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Full-Text Articles in Education

Creating An Interdisciplinary Learning Community Between Two Cross-Departmental Courses, Krista Mcbride, Maggie Monteverde May 2024

Creating An Interdisciplinary Learning Community Between Two Cross-Departmental Courses, Krista Mcbride, Maggie Monteverde

Faculty Scholarship Symposium

An Interdisciplinary Learning Community (ILC) consisting of two cross-departmental general education courses has been created. Advantages to linking these courses will be presented. Further, the assignments and course material used to make this learning community successful will be presented. Challenges to developing and evaluating shared assignments for such linked classes will also be discussed. Finally, student feedback will be shown from students enrolled in these courses, which illustrate the positive effects blending these two classes had on the student’s learning experience. As an example, an ILC between a general physics course and a literature course will be introduced.


P-39 Interdisciplinary Diffusion Lab, Sable Canales, Chloe Gaban, Mickey Kutzner Oct 2022

P-39 Interdisciplinary Diffusion Lab, Sable Canales, Chloe Gaban, Mickey Kutzner

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

Diffusion is a principle in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The rate of diffusion is affected by temperature, particle size, concentration, and material type. Students can model the rate of diffusion based on particle size by contrasting blue and yellow dyes. Two petri dishes containing agar-agar receive a drop of dye at the center. The radius of expansion is recorded over time. The variance of the distribution grows as 𝜎2=4𝐷𝑡, where 𝜎2 is the variance, D is the diffusion constant, and t is time. Graphing variance versus time gives a slope of 4D. Diffusion constants vary by particle size, allowing for …


Arduino Microcontrollers In The Classroom: Teaching How To Phrase Effective Science Questions And How To Answer Them With Original Data, Tony Dinsmore Jan 2020

Arduino Microcontrollers In The Classroom: Teaching How To Phrase Effective Science Questions And How To Answer Them With Original Data, Tony Dinsmore

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

Arduino microcontrollers in the classroom: teaching how to phrase effective science questions and how to answer them with original data. Prof. Tony Dinsmore, UMass Physics This workshop will develop course modules that address a challenge in the science curriculum: how do we teach basic problem-solving and curiosity-based research skills in a classroom setting? The standard science curriculum teaches concepts and theory quite well but leaves rather little opportunity for students to take the lead in designing and implementing their own investigations. The workshop will use the Arduino, an inexpensive microcontroller that is simple to set up. A huge range of …


Fostering Computational Thinking In An Introductory Physics Lab, Diana Sachmpazidi Sep 2019

Fostering Computational Thinking In An Introductory Physics Lab, Diana Sachmpazidi

STEM Instructional Graduate Teaching Assistant Posters

•Thinking computationally means conceptualizing a problem and formulating it in a way that a computer can solve it (Wing, 2010). •Computational Thinking (CT) is the third pillar of the scientific method along with theory and experimentation and is a fundamental skill that K-12 students and undergraduates should be equipped with (Wing, 2016; 2006). •Research on CT has only been active the last 10 years and most studies are still at the stage of ideas (Kalelioglu et al., 2016). •The integration of CT aspects in instruction is a widely expanding phenomenon in physics classrooms in the context of higher education, and …


Solar Cells, D. Venkataraman Jan 2019

Solar Cells, D. Venkataraman

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

Solar cells convert the sun's energy into electrical energy. In this workshop, I will discuss the processes involved in solar cell and various types of solar cells that are being developed as an alternative to silicon solar cells. I will also demonstrate how students can build a solar cell from readily available materials.


Overview, Benjamin Davidovitch, Narayanan Menon, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski Jan 2017

Overview, Benjamin Davidovitch, Narayanan Menon, Jennifer Welborn, Wayne Kermenski

Patterns Around Us

No abstract provided.


Superhero Robotics, Frank Sup, Brian Umberger, Nick Sawyer Jan 2017

Superhero Robotics, Frank Sup, Brian Umberger, Nick Sawyer

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

No abstract provided.


Atomic Force Microscopes, Rob Snyder, Jennifer Welborn Jan 2015

Atomic Force Microscopes, Rob Snyder, Jennifer Welborn

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

PowerPoint overview. A student activity that builds an atomic force microscope model.


Producing Electricity With Solar Cells, Chris Emery, Rob Snyder Jan 2015

Producing Electricity With Solar Cells, Chris Emery, Rob Snyder

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

No abstract provided.


Session E-4: What's Up With The Higgs Boson? Teaching Particle Physics In High School, Peter Dong Mar 2013

Session E-4: What's Up With The Higgs Boson? Teaching Particle Physics In High School, Peter Dong

Professional Learning Day

Best-selling books, popular PBS specials, and multi-billion-dollar machines all attest to the fascination with particle physics - including many teenagers. Physics and physical science classes can capitalize on this interest by talking about high-profile results, such as last summer's Higgs Boson Discovery. This session will answer some basic questions about contemporary particle physics and suggest some ideas for lessons and projects in particle physics.


Session E-1: Self-Paced Proficiency Based Physics – Updates And Extensions, Brooke Schmidt, Eric Hawker Mar 2012

Session E-1: Self-Paced Proficiency Based Physics – Updates And Extensions, Brooke Schmidt, Eric Hawker

Professional Learning Day

This presentation will cover how a typical introductory physics course has been transformed into one that is self-paced and proficiency graded. The changes were made so that each student would be challenged at his/her level and therefore be more engaged in the course. This structure allows the teacher to individualize instruction of the students. The presentation will also cover adjustments that were made to this model based on student feedback and experiences. The model used to make this course self-paced and proficiency graded should be transferable to other courses.


Session D-6: Teaching Modern Physics, Peter Dong Mar 2012

Session D-6: Teaching Modern Physics, Peter Dong

Professional Learning Day

Modern physics is an excellent way to get students interested in physics – the “weirdness” of relativity and quantum mechanics captures the imagination. This presentation discusses how to teach the subject in a way that encourages this interest. This year’s session will focus on teaching quantum mechanics in a way that is interesting to students and avoids common misconceptions.


Wind Power, Susn Reyes Jan 2012

Wind Power, Susn Reyes

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

No abstract provided.


Using Solar Energy, Peter Talmage Jan 2010

Using Solar Energy, Peter Talmage

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

• Best energy source for the environment • It’s getting more economical every day • Easy to maintain • Cuts down on foreign oil imports