Racial and Gender Issues with Physics in the Pacific Region

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aung, Than; Singh, Awnesh; Prasad, Uma

2011-01-01

This paper examines the state of physics teaching and learning in the Pacific Island nations. How have things changed in teaching physics? We believe that some of the goals and many of the challenges faced today have changed very little over the years. This paper is purely based upon the authors' experiences in teaching physics at the first-year…

Study and practice in the construction of open physical experiments teaching system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yan

2017-09-01

Based on open physical experiments teaching system put forward by Ministry of Education, HHU(Hohai University) has carried out the construction of open experimental manage system, which includes course selecting system, teaching system, manage system and information desk. The innovation is in order to mobilize the students’ learning autonomy, cultivate the students’ creative ability and improve teaching quality. Besides, it achieves direct management from school to college to the laboratory and traced manage to the working device regardless of distance and time.

The Development of Veteran 9th-Grade Physics Teachers' Knowledge for Using Representations to Teach the Topics of Energy Transformation and Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Andrew

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify the experiences that informed the development of three veteran (15+ years of teaching experience) 9th grade physics teachers' specialized knowledge, or PCK, for using representations to teach the topics of energy transformation and transfer. Through the lens of phenomenography, the study…

Puerto Rico: Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Physics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

González-Espada, Wilson J.; Carrasquillo, Rose E.

2017-01-01

It was a pleasant surprise to see Gary White's call for papers on race and physics teaching. We definitely think that the physics teaching and learning of students from diverse and minority backgrounds is an important issue to discuss, especially given the fact that bias and discrimination are common experiences in the lives of many Latinx,…

Physics: Frightful, but Fun. Pupils' and Teachers' Views of Physics and Physics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angell, Carl; Guttersrud, Oystein; Henriksen, Ellen K.; Isnes, Anders

2004-01-01

There is widespread concern for the situation of school physics regarding recruitment, contents, teaching methods, etc. In this study based on questionnaire and focus group data, we explore how upper secondary pupils and teachers perceive physics as a subject, how they experience physics instruction, and how physics compares to other subjects. Our…

Developing Teaching Skills in Physical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siedentop, Daryl

This textbook attempts to clarify the nature of teaching during the field experience or simulation of that experience for student teachers. The text takes a data-based approach to the development of teaching skills. It is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter, "Systematic Improvement of Teaching Skills," is a narrative…

Rika-Shoshi, the First Physics Experiment Textbook Published in Japanese and its Editor, Jun'ichi Udagawa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Hiroshi; Akabane, Akira; Shozawa, Jun; Tamaki, Toyomi

The aim of this study is to examine the teaching of physics experiment at elementary and secondary school levels at the time when Japanese science education commenced. In this report, we focused on the first Japanese textbook of physics experiment, Rika-Shoshi, published in 1882 and the editor of the book, Udagawa Jun'ichi. Many experiments in Rika-Shoshi can be performed using low-cost everyday materials. We compare Rika-Shoshi with the original English textbooks and describe Udagawa's physics teaching in the Gunma Normal School based on the documents in the Gunma University archives. We discuss how we can learn from physics education as taught about 130 years ago.

Studying Gender Bias in Physics Grading: The role of teaching experience and country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofer, Sarah I.

2015-11-01

The existence of gender-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) stereotypes has been repeatedly documented. This article examines physics teachers' gender bias in grading and the influence of teaching experience in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, with years of teaching experience included as moderating variable, physics teachers (N = 780) from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany graded a fictive student's answer to a physics test question. While the answer was exactly the same for each teacher, only the student's gender and specialization in languages vs. science were manipulated. Specialization was included to gauge the relative strength of potential gender bias effects. Multiple group regression analyses, with the grade that was awarded as the dependent variable, revealed only partial cross-border generalizability of the effect pattern. While the overall results in fact indicated the existence of a consistent and clear gender bias against girls in the first part of physics teachers' careers that disappeared with increasing teaching experience for Swiss teachers, Austrian teachers, and German female teachers, German male teachers showed no gender bias effects at all. The results are discussed regarding their relevance for educational practice and research.

The "Heisenberg's Microscope" as an Example of Using Thought Experiments in Teaching Physics Theories to Students of the Upper Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velentzas, Athanasios; Halkia, Krystallia

2011-01-01

In this work an attempt is made to explore the possible value of using Thought Experiments (TEs) in teaching physics to upper secondary education students. Specifically, a qualitative research project is designed to investigate the extent to which the Thought Experiment (TE) called "Heisenberg's Microscope", as it has been transformed by…

Viscosity of Common Seed and Vegetable Oils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wes Fountain, C.; Jennings, Jeanne; McKie, Cheryl K.; Oakman, Patrice; Fetterolf, Monty L.

1997-02-01

Viscosity experiments using Ostwald-type gravity flow viscometers are not new to the physical chemistry laboratory. Several physical chemistry laboratory texts (1 - 3) contain at least one experiment studying polymer solutions or other well-defined systems. Several recently published articles (4 - 8) indicated the continued interest in using viscosity measurements in the teaching lab to illustrate molecular interpretation of bulk phenomena. Most of these discussions and teaching experiments are designed around an extensive theory of viscous flow and models of molecular shape that allow a full data interpretation to be attempted. This approach to viscosity experiments may not be appropriate for all teaching situations (e.g., high schools, general chemistry labs, and nonmajor physical chemistry labs). A viscosity experiment is presented here that is designed around common seed and vegetable oils. With the importance of viscosity to foodstuffs (9) and the importance of fatty acids to nutrition (10), an experiment using these common, recognizable oils has broad appeal.

Selecting, Teaching and Assessing Physical Education Dance Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Stephanie; Hall, Tina

2017-01-01

Dance is a form of physical activity that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. Students at the elementary level benefit greatly from successful experiences in dance that lead to competency in various dance forms as well as an appreciation of personal expression through dance. Teaching dance, however, may not be comfortable or easy for beginning…

Puerto Rico: Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Physics Teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Espada, Wilson J.; Carrasquillo, Rosa E.

2017-09-01

It was a pleasant surprise to see Gary White's call for papers on race and physics teaching. We definitely think that the physics teaching and learning of students from diverse and minority backgrounds is an important issue to discuss, especially given the fact that bias and discrimination are common experiences in the lives of many Latinx, including school-age children and college students.

Historical Experiments and Physics Teaching: adding considerations from a Bibliographic Review and the Cultural History of Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jardim, W. T.; Guerra, A.

2017-12-01

In this paper, a discussion about the purposes of historical experiments in science teaching found in the literature will be presented. As a starting point, we carried out a bibliographic review, on the websites of six relevant periodicals for the area of Science Teaching and, especially for Physics Teaching. The search was based, at first, on works published between the years 2001 and 2016, from terms like "historical experiments", "museums" and "experience". Thereon, due to the large number of publications found, a screening process was developed based on the analysis of titles, abstracts, keywords and, whether necessary, the whole text, aiming to identify which searches emphasize working with historical experiments in Physics teaching, from a theoretical perspective or based on manipulation of a replica of historical apparatus. The selected proposals were arranged in categories adapted from the work of Heering and Höttecke (2014) which allowed us to draw a parallel between the national and international publication that presented resembling scopes. Furthermore, the analysis of the results leads us to infer that, in general, extralab factors, inherent to science, when not neglected, are placed in a peripheral perspective. Thus, we draw theoretical considerations based on Historians of Science, which develop their researches based on the bias of the Cultural History of Science, seeking to add reflections to what has been developed about historical experiments in teaching up to now.

CLIL in physics lessons at grammar school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Štefančínová, Iveta; Valovičová, Ľubomíra

2017-01-01

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is one of the most outstanding approaches in foreign language teaching. This teaching method has promising prospects for the future of modern education as teaching subject and foreign languages are combined to offer a better preparation for life in Europe, especially when the mobility is becoming a highly significant factor of everyday life. We realized a project called Foreign languages in popularizing science at grammar school. Within the project five teachers with approbation subjects of English, French, German and Physics attended the methodological courses abroad. The teachers applied the gained experience in teaching and linking science teaching with the teaching of foreign languages. Outputs of the project (e.g. English-German-French-Slovak glossary of natural science terminology, student activity sheets, videos with natural science orientation in a foreign language, physical experiments in foreign languages, multimedia fairy tales with natural contents, posters of some scientists) are prepared for the CLIL-oriented lessons. We collected data of the questionnaire for students concerning attitude towards CLIL. The questionnaire for teachers showed data about the attitude, experience, and needs of teachers employing CLIL in their lessons.

Development of the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire in the United States.

PubMed

Wormley, Michelle E; Romney, Wendy; Greer, Anna E

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid measure for assessing clinical teaching effectiveness within the field of physical therapy. The Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire (CTEQ) was developed via a 4-stage process, including (1) initial content development, (2) content analysis with 8 clinical instructors with over 5 years of clinical teaching experience, (3) pilot testing with 205 clinical instructors from 2 universities in the Northeast of the United States, and (4) psychometric evaluation, including principal component analysis. The scale development process resulted in a 30-item questionnaire with 4 sections that relate to clinical teaching: learning experiences, learning environment, communication, and evaluation. The CTEQ provides a preliminary valid measure for assessing clinical teaching effectiveness in physical therapy practice.

TH-E-201-00: Teaching Radiology Residents: What, How, and Expectation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program.more » The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant.« less

High School Physics Teacher Preparation: Results from the 2012-13 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. Focus On

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Susan; Tyler, John

2015-01-01

This report examines teachers' self-assessed preparedness to teach physics, their membership in professional organizations, and where they turn for help when they have questions. Almost every teacher reports feeling at least adequately prepared to teach basic physics knowledge and the application of physics to everyday experience. The smallest…

Interactive Methods of Teaching Physics at Technical Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krišták, L'uboš; Nemec, Miroslav; Danihelová, Zuzana

2014-01-01

The paper presents results of "non-traditional" teaching of the basic course of Physics in the first year of study at the Technical University in Zvolen, specifically teaching via interactive method enriched with problem tasks and experiments. This paper presents also research results of the use of the given method in conditions of…

Teaching Physics Using PhET Simulations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieman, C. E.; Adams, W. K.; Loeblein, P.; Perkins, K. K.

2010-01-01

PhET Interactive Simulations (sims) are now being widely used in teaching physics and chemistry. Sims can be used in many different educational settings, including lecture, individual or small group inquiry activities, homework, and lab. Here we will highlight a few ways to use them in teaching, based on our research and experiences using them in…

Bouncing Poppers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vollmer, Michael; Möllmann, Klaus-Peter

2015-01-01

Toys are known to attract interest in physics and they are therefore often used in physics teaching of various topics. The present paper deals with a simple toy, the so-called "hopper popper," which, similar to superballs, can be used when teaching mechanics. We suggest some experiments and describe the basic physics of this toy, also…

Teaching Taekwondo through Mosston's Spectrum of Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Na, Jaekwon

2009-01-01

Martial arts have recently gained the attention of physical educators as a viable activity in their physical education curriculum. However, physical education teachers may have difficulty teaching martial arts because they have little pedagogical content knowledge and no experience, and because they perceive martial arts to be dangerous and…

Physical Theatre Education: Beyond Knowledge Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaines, Andrew M.

2016-01-01

Teaching physical theatre successfully relies on a reverence for the human soul in order to cultivate risk-forward embodiment while demanding technical precision. In an effort to illuminate such praxis, this article documents and analyzes the experiences of novice physical theatre performers guided by master teaching artist and performer, Dr.…

Tactile Teaching: Exploring Protein Structure/Function Using Physical Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Tim; Morris, Jennifer; Colton, Shannon; Batiza, Ann; Patrick, Michael; Franzen, Margaret; Goodsell, David S.

2006-01-01

The technology now exists to construct physical models of proteins based on atomic coordinates of solved structures. We review here our recent experiences in using physical models to teach concepts of protein structure and function at both the high school and the undergraduate levels. At the high school level, physical models are used in a…

Effects of Online Games on Student Performance in Undergraduate Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadiq, Irfan

2010-01-01

The present state of physics teaching and learning is a reflection of the difficulty of the subject matter which has resulted in students' low motivation toward physics as well as lack of meaningful and deeper learning experiences. In light of an overall decline in interest in physics, an investigation of alternate teaching and learning methods…

From Earth to Heaven: Using "Newton's Cannon" Thought Experiment for Teaching Satellite Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Velentzas, Athanasios; Halkia, Krystallia

2013-01-01

Thought Experiments are powerful tools in both scientific thinking and in the teaching of science. In this study, the historical Thought Experiment (TE) "Newton's Cannon" was used as a tool to teach concepts relating to the motion of satellites to students at upper secondary level. The research instruments were: (a) a…

TH-E-201-01: Diagnostic Radiology Residents Physics Curriculum and Updates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sensakovic, W.

The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program.more » The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant.« less

A Stand-Alone Interactive Physics Showcase

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfaff, Daniel; Hagelgans, Anja; Weidemuller, Matthias; Bretzer, Klaus

2012-01-01

We present a showcase with interactive exhibits of basic physical experiments that constitutes a complementary method for teaching physics and interesting students in physical phenomena. Our interactive physics showcase, shown in Fig. 1, stimulates interest for science by letting the students experience, firsthand, surprising phenomena and…

Teachers' self-assessed levels of preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Susan C.

2016-02-01

Every four years we survey a nationally representative sample of high school physics teachers. We define anyone who teaches at least one physics class to be a "physics teacher." About 40% of these teachers teach a majority of their classes in subjects other than physics. We also ask teachers to rate how well prepared they felt in various aspects of teaching. The response choices are "not adequately prepared," "adequately prepared," and "very well prepared." The accompanying figure shows the proportion of teachers who reported feeling adequately or very well prepared in the following aspects of teaching: • Basic physics knowledge, • Other science knowledge, • Application of physics to everyday experience, • Use of demonstrations, • Instructional laboratory design, • Use of computers in physics instruction and labs, and • Recent developments in physics.

TH-E-201-02: Hands-On Physics Teaching of Residents in Diagnostic Radiology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, J.

