routines. Usually we treat these routines as black boxes, but we then miss an opportunity to visualizethe diagonalization process and build intuition for the high-dimensional vector space in which the quantum states live. With these goals in mind, we have developed interactive codes in Mathematica and JavaScript for visualizing quantum matrix diagonalization. Students can use these codes to find the bound states of a one-dimensional quantum well of any shape.
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Investigating Student Understanding of Electromagnetic Fields in Matter
- GN02
- Wed 07/24, 12:10PM - 12:20PM
- by Bert Xue
- Type: Contributed
- The Physics Education Group at the University of Washington has been conducting research on student understanding of concepts and skills covered junior-level electrodynamics courses and using the results to design tutorials to supplement instruction. Oneof the findings is that in learning about electromagnetic fields in materials, many students have difficulty in relating displacement and auxiliary fields to polarized and magnetized materials, respectively. This talk will illustrate how students reason about these fields and how the findings are motivating an instructional approach that focuses on helping students construct a physical interpretation of divergence and curl as ‘sources’ of vector fields.
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Developing a Robust Clicker Question Sequence for Larmor Precession in Quantum Mechanics
- GN03
- Wed 07/24, 12:20PM - 12:30PM
by Paul Justice, Emily Marshman, Chandralekha Singh
- Type: Contributed
- Effective use of clicker questions in physics courses at all levels can be an excellent formative assessment tool and can help students learn physics concepts and develop their reasoning and metacognitive skills. Here we discuss our research on the development and both out-of-class and in-class validation of an effective clicker question sequence for helping students learn about the time-dependence of expectation values in quantum mechanics using the Larmor precession of spin. We also discuss the in-class evaluation which involved analyzing data from the implementation of the clicker question sequence which was earlier validated out-of-class in two upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics courses taught by two different instructors at the same institution who used two different textbooks. We thank the National Science Foundation for award PHY-1806691.
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Conceptual Investigations Using PhET Simulations in Upper Division Solid State Physics
- GN04
- Wed 07/24, 12:30PM - 12:40PM
by Sara Callori, Justin Perron
- Type: Contributed
- PhET Simulations are free, interactive simulations designed to help students conceptually investigate a wide range of topics within physics and other STEM fields. Here, we report on the development of worksheets to aid students in approaching new topics in an upper division Solid State Physics course. We used three PhETs to help students engage with topics dealing with energy bands and their connection to material properties: Band Structure, Conductivity, and Semiconductors. For each activity we designed structured worksheets to lead students through a qualitative investigation of the relevant physics. Overall, student feedback shows that incorporating PhET activities into class helped students understand and engage with new topics.
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Survey on Upper-Division Thermal Physics Content Coverage
- GN05
- Wed 07/24, 12:40PM - 12:50PM
by Katherine Rainey, Bethany Wilcox
- Type: Contributed
- Thermal physics is a core course requirement for most physics degrees and encompasses thermodynamics and statistical mechanics content. However, the primary foci of thermal physics courses vary across universities. This variation can make creation of targeted materials or assessment tools for thermal physics difficult. To determine the scope and content variability of thermal physics courses across institutions, we distributed a survey to over 90 institutions to solicit content priorities from faculty and instructors who have taught upper-division thermodynamics and/or statistical mechanics. We present results from the survey, which articulate key similarities and differences in thermal physics content coverage across institutions. We will discuss implications of these findings for the development of instructional tools and assessments that are useful to the widest range of institutions and physics instructors.
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Resonance: Using Peer Mentoring Circles to Build Community for Physics Majors
- GN06
- Wed 07/24, 12:50PM - 1:00PM
by Laura Tucker, Rebecca Riley, Franklin Dollar
- Type: Contributed
- Resonance is a new peer mentoring program in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at UC Irvine. Our goals are to build community among physics students, inspire excitement about physics, and help students navigate challenges of the first year. Small groups of four to six incoming students meet at least once a month together with two continuing physics majors who serve as mentors. We discuss the mentee and mentor response to group mentoring, outcomes from our pilot year, and future plans.
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Relationship Between Physics Majors’ Identity Development, Career Expectations, and Retention
- GN07
- Wed 07/24, 1:00PM - 1:10PM
by Zeynep Topdemir, Brian Thoms, Joshua Von Korff, Amin Bayat Barooni
- Type: Contributed
- It has been reported that only 43% of the physical science majors stay in their original field, while the rest either change their major or drop out of college (1). This study investigates the influence of physics identity development and career expectations on the retention of undergraduate physics majors. We have interviewed twenty students and surveyed forty students who are at different stages of their undergraduate program to determine the experiences, beliefs, and attitudes that influence undergraduate physics majors to stay in physics. We examine how these experiences are related to physics identity development, career expectations, and career-related actions. Chen, X. (2013). STEM Attrition: College Students’ Paths into and Out of STEM Fields (NCES 2014-001). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC
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Using Old Equipment for New (Low Cost) Advanced Optics Labs
- DC01
- Tue 07/23, 8:30AM - 8:40AM
by Toni Sauncy, Calvin Berggren
- Type: Contributed
- New interface possibilities allow for a re-purposing of old equipment that might have been on its way to the recycling company. By using low-cost sensors, we have designed several intermediate and advanced labs that make use of otherwise obsolete instrumentation that is readily available in nearly any physics department. Examples and results of light scattering and other experiments will be discussed.
