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Monday afternoon
with students, on- or off-line. When online, the Reader App connects to
the OSP collection at the comPADRE digital library, for the download of
additional ready-to-use, tablet-enabled simulations.
*Sponsored by Danny Caballero
CA02:
4-6 p.m. Multimedia Learning with Remote Labs
and Virtual Experiments
Panel – Raimund Girwidz, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Theresien-
str. 37 München, DE 80333 Germany;
Remote laboratories and virtual experiments can promote discovery-
learning. Online experimental opportunities with real instruments in
combination with supplementary simulations offer new possibilities for
learning. From a pedagogical point of view, the direct combination of
experimental studies with simulations and additional guidance is essential
to contextualize learning, connect with theoretical reflection and thereby
promote a deeper understanding. The following theoretical considerations
are included: a) Offer additional representations to visualize essentials, b)
support the development of mental models and link abstract concepts with
realistic examples, c) use special features to promote “cognitive flexibility”,
d) use illustrations to structure knowledge, e) ensure a sufficient depth of
processing f) avoid cognitive overload by sequencing information. Also
some findings from empirical studies will be discussed, showing factors
and conditions that are important to reach these goals.
CA03:
4-6 p.m. Multimedia in Acoustics
Panel – Leopold Mathelitsch, Inst. Physics, Univ. Graz Univ.platz 5 Graz,
Styria A-8010 Austria;
Visualization of acoustical phenomena can be regarded as true multimedia:
Acoustical input is analyzed by electronic means and the results can be
presented simultaneously and also interactively in a graphical way. It is ob-
vious that this possibility also has substantial didactical value. For this pur-
pose hard- and software have been developed concerning different aspects
of acoustical phenomena. The European MPTL group and the American
MERLOT consortium joined in a worldwide evaluation of available
software on acoustics, leading to recommendations of “best” products with
regard to physical content and pedagogical value. The contribution gives
an overview of this evaluation procedure and presents examples exhibiting
the richness of the acoustical world. These include investigations of sound
taken from our technical and natural surroundings and analyses of musical
instruments culminating in the most valuable one, the human voice.
CA04:
4-6 p.m. Using Moodle to Design Physics Online Courses
with Virtual and Remote Laboratories Based on EJS
Panel – Luis De La Torre, UNED, Calle Juan del Rosal, 16 Madrid, Madrid
28040 Spain;
Ruben Heradio, Jose Sanchez, Sebastian Dormido, UNED
Easy Java Simulations (EJS) helps to create interactive simulations in
Java, mainly for teaching and learning purposes. By means of this tool,
instructors can easily create virtual and/or (if they also use the appropriate
additional software) remote laboratories. Learning Management Systems
(LMS) are software for web applications oriented for the administration,
documentation, tracking, and reporting of e-learning programs. Moodle
is a free source LMS with more than 60 million users, which makes it
the most used LMS around the world. Like some other LMS, the stated
philosophy of Moodle includes a constructivist and social constructionist
approach to education, emphasizing that learners (and not just teach-
ers) can contribute to the educational experience. Virtual and remote
laboratories (created with EJS, for example) as well as LMS (Moodle, for
example) offer different but fundamental educational tools to both teachers
and students. However, although these resources are complementary (and
not mutually exclusive), the integration between them is still an open issue
that must be addressed. Therefore, an e-learning program should offer both
kinds of tools to be considered a complete experience for students. The
EJSApp add-ons for Moodle gather together the two previous resources,
offering the possibility to build and prepare e-learning programs based on:
1) experimentation (thanks to the use of the virtual and remote laborato-
ries) and 2) theory documentation provision, social interactivity and easy
management (thanks to the use of the LMS).
CA05:
4-6 p.m. High-Speed-Video Learning Path on Complex
Fluids: From Physical Laws to Cutting-edge Applications
Panel – Peppino Sapia, University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, cubo 31/C
Rende, 87036 Italy;
Video analysis of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids phenomenology
provides to the physics teaching/learning process an extremely rich and
exciting context to convey concepts, issues and methodologies concerning
either traditional physics of fluids or cutting-edge research on materials
properties. In this connection, a multimedia learning path is presented,
based on high-speed and/or high-resolution video imaging of selected
phenomena, easily reproducible in a teaching laboratory. The use of com-
mercial grade photo/video cameras, together with freely available video
analysis software, allows learners to explore unfamiliar phenomena related
to fluids (such as viscoelasticity and super-hydrophobicity), allowing
them to get in touch with the principal theoretical concepts and practical
applications pertaining a context located at the boundaries among phys-
ics, chemistry and biology. The learning path, aimed to students of high
school’s last year or university undergraduates, presents both an illustra-
tive character (aimed to capture the attention of learners) and more deep
quantitative features, giving students and teachers methodological and
practical hints to independently conduct and analyze their own teaching
experiments. Moreover, presented activities and documental materials give
teachers significant examples of the role of video-analysis either in educa-
tion or in empirical research.
Session CB: Incorporating Metacog-
nition in Physics Instruction and
Assessing Outcomes
Location: STSS 220
Sponsor: Committee on Research in Physics Education
Date: Monday, July 28
Time: 4–6 p.m.
Presider: Mila Kryjevskaia
CB01:
4-4:30 p.m. Scientific Articles and Metacognition –
Enhancing Students’ Understanding
Invited – Yehudit Judy Dori, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam-
bridge, MA 02139-4307;
Reading scientific articles is a vital part of communicating scientific
knowledge to high school and undergraduate students, our future citizens,
for preparing them to be independent life-long learners. Reading is an
active process, which demands constructing new knowledge and linking
it to prior knowledge. We have demonstrated the importance of training
students in applying a metacognitive tool for facilitating students’ reading
and analyzing scientific articles. The tool guides students how and when to
use various reading strategies and monitor their own understanding of sci-
entific texts. In my talk, I will refer to the metacognitive aspect of scientific
literacy and describe two metacognitive studies, one conducted with high
school chemistry majors and the other with bio-medical undergraduate
students. Finally, I will discuss the implications of these studies to science
education in general and physics education in particular.
CB02:
4:30-5 p.m. Guiding and Gauging Students’ Reflective
Metacognition*
Invited – Andrew Boudreaux, Western Washington University, Bellingham,
WA 98225-9164;
Historically, physics education research has guided development of
instructional strategies that significantly boost conceptual understanding.
Recently, efforts have expanded to more implicit instructional goals, such
as promoting expert-like views about what must be done to learn new
physics ideas. Progress in promoting the “hidden” curriculum has been
slow: most pre/post measurements have in fact yielded negative gains.
At Western Washington University, we are exploring ways of promoting
student reflection, a backward-looking form of metacognition.* Experts
somehow develop the conscious habit of reviewing what they have learned