The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program.more » The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant.« less

TH-E-201-03: A Radiology Resident’s Perspectives of Physics Teaching

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Key, A.

The ABR Core Examination stresses integrating physics into real-world clinical practice and, accordingly, has shifted its focus from passive recall of facts to active application of physics principles. Physics education of radiology residents poses a challenge. The traditional method of didactic lectures alone is insufficient, yet it is difficult to incorporate physics teaching consistently into clinical rotations due to time constraints. Faced with this challenge, diagnostic medical physicists who teach radiology residents, have been thinking about how to adapt their teaching to the new paradigm, what to teach and meet expectation of the radiology resident and the radiology residency program.more » The proposed lecture attempts to discuss above questions. Newly developed diagnostic radiology residents physics curriculum by the AAPM Imaging Physics Curricula Subcommittee will be reviewed. Initial experience on hands-on physics teaching will be discussed. Radiology resident who will have taken the BAR Core Examination will share the expectation of physics teaching from a resident perspective. The lecture will help develop robust educational approaches to prepare radiology residents for safer and more effective lifelong practice. Learning Objectives: Learn updated physics requirements for radiology residents Pursue effective approaches to teach physics to radiology residents Learn expectation of physics teaching from resident perspective J. Zhang, This topic is partially supported by RSNA Education Scholar Grant.« less

Does Teaching Experience Matter? The Beliefs and Practices of Beginning and Experienced Physics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caleon, Imelda S.; Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Cho, Young Hoan

2018-01-01

This study utilized multiple data sources to examine the beliefs about learning and teaching physics and the instructional practices of five beginning teachers and seven experienced teachers from Singapore. Our study was implemented in the unique context of teachers teaching the topic of electricity to students grouped according to academic…

Does Teaching Experience Matter? The Beliefs and Practices of Beginning and Experienced Physics Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caleon, Imelda S.; Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Cho, Young Hoan

2018-02-01

This study utilized multiple data sources to examine the beliefs about learning and teaching physics and the instructional practices of five beginning teachers and seven experienced teachers from Singapore. Our study was implemented in the unique context of teachers teaching the topic of electricity to students grouped according to academic abilities. The topic of electricity is one of the most difficult physics topics for students to understand and for teachers to teach. It was found that the experienced teachers, compared to the beginning teachers, tended to have beliefs about teaching and learning physics that are closer to constructivist views. The majority of the teachers, particularly the beginning teachers, espoused beliefs about learning physics that were incongruent with their beliefs about teaching physics. Although transmission-oriented and teacher-directed practices dominated the classroom lessons of both groups of teachers, more elements of constructivist instruction were found in the classroom lessons of the experienced teachers. It was also found that the classroom practices of the teachers, especially those in their inductive years of teaching, were more aligned with their beliefs about learning physics than their beliefs about teaching physics.

Reviews CD-ROM: Scientific American—The Amateur Scientist 3.0 Book: The New Resourceful Physics Teacher Equipment: DynaKar Book: The Fundamentals of Imaging Book: Teaching Secondary Physics Book: Novel Materials and Smart Applications Equipment: Cryptic disk Web Watch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-05-01

WE RECOMMEND Scientific American—The Amateur Scientist 3.0 Article collection spans the decades DynaKar DynaKar drives dynamics experiments The Fundamentals of Imaging Author covers whole imaging spectrum Teaching Secondary Physics Effective teaching is all in the approach Novel Materials and Smart Applications/Novel materials sample pack Resources kit samples smart materials WORTH A LOOK Cryptic disk Metal disk spins life into discussions about energy, surfaces and kinetics HANDLE WITH CARE The New Resourceful Physics Teacher Book brings creativity to physics WEB WATCH Apps for tablets and smartphones can aid physics teaching

Exploration of Critical Self-Reflection in the Teaching of Ethics: The Case of Physical Therapy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Gail M.

The effect of clinical simulations on student learning in the teaching of ethics in a physical therapy curriculum was examined in a study of the experiences of 54 physical therapy students enrolled in a course in ethics in physical therapy practice. During the three-semester-hour course, the students participated in two clinical simulations that…

Brazilian Physical Education Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, Samuel R.; Haegele, Justin; Gutierres Filho, Paulo; Rizzi Lopes, Gleides

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse Brazilian physical education teachers' beliefs about their experiences teaching students with disabilities. Participants were six physical education teachers from schools located in the city of Brasília, Brazil. The research paradigm was descriptive-qualitative situated in the theory of planned behaviour.…

Bouncing Poppers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vollmer, Michael; Möllmann, Klaus-Peter

2015-11-01

Toys are known to attract interest in physics and they are therefore often used in physics teaching of various topics. The present paper deals with a simple toy, the so-called "hopper popper," which, similar to superballs, can be used when teaching mechanics. We suggest some experiments and describe the basic physics of this toy, also providing background information for teachers.

Second-career teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-11-01

Last month we saw that the age distribution for high school physics teachers skewed older than that of all teachers. We also noted that, even though they are older, at least three-fourths of the high school physics teachers indicated that they planned to teach high school for at least six more years. The figure shows the age and years of teaching experience for high school physics teachers. We see that almost 12% of the teachers who are 50 years old or older have five years or fewer of teaching experience. Thus, these are likely second-career teachers. The typical age range for second-career teachers is 33 to 59. However, the younger second-career teachers are more difficult to isolate because the average duration of the previous career is one and one-half to three years. In the December issue, we will look at teaching activities physics teachers use in the classroom, Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.

A collection of problems for physics teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gröber, S.; Jodl, H.-J.

2010-07-01

Problems are an important instrument for teachers to mediate physics content and for learners to adopt this content. This collection of problems is not only suited to traditional teaching and learning in lectures or student labs, but also to all kinds of new ways of teaching and learning, such as self-study, long-distance teaching, project-oriented learning and the use of remote labs/web experiments. We focus on Rutherford's scattering experiment, electron diffraction, Millikan's experiment and the use of pendulums to measure the dependence of gravitational acceleration on latitude. The collection contains about 50 problems with 160 subtasks and solutions, altogether 100 pages. Structure, content, range and the added value of the problems are described. The whole collection can be downloaded for free from http://rcl.physik.uni-kl.de.

Let's Get Virtual: Observing Physical Education Field Experiences through Synchronous Video Conferencing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krause, Jennifer M.; Douglas, Scott; Lynch, Brandy M.; Kesselring, LeAnn

2018-01-01

The student-teaching experience is the most noteworthy experience for a teacher candidate (TC) in a teacher preparation program. University supervisors play a crucial role in this experience through feedback, support and maintaining congruency between the student teaching environment and the teacher preparation program. Due to issues related to…

Using a Disciplinary Literacy Framework to Teach High School Physics: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurley, Brian P.; Henry, Michael P.

2015-01-01

This action research study investigated the impact of teaching physics using a disciplinary literacy framework for instruction across all units in one academic year. Through a suite of vocabulary strategies and lessons that encourage students to write, speak, draw, mathematically translate, and design experiments, students learn to do physics by…

One Teacher's Experience of Teaching Physical Education and Another School Subject: An Inter-Role Conflict?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iannucci, Cassandra; MacPhail, Ann

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study was situated within a longitudinal study of 5 teachers examining the realities of teaching physical education by determining the impact of individual dispositions and contextual factors on the career trajectories of postprimary physical education teachers in Ireland (Iannucci & MacPhail, 2017). One of these participants,…

Meeting the Discipline-Culture Framework of Physics Knowledge: A Teaching Experience in Italian Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levrini, Olivia; Bertozzi, Eugenio; Gagliardi, Marta; Tomasini, Nella Grimellini; Pecori, Barbara; Tasquier, Giulia; Galili, Igal

2014-01-01

The paper deals with physics teaching/learning in high school. An investigation in three upper secondary school classes in Italy explored the reactions of students to a structuring lecture on optics within the discipline-culture (DC) framework that organises physics knowledge around four interrelated fundamental theories of light. The lecture…

Reform and practice for photoelectric specialty experimental teaching based on virtual simulation experiment platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Yan; Lv, Qingsong; Wu, Maocheng; Xu, Yishen; Gu, Jihua

2017-08-01

In view of some problems about the traditional photoelectric specialty experimental teaching process, such as separation of theoretical teaching and practical teaching, immobilization of experimental teaching contents, low quality of experiments and no obvious effect, we explored and practiced a new experimental teaching model of "theoretical teaching, virtual simulation and physical experiment", which combined the characteristics of photoelectric information science and engineering major and the essential requirements of engineering innovation talents cultivation. The virtual simulation experiment platform has many advantages, such as high performance-to-price ratio, easy operation and open experimental process, which makes virtual simulation combine physical experiment, complete each other with virtual for practical. After the users log into the virtual simulation experimental platform, they will first study the contents of the experiment, clarify the purpose and requirements of the experiment, master the method of using the instrument and the relevant notes, and then use the experimental instruments provided by the platform to build the corresponding experimental system. Once the experimenter's optical path is set incorrectly or the instrument parameters are set incorrectly, the error or warning message will be automatically triggered, and the reference information will be given instructing the student to complete the correct experimental operation. The results of our practice in recent years show that the teaching reform of the photoelectric specialty experiments has not only brought great convenience to the experimental teaching management, broadened the students' thinking and vision, enhanced the students' experimental skills and comprehensive qualities, but also made the students participate in the experiment with their enthusiasm. During the construction of experiment programs, the students' engineering practical ability and independent innovation awareness has been improved greatly. In the next time, based on the development trend of optoelectronic discipline and our own major characteristics, we will further perfect and enrich the construction of virtual simulation experimental platform and continuously improve the quality of experimental teaching.

A Study of Faculty Approaches to Teaching Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mack, Michael Ryan

Chemistry education researchers have not adequately studied teaching and learning experiences at all levels in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum leaving gaps in discipline-based STEM education communities understanding about how the upper- division curricula works (National Research Council, 2012b; Towns, 2013). This study explored faculty approaches to teaching in upper-division physical chemistry course settings using an interview-based methodology. Two conceptualizations of approaches to teaching emerged from a phenomenographic analysis of interview transcripts: (1) faculty beliefs about the purposes for teaching physical chemistry and (2) their conceptions of their role as an instructor in these course settings. Faculty who reported beliefs predominantly centered on helping students develop conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills in physical chemistry often worked with didactic models of teaching, which emphasized the transfer of expert knowledge to students. When faculty expressed beliefs that were more inclusive of conceptual, epistemic, and social learning goals in science education they often described more student-centered models of teaching and learning, which put more responsibilities on them to facilitate students' interactive engagement with the material and peers during regularly scheduled class time. Knowledge of faculty thinking, as evinced in a rich description of their accounts of their experience, provides researchers and professional developers with useful information about the potential opportunities or barriers that exist for helping faculty align their beliefs and goals for teaching with research-based instructional strategies.

An Industrialist's View of University Physics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hillier, K. W.

1975-01-01

Suggests that university physics teaching maintains rigorous depth but does not place enough emphasis on communication skills with nonphysicists. Discusses the problem of recruiting university graduates into service industries which have predominately awarded managerial positions to personnel with work experience rather than formal education. (MLH)

Supervision in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs: Making the Case for Paired Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heidorn, Brent; Jenkins, Deborah Bainer

2015-01-01

Many student teaching experiences in physical education teacher education programs face challenges related to supervision and realistic preparation for the workplace. This article suggests paired placements as a model for effective supervision and increased collaboration during the student teaching internship.

Teaching and physics education research: bridging the gap.

PubMed

Fraser, James M; Timan, Anneke L; Miller, Kelly; Dowd, Jason E; Tucker, Laura; Mazur, Eric

2014-03-01

Physics faculty, experts in evidence-based research, often rely on anecdotal experience to guide their teaching practices. Adoption of research-based instructional strategies is surprisingly low, despite the large body of physics education research (PER) and strong dissemination effort of PER researchers and innovators. Evidence-based PER has validated specific non-traditional teaching practices, but many faculty raise valuable concerns toward their applicability. We address these concerns and identify future studies required to overcome the gap between research and practice.

The Use of Thought Experiments in Teaching Physics to Upper Secondary-Level Students: Two examples from the theory of relativity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velentzas, Athanasios; Halkia, Krystallia

2013-12-01

The present study focuses on the way thought experiments (TEs) can be used as didactical tools in teaching physics to upper secondary-level students. A qualitative study was designed to investigate to what extent the TEs called 'Einstein's elevator' and 'Einstein's train' can function as tools in teaching basic concepts of the theory of relativity to upper secondary-level students. The above TEs were used in the form they are presented by Einstein himself and by Landau and Rumer in books that popularize theories of physics. The research sample consisted of 40 Greek students, divided into 11 groups of three to four students each. The findings of this study reveal that the use of TEs in teaching the theory of relativity can help students realize situations which refer to a world beyond their everyday experience and develop syllogisms according to the theory. In this way, students can grasp physics laws and principles which demand a high degree of abstract thinking, such as the principle of equivalence and the consequences of the constancy of the speed of light to concepts of time and space.

Instilling best educational practices into future physics professionals and faculty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Philip G.

2009-03-01

A primary aim of the New Faculty Workshop (NFW) has been to communicate best educational practices in faculty beginning their teaching careers. However, further amplification of NFW goals is achieved by providing similar content and training to Ph.D. candidates working as Teaching Assistants (TAs). NFW experience led to the successful creation at UCI of a relatively extensive, 30-hour training course now required of every graduate student in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. Half of the training occurs before the first week of classes, and focuses on peer instruction, active learning, and results from Physics Education Research. This orientation segues into peer evaluation as first-time TAs and soon-to-be TAs practice teaching styles for each other and evaluate videos of each other teaching their actual courses. This course directly trains 25-30 graduate students each year, indirectly affecting dozens of discussion sections and the experience of nearly 2000 students per quarter.

Teaching introductory undergraduate physics using commercial video games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohanty, Soumya D.; Cantu, Sergio

2011-09-01

Commercial video games are increasingly using sophisticated physics simulations to create a more immersive experience for players. This also makes them a powerful tool for engaging students in learning physics. We provide some examples to show how commercial off-the-shelf games can be used to teach specific topics in introductory undergraduate physics. The examples are selected from a course taught predominantly through the medium of commercial video games.

