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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin Jun 2020

Mechani-Kits Senior Design Project, Jake Utley, Sophie Carson, Vincent Seguin

Mechanical Engineering

Studies suggest that when designed and executed well, hands-on activities can enhance student understanding of key mechanics concepts. Current products are expensive and typically not designed to meet a variety of learning objectives. Through the Mechanics of Inclusion and Inclusivity in Mechanics grant, the Cal Poly Physics and Engineering Departments are seeking to incorporate new hands-on activities into their courses. Our team has designed three inexpensive ”MechaniKits” to be used in physics, statics and dynamics courses [1]. This Final Design Review outlines our findings, objectives, and final designs for this project. It also explains our manufacturing and design verification plans. …


Designing Writing Intensive Upper Division Laboratories In Physics, Sara Callori Feb 2020

Designing Writing Intensive Upper Division Laboratories In Physics, Sara Callori

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

California State University San Bernardino is currently transitioning from quarters to semesters, starting in Fall 2020. As part of this transition, the Department of Physics has transformed its curriculum to better suit the needs of its students. One major facet of this redesign has been the creation of two writing intensive, upper division laboratory courses. From a practical standpoint, under the revamped general education program, we are able to incorporate upper division writing into the major. More importantly, there are many benefits where having a writing-intensive major course aligns with program goals and professional organization recommendations. This includes designing activities …


The Interactions Of Relationships, Interest, And Self-Efficacy In Undergraduate Physics, Remy Dou Mar 2017

The Interactions Of Relationships, Interest, And Self-Efficacy In Undergraduate Physics, Remy Dou

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collected papers dissertation explores students’ academic interactions in an active learning, introductory physics settings as they relate to the development of physics self-efficacy and interest. The motivation for this work extends from the national call to increase participation of students in the pursuit of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Self-efficacy and interest are factors that play prominent roles in popular, evidence-based, career theories, including the Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the identity framework. Understanding how these constructs develop in light of the most pervasive characteristic of the active learning introductory physics classroom (i.e., peer-to-peer interactions) has …


Math And Physics Activities, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer Jan 2017

Math And Physics Activities, Maureen Miller, Hope Bragg, Christy Keefer

Integrated Math & Social Studies Lessons

Mathematics is at the core of the Hidden Figures story. These women were united by their passion for the field of mathematics. Society often portrays that there are “bad” math students, those that struggle with calculations and applications. The structure of these activities, pairing of students, permits students to support each other in working through the problems. The video clip allows students to establish connections between mathematical calculations and scientific concepts. The physics problems that students complete are motion problems that beginning rocket engineers would have solved to determine how high their rocket flew.


The Dissemination And Effective Use Of Physics Education Research In Undergraduate Instruction, Trevor Stefanick Aug 2012

The Dissemination And Effective Use Of Physics Education Research In Undergraduate Instruction, Trevor Stefanick

Masters Theses

Based on the results of a national survey of physics faculty, a set of interviews was conducted of 70 physics faculty from a diverse set of institutions. The interviews included questions about the dissemination and effective use of curricula and instructional strategies based on Physics Education Research (PER), focused to obtain recommendations to the PER community that might help to spread the use of these PER-based materials. Approximately half of the interviews (those with faculty who indicated knowledge about or use of Peer Instruction) have been previously analyzed. This project is the analysis of the 38 interviews that were conducted …


A Phenomenographic Study Of Introductory Physics Students: Approaches To Their Learning And Perceptions Of Their Learning Environment In A Physics Problem-Based Learning Environment, Paul Irving Jan 2010

A Phenomenographic Study Of Introductory Physics Students: Approaches To Their Learning And Perceptions Of Their Learning Environment In A Physics Problem-Based Learning Environment, Paul Irving

Doctoral

This phenomenographic study describes students’ approaches to learning and their perceptions of the learning environment in an introductory physics course which is taught using a problem-based learning approach. This research builds on previous studies which showed that these students develop a greater conceptual knowledge than their counterparts in a more traditional learning environment while others showed very little development even though they engaged fully with the pedagogy. This study aimed to examine and describe the students’ approaches to learning. The definitions of surface, strategic and deep approaches to learning are not appropriate in this context and could not be applied …