Monday morning
Technologies
PST1E01: 8-8:45 a.m. Gauging Effectiveness of Pen-based
Computing for Collaborative Introductory Physics
Problem Solving
Poster – Duncan Cantrell, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
31907;
Kimberly A. Shaw, Zdeslav Hrepic, Columbus State University
Advancements in pen-input computing technology combined with
synchronously interactive software opened new venues for promoting
active instruction and collaborative problem solving.
1
The research
goal of the present study was to isolate the effect of the methodology
itself from that of the involved educational technology. We repeated
the comparison of the performance of students taking the same
introductory physics lecture course while enrolled in two separate
problem-solving sections.
2
One section used tablet PCs to facilitate
group problem solving while the other section used whiteboards or
paper for one third of the semester (covering Kinematics). Sections
then traded technologies for the middle third of the term (covering
Dynamics). For the last segment of the semester, students were free
to choose between tablet PCs or low tech. Preliminary analysis of
quiz, exam and standardized pre-post test results indicate primacy of
methodology over technology for student learning.
1. Sisson, C.J., Tablet-based recitations in
Physics: Less lecture, more success, in
The impact of Tablet PCs and pen-based technology on education: new horizons,
D.A. Berque, L.M. Konkle, and R.H. Reed, Editors. 2009, Purdue University
Press: West Lafayette, IN. p. 133-139.
2. Hrepic, Z., K. Lodder, and K.A. Shaw, Pedagogy and/or Technology: Making
Difference in Improving Students’ Problem Solving Skills. AIP Conf. Proceed-
ings (2012 Physics Education Research Conference), 2013. 1513: p. 182-185.
PST1E02: 8:45-9:30 a.m. Using 3D Game Engines to Over-
come Naive Concepts of Motion
Poster – Andre Bresges, University of Cologne, Institute of Physics
Education, Gronewaldstrasse 2, 50931 Cologne, Germany; andre.
Marga Kreiten, University of Cologne, Institute of Physics Education
During childhood and youth, students build up a number of naive
concepts of motion that help them to cope with the behavior of
real-world objects around them. As Driver [5,6], diSessa and others
pointed out, this naive concept of motion may work as a serious ob-
stacle towards deeper understanding of scientific concepts of motion.
We use the 3D Game Engine “Unity 3d” to develop a rich surround-
ing, in which tossing a ball can be analyzed in multiple perspectives
to overcome classical naive concepts. This is embedded in a lab
assignment, consisting of several hands-on experiments and motion
capturing tasks. Naive concepts of learners are discussed based on the
outcome.
1, Driver, R., Squires, A.; Rushworth, P.; Wood- Robinson, V.:
Making Sense of
Secondary Science. Research into Childrens ideas
. London: Routledge, 1994.
2. Driver, R., Guesne, E.; Tiberghien, A. (eds.):
Children’s Ideas in Science. Milton
Keynes:
Open University Press, 1985.
PST1E03: 8-8:45 a.m. Simulating Simple Roller Coaster
Physics for Animation and Interactive Applets
Poster – Michael R. Gallis, Penn State Schuylkill, Orwigsburg, PA
17961;
This poster presents the underlying physics used to simulate motions
typically discussed under the auspices of “Roller Coaster Physics” in
animation and an interactive java applet used in introductory physics.
The car is modeled as a mass moving along a parametric curve, either
at constant speed or coasting (with and without friction). Generating
solutions to the resulting equations of motion places some constraints
on the parametric equations describing the path of the track through
space. The resulting materials are used to explore topics such as
energy, power, circular motion, reaction forces and friction. In order
to dramatize the repercussions of failing to loop at sufficient speed,
collision dynamics are employed to simulate the car bounding off of
the track and ground. Visual materials generated using the model are
available online.
1,2
1. Roller Coaster Model (Java applet)
/
detail.cfm?ID=8228
2. Roller Coaster Physics Animation
/
watch?v=5yD2tOhI8SU
Awards Session
–
Richtmyer Memorial Award
presented to Sir Michael Berry
Location: Grand Ballroom B
Date: Monday, January 6
Time: 9:30–11 a.m.
Presider: Jill Marshall
How quantum physics democratized music
Michael Berry, H H Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol
Connections between physics and technological invention and aspects of human life that seem far from
science are both unexpected and unexpectedly common. And rather than flowing one way—from phys-
ics to gadgets—the connections form an intricate web, linking all aspects of human culture, in a way that
frustrates our convenient compartmentalizations and coarse interventions aimed at promoting technology
transfer. I will discuss this theme not abstractly but with examples, ranging from music to the colour of gold,
and explain how quantum physics helps me do quantum physics (sic).
Sir Michael Berry
Sharon Rosell
SPS Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award
presented to Sharon Rosell, Central Washington University
10:30 a.m.
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