The Use of Cylindrical Lenses in Easy Experiments for Physics Education and the Magic Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bednarek, Stanislaw; Krysiak, Jerzy

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to present the properties of cylindrical lenses and provide some examples of their use in easy school physics experiments. Such experiments could be successfully conducted in the context of science education, in fun experiments that teach physics and in science fair projects, or used to entertain an audience by…

Investigation of a Chaotic Double Pendulum in the Basic Level Physics Teaching Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanko, Peter

2007-01-01

First-year physics students at the Technical University of Budapest carry out a wide range of measurements in the Basic Level Physics Teaching Laboratory. One of the most exciting experiments is the investigation of a chaotic double pendulum by a V-scope, a powerful three-dimensional motion tracking system. After a brief introduction to the…

Doing things my way: teaching physical education with a disability.

PubMed

Grenier, Michelle A; Horrell, Andrew; Genovese, Bryan

2014-10-01

Having a disability and being a teacher can be a critical site for examining practices associated with ability, competence, and pedagogy. While there is a growing literature base that examines the experiences of students with disabilities in physical education, there is virtually no research that examines the experiences of physical education teachers with disabilities. Using the capability approach, this article explores the experiences of a physical education teaching intern with a physical disability, significant school members, and the students he interacted with through interviews and documents. The results yielded 3 primary themes. The first, "the fluid nature of the disability discourse," demonstrated the complexity of disability and explored the contrast between static tendencies that stereotype disability and the disability experience. The second theme, "doing things my way," reflected the intern's need to distinguish himself as a teacher by defining contexts for experiencing competence. The third and final theme, "agent of change," explored how the intern's experiences as a teacher with a disability informed his educational narrative.

Nuclear physics experiments with low cost instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira Bastos, Rodrigo; Adelar Boff, Cleber; Melquiades, Fábio Luiz

2016-11-01

One of the difficulties in modern physics teaching is the limited availability of experimental activities. This is particularly true for teaching nuclear physics in high school or college. The activities suggested in the literature generally symbolise real phenomenon, using simulations. It happens because the experimental practices mostly include some kind of expensive radiation detector and an ionising radiation source that requires special care for handling and storage, being subject to a highly bureaucratic regulation in some countries. This study overcomes these difficulties and proposes three nuclear physics experiments using a low-cost ion chamber which construction is explained: the measurement of 222Rn progeny collected from the indoor air; the measurement of the range of alpha particles emitted by the 232Th progeny, present in lantern mantles and in thoriated welding rods, and by the air filter containing 222Rn progeny; and the measurement of 220Rn half-life collected from the emanation of the lantern mantles. This paper presents the experimental procedures and the expected results, indicating that the experiments may provide support for nuclear physics classes. These practices may outreach wide access to either college or high-school didactic laboratories, and the apparatus has the potential for the development of new teaching activities for nuclear physics.

Relations of didactics of physics and projects of education in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zelenický, Ľubomír; Rakovská, Mária

2017-01-01

Deepening interest in didactical problems of teaching physics can be from the beginning associated with the creation of the subject of physics, especially at secondary schools. In the 20th century it was no longer possible to ignore the rapid development of physical science and application of its results in practice. The subject of physics required the definition of its content, development of textbooks and, amongst others, new ways of teaching in comparison with the past. The interest of teachers focused mainly on increasing the clarity of explanation - the creation of experiments and teaching aids. Since 1926 Association of Mathematicians and Physicists in the first Czechoslovak Republic issued a didactic-methodological annex to the Journal of Mathematics and Physics, as a discussion in order to increase the quality of teaching. However, this action was spontaneous and subjective. In the second half of the 20th century didactics of physics became a study discipline, part of the training of future secondary school teachers and the development of scientific work in the field of Theory of teaching physics started.

Case Study, Poetic Transcription and Learning to Teach Indigenous Movement in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Legge, Maureen

2015-01-01

This article describes a case study designed to investigate some of the consequences of physical education teacher education (PETE) coursework to discern how students reinterpreted those experiences into their professional practice. In particular the article examines PETE student learning when teaching "Maori" content, "te reo…

CATS--Computer Assisted Teaching in Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barron, Marcelline A.

This document contains the listings for 46 computer programs which are designed to teach various concepts in chemistry and physics. Significant time was spent in writing programs in which students would input chemical and physical data from their laboratory experiments. No significant time was spent writing drill and practice programs other than…

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Response to March Editorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Peter

2000-05-01

Most of what Bob Kibble wrote in `The how of physics' (2000 Phys. Educ. 35 79) is both true and important. How we teach physics makes a profound difference to student learning and to progression in physics-related subjects. This is why it has played a big part in designing the Advancing Physics publications. These include a printed Course Guide and, on the CD, chapter-by-chapter Teacher Guides together with Teaching Note `pop-up's which accompany every teaching resource. The Course Guide includes an overview of teaching and learning Advancing Physics; for example, encouraging student initiative and groupwork, recommending variety in tasks and approaches. The Teacher Guide and Teaching Notes then go into detail about what might work and what does not. Suggestions are made about how to introduce topics and how to choose between resources as you plan your lessons. Specific practical information and guidance is provided to help teachers with experiments and software. Several times during this past year, teachers in Advancing Physics pilot schools and colleges have met locally, face-to-face. They also have access to an e-mail list where they can ask questions and exchange ideas to make their teaching more effective. Similar support will be available to teachers starting the course in September 2000. When it is fully operational, the AP website will allow teachers to post their suggestions for routes through the course, suggest amendments to existing resources and submit new resources which they have created. Text, images and software will be exchanged. We hope that this network of mutual support will contribute to a sense of both the excitement and the social nature of physics. And I agree with Bob: physics teachers need space and time to join in networks where they can share their classroom experiences.

Reconstructing Iconic Experiments in Electrochemistry: Experiences from a History of Science Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggen, Per-Odd; Kvittingen, Lise; Lykknes, Annette; Wittje, Roland

2012-01-01

The decomposition of water by electricity, and the voltaic pile as a means of generating electricity, have both held an iconic status in the history of science as well as in the history of science teaching. These experiments featured in chemistry and physics textbooks, as well as in classroom teaching, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth…

Implementation of Inquiry-Based Tutorials in AN Introductory Physics Course: the Role of the Graduate Teaching Assistant.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoresen, Carol Wiggins

1994-01-01

This study determined if the training provided physics teaching assistants was sufficient to accomplish the objectives of inquiry-based tutorials for an introductory physics course. Qualitative research methods were used: (1) to determine if the Physics by Inquiry method was modeled; (2) to describe the process from the teaching assistant perspective; (3) to determine TA opinions on training methods; (4) to develop a frame of reference to better understand the role of TA's as instructional support staff. The study determined that the teaching assistants verbalized appropriate instructional actions, but were observed to use a predominantly didactic teaching style. TA's held a variety of perceptions and beliefs about inquiry -based learning and how science is learned. They felt comfortable in the role of tutorial instructor. They were satisfied with the training methods provided and had few suggestions to change or improve training for future tutorial instructors. A concurrent theme of teacher action dependent on teacher beliefs was sustained throughout the study. The TA's actions, as tutorial instructors, reflected their educational beliefs, student background and learning experiences. TA's performance as tutorial instructors depended on what they think and believe about learning science. Practical implications exist for training teaching assistants to be tutorial instructors. Some recommendations may be appropriate for TA's required to use instructional methods that they have not experienced as students. Interview prospective teaching assistants to determine educational experience and beliefs. Employ inexperienced teaching assistants whose perspectives match the proposed instructional role and who might be more receptive to modeling. Incorporate training into staff meetings. Provide time for TA's to experience the instructional model with simulation or role play as students and as instructors, accompanied by conference discussion. Use strategies known to enhance adult learning and that are sensitive to the variability of adult learners. Educate for critical reflection; incorporate a system of peer coaching. Include a teaching assistant training component in group process and group management.

xyZET: A Simulation Program for Physics Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartel, Hermann

2000-01-01

Discusses xyZET, a simulation program that allows 3D-space in numerous experiments in basic mechanics and electricity and was developed to support physics teaching. Tests course material for 11th grade at German high schools under classroom conditions and reports on their stability and effectiveness. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/YDS)

Students' Perceptions of the Command, Practice, and Inclusion Styles of Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Beth; Byra, Mark; Wallhead, Tristan L.

2012-01-01

Background: For many physical educators, the Spectrum of Teaching Styles serves as a "tool box" for meeting the different needs of students and goals in physical education. Despite the proliferation in Spectrum research in which researchers have examined teacher experience and student skill, knowledge, and social learning within the…

Teaching to Learn: Analyzing the Experiences of First-Time Physics Learning Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Kara Elizabeth

2013-01-01

The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) Model has demonstrated that it is successful in helping to meet multiple goals including enhancing student learning in LA-supported courses, increasing conceptual understanding of physics among LAs, and improving the teaching practices of former LAs in K-12 schools. The research reported here investigated the…

INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE FOR THE TEACHING OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION. PRIMARY THROUGH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BROCKMEYER, W.

AN INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE FOR THE TEACHING OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION, EMPHASIZING EDUCATION BY EXPERIENCE IN ACTIVITY, WAS PRESENTED. THE GOALS WERE TO DEVELOP GOOD HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, GOOD SELF-REALIZATION, CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY, AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY. THE PROGRAM FOR BOYS, GRADES SEVEN THROUGH NINE, INCLUDED CALISTHENICS APPARATUS (SUCH AS…

Video-Mediated Physics Instruction from Preservice Teachers to Elementary Students: Experiences and Reflections

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laherto, Antti; Laherto, Jussi

2018-01-01

Addressing the widely reported deficiencies in elementary teachers' competence in technology use and in inquiry-based science instruction, we present and assess a novel teaching experiment conducted in a university-school collaboration. Preservice elementary teachers planned and produced teaching videos in which they gave instructions on…

Thought Experiments in Teaching Free-Fall Weightlessness: A Critical Review and an Exploration of Mercury's Behavior in "Falling Elevator"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balukovic, Jasmina; Slisko, Josip; Cruz, Adrián Corona

2017-01-01

Different "thought experiments" dominate teaching approaches to weightlessness, reducing students' opportunities for active physics learning, which should include observations, descriptions, explanations and predictions of real phenomena. Besides the controversy related to conceptual definitions of weight and weightlessness, we report…

Simple Experiments for Teaching Air Pressure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shamsipour, Gholamreza

2006-01-01

Everyone who teaches physics knows very well that sometimes a simple device or experiment can help to make a concept clear. In this paper, inspired by "The Jumping Pencil" by Martin Gardner, I will discuss a simple demonstration device that can be used to start the study of air pressure.

The Influence of Experience on Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Good and Bad Aspects of a Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Murray; Doolittle, Sarah; Schwager, Susan

2005-01-01

Experiences in sport and physical activity prior to formal teacher preparation are thought to be influential on perceptions of aspiring teachers. Various types of sport and teaching experiences of future teachers have not, however, been linked to specific beliefs and perceptions of teaching effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine…

Digital Video: The Impact on Children's Learning Experiences in Primary Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Loughlin, Joe; Chroinin, Deirdre Ni; O'Grady, David

2013-01-01

Technology can support teaching, learning and assessment in physical education. The purpose of this study was to examine children's perspectives and experiences of using digital video in primary physical education. The impact on motivation, feedback, self-assessment and learning was examined. Twenty-three children aged 9-10 years participated in a…

The "Nut-Drop" Experiment--Bringing Millikan's Challenge to Introductory Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCann, Lowell I.; Blodgett, Earl D.

2009-01-01

One of the difficulties in teaching 20th-century physics ideas in introductory physics is that many seminal experiments that are discussed in textbooks are difficult or expensive for students to access experimentally. In this paper, we discuss an analogous exercise to Millikan's oil-drop experiment that lets students experience some of the physics…

Probing Pre-and In-Service Physics Teachers' Knowledge Using the Double-Slit Thought Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asikainen, Mervi A.; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2014-01-01

This study describes the use of the double-slit thought experiment as a diagnostic tool for probing physics teachers' understanding. A total of 9 pre-service teachers and 18 in-service teachers with a variety of different experience in modern physics teaching at the upper secondary level responded in a paper-and-pencil test and three of these…

Elementary Physical Education Teachers' Experiences in Teaching English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takahiro; Hodge, Samuel R.

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to describe and explain the views on teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) held by six elementary physical education (PE) teachers in the Midwest region of the United States. Situated in positioning theory, the research approach was descriptive-qualitative. The primary sources of data were face-to-face…

Teaching Notes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-03-01

If you would like to contribute a teaching note for any of these sections please contact ped@iop.org. Contents: PHYSICS ON A SHOESTRING: Demonstrating resolution Magnetic tea patterns LET'S INVESTIGATE: Conducting foam TECHNICAL TRIMMINGS: Polarimeter Old experiments on air-tracks gain new fans MY WAY: Newton's laws ON THE MAP: The International School of Lusaka CURIOSITY: Inflation theory PHYSICS ON A SHOESTRING

Frequency and Type of Reinstruction Strategies Used by Paraprofessionals and Licensed Teachers in Elementary Physical Education Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Amber M.; Larson, Jessyka; Heinemann, Angela; Brusseau, Timothy A.

