85
July 13–17, 2013
Tuesday morning
Session DE: Teaching Physics to the
Liberal Arts Major
Location: Galleria II
Sponsor: Committee on Physics in Undergraduate Education
Date: Tuesday, July 16
Time: 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Presider: Chris Moore
DE01:
10:30-11 a.m. Building Scientific Literacy in a Liberal
Arts Population
Invited – Jeffrey D. Marx, McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, MD
21157;
Karen Cummings, Southern Connecticut State University
Under an award from the National Science Foundation, we implemented
and assessed course materials for a liberal arts science class with a primary
and explicit goal of improving students’ scientific reasoning ability, science
process skills, and understanding of the nature of science (collectively:
“scientific literacy”). To facilitate the development of the students’ scientific
literacy, we have crafted activities and discussion points that draw from a
wide range of science disciplines. However, specific science content serves
not as the principle focus of the class, but only as a mechanism to more
deeply engage the students. In this talk we will discuss our specific goals
for the course and the materials and in-class and out-of-class activities we
have crafted to achieve our scientific literacy goals. We will also present our
assessment data, specifically focusing on the initial and final states of our
students’ attitudes and beliefs about the scientific enterprise.
DE02:
11-11:30 a.m. Going Beyond the Content: Teaching
Scientific Reasoning in the Classroom
Invited – Louis J. Rubbo, Coastal Carolina University, Department of Chemis-
try & Physics, 109 Chanticleer Drive, East Conway, SC 29526;
Christopher Moore, Coastal Carolina University
University courses in conceptual physics and astronomy typically serve
as the terminal science experience for the liberal arts student. Within this
population significant content knowledge gains can be achieved by utiliz-
ing research verified pedagogical methods. However, from the standpoint
of the University, students are expected to complete these courses not
necessarily for the content knowledge but instead for the development of
scientific reasoning skills. Results from physics education studies indicate
that unless scientific reasoning instruction is made explicit students do not
progress in their reasoning abilities. How do we complement the successful
content based pedagogical methods with instruction that explicitly focuses
on the development of scientific reasoning skills? This talk will explore
methodologies that actively engages the non-science students with the
explicit intent of fostering their scientific reasoning abilities.
DE03:
11:30-11:40 a.m. Lessons Learned from Teaching
Liberal Arts Students
Contributed – Rebecca Lindell, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-
2036;
The teaching of liberal arts majors is often more difficult than teaching sci-
ence students. Not only do they not have the mathematics background, but
also they may only be in the course to satisfy a general education require-
ment. Instructors often choose to keep the level of the course quite low,
requiring little reasoning or computation. However, for many students, this
is the last science course they will ever take and our job should be to help
develop scientific reasoning skills. With over 10 years experience of teach-
ing liberal arts majors in astronomy and conceptual physics, I have learned
many lessons on how to accomplish this goal. This talk will focus on the
lessons I have learned over the 10 years of teaching Liberal Arts majors.
DE04:
11:40-11:50 a.m. Teaching Physics Concepts to
Students with a Basic Algebra Background
Contributed – Elizabeth E. Chain, Arizona State University, Polytechnic Cam-
pus, School of Letters and Sciences, MC2780, Mesa, AZ 85212;
Melinda Rudibaugh, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Undergraduate students enrolled at Arizona State University, as well as at
community colleges and other institutions of higher learning, have trouble
distinguishing between the concepts of speed, velocity, and acceleration. A
combination of appropriate lecture demonstrations and Socratic question-
ing, together with Active Learning strategies and team-building exercises
used in both the classroom and laboratory can improve basic conceptual
understanding in this group of non-physics majors. Major lecture themes
are reinforced through the use of Challenge Problems which must be
completed by each Team working together. The importance of creating a
supportive environment for the students, one in which they are not afraid
to ask questions, is stressed. The students gain when they are given the very
important opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. A number
of examples are provided, combined with typical student reactions to such
learning methods.
DE05:
11:50 a.m.-12 p.m. Science of Technology: A Course for
Liberal Arts Majors
Contributed – Rhoda Berenson, New York University, 726 Broadway, New
York, NY 10003;
This course was designed specifically for students in the Global Liberal
Studies Program at NYU. It follows the intertwined histories of science,
technology, and society, focusing mainly on the technology of communica-
tion. It elucidates how technological developments are inspired by scientific
investigations and these investigations are, in turn, inspired by inventive
technology. The course balances hard science with liberal arts students’ in-
terests in history, people, and societal issues. The science is learned through
inquiry-based group activities rather than text or lectures. Homework,
readings, and discussions are concerned with the history of and effects of
technology on society.
DE06:
12-12:10 p.m. Energy Science: A Physics Course for
Liberal Arts Majors
Contributed – Dyan L. Jones, Mercyhurst University, Deparment of Physics,
501 E 38th St., Erie, PA 16546;
The Energy Science course at our institution was created to serve as an in-
troductory course for non-science and particularly liberal arts majors. This
course allows us the opportunity to teach some basic physics within the
context of an issue that resonates with many students. This talk will review
the goals and objectives of this course and focus on general issues that may
be important for any science course for liberal arts students.
DE07:
12:10-12:20 p.m. Circuit Theater: Kinesthetic Learning
for Simple Circuits
Contributed – Alex M. Barr, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78759;
Circuit Theater is a group activity in which students act out the motion of
individual charges as they move through a circuit. The activity is designed
to help students develop a physical and intuitive understanding of concepts
such as current and voltage and series and parallel connections. This talk
will introduce the format of circuit theater and discuss concepts that have
been successfully introduced through circuit theater as well as concepts
that have proven difficult to grapple with in this format.
DE08:
12:20-12:30 p.m. Optics for Visual Liberal Arts Students
Contributed – Scott W. Bonham, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College
Heights Blvd. #11077, Bowing Green, KY 42101-1077; scott.bonham@wku.
edu
Light, Color, and Vision is a course for non-science majors that draws
