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July 26–30, 2014
Tuesday afternoon
PST2B20: 5:45-6:30 p.m. Flipping Upper-Division Undergraduate
Classes Using Pencasts
Poster – Kathryn E. Devine, The College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID 83605-9990;
In “inverted” or “flipped” classroom formats, lectures are delivered in an
online format and class time is spent on activities such as group problem
solving, computational modeling, and discussion. Flipped classes are
becoming increasingly prevalent in physics education. One of the struggles
encountered in flipping upper-division physics courses is how to record
and share lectures, which are traditionally done at a chalkboard. I used an
Echo LiveScribe pen to create “Pencast” audio-enabled files that covered
lecture material for my Theoretical Mechanics and Quantum Physics
courses. The logistics of creating and using the lectures and a summary of
students’ feedback will be presented.
PST2B21: 5-5:45 p.m. “Tiered” iClicker Recitation Introductions
and an Open-Ended Experiment
Poster – David B. Blasing,* Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-
2040;
Andrew Hirsch, Rebecca Lindell, Purdue University
Interactively engaging students can significantly help them understand
key concepts [Hake 1998]. In PHYS 272 at Purdue University, we are
experimenting with two methods of interactive engagement: introducing
recitations with qualitative, “tiered,” iClicker questions and an open-ended
laboratory where the students set up their own experiment. A typical
iClicker series has three to five questions and begins at a level where most
students are confident in their answers. The series progresses to a point
where most students have difficulty identifying the correct answer. Our
goal is to demonstrate that these qualitative introductions coupled with
quantitative collaborative work increases the student?s overall learning
gain (measured by the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment). Sepa-
rately, we are piloting an open-ended laboratory. The goal is to uncover the
identity of 10 common circuit elements concealed in identical black boxes.
The students can conduct any experiment using any of the equipment in
the laboratory.
*Sponsored by Professor Andrew Hirsch
References: R.R. Hake, “Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-
thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses,”
Am. J. Phys.
66
(May 1996), 64?74.
C – PER Posters 2
PST2C01: 5-5:45 p.m. An Evaluation of the Japanese Translation
of the Force Concept Inventory
Poster – Michi Ishimoto, Kochi University of Technology, Tosayamada-cho
Kochi, Other 782-8502;
This study assesses the Japanese translation of the Force Concept Inventory
(abbreviated to FCIJ). Because of differences between the Japanese and
English languages, as well as between the Japanese and American educa-
tional systems, it is important to assess the Japanese translation of the FCI,
a test originally developed in English for American students. The data con-
sist of the pre-test results of 350 students and the post-test results of 335
students, most of whom were first-year students at a mid-level engineering
school between 2011 and 2012. The basic statistics and the classical test
theory indices of the FCIJ indicate that its reliability and discrimination are
adequate in assessing Japanese students’ pre-concepts about motion. The
pre-concepts assessed with the FCIJ are quite similar to those of American
students, thereby supporting its validity.
PST2C02: 5:45-6:30 p.m. RIP FCI: A Psychometric Argument
Poster – Rebecca S. Lindell, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907;
Originally developed by Hestenes, Wells and Swackhamer in 1992, the
Force Concept Inventory (FCI) consists of 30 research-based conceptual
multiple-choice questions. Over the last 20+ years, tens of thousands of
physics instructors throughout the world have utilized the FCI as a way to
tices to grapple with complex, real-world problems and by participating in
multi-day projects. In this poster, we share the design principles, organiza-
tion of curriculum, and sample problems and projects from this course.
PST2B17: 5-5:45 p.m. Lights, Action, Camera – Coil Gun with a
Disposable Camera
Poster – Arlisa L. Richardson, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa,
AZ 85212;
In Physics 112, General Physics II, at Chandler-Gilbert Community Col-
lege the course topics include electricity, electromagnetism, optics, and
modern physics. In an attempt to create a meaningful learning experi-
ence for the students, I include various hands-on team projects, adapted
from my colleague, David Weaver. These projects are designed to engage
students with specific concepts in a more contextual manner. This poster
presentation focuses on the Lights, Action, Camera! project, which chal-
lenges students to design and build a coil gun capable of launching a
metallic BB as far as possible, using the flash circuit from a used disposable
camera. This project requires students to synthesize and apply concepts of
electrical circuits and electromagnetism, while working as a team to design
experiments and analyze data. The details of the project’s requirements and
a sample of students’ final projects are shared in this poster presentation.
PST2B18: 5:45-6:30 p.m. Chemical Energy in Introductory
Physics for the Life Sciences
Poster – Benjamin W. Dreyfus, University of Maryland, Department of Phys-
ics, College Park, MD 20742;
Benjamin D Geller, Julia Gouvea, Vashti Sawtelle, Chandra Turpen, Edward
F. Redish, University of Maryland
NEXUS/Physics is an introductory physics course for life science students
that seeks to build interdisciplinary coherence among physics, chemistry,
and biology. Chemical energy is at the center of these efforts to make con-
nections between disciplines, since energy is central to all three disciplines
and the energy that is most relevant to biological systems is chemical
energy. We have developed a curricular “thread” on chemical energy that
runs throughout the course, creating materials that are available to other
instructors who want to integrate similar threads into their own courses.
The thread builds on the ideas that students bring into the course, from
their biology and chemistry backgrounds and from their experiences in the
physical world. It makes connections both to canonical physics treatments
of energy and the ways that energy concepts are leveraged in biology and
chemistry. We emphasize coordinating and reconciling multiple models
and representations.
PST2B19: 5-5:45 p.m. Development of Board Games for Learning
Energy
Poster – Youngseok Jhun, Seoul National University of Education, Seochogu
seochodong 1650 Department of Science; Korea youngseok.jhun@gmail.
com
Yeonjeong Yu, Siyoung Kim, Seoul National University of Education
As the energy problem has been a great challenge all around the world for
decades, the importance of energy education for the youth has also in-
creased. We know that adults cannot change their way of life if they didn’t
start changing in childhood. Nevertheless of the importance of the energy
education, many efforts to teach students rational usage of energy have
shown little effectiveness. They say that rational and logical approach in
energy education cannot expect high achievement, so we have to introduce
the strategy of informal science education even in formal classes. A board
game can be a good idea to learn science concepts, to have a chance of
thinking about the energy crisis, to guide the students into inquiry on the
energy problem. We developed two board games that make the users learn
about the energy based on the informal learning theory. We were to make
the students understand the basic concepts, find evidences, argue each
other, and decide by themselves due to the games. We’d like to share our
findings in the procedure of developing the board game and in the applica-
tion for small groups of students.