2015-01-01

Unqualified paraprofessionals are teaching many elementary physical education (PE) programs around the United States. These teachers have neither the experience nor the education to provide quality instruction to students. Few researchers have identified the essential nature of teacher feedback in teaching motor skills, and it has been…

The Effect of Reflective Thinking on the Teaching Practices of Preservice Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dervent, Fatih

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of reflective thinking on the professional teaching practices of preservice physical education teachers and to explore their reflective levels. Within the qualitative research paradigm, action research was used to gain a deeper understanding of the reflective experiences of preservice physical…

Promoting Reflective Physics Teaching Through the Use of Collaborative Learning Annotation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milner-Bolotin, Marina

2018-05-01

Effective physics teaching requires extensive knowledge of physics, relevant pedagogies, and modern educational technologies that can support student learning. Acquiring this knowledge is a challenging task, considering how fast modern technologies and expectations of student learning outcomes and of teaching practices are changing Therefore 21st-century physics teachers should be supported in developing a different way of thinking about technology-enhanced physics teaching and learning. We call it Deliberate Pedagogical Thinking with Technology, and base it on the original Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge frameworks. However, unlike the two aforementioned frameworks, the Deliberate Pedagogical Thinking with Technology emphasizes not only teachers' knowledge, but also their attitudes and dispositions about using digital tools in order to support student learning. This paper examines how an online system that allows an ongoing discussion of videos uploaded on it by the students can support reflection in physics teacher education. Examples of using such a system in physics teacher education and teacher-candidates' feedback on their experiences with it are also discussed.

The use of cylindrical lenses in easy experiments for physics education and the magic arts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bednarek, Stanisław; Krysiak, Jerzy

2011-09-01

The purpose of this article is to present the properties of cylindrical lenses and provide some examples of their use in easy school physics experiments. Such experiments could be successfully conducted in the context of science education, in fun experiments that teach physics and in science fair projects, or used to entertain an audience by staging tricks, effects or illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats.

Positioning Theory: Kinesiology Students' Experiences Teaching in an Adapted Aquatics Practicum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takahiro; Haegele, Justin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain undergraduate students' positions of teaching and assisting students with disabilities during adapted aquatics practicum experiences. The participants were eight kinesiology students who enrolled in an introductory adapted physical education (APE) course at a public university in the Midwest…

Emotional Component in Teaching and Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponnambalam, Michael

2018-02-01

The laws of physics are often seen as objective truth, pure and simple. Hence, they tend to appear cerebral and cold. However, their presentation is necessarily subjective and may vary from being boring to being exciting. A detailed analysis of physics education reform efforts over the last three decades finds that interactive instruction results in greater learning gains than the traditional lecture format. In interactive engagement, the emotional component plays a far greater role than acknowledged by many. As an experienced physics teacher [(i) Four decades of teaching and research in four continents (teaching all courses to undergraduate physics majors and algebra-based physics to high school seniors as well as college freshmen), (ii) 11 years of volunteer work in Physics Popularization in six countries to many thousands of students in elementary, middle, and high schools as well as colleges and universities, and (iii) eight years as a Master Teacher and mentor], I feel that the emotional component in teaching and learning physics has been neglected. This paper presents the role of the emotional component in transforming ordinary teaching and learning of physics into an enjoyable and exciting experience for students as well as teachers.

Fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model in college teaching of physics experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Liping; Zhang, Yang; Li, Kun; Zhang, Yu

2017-08-01

Optical fiber sensor technology is one of the main contents of modern information technology, which has a very important position in modern science and technology. Fiber optic sensor experiment can improve students' enthusiasm and broaden their horizons in college physics experiment. In this paper the main structure and working principle of fiberoptical sensor with intensity compensation model are introduced. And thus fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model is applied to measure micro displacement of Young's modulus measurement experiment and metal linear expansion coefficient measurement experiment in the college physics experiment. Results indicate that the measurement accuracy of micro displacement is higher than that of the traditional methods using fiber-optical sensor with intensity compensation model. Meanwhile this measurement method makes the students understand on the optical fiber, sensor and nature of micro displacement measurement method and makes each experiment strengthen relationship and compatibility, which provides a new idea for the reform of experimental teaching.

Bedside teaching with unwell patients: Can it ever be appropriate?

PubMed

Jayakumar, Nithish

2017-03-01

Bedside teaching has seen a decline in its popularity since the heady days of Boerhaave and Osler; a number of hurdles have been noted in the literature including time constraints on senior clinicians. While organizing a bedside teaching course for final-year medical students, it was apparent that the availability of suitable patients was also a limiting factor. Often, we would be turned away from patients with physical signs because they were deemed to be too unwell for an examination. However, the benefits to medical students of examining unwell patients with physical signs cannot be underestimated. Identifying the unwell patient, and the associated physical signs relevant to the underlying diagnosis, should be a priority; although simulation is increasingly being used in teaching, it cannot fully replicate the learning experience gained in bedside teaching. As long as the patient is not under duress, bedside teaching with unwell patients should be encouraged.

The Teaching Discipline Doesn't Matter? An Assessment of Preservice Teachers' Perception of the Value of Professional Experience in Attaining Teacher Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley, Peter; Reynolds, Ruth; Southgate, Erica

2016-01-01

This paper is one in a series of papers interrogating some of the fundamental bases of what is seen as good professional experience in initial teacher education (ITE). This paper uses the case study of Health/Physical Education (HPE) students' perceptions of their professional experience, compared to other teaching disciplines, in one regional…

Teaching with Socio-Scientific Issues in Physical Science: Teacher and Students' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talens, Joy

2016-01-01

Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are recommended by many science educators worldwide for learners to acquire first hand experience to apply what they learned in class. This investigated experiences of teacher-researcher and students in using SSI in Physical Science, Second Semester, School Year 2012-2013. Latest and controversial news articles on…

SU-E-E-05: Initial Experience On Physics Rotation of Radiological Residents

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, J; Williams, D; DiSantis, D

Purpose: The new ABR core exam integrates physics into clinical teaching, with an emphasis on understanding image quality, image artifacts, radiation dose and patient safety for each modality and/or sub-specialty. Accordingly, physics training of radiological residents faces a challenge. A traditional teaching of physics through didactic lectures may not fully fulfill this goal. It is also difficult to incorporate physics teaching in clinical practice due to time constraints. A dedicated physics rotation may be a solution. This study is to evaluate a full week physics workshop developed for the first year radiological residents. Methods: The physics rotation took a fullmore » week. It included three major parts, introduction lectures, hand-on experiences and observation of technologist operation. An introduction of basic concepts was given to each modality at the beginning. Hand-on experiments were emphasized and took most of time. During hand-on experiments, residents performed radiation measurements, studied the relationship between patient dose and practice (i.e., fluoroscopy), investigated influence of acquisition parameters (i.g., kV, mAs) on image quality, and evaluated image quality using phantoms A physics test before and after the workshop was also given but not for comparison purpose. Results: The evaluation shows that the physics rotation during the first week of residency in radiology is preferred by all residents. The length of a full week of physics workshop is appropriate. All residents think that the intensive workshop can significantly benefit their coming clinical rotations. Residents become more comfortable regarding the use of radiation and counseling relevant questions such as a pregnant patient risk from a CE PE examination. Conclusion: A dedicated physics rotation, assisting with didactic lectures, may fulfill the requirements of physics of the new ABR core exam. It helps radiologists deeply understand the physics concepts and more efficiently use the medical physics in practice.« less

Medical students' experiences learning intimate physical examination skills: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Dabson, Andra M; Magin, Parker J; Heading, Gaynor; Pond, Dimity

2014-02-28

Intimate physical examination skills are essential skills for any medical graduate to have mastered to an appropriate level for the safety of his or her future patients. Medical schools are entrusted with the complex task of teaching and assessing these skills for their students. The objectives of this study were to explore a range of medical students' experiences of learning intimate physical examination skills and to explore their perceptions of factors which impede or promote the learning of these skills. Individual semi-structured interviews (N = 16) were conducted with medical students in years two to five from the University of Newcastle, as part of a larger research project investigating how medical students develop their attitudes to gender and health. This was a self-selected sample of the entire cohort who were all invited to participate. A thematic analysis of the transcribed data was performed. Students reported differing levels of discomfort with their learning experiences in the area of intimate physical examination and differing beliefs about the helpfulness of these experiences. The factors associated with levels of discomfort and the helpfulness of the experience for learning were: satisfaction with teaching techniques, dealing with an uncomfortable situation and perceived individual characteristics in both the patients and the students. The examination causing the greatest reported discomfort was the female pelvic examination by male students. Student discomfort with the experience of learning intimate physical examination skills may be common and has ongoing repercussions for students and patients. Recommendations are made of ways to modify teaching technique to more closely match students' perceived needs.

Medical students’ experiences learning intimate physical examination skills: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Intimate physical examination skills are essential skills for any medical graduate to have mastered to an appropriate level for the safety of his or her future patients. Medical schools are entrusted with the complex task of teaching and assessing these skills for their students. The objectives of this study were to explore a range of medical students’ experiences of learning intimate physical examination skills and to explore their perceptions of factors which impede or promote the learning of these skills. Methods Individual semi-structured interviews (N = 16) were conducted with medical students in years two to five from the University of Newcastle, as part of a larger research project investigating how medical students develop their attitudes to gender and health. This was a self-selected sample of the entire cohort who were all invited to participate. A thematic analysis of the transcribed data was performed. Results Students reported differing levels of discomfort with their learning experiences in the area of intimate physical examination and differing beliefs about the helpfulness of these experiences. The factors associated with levels of discomfort and the helpfulness of the experience for learning were: satisfaction with teaching techniques, dealing with an uncomfortable situation and perceived individual characteristics in both the patients and the students. The examination causing the greatest reported discomfort was the female pelvic examination by male students. Conclusions Student discomfort with the experience of learning intimate physical examination skills may be common and has ongoing repercussions for students and patients. Recommendations are made of ways to modify teaching technique to more closely match students’ perceived needs. PMID:24575827

Dancing within Unfamiliarity: An Exploration of Teaching Dance in Prison Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mortimer, Kristie

2017-01-01

This article utilizes interviews with three teaching artists to interpret their lived experiences of teaching dance classes within New Zealand prisons. Prison environments and prison cultures create a multitude of challenges, such as the physical environment itself, social dynamics and hierarchy, and interaction and relationships with incarcerated…

The History and Philosophy of Science in Physics Teaching: A Research Synthesis of Didactic Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teixeira, Elder Sales; Greca, Ileana Maria; Freire, Olival, Jr.

2012-01-01

This work is a systematic review of studies that investigate teaching experiences applying History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) in physics classrooms, with the aim of obtaining critical and reliable information on this subject. After a careful process of selection and exclusion of studies compiled from a variety of databases, an in-depth review…

Revealing the Hidden Wave: Using the Very Small Radio Telescope to Teach High School Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Michael; Fish, Vincent L.; Needles, Madeleine

2011-01-01

Scientists and teachers have worked together to produce teaching materials for the Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT), an easy-to-use, low-cost apparatus that can be used in multiple laboratory experiments in high school and university physics and astronomy classes. In this article, we describe the motivation for the VSRT and several of the…

Physical education teachers' attitudes towards children with intellectual disability: the impact of time in service, gender, and previous acquaintance.

PubMed

Ozer, D; Nalbant, S; Aǧlamıș, E; Baran, F; Kaya Samut, P; Aktop, A; Hutzler, Y

2013-11-01

This study investigated attitudes towards teaching students with intellectual disability (ID) within a representative sample of secondary school physical education (PE) teachers, and to determine the effects of age, gender, teaching experience, and having acquaintance with ID and students with ID on their attitudes. Participants were 729 secondary school PE teachers who worked in 81 major cities of Turkey. The Teachers Attitudes towards Children with Intellectual Disability Scale was administered. The statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant effect on factors and total attitudes scores of gender and having students with ID. Significant effects on factors and total attitudes score were found in teaching experiences and having acquaintance with ID. It is encouraged to maintain and further develop in-service education programmes of adapted physical activity for PE teachers. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSID.

The role of mathematics for physics teaching and understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pospiech, Gesche; Eylon, BatSheva; Bagno, Esther; Lehavi, Yaron; Geyer, Marie-Annette

2016-05-01

-1That mathematics is the "language of physics" implies that both areas are deeply interconnected, such that often no separation between "pure" mathematics and "pure" physics is possible. To clarify their interplay a technical and a structural role of mathematics can be distinguished. A thorough understanding of this twofold role in physics is also important for shaping physics education especially with respect to teaching the nature of physics. Herewith the teachers and their pedagogical content knowledge play an important role. Therefore we develop a model of PCK concerning the interplay of mathematics and physics in order to provide a theoretical framework for the views and teaching strategies of teachers. In an exploratory study four teachers from Germany and four teachers from Israel have been interviewed concerning their views and its transfer to teaching physics. Here we describe the results from Germany. Besides general views and knowledge held by all or nearly all teachers we also observe specific individual focus depending on the teachers' background and experiences. The results fit well into the derived model of PCK.

Developing Students' Ideas about Lens Imaging: Teaching Experiments with an Image-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grusche, Sascha

2017-01-01

Lens imaging is a classic topic in physics education. To guide students from their holistic viewpoint to the scientists' analytic viewpoint, an image-based approach to lens imaging has recently been proposed. To study the effect of the image-based approach on undergraduate students' ideas, teaching experiments are performed and evaluated using…

Practical Applications for Using Peer Assessment in Physical Education Teacher Education Field Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patton, Beth J.; Marty-Snyder, Melissa

2014-01-01

Peer assessment (PA) occurs in many higher education programs. However, there is limited research examining PA in physical education teacher education (PETE) in regards to student teaching experiences. PA may be a method to better prepare PETE students to assess their future students. The field experience students assessed their fellow peers on…

A Physical Chemist Looks at Organic Chemistry Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pickering, Miles

1988-01-01

Criticizes the way organic chemistry teaching laboratory experiments are approached from the viewpoint of physical chemistry. Compares these experiments to cooking. Stresses that what matters is not the practice of the finger skills of organic chemistry but practice in the style of thinking of organic chemists. (CW)

Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 5th edition - Volume 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tipler, Paul A.; Mosca, Gene P.

For nearly 30 years, Paul Tipler's Physics for Scientists and Engineers has set the standard in the introductory calculus-based physics course for clarity, accuracy, and precision. In this fifth edition, Paul has recruited Gene Mosca to bring his years of teaching experience to bear on the text, to scrutinize every explanation and example from the perspective of the freshman student. The result is a teaching tool that retains its precision and rigor, but offers struggling students the support they need to solve problems strategically and to gain real understanding of physical concepts.

Teaching Newton's Laws with the iPod Touch in Conceptual Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Angela M.