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Measuring the Lorentz Factor for Cosmic Ray Muons
- DC02
- Tue 07/23, 8:40AM - 8:50AM
by Gordon McIntosh, Liam Taylor
- Type: Contributed
- The relativistic nature of cosmic ray muons is well known and is often used as an example in Modern Physics texts. However it has been difficult to perform an experiment indicating the Lorentz factor, relativistic time dilation, of these muons. We have developed an experiment using Geiger counters and a coincidence counter that measures the cosmic ray muon flux vs. zenith angle. Based on several reasonable physical assumptions these measurements indicate a time dilation for the muons of at least 15±2. This project has been supported by a University of Minnesota Morris Academic Partnership.
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A Differential Scattering Cross Section Laboratory Exercise
- DC03
- Tue 07/23, 8:50AM - 9:00AM
- by Michael Braunstein
- Type: Contributed
- The application of differential scattering cross section to evaluate physical models is an essential experimental tool that can be conceptually challenging for students encountering it for the first time. We have developed a laboratory exercise for students that addresses conceptual elements of differential scattering cross section with a simple optical system. Using basic principles of lens optics, students can be realistically expected to derive a reasonable model for the differential scattering cross section of the system. Measurements can then be performed to evaluate the model they have developed. The exercise thus provides a full, hands-on conceptual framework for differential scattering cross section. The system will be described in detail and representative results will be presented.
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Improving Students' Understanding of the Wave Function for a System of Identical Particles
- DC04
- Tue 07/23, 9:00AM - 9:10AM
by Christof Keebaugh, Chandralekha Singh, Emily Marshman
- Type: Contributed
- We discuss an investigation of student difficulties with concepts related to the many-particle stationary state wave function for a system of non-interacting fermions or bosons in cases in which the many-particle stationary state wave function can be written as the product of the spatial and spin parts. The investigation was carried out in advanced quantum mechanics courses by administering free-response and multiple-choice questions and conducting individual interviews with students. We find that students share many common difficulties related to these concepts. Many students struggled to write a many-particle stationary state wave function consistent with the symmetrization requirements for the system (a completely antisymmetric wave function for a system of fermions or bosons).
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Constructed and Investigation on Combined Black-Body Radiation Facility
- DC05
- Tue 07/23, 9:10AM - 9:20AM
by Shihong Ma, Nan Zhang, Ping-jing Yang
- Type: Contributed
- The black-body source, with thermal radiation detector and micro-voltmeter, can be used to set up a combined black-body radiation experimental facility. The experimental facility with good scalability has been developed completely and the operation stepsby the students are simple and direct. Therefore, students can fully understand the physical model of Black-body radiation through the experiment. In this article, the author verified the basic law of black-body radiation, demonstrated the feasibility of the method and gave a future prospect of the experiment.
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How a Clueless Lab Can Help Students Learn
- DC06
- Tue 07/23, 9:20AM - 9:30AM
by David Allred, Dallin Durfee, Nathan Powers
- Type: Contributed
- It can be very educational to give students in a laboratory class an assignment with a simple goal but no instructions. The first day of our advanced lab we hand each pair of students a silicon PIN photodiode, and with no information about what a photodiode is, or how it works, other than the fact that it detects light. We ask them, "Who can get the biggest signal?" We tell them this is a competition, and we write the highest value each team measures on the whiteboard. After the contest, we have a debriefing in which we discuss their results and how they could improve their approach to unfamiliar equipment and experimental challenges. Later in the semester, students have another similar instruction-free lab. Our observation is that they approach the second experience in a much more professional manner.
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Coherent Imaging in an Advanced Lab Techniques Course
- DC07
- Tue 07/23, 9:30AM - 9:40AM
by Dallin Durfee, David Allred, Nathan Powers
- Type: Contributed
- Coherent imaging has a wide variety of applications, including imaging transparent microbes, non-destructive measurements of quantum gases, and visualizing air turbulence, and has even been the subject of multiple Nobel Prizes. We describe our approach to teaching this subject in a lab setting, which covers imaging, laser optics and spatial coherence, interference, complex waves, Fourier optics, and Gaussian beams. The topic generates a great deal of student enthusiasm and many of the experiments can be completed on a very small budget.
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Establishing Experimental Goals Through a Competitive Proposal Development Process
- DC08
- Tue 07/23, 9:40AM - 9:50AM
by Nathan Powers, Dallin Durfee, David Allred
- Type: Contributed
- Establishing and assessing research goals, criteria, and feasibility are among the more impactful tasks that expert scientists engage in. Project-based lab courses offer a unique space for students to develop these critical skills. Previously, we showed how a proposal competition was implemented in our project-based advanced lab to promote development of the six-period final project. The competition mirrors a real-world funding scenario and incorporates two cycles of peer-review. Students now have several opportunities to propose, execute, and report on short student team-initiated projects earlier in the course. For example, we added a one-period expansion project in the first third of the course. This is a short experiment based on the knowledge and skills they have developed in the optics or vacuum unit of the class. We note their ability to develop realistic experimental goals and report them clearly and persuasively matures with each experience of establishing goals and assessing them.
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Modelling Magneto-Optical Traps for an Undergraduate Experimental Physics Course
- DC09
- Tue 07/23, 9:50AM - 10:00AM
- by Corey Gerving
- Type: Contributed
- As part of a semester-long experimental physics course for senior physics majors, we introduce computational techniques using laser cooling as the topic. The course is broken into two phases: computational physics and experimental physics. In the computational phase, students are taught the basics of coding using Python through assignments of increasing complexity. The computational portion of the course culminates with the modeling of N>>1 particles confined in a in a damped harmonic oscillator. The theory is a semi-classical approximation of the Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT). The second half of the course requires the students to build from scratch a rudimentary MOT using the parameters they modeled in their simulations.
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Wednesday Registration
- REG07
- Wed 07/24, 8:00AM - 3:00PM
- Leti Marquez
- Type: Registration
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