Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Science and Mathematics Education Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education
Towards A High Quality High School Workforce: A Longitudinal, Demographic Analysis Of U.S. Public School Physics Teachers., Gregory T. Rushton, David Rosengrant, Andrew Dewar, Lisa Shah, Herman E. Ray, Keith Sheppard, Lynn Watanabe
Towards A High Quality High School Workforce: A Longitudinal, Demographic Analysis Of U.S. Public School Physics Teachers., Gregory T. Rushton, David Rosengrant, Andrew Dewar, Lisa Shah, Herman E. Ray, Keith Sheppard, Lynn Watanabe
David Rosengrant
Efforts to improve the number and quality of the high school physics teaching workforce have taken several forms, including those sponsored by professional organizations. Using a series of large-scale teacher demographic data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this study sought to investigate trends in teacher quality at the national level in the two and a half decades between 1987 and 2012. Specifically, we investigated (i) details about the degree backgrounds, main teaching assignments, and experience levels of those assigned to teach physics; (ii) whether the proportion of those with certifications in physics as a fraction of …
Strongly And Weakly Directed Approaches To Teaching Multiple Representation Use In Physics, Patrick B. Kohl, David Rosengrant, Noah D. Finkelstein
Strongly And Weakly Directed Approaches To Teaching Multiple Representation Use In Physics, Patrick B. Kohl, David Rosengrant, Noah D. Finkelstein
David Rosengrant
Good use of multiple representations is considered key to learning physics, and so there is considerable motivation both to learn how students use multiple representations when solving problems and to learn how best to teach problem solving using multiple representations. In this study of two large-lecture algebra-based physics courses at the University of Colorado (CU) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, we address both issues. Students in each of the two courses solved five common electrostatics problems of varying difficulty, and we examine their solutions to clarify the relationship between multiple representation use and performance on problems involving …
Impulse-Momentum Diagrams, David Rosengrant
Impulse-Momentum Diagrams, David Rosengrant
David Rosengrant
Multiple representations are a valuable tool to help students learn and understand physics concepts. Furthermore, representations help students learn how to think and act like real scientists. These representations include: pictures, free‐body diagrams, energy bar charts, electrical circuits, and, more recently, computer simulations and animations. However, instructors have limited choices when they want to help their students understand impulse and momentum. One of the only available options is the impulse‐momentum bar chart. The bar charts can effectively show the magnitude of the momentum as well as help students understand conservation of momentum, but they do not easily show the actual …
Following Student Gaze Patterns In Physical Science Lectures, David Rosengrant, Doug Hearrington, Kerriann Alvarado, Danielle Keeble
Following Student Gaze Patterns In Physical Science Lectures, David Rosengrant, Doug Hearrington, Kerriann Alvarado, Danielle Keeble
David Rosengrant
This study investigates the gaze patterns of undergraduate college students attending a lecture-based physical science class to better understand the relationships between gaze and focus patterns and student attention during class. The investigators used a new eye-tracking product; Tobii Glasses. The glasses eliminate the need for subjects to focus on a computer screen or carry around a backpack-sized recording device, thus giving an investigator the ability to study a broader range of research questions. This investigation includes what students focus on in the classroom (i.e. demonstrations, instructor, notes, board work, and presentations) during a normal lecture, what diverts attention away …
Do Students Use And Understand Free-Body Diagrams?, David Rosengrant, Alan Van Heuvelen, Eugenia Etkina
Do Students Use And Understand Free-Body Diagrams?, David Rosengrant, Alan Van Heuvelen, Eugenia Etkina
David Rosengrant
Physics education literature recommends using multiple representations to help students understand concepts and solve problems. However, there is little research concerning why students use the representations and whether those who use them are more successful. This study addresses these questions using free-body diagrams (diagrammatic representations used in problems involving forces) as a type of representation. We conducted a two-year quantitative and qualitative study of students’ use of free-body diagrams while solving physics problems. We found that when students are in a course that consistently emphasizes the use of free-body diagrams, the majority of them do use diagrams on their own …