2011-04-01

One of the greatest challenges in teaching physics is helping students achieve a conceptual understanding of Newton's laws. I find that students fresh from middle school can sometimes recite the laws verbatim ("An object in motion stays in motion…" and "For every action…"), but they rarely demonstrate a working knowledge of how to apply them to observable phenomena. As a firm believer in inquiry-based teaching methods, I like to develop activities where students can experiment and construct understandings based on relevant personal experiences. Consequently, I am always looking for exciting new technologies that can readily demonstrate how physics affects everyday things. In a conceptual physics class designed for ninth-graders, I created a structured activity where students applied Newton's laws to a series of free applications downloaded on iPod Touches. The laws had been introduced during the prior class session with textual descriptions and graphical representations. The course is offered as part of the Enlace Latino Collegiate Society, a weekend enrichment program for middle and high school students in the Bronx. The majority of students had limited or no prior exposure to physics concepts, and many attended high schools where physics was not offered at all.

Children's Perspectives on Conceptual Games Teaching: A Value-Adding Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fry, Joan Marian; Tan, Clara Wee Keat; McNeill, Michael; Wright, Steven

2010-01-01

Background: Revisions of the Singaporean physical education (PE) syllabus in 1999 and 2006 included a conceptual approach to teaching games. The games concept approach (GCA), a form of constructivist pedagogy, was a distinct departure from the direct teaching methods traditionally used in the country. Following the GCA's introduction into a PE…

Planning a school physics experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasiak, Wladyslaw

1986-09-01

One is continually faced with the need to make decisions; physics, might form the vehicle for teaching the difficult art of decision making. Teachers should direct the abilities and skills of their students toward optimising the choices with which they are faced. Examples of such choices occur in the design of physics experiments and this therefore offers a good opportunity for such instruction.

Interesting Guided-Inquiry Labs for a Large-Enrollment, Active Learning Physics II Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagoner, Kasey; Hynes, K. Mairin; Flanagan, Daniel

2018-01-01

Introductory physics labs often focus on a series of common experiments intending to teach the student the measurement side of physics. While these experiments have the potential to be quite instructive, we observed that our students often consider them to be boring and monotonous, which often leads to them being uninstructive. To combat this, we…

Physical Educators' Habitual Physical Activity and Self-Efficacy for Regular Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Xihe; Haegele, Justin A.; Davis, Summer

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine physical education teachers' habitual physical activity and self-efficacy for regular exercise. In-service physical education teachers (N = 168) voluntarily completed an online questionnaire that included items to collect demographic information (gender, race/ethnicity, years of teaching experience, and…

A Comprehensive Program to Prepare Graduate Students for Careers in College or University Teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krane, K. S.

1999-05-01

Although most universities do a superb job of training graduate students in research, relatively few offer training to enable M.S. or Ph.D. students to achieve the same level of mastery in teaching as a preparation for a career as a faculty member in a college or university. At Oregon State University we offer a comprehensive program that prepares students for a variety of careers in physics teaching. For students interested in teaching at a two-year college, we offer a M.S. degree with a specialty in physics education along with a strongly mentored teaching intern program at a local community college. For Ph.D. students, we offer a seminar that addresses a full range of pedagogical and methodological issues involved in physics teaching, an apprentice program that pairs each student with a faculty member of recognized teaching ability, and a capstone experience (following the completion of the Ph.D. dissertation) as an instructor to fill sabbatical or other vacancies. The impact of the program is measured by its extraordinarily high success at placing students in teaching jobs.

Cognitive-based approach in teaching 1st year Physics for Life Sciences, including Atmospheric Physics and Climate Change components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petelina, S. V.

2009-12-01

Most 1st year students who take the service course in Physics - Physics for Life Sciences - in Australia encounter numerous problems caused by such factors as no previous experience with this subject; general perception that Physics is hard and only very gifted people are able to understand it; lack of knowledge of elementary mathematics; difficulties encountered by lecturers in teaching university level Physics to a class of nearly 200 students with no prior experience, diverse and sometime disadvantageous backgrounds, different majoring areas, and different learning abilities. As a result, many students either drop, or fail the subject. In addition, many of those who pass develop a huge dislike towards Physics, consider the whole experience as time wasted, and spread this opinion among their peers and friends. The above issues were addressed by introducing numerous changes to the curriculum and modifying strategies and approaches in teaching Physics for Life Sciences. Instead of a conventional approach - teaching Physics from simple to complicated, topic after topic, the students were placed in the world of Physics in the same way as a newborn child is introduced to this world - everything is seen all the time and everywhere. That created a unique environment where a bigger picture and all details were always present and interrelated. Numerous concepts of classical and modern physics were discussed, compared, and interconnected all the time with “Light” being a key component. Our primary field of research is Atmospheric Physics, in particular studying the atmospheric composition and structure using various satellite and ground-based data. With this expertise and also inspired by an increasing importance of training a scientifically educated generation who understands the challenges of the modern society and responsibilities that come with wealth, a new section on environmental physics has been developed. It included atmospheric processes and the greenhouse effect, climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, skin cancer, ets. This new section has been greatly appreciated by the students, and adding more material on this was requested.

Book Review: Dolores Knipp’s Understanding Space Weather and the Physics Behind It

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moldwin, Mark

2012-08-01

Delores Knipp's textbook Understanding Space Weather and the Physics Behind It provides a comprehensive resource for space physicists teaching in a variety of academic departments to introduce space weather to advanced undergraduates. The book benefits from Knipp's extensive experience teaching introductory and advanced undergraduate physics courses at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The fundamental physics concepts are clearly explained and are connected directly to the space physics concepts being discussed. To expand upon the relevant basic physics, current research areas and new observations are highlighted, with many of the chapters including contributions from a number of leading space physicists.

The Impact of Preservice Teachers' Experiences in a Video-Enhanced Training Program on Their Teaching: A Case Study in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaudin, Cyrille; Chaliès, Sébastien; Amathieu, Jérôme

2018-01-01

This case study documents the influence of preservice teachers' experiences in a Video-Enhanced Training Program (VETP) on their teaching. The conceptual framework of this VETP comes from a research program in cultural anthropology based on Wittgenstein's analytical philosophy. Influence was identified during self-confrontation interviews with…

The `Heisenberg's Microscope' as an Example of Using Thought Experiments in Teaching Physics Theories to Students of the Upper Secondary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velentzas, Athanasios; Halkia, Krystallia

2011-08-01

In this work an attempt is made to explore the possible value of using Thought Experiments (TEs) in teaching physics to upper secondary education students. Specifically, a qualitative research project is designed to investigate the extent to which the Thought Experiment (TE) called `Heisenberg's Microscope', as it has been transformed by Gamow for the public in his book Mr. Tompkins in Paperback, can function as a tool in the teaching of the `uncertainty principle'. The sample in the research consisted of 40 Greek students, in 11 groups of 3-4 students each. The findings of this study reveal that the use of this TE has positive results in teaching the uncertainty principle. Students, based on the TE, were able (i) to derive a formula of the uncertainty principle, (ii) to explain that the uncertainty principle is a general principle in nature and it is not a result of incompleteness of the experimental devices and (iii) to argue that it is impossible to determine the trajectory of a particle as a mathematical line.

Examining the impact of the Guided Constructivist teaching method on students' misconceptions about concepts of Newtonian physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Hyatt Abdelhaleem

The effect of Guided Constructivism (Interactivity-Based Learning Environment) and Traditional Expository instructional methods on students' misconceptions about concepts of Newtonian Physics was investigated. Four groups of 79 of University of Central Florida students enrolled in Physics 2048 participated in the study. A quasi-experimental design of nonrandomized, nonequivalent control and experimental groups was employed. The experimental group was exposed to the Guided Constructivist teaching method, while the control group was taught using the Traditional Expository teaching approach. The data collection instruments included the Force Concept Inventory Test (FCI), the Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT), and the Maryland Physics Expectation Survey (MPEX). The Guided Constructivist group had significantly higher means than the Traditional Expository group on the criterion variables of: (1) conceptions of Newtonian Physics, (2) achievement in Newtonian Physics, and (3) beliefs about the content of Physics knowledge, beliefs about the role of Mathematics in learning Physics, and overall beliefs about learning/teaching/appropriate roles of learners and teachers/nature of Physics. Further, significant relationships were found between (1) achievement, conceptual structures, beliefs about the content of Physics knowledge, and beliefs about the role of Mathematics in learning Physics; (2) changes in misconceptions about the physical phenomena, and changes in beliefs about the content of Physics knowledge. No statistically significant difference was found between the two teaching methods on achievement of males and females. These findings suggest that differences in conceptual learning due to the nature of the teaching method used exist. Furthermore, greater conceptual learning is fostered when teachers use interactivity-based teaching strategies to train students to link everyday experience in the real physical world to formal school concepts. The moderate effect size and power of the study suggest that the effect may not be subtle, but reliable. Physics teachers can use these results to inform their decisions about structuring learning environment when conceptual learning is important.

Experiences of Teaching the Heat Energy Topic in English as a Second Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halim, Lilia; Dahlan, Fathiyah; Treagust, David F.; Chandrasegaran, A. L.

2012-01-01

In view of the current debate in Malaysia about the teaching of science and mathematics in English, a qualitative study was undertaken involving a purposeful sampling of three non-physics teachers to ascertain how well equipped they were with the necessary pedagogical content knowledge relating to the teaching of the topic of "heat…

Using NASA Space Imaging Technology to Teach Earth and Sun Topics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verner, E.; Bruhweiler, F. C.; Long, T.

2011-12-01

We teach an experimental college-level course, directed toward elementary education majors, emphasizing "hands-on" activities that can be easily applied to the elementary classroom. This course, Physics 240: "The Sun-Earth Connection" includes various ways to study selected topics in physics, earth science, and basic astronomy. Our lesson plans and EPO materials make extensive use of NASA imagery and cover topics about magnetism, the solar photospheric, chromospheric, coronal spectra, as well as earth science and climate. In addition we are developing and will cover topics on ecosystem structure, biomass and water on Earth. We strive to free the non-science undergraduate from the "fear of science" and replace it with the excitement of science such that these future teachers will carry this excitement to their future students. Hands-on experiments, computer simulations, analysis of real NASA data, and vigorous seminar discussions are blended in an inquiry-driven curriculum to instill confident understanding of basic physical science and modern, effective methods for teaching it. The course also demonstrates ways how scientific thinking and hands-on activities could be implemented in the classroom. We have designed this course to provide the non-science student a confident basic understanding of physical science and modern, effective methods for teaching it. Most of topics were selected using National Science Standards and National Mathematics Standards that are addressed in grades K-8. The course focuses on helping education majors: 1) Build knowledge of scientific concepts and processes; 2) Understand the measurable attributes of objects and the units and methods of measurements; 3) Conduct data analysis (collecting, organizing, presenting scientific data, and to predict the result); 4) Use hands-on approaches to teach science; 5) Be familiar with Internet science teaching resources. Here we share our experiences and challenges we face while teaching this course.

Making Physical Education a Fairer, Safer and Happier Place: Putting Critical Practices into Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrett, Robyne; Wrench, Alison

2011-01-01

In this research a number of approaches were used with pre-service physical education teachers in an attempt to foster inclusive and critical approaches to teaching physical education. Physical experiences, storytelling and lab school were used to highlight the multifaceted processes around students' engagement in physical education and…

Thermal physics in practice and its confrontation with school physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vochozka, Vladimír; Tesař, Jiří; Bednář, Vít

2017-01-01

Concepts of heat, specific heat capacity and other terms of thermal physics are very abstract. For their better understanding it is necessary in teaching to include newly conceived experiments focused on the everyday experience of students. The paper evaluates the thermal phenomena with the help of infrared camera, respectively surface temperature sensors for on-line measurement. The article focuses on the experimental verification of the law of conservation of energy in thermal physics, comparing specific heat capacity of various substances and their confrontation with established experience of pupils.

Racial and Gender Issues with Physics in the Pacific Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aung, Than; Singh, Awnesh; Prasad, Uma

2011-09-01

This paper examines the state of physics teaching and learning in the Pacific Island nations. How have things changed in teaching physics? We believe that some of the goals and many of the challenges faced today have changed very little over the years. This paper is purely based upon the authors' experiences in teaching physics at the first-year level at the University of the South Pacific (USP). USP is a typical medium-sized teaching and research university as compared to universities internationally. In the Pacific, it is the biggest university and is effectively serving the 12 Pacific Island nations. Consequently, the findings described here should represent the overall situation for the Pacific region. Perhaps some of our results will resonate with readers in other locations as well. Worldwide, university students often find studying physics to be very challenging, and only a small fraction of them choose physics as a major for their degree or as a career. Students at USP are not an exception, and here we describe the severity of the problem.

A Collaboration Between University and High School in Preparing Physics Teachers: Chicago State University's Teacher Immersion Institutea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabella, Mel S.; Van Duzor, Andrea G.; Passehl, Jennie; Weisenburger, Kara

2012-05-01

Because of the diverse character of colleges and universities throughout the United States, it is naive to believe that a one-size-fits-all model of teacher preparation aligns with specific resources and student population needs. Exploring innovative models that challenge traditional programs is now being encouraged by organizations such as the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society. Chicago State University (CSU) is now exploring exciting changes to its physics teacher preparation program by utilizing the expertise of Chicago Area teachers and early teaching experiences for students interested in, but not yet committed to, the physics teaching profession.

Medical physics education from the view of the possible structural changes.

PubMed

Ferencova, E; Kukurova, E

2001-01-01

Teaching subject physics at the university level represents a specific didactic transformation of the scientific field--physics. The determination of the content, extent, used methods, mutual relation to other subjects of curriculum as well as to the entrance knowledge of students are the most important parts of pedagogical activities in the educational process. Based on own experiences, successes and mistakes in teaching so-called medical physics the authors discuss didactic procedures which should support the interest and creativity of students. Some changes in the structure of physics education are recommended. The usefulness of the international collaboration in the framework of projects such as TEMPUS, ERASMUS is also remembered.

Teaching thermal physics in the paradigms project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roundy, David

2011-10-01

Thermal physics is probably the most disliked course in the physics major curriculum, with students feeling that they are being led through a mathematical maze, leading to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Classical thermodynamics involves scary derivatives, while statistical mechanics leads to lengthy summations and is difficult to apply to interacting systems. It is unsurprising that students find themselves failing to see the physics for the math. In this talk, I will discuss my experiences teaching the Energy and Entropy paradigm, and will introduce materials we have developed to aide student understanding of partial derivatives and their relationship to experimental observables.

Teaching and Learning Physics: Performance Art Evoking Insight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommer, Wilfried

2015-01-01

Doing experiments in physics lessons can create a magical moment if students become really intrigued with the experimental progression. They add a new quality to what the experiment shows. Their attention and nature's revelations flow together: a performance is taking place. It's similar to a moment during a theatrical performance, when the…

Preservice Generalist Teachers Enlightened Approach to Teaching Physical Education through Teacher Biography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, John E.; Miller, Judith A.; Varea, Valeria

2016-01-01

This paper describes a new learning experience, which was introduced following an examination of the literature regarding preservice primary school teachers' (PPST) notions of their past experience in Physical Education (PE) (Elliott 2013). PPSTs were given the opportunity to recognise, reflect, interrogate and reframe a critical incident from…

Random Assignment to Illness: Teaching Illness and Disease in the Introductory Health Communication Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Jennifer B.; Riley, Sarah

2011-01-01

A key concept in health communication is the difference between disease and illness: disease refers to the physical manifestations of a condition, while illness encompasses the physical, emotional, social, communicative, and psychological experience of living with a condition. The individual illness experience takes into account the full story of…

Teaching fractional factorial experiments via course delegate designed experiments.

PubMed

Coleman, S; Antony, J

1999-01-01

Industrial experiments are fundamental in enhancing the understanding and knowledge of a process and product behavior. Designed industrial experiments assist people in understanding, investigating, and improving their processes. The purpose of a designed experiment is to understand which factors might influence the process output and then to determine those factor settings that optimize the process output. Teaching "design of experiments" using textbook examples does not fully shed light on how to identify and formulate the problem, identify factors, and determine the performance of the physical experiment. Presented here is an example of how to teach fractional factorial experiments in a course on designed experiments. Also presented is a practical, hands-on experiment that has been found to be extremely successful in instilling confidence and motivation in course delegates. The experiment provides a great stimulus to the delegates for the application of experimental design in their own work environment.

Two-year colleges, Physics, and Teacher Preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clay, Keith

2002-05-01

In the midst of a teacher shortage no field suffers more than physics. Half of our secondary physics teachers have less than a minor in physics. Meanwhile half of our future teachers start out at two-year colleges with physicists on staff. The opportunity for community colleges to have an impact on K-12 teaching is tremendous. Project TEACH has been honored as an outstanding teacher preparation program. It is a collaboration of colleges and K-12 schools dedicated to the improvement of teacher preparation, especially in science and math. Based at Green River Community College, Project TEACH unites certification institutions, community colleges, and K-12 school districts in the pre-service and in-service training of teachers. Activities of Project TEACH include recruitment and advising of future teachers, field experience for education students, creation of pre-teaching and para-educator degrees, tutoring from elementary school through college, in-service courses for current teachers, and special math and science courses aimed at future teachers. The yearlong interdisciplinary science sequence blends chemistry, physics, geology, and biology in a hands-on inquiry-based environment. The yearlong math sequence covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability with inquiry-based pedagogy. The programs developed by Project TEACH are being disseminated to colleges across Washington State and beyond.

Developing students’ ideas about lens imaging: teaching experiments with an image-based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grusche, Sascha

2017-07-01

Lens imaging is a classic topic in physics education. To guide students from their holistic viewpoint to the scientists’ analytic viewpoint, an image-based approach to lens imaging has recently been proposed. To study the effect of the image-based approach on undergraduate students’ ideas, teaching experiments are performed and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Some of the students’ ideas have not been reported before, namely those related to blurry lens images, and those developed by the proposed teaching approach. To describe learning pathways systematically, a conception-versus-time coordinate system is introduced, specifying how teaching actions help students advance toward a scientific understanding.

Circuits and pathways of understanding: "I can't believe we're actually figuring out some stuff"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughs-McDonnell, Fiona Jane

2000-12-01

Piaget's studies of young children and adolescents are evidence that people construct their own understanding and that action and reflection is at the heart of developing understanding. Yet, most physics teaching is didactic in nature and physics students are rarely free to develop their own understanding of formal curriculum topics. Consequently, interpretive descriptions of how physics students can develop subject matter understanding both in response to their interactions with the objects that make up a subject matter and their active reflection on those interactions are scarce. In this thesis, using a series of classroom vignettes, I reconstruct some of how two groups of high school physics students came to understand the curriculum topic electrical circuits through their exploration of batteries, bulbs, and wires and their active reflections on those explorations. The data sources that inform the classroom vignettes include the transcribed audiotapes of classroom dialogue, student journals and activity sheets, and the fieldnotes that I made during each class session. The study took place in the classroom of Kris Newton, whose teaching of physics is informed by her experiences with teaching-research, a methodology developed by Eleanor Duckworth. Duckworth's experiences with Jean Piaget and Barbel Inhelder in Geneva, Switzerland and her experiences developing curriculum with the Elementary Science Study were both formative for her in developing the notion of teaching-research. The classroom is located in an ethnically diverse urban high school with a student body of approximately 2,000. I conducted the study during the spring of 1997 and 1998. At the time of the study all but two of the students were in their junior year of high school.

News

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2004-03-01

Italy’s Physics Olympiad creates greater interest and motivation House of Experiments: 'humour helps in the teaching of science' Science takes stage in Germany PPARC news: guide and awards Schools newspaper competition focuses on Venus Website offers practical advice SHAP workshop will sharpen up teachers' skills Students will soon use Faulkes Telescope North to see the stars Talk takes a tour of the universe ASE 2004 Welsh physicists share secrets Switch students on to physics Teachers Awards 2004 recognize quality of teaching AAPT spends winter in Miami sun Schools Physics Group meeting will take place at Rugby School

Combination of the Research-Based Learning Method with the Modern Physics Experiment Course Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Xiaolai; Li, Qinghuai

2011-01-01

It has been the hotspot to reconstruct the education course based on the research-based learning in the course reform in many countries in recent years. The new course standard of China insists that the teaching is the interactive process that teachers and students communicate and develop together. In the teaching, the relationship between…

Physics education in the Greek community schools of Istanbul (19th century). Scientific instruments and experiments in electrostatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazos, Panagiotis; Vlahakis, George N.

2016-03-01

The Greek schools operating in Istanbul date back to the 19th century. These schools have noteworthy collections of old scientific instruments that were used in teaching experimental physics. Amongst them, more outstanding are the scientific instruments used in demonstrating electrostatics. This paper briefly presents the equipment, focuses on exceptional scientific instruments and attempts to illuminate certain aspects in teaching the natural sciences.

Revealing the Hidden Wave: Using the Very Small Radio Telescope to Teach High School Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doherty, Michael; Fish, Vincent L.; Needles, Madeleine

2011-12-01

Scientists and teachers have worked together to produce teaching materials for the Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT), an easy-to-use, low-cost apparatus that can be used in multiple laboratory experiments in high school and university physics and astronomy classes. In this article, we describe the motivation for the VSRT and several of the laboratory investigations that are being used in local high schools.

Inquiry style interactive virtual experiments: a case on circular motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Shaona; Han, Jing; Pelz, Nathaniel; Wang, Xiaojun; Peng, Liangyu; Xiao, Hua; Bao, Lei

2011-11-01

Interest in computer-based learning, especially in the use of virtual reality simulations is increasing rapidly. While there are good reasons to believe that technologies have the potential to improve teaching and learning, how to utilize the technology effectively in teaching specific content difficulties is challenging. To help students develop robust understandings of correct physics concepts, we have developed interactive virtual experiment simulations that have the unique feature of enabling students to experience force and motion via an analogue joystick, allowing them to feel the applied force and simultaneously see its effects. The simulations provide students learning experiences that integrate both scientific representations and low-level sensory cues such as haptic cues under a single setting. In this paper, we introduce a virtual experiment module on circular motion. A controlled study has been conducted to evaluate the impact of using this virtual experiment on students' learning of force and motion in the context of circular motion. The results show that the interactive virtual experiment method is preferred by students and is more effective in helping students grasp the physics concepts than the traditional education method such as problem-solving practices. Our research suggests that well-developed interactive virtual experiments can be useful tools in teaching difficult concepts in science.

An alternative strategy to teach biomechanics: The long jump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de la Vega, G. J.; Aguilera, J. A.; Puzzella, A. E.; Mallamaci, C. C.

2007-11-01

The work develops an alternative methodology to teach the Physics principles of Parabolic Cannon Shot in the career of Bioengineering using instead the physic-biological relationship of the long jump performed in Athletics. This is a closer-to-reality example for this discipline, and it is a field- and computer laboratory-reproducible practice that is simple to do by using affordable technology, because the practice can be filmed by the students in a real setting for future analysis off classroom hours. The data extracted from the film can be analysed and used to learn the physics of motion of the participating athletes, and to draw conclusions from their hands-on experience. As a main factor of the proposal, this latter characteristic aims at motivating the students to work and participate within a collaborative framework, so as to motivate them to reason and respond the questionnaire issues that stems from a real experience. A significant improvement of knowledge transference is thus attained by promoting teaching (and self-teaching) through reality-based perception, analysis and learning). This work is undergoing its first stage, and its conclusions arise from the observations on team-work dynamics. Quantitative results are expected for the following stages which are under way of execution.

Using a 400 kV Van de Graaff accelerator to teach physics at West Point

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marble, D. K.; Bruch, S. E.; Lainis, T.

1997-02-01

A small accelerator visitation laboratory is being built at the United States Military Academy using two 400 kV Van de Graaff accelerators. This laboratory will provide quality teaching experiments and increased research opportunities for both faculty and cadets as well as enhancing the department's ability to teach across the curriculum by using nuclear techniques to solve problems in environmental engineering, material science, archeology, art, etc. This training enhances a students ability to enter non-traditional fields that are becoming a large part of the physics job market. Furthermore, a small accelerator visitation laboratory for high school students can stimulate student interest in science and provide an effective means of communicating the scientific method to a general audience. A discussion of the USMA facility, class experiments and student research projects will be presented.

Association of Quality Physical Education Teaching with Students’ Physical Fitness

PubMed Central

Chen, Weiyun; Mason, Steve; Hypnar, Andrew; Hammond-Bennett, Austin

2016-01-01

This study examined the extent to which four essential dimensions of quality physical education teaching (QPET) were associated with healthy levels of physical fitness in elementary school students. Participants were nine elementary PE teachers and 1, 201 fourth- and fifth-grade students who were enrolled in nine elementary schools. The students’ physical fitness were assessed using four FITNESSGRAM tests. The PE teachers’ levels of QPET were assessed using the Assessing Quality Teaching Rubrics (AQTR). The AQTR consisted of four essential dimensions including Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance. Codes were confirmed through inter-rater reliability (82.4% and 84.5%). Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, multiple R-squared regression models, and independent sample t-tests. The four essential teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with the students’ cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. However, they accounted for relatively low percentage of the total variance in PACER test, followed by Curl-up test, while explaining very low portions of the total variance in Push-up and Trunk Lift tests. This study indicated that the students who had experienced high level of QPET were more physically fit than their peers who did not have this experience in PACER and Curl-up tests, but not in Push-up and Trunk lift tests. In addition, the significant contribution of the four essential teaching dimensions to physical fitness components was gender-specific. It was concluded that the four teaching dimensions of QPET were significantly associated with students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Key points Although Task Design, Task Presentation, Class Management, and Instructional Guidance has its unique and critical teaching components, each essential teaching dimensions is intertwined and immersed in teaching practices. Four essential teaching dimensions all significantly contributed to students’ health-enhancing physical fitness. Implementation of QPET in a lesson plays more significant role in contributing to improving girls’ cardiovascular endurance. Implementation of QPET in a lesson contributed significantly to improving boy’s abdominal, upper-body, and back extensor muscular strength and endurance as well as flexibility PMID:27274673

Guide for Teaching Chemistry-Physics Combined 1-2, 3-4 (PSSC - CHEMS).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Millstone, H. George

This guide is written for a combined physics-chemistry course taught over a two-year period. The subject matter contains the major ideas in Chemical Education Materials Study (CHEMS) Chemistry and Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) Physics. The guide includes discussion of text references, laboratory experiments, films, testing and evaluation…

Preparing perservice teachers to teach elementary school science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Amy D.

The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in providing both the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary to teach science effectively (Baumgartner, 2010; Bodzin & Beerer, 2003; Bulunuz & Jarrett 2009). This mixed methods study examined what happened when a science methods course was interactively co-taught by an expert in elementary teaching methods and a physics expert. This study also aimed to discover what aspects of the curriculum pre-service teachers (PSTs) said helped them in developing their understanding of science content and scientific reasoning, and how to implement inquiry practices to teach science. A nested case study of three PSTs provided descriptive portraits of student experiences in the class. A whole class case analysis was used to examine what PSTs learned in terms of science, scientific reasoning skills, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) from their experiences in the course. It was found that students often conflated science content with the experiences they had in learning the content. Although PSTs felt the interactive co-teaching model effectively created a balance between theory and practice, it was their experiences doing science--conducting physical experiments, developing and discussing scientific models, and the use of inquiry-based instruction--that they credited for their learning. Even with careful curriculum planning, and a course purposely designed to bridge the theory to practice gap, this study found one semester-long methods course to be insufficient in providing the vast content knowledge and PCK elementary school science teachers need.

Lift, Squeeze, Stretch, and Twist: Research-Based Inquiry Physics Experiences (RIPE) of Energy for Kindergartners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hook, Stephen J.; Huziak-Clark, Tracy L.

2008-01-01

This study examines changes in kindergarten students' understanding of energy after participating in a series of lessons developed using an inquiry-based early childhood science teaching model: Research-based Inquiry Physics Experiences (RIPE). The lessons addressed where objects get their energy and what they use their energy to do, and how…

Observation and Analysis of N[subscript 2]O Rotation-Vibration Spectra: A Physical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryant, Mark S.; Reeve, Scott W.; Burns, William A.

2008-01-01

The linear molecule N[subscript 2]O is presented as an alternative gas-phase species for the ubiquitous undergraduate physical chemistry rotation-vibration spectroscopy experiment. Utilizing a 0.5 cm[superscript -1] resolution teaching grade FTIR spectrometer, 15 vibrational bands, corresponding to 1229 rotation-vibration transitions, have been…

Playing the "Race" Card? Black and Minority Ethnic Students' Experiences of Physical Education Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flintoff, Anne

2015-01-01

This paper reports on a study that explored black and minority ethnic (BME) students' experiences of physical education teacher education (PETE) in England. Widening the ethnic diversity of those choosing to enter the teaching profession has been a key policy objective of the Training and Development Agency--the government agency responsible for…

Theoretical Frames and Teaching Styles of Physical Therapy Faculty Who Lead International Service-Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Audette, Jennifer Gail

2011-01-01

Purpose: International service-learning (ISL) is popular in higher education, and many physical therapy educational programs are adding ISL opportunities to their curricula because doing so aligns with student interest and the increasingly global nature of the profession. The faculty leading these experiences have not been studied. Nearly all…

Young Muslim Women's Experiences of Islam and Physical Education in Greece and Britain: A Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dagkas, Symeon; Benn, Tansin

2006-01-01

Previous research suggests that Muslim women can experience particular problems when taking physical education (PE) lessons, for example with dress codes, mixed-teaching and exercise during Ramadan; and they can face restrictions in extra-curricular activities for cultural and religious reasons. The area is under-researched and there is little…

Diversity of Students' background as a source for improving teaching Physics at a Liberal Arts Institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrest, Mikhail

2001-11-01

Presented work is dedicated to improvement of teaching-learning process and classroom time utilization. What should students carry with them from the classroom? Enthusiasm of their teacher, understanding of the basic concepts, understanding of what they should work on at home and, of course, some notes Teaching materials, which relate concepts of Physics to each other and to a variety of concepts in other areas of knowledge and human activity were developed. This approach is based on my experience of interacting with students with diversity of backgrounds, educational goals and objectives. Those include Business and Politics, Literature and Media, everyday family and College life, etc. A supplement workbook based on teaching materials was developed to be available for students to make notes during the lectures. This method was tested in Introductory Physics classes at the College of Charleston during some past years. The teaching-learning effectiveness has been increased and positive feedback was received from students and faculty at the College and some other Universities.

Understanding Hemophilia. Implications for the Physical Educator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coelho, Jeffrey D.

1998-01-01

Describes hemophilia and ways to provide appropriate physical education experiences to children with hemophilia. The article focuses on what hemophilia is, how to treat hemophilia, benefits of physical activity, how to teach children with hemophilia, choosing and modifying sports and activities, and safety and emergency situations. (SM)

Competency based teaching of college physics: The philosophy and the practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajapaksha, Ajith; Hirsch, Andrew S.

2017-12-01

The practice of learning physics contributes to the development of many transdisciplinary skills learners are able to exercise independent of the physics discipline. However, the standard practices of physics instruction do not explicitly include the monitoring or evaluation of these skills. In a competency-based (CB) learning model, the skills (competencies) are clearly defined and evaluated. We envisioned that a CB approach, where the underlying competencies are highlighted within the instructional process, would be more suitable to teaching physics to learners with diversified disciplinary interests. A model CB course curriculum was developed and practiced at Purdue University to teach introductory college physics to learners who were majoring in the technology disciplines. The experiment took place from the spring semester in 2015 until the spring semester in 2017. The practice provided a means to monitor and evaluate a set of developmental transdisciplinary competencies that underlie the learning of force and motion concepts in classical physics. Additionally, the CB practice contributed to produce substantial physics learning outcomes among learners who were underprepared to learn physics in college.

Using Case Studies in Calculus-based Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Debora M.

2006-12-01

Do your students believe that the physics only works in your classroom or laboratory? Or do they see that physics underlies their everyday experience? Case studies in physics help students connect physics principles to their everyday experience. For decades, case studies have been used to teach law, medicine and biology, but they are rarely used in physics. I am working on a calculus-based physics textbook for scientists and engineers. Case studies are woven into each chapter. Stop by and get a case study to test out in your classroom. I would love to get your feedback.

MedTalks: developing teaching abilities and experience in undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Bandeali, Suhair; Chiang, Albert; Ramnanan, Christopher J

2017-01-01

According to the CanMEDS' Scholar competency, physicians are expected to facilitate the learning of colleagues, patients and other health professionals. However, most medical students are not provided with formal opportunities to gain teaching experience with objective feedback. To address this, the University's Medical Education Interest Group (MEIG) created a pilot teaching program in January 2015 entitled 'MedTalks'. Four 3-hour sessions were held at the University Faculty of Medicine, where first and second year medical students taught clinically oriented topics to undergraduate university students. Each extracurricular session included three 30-minute content lectures, and a 90-minute small group session on physical examination skills. Each medical student-teacher received formal feedback from undergraduate students and from faculty educators regarding teaching style, communication abilities, and professionalism. In addition, medical student-teachers self-evaluated their own teaching experience. Over 50 medical students from the University participated as medical student-teachers. Based on quantitative and qualitative evaluation surveys, 100% of medical students agreed that MedTalks was a useful way to develop teaching skills and 92% gained a greater confidence in individual teaching capabilities, based largely on the opportunity to gain experience (with feedback) in teaching roles. A program designed to give medical students multi-source teaching experience (lecture- and small group-based) and feedback on their teaching (from learners and Faculty observers, in addition to their own self-reflection) can improve medical student confidence and enthusiasm towards teaching. Future studies will clarify if medical student self-perceived enhancements in teaching ability can be corroborated by independent (Faculty, learner) observations of future teaching activity.

Preparing and Sustaining Teaching Assistants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heller, Kenneth

2008-04-01

For the past 15 years, we have developed and implemented a systemic approach to using the approximately 80 teaching assistants employed by the physics department. The goal of this program is to make the experience valuable for the teaching assistants, the undergraduate students they serve, the professors, the department, and the university. This operation puts teaching assistants into teaching situations in which they can be successful and then gives them the minimal support they need to be successful. The teaching situation emphasizes their role as coaches for their students. The minimal support includes five full days of orientation to get them ready for teaching, a weekly seminar program to address components of their teaching as they arise, mentor TAs to give personal feedback, and planned meetings with the course professor to make sure that their actions are integrated into a course. This talk will describe the features of this program. Some of the materials used can be found at http://groups.physics.umn.edu/physed/

The Learning Cycle and College Science Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barman, Charles R.; Allard, David W.

Originally developed in an elementary science program called the Science Curriculum Improvement Study, the learning cycle (LC) teaching approach involves students in an active learning process modeled on four elements of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development: physical experience, referring to the biological growth of the central nervous…

The Physics of Quidditch Summer Camp: An Interdisciplinary Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammer, Donna; Uher, Tim

The University of Maryland Physics Department has developed an innovative summer camp program that takes an interdisciplinary approach to engaging and teaching physics. The Physics of Quidditch Camp uniquely sits at the intersection of physics, sports, and literature, utilizing the real-life sport of quidditch adapted from the Harry Potter novels to stimulate critical thinking about real laws of physics and leaps of imagination, while actively engaging students in learning the sport and discussing the literature. Throughout the camp, middle school participants become immersed in fun physics experiments and exciting physical activities, which aim to build and enhance skills in problem-solving, analytical thinking, and teamwork. This camp has pioneered new ways of teaching physics to pre-college students, successfully engaged middle school students in learning physics, and grown a large demand for such activities.

Implementing History and Philosophy in Science Teaching: Strategies, Methods, Results and Experiences from the European HIPST Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hottecke, Dietmar; Henke, Andreas; Riess, Falk

2012-01-01

This paper presents a rationale for utilizing HPS to teach physics and the NoS developed in the course of a project funded by the European Union. A core feature of this approach is formed by the development of historical case studies for the use in lessons. Furthermore, the learners' perspectives are explicitly taken into account. Teaching methods…

University Students' Attitudes toward Physical Education Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Fengjuan; Chen, Junjun; Baker, Miles

2014-01-01

While there have been many studies into students' attitudes toward Physical Education at the school level, far fewer studies have been conducted at the university level, especially in China. This study explored 949 students' attitudes toward their university Physical Education experiences in four Chinese universities. An intercorrelated model of…

Identity Work: Stories Told in Learning to Teach Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrench, Alison; Garrett, Robyne

2012-01-01

Pre-service teachers bring to their university studies particular world views and understandings of themselves and others around health and physical activity. Their biographies and experiences in school physical education, sport and other societal institutions inform these perspectives and understandings. These in turn work to mediate university…

Reconstructing Iconic Experiments in Electrochemistry: Experiences from a History of Science Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eggen, Per-Odd; Kvittingen, Lise; Lykknes, Annette; Wittje, Roland

2012-01-01

The decomposition of water by electricity, and the voltaic pile as a means of generating electricity, have both held an iconic status in the history of science as well as in the history of science teaching. These experiments featured in chemistry and physics textbooks, as well as in classroom teaching, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This paper deals with our experiences in restaging the decomposition of water as part of a history of science course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. For the experiment we used an apparatus from our historical teaching collection and built a replica of a voltaic pile. We also traced the uses and meanings of decomposition of water within science and science teaching in schools and higher education in local institutions. Building the pile, and carrying out the experiments, held a few surprises that we did not anticipate through our study of written sources. The exercise gave us valuable insight into the nature of the devices and the experiment, and our students appreciated an experience of a different kind in a history of science course.

Research and Innovation in Physics Education: Transforming Classrooms, Teaching, and Student Learning at the Tertiary Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jolly, Pratibha

2009-04-01

It is well recognized that science and technology and the quality of scientifically trained manpower crucially determines the development and economic growth of nations and the future of humankind. At the same time, there is growing global concern about flight of talent from physics in particular, and the need to make physics teaching and learning effective and careers in physics attractive. This presentation presents the findings of seminal physics education research on students' learning that are impacting global praxis and motivating changes in content, context, instruments, and ways of teaching and learning physics, focusing on active learning environments that integrate the use of a variety of resources to create experiences that are both hands-on and minds-on. Initiatives to bring about innovative changes in a university system are described, including a triadic model that entails indigenous development of PHYSARE using low-cost technologies. Transfer of pedagogic innovations into the formal classroom is facilitated by professional development programs that provide experiential learning of research-based innovative teaching practices, catalyze the process of reflection through classroom research, and establish a collaborative network of teachers empowered to usher radical transformation.

Training of Trainers (ToT) Program in Team Teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Febrianti, Werry; Wiryanto, Leo Hari

2018-01-01

The first year students in Sumatera Institute of Technology (ITERA) follow the first year program (TPB). They will learn about mathematics, physics, chemistry, and all of the basic subjects that they need for learning in ITERA. They will study in the big classrooms with different background department of their friends. This situation makes the lectures become more challenging in teaching their lessons. Besides the classrooms, the experience of the lecturers is still need to be improved because the lecturers are young and less of experience in teaching so that they need guidance from their senior lecturer. Because of that situation, Training of Trainers (ToT) program in team teaching is one of the solution that can increase the young lecturers’s ability so that they can teach well in the massal conditions of the classrooms. ToT program in team teaching indicated the better result than regular teaching.

TEACHING PHYSICS: Atwood's machine: experiments in an accelerating frame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teck Chee, Chia; Hong, Chia Yee

1999-03-01

Experiments in an accelerating frame are often difficult to perform, but simple computer software allows sufficiently rapid and accurate measurements to be made on an arrangement of weights and pulleys known as Atwood's machine.

Hot-Air Ballooning in Physics Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haugland, Ole Anton

1991-01-01

Describes the modern hot-air balloon and the physics of ballooning. Proposes that students construct their own hot-air balloon and presents an experiment calculating the time needed for a balloon to rise to the ceiling of a gymnasium. (MDH)

The National Physical Education Standards and Grade-Level Outcomes: The Future of Elementary Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holt/Hale, Shirley Ann; Persse, Dan

2015-01-01

It is during the early educational years that skills are developed, habits are formed, and values are shaped. The skills for a lifetime of physical activity are developed through quality teaching, deliberate practice, assessment and reflection. Research supports the importance of elementary physical education experiences and the importance of…

Space physics educational outreach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copeland, Richard A.

1995-01-01

The goal of this Space Physics Educational Outreach project was to develop a laboratory experiment and classroom lecture on Earth's aurora for use in lower division college physics courses, with the particular aim of implementing the experiment and lecture at Saint Mary's College of California. The strategy is to teach physics in the context of an interesting natural phenomenon by investigating the physical principles that are important in Earth's aurora, including motion of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields, particle collisions and chemical reactions, and atomic and molecular spectroscopy. As a by-product, the undergraduate students would develop an appreciation for naturally occurring space physics phenomena.

Portfolio Development as a Three-Semester Process: The Value of Sequential Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senne, Terry A.

This study examined nine cohort teacher candidates from each of two physical education teacher education (PETE) programs developed teaching portfolios in three consecutive semesters of comparable courses: (1) elementary methods; (2) secondary methods; and (3) the student teaching internship. Studied were changes over time in teacher candidate…

A Shared Secret

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyngstad, Idar

2014-01-01

This article is based on an interview with a Norwegian physical education (PE) teacher on the social contact she had with pupils when teaching them PE. The article examines a two-dimensional aspect of a teaching situation relating to swimming instruction in PE, especially focusing on pupils' positive experiences of learning to swim and the…

Discovering Nature: The Benefits of Teaching Outside of the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobi-Vessels, Jill L.

2013-01-01

Nature play can be an effective teaching strategy across the curriculum and may provide children and teachers with lasting memories. Research shows that experiences in natural settings provide multiple benefits to young children, including increased physical activity, reduced obesity, improved concentration, and enhanced social skills. Early…

Socialisation and Learning to Teach Using the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.; Gordon, Barrie

2017-01-01

Occupational socialisation theory (OST) is a dialectical approach to understanding teachers' recruitment, training, and lived experiences in school settings. Research using this model has shown that socialisation influences how physical educators interpret or "read" pedagogical models. However, this research has not been extended to the…

Physical and Chemical Change: The Long History of the Iron Filings and Sulfur Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, W. P.

1995-01-01

As a part of a doctoral thesis considering the history of teaching physical and chemical change, 641 chemistry/science textbooks have currently been examined. These books are from many different countries and date from the eighteenth century to the present time. The books have described a wide variety of experiments to illustrate the difference…

Advanced tools for smartphone-based experiments: phyphox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staacks, S.; Hütz, S.; Heinke, H.; Stampfer, C.

2018-07-01

The sensors in modern smartphones are a promising and cost-effective tool for experimentation in physics education, but many experiments face practical problems. Often the phone is inaccessible during the experiment and the data usually needs to be analyzed subsequently on a computer. We address both problems by introducing a new app, called ‘phyphox’, which is specifically designed for utilizing experiments in physics teaching. The app is free and designed to offer the same set of features on Android and iOS.

Theory versus practice at implementation of inquiry-based approaches into physics education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfefferová, Miriam Spodniaková; Raganová, Janka; Hruška, Martin; Holec, Stanislav

2017-01-01

At present a lot of ideas for student inquiry-based activities accompanied with methodical remarks and instructions for teachers exist and can be used at physics lessons at lower and upper secondary levels. A need of the use of the teaching methods that support an independent student work as well as active learning approaches has been reflected also in the Slovak state educational program at various educational levels. Experiences of teachers who have used inquiry-based approaches in the classrooms are often in the contrary with expectations of these didactical trends. The paper aims to compare the theory and the practice of the implementation of inquiry-based activities in physics teaching. Practical experience was gained implementing activities for science education developed within the Chain Reaction project running at Matej Bel University Banska Bystrica. Opinions of teachers were investigated with the help of questionnaires, evaluation meetings and structured interviews. Their analysis identified many problems that the teachers had met during the implementation of the inquiry-based approaches in their teaching, as well as benefits of those activities for development of student competences.

Accelerator-based techniques for the support of senior-level undergraduate physics laboratories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, J. R.; Clark, J. C.; Isaacs-Smith, T.

2001-07-01

Approximately three years ago, Auburn University replaced its aging Dynamitron accelerator with a new 2MV tandem machine (Pelletron) manufactured by the National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC). This new machine is maintained and operated for the University by Physics Department personnel, and the accelerator supports a wide variety of materials modification/analysis studies. Computer software is available that allows the NEC Pelletron to be operated from a remote location, and an Internet link has been established between the Accelerator Laboratory and the Upper-Level Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory in the Physics Department. Additional software supplied by Canberra Industries has also been used to create a second Internet link that allows live-time data acquisition in the Teaching Laboratory. Our senior-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students perform a number of experiments related to radiation detection and measurement as well as several standard accelerator-based experiments that have been added recently. These laboratory exercises will be described, and the procedures used to establish the Internet links between our Teaching Laboratory and the Accelerator Laboratory will be discussed.

MedTalks: developing teaching abilities and experience in undergraduate medical students

PubMed Central

Bandeali, Suhair; Chiang, Albert; Ramnanan, Christopher J.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives: According to the CanMEDS’ Scholar competency, physicians are expected to facilitate the learning of colleagues, patients and other health professionals. However, most medical students are not provided with formal opportunities to gain teaching experience with objective feedback. Methods: To address this, the University’s Medical Education Interest Group (MEIG) created a pilot teaching program in January 2015 entitled ‘MedTalks’. Four 3-hour sessions were held at the University Faculty of Medicine, where first and second year medical students taught clinically oriented topics to undergraduate university students. Each extracurricular session included three 30-minute content lectures, and a 90-minute small group session on physical examination skills. Each medical student-teacher received formal feedback from undergraduate students and from faculty educators regarding teaching style, communication abilities, and professionalism. In addition, medical student-teachers self-evaluated their own teaching experience. Results: Over 50 medical students from the University participated as medical student-teachers. Based on quantitative and qualitative evaluation surveys, 100% of medical students agreed that MedTalks was a useful way to develop teaching skills and 92% gained a greater confidence in individual teaching capabilities, based largely on the opportunity to gain experience (with feedback) in teaching roles. Conclusions: A program designed to give medical students multi-source teaching experience (lecture- and small group-based) and feedback on their teaching (from learners and Faculty observers, in addition to their own self-reflection) can improve medical student confidence and enthusiasm towards teaching. Future studies will clarify if medical student self-perceived enhancements in teaching ability can be corroborated by independent (Faculty, learner) observations of future teaching activity. PMID:28178910

A Study of Physics Faculty's Instructional Practices: Implications for Experiential STEM Faculty Development Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, Marissa; Suskavcevic, Miliana; Forrest, Rebecca; Cheung, Margaret; Kapral, Andrew; Khon, Lawrence

When teaching physics, many factors determine the final impact the course will have on a student. Using STEP, a teacher content professional development program, we are studying the incorporation of inquiry-based teaching strategies in the professional development of university professors through an active engagement program. Through the professors' involvement in the program, they gain experience with inquiry-based instruction that can be put into effect in their own classrooms to possibly create a shift in understanding and success ratesat physics undergraduate courses. This model consists of faculty peer mentoring, facilitating instruction within a community of practice, and implementation of undergraduate inquiry-based physics teaching strategies. Here, professors are facilitating the physics lessons to in-service high school teachers while using inquiry strategies and interactive activities rather than traditional lecture. This project aided the creation of an undergraduate inquiry-based physics course at the University of Houston. It could lead to a new form of professor professional development workshop that does not only benefit the professor, but also highschoolteachers not properly trained in the field of physics.

Processing Motion: Using Code to Teach Newtonian Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massey, M. Ryan

Prior to instruction, students often possess a common-sense view of motion, which is inconsistent with Newtonian physics. Effective physics lessons therefore involve conceptual change. To provide a theoretical explanation for concepts and how they change, the triangulation model brings together key attributes of prototypes, exemplars, theories, Bayesian learning, ontological categories, and the causal model theory. The triangulation model provides a theoretical rationale for why coding is a viable method for physics instruction. As an experiment, thirty-two adolescent students participated in summer coding academies to learn how to design Newtonian simulations. Conceptual and attitudinal data was collected using the Force Concept Inventory and the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey. Results suggest that coding is an effective means for teaching Newtonian physics.

Physical Education Teachers' Perspectives and Experiences When Teaching FMS to Early Adolescent Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lander, Natalie J.; Hanna, Lisa; Brown, Helen; Telford, Amanda; Morgan, Philip J.; Salmon, Jo; Barnett, Lisa M.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Competence in fundamental movement skills (FMSs) is positively associated with physical activity, fitness, and healthy weight status. However, adolescent girls exhibit very low levels of fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency. Method: In the current study, interviews were carried out with physical education teachers to investigate…

An Integration of Mobile Applications into Physical Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yu, Hyeonho; Kulinna, Pamela Hodges; Lorenz, Kent A.

2018-01-01

Even though technology in physical education has the potential to open up a variety of teaching and learning avenues by enhancing active experiences to help students develop the skills, attitudes, knowledge and behaviors needed for a lifetime of physical activity, some teachers may have a hard time finding ways to integrate technology into their…

Learning Cycle Model of a Science Lesson

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jim, Jim; Nelson, Jane

2006-09-01

Editor's note: One of the goals of AAPT is to provide support and encouragement to those new to teaching physics by sharing ideas that experienced physics teachers have found helpful. I hope you will look to this column throughout the year to find help with lesson planning, ideas for classroom management, and opportunities for professional growth. This month's contributing authors, Jane and Jim Nelson, are award-winning physics teachers with years of experience in the classroom, conducting PTRA workshops, and serving as leaders for local, state, and national AAPT organizations. Their contributions to physics teaching are much too numerous to list here, but their joy in sharing ideas with you is typical of the support you will find from AAPT.

Preparing Physics Ph.D. Students as Instructors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manhart, Michael; Knapen, Simon

2012-03-01

As demand grows for education in STEM fields, there is an increasing need for Ph.D. physicists with a strong aptitude for and commitment to teaching. Development of these skills begins in graduate school, where most physicists are first exposed to teaching as TAs to undergraduate courses. The TA experience thus has considerable impact on the development of their teaching skills. Unfortunately, many graduate programs do not provide detailed training to their TAs. However, if departments hope to produce physicists who are also outstanding educators, they must create a culture of excellence in teaching that includes adequate training and incentives to excel for their graduate student TAs. As current Ph.D. students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University, we have designed and implemented a TA training program to achieve these goals. Our program, Developing Educational Leaders among TAs in Physics (DELTA P), is aimed at new physics TAs and consists of an intensive orientation followed by 10 weekly seminars during the semester. The orientation focuses on the essential practical issues relevant to TAs before they first step in the classroom, while the seminars delve into more specialized topics, ranging from motivating non-majors to physics education research. Students who complete the program are given an official credential by the department to certify their training. After two years DELTA P has begun to effect positive changes to our department's TA experience, and we believe DELTA P serves as a useful model for other departments. In this talk, we will present our program and hope to engage in an interactive discussion with the audience about these issues.

A School-Based Study on Situational Interest of Investigative Study in Senior Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Yat-yin

2015-01-01

This paper reports the findings from the interview data of a research aiming at studying how to trigger students' situational interest in physics and its implications on learning and teaching in the New Senior Secondary (NSS) physics curriculum. 49 students from a boys' school were invited to write one to three learning experiences in physics that…

Cavendish Experiment in Physics Textbooks: Why Do Authors Continue to Repeat a Denounced Error?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slisko, Josip; Hadzibegovic, Zalkida

2011-01-01

Since long time ago, many authors advocated for more presence of physics history in physics teaching and learning in order to give students a better vision of the "nature of science", in other words, to let them learn not only established physics knowledge but also the ways of how physicists managed to get that knowledge. Generally,…

Millikan's Oil-Drop Experiment as a Remotely Controlled Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckert, Bodo; Grober, Sebastian; Vetter, Martin; Jodl, Hans-Jorg

2012-01-01

The Millikan oil-drop experiment, to determine the elementary electrical charge e and the quantization of charge Q = n [middle dot] e, is an essential experiment in physics teaching but it is hardly performed in class for several reasons. Therefore, we offer this experiment as a remotely controlled laboratory (RCL). We describe the interactivity…

Citrus Quality Control: An NMR/MRI Problem-Based Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erhart, Sarah E.; McCarrick, Robert M.; Lorigan, Gary A.; Yezierski, Ellen J.

2016-01-01

An experiment seated in an industrial context can provide an engaging framework and unique learning opportunity for an upper-division physical chemistry laboratory. An experiment that teaches NMR/MRI through a problem-based quality control of citrus products was developed. In this experiment, using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach, students…

Dental students' and staff perceptions of the impact of learning environment disruption on their learning and teaching experiences.

PubMed

The, A J M; Adam, L; Meldrum, A; Brunton, P

2017-10-06

This project is a qualitative investigation into student and staff experiences of the effect of a major building redevelopment on their Dental School learning and teaching environments. Currently, there is little research exploring the impact of disruptions to the learning environment on students' learning and staff teaching experiences. Data were collected in 2016 using an online survey, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with students and staff. Data were analysed using a general inductive approach. Four broad themes emerged as follows: (i) students valued having a space for personal and collaborative work within the Dental School; (ii) both staff and students positioned staff contributions to learning experiences above the role of the physical learning environment; (iii) the majority of staff and students not feel that the physical environment limited their clinical training; and (iv) staff and students were able to adapt to the impact of building redevelopment through resilience and organisation. Results of this research have informed the provision of collegial spaces at the School, both as the building redevelopment continues, and in planning for the completed building. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pre-Service PE Teachers' Occupational Socialization Experiences on Teaching Games for Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Chung; Cruz, Alberto

2008-01-01

Background: Teaching Games for Understanding has been promoted as an innovative curriculum model in the past decade in Hong Kong. It focuses on developing pupils' tactical awareness and decision making capability through integrating the cognitive and contextual dimensions of learning in physical education. Aims: This article reports a qualitative…

The Barnes Foundation: A Place for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnham, Rika

2007-01-01

This article tells the story of the author's invitation to teach at the Barnes Foundation, and her transformative experience as a teacher in this extraordinary place. The author comes to realize that the Barnes is the physical realization of a philosophical dream, and progresses to an understanding of how Albert C. Barnes collected and assembled…

Exploring Pre-Service Physical Education Teacher Technology Use during Student Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Emily M.; Baek, Jun-hyung; Wyant, James D.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing preservice teachers' (PST) experiences integrating technology within a guided action-based research project in the context of student teaching. Methods: Participants were enrolled at a rural, mid-Atlantic university (N = 80, 53 male; 27 female). Researchers retrieved…

Teaching Australian Football in Physical Education: Constraints Theory in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pill, Shane

2013-01-01

This article outlines a constraints-led process of exploring, modifying, experimenting, adapting, and developing game appreciation known as Game Sense (Australian Sports Commission, 1997; den Duyn, 1996, 1997) for the teaching of Australian football. The game acts as teacher in this constraints-led process. Rather than a linear system that…

Using Analogies in Teaching Physics: A Study on Latvian Teachers' Views and Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jonane, Lolita

2015-01-01

The role of analogies as tools for teaching difficult science concepts has been widely discussed in science education. The application of analogies in the context of sustainable education involves richer potential. The purposeful use of appropriate analogies can facilitate analogical thinking and transfer skills, as well as develop abilities which…

Experience, gender, and performance: Connecting high school physics experience and gender differences to introductory college physics performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tai, Robert H.

Current science educational practice is coming under heavy criticism based on the dismaying results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study of 1998, the latest in a series of large scale surveys; and from research showing the appallingly low representation of females in science-related fields. These critical evaluations serve to draw attention to science literacy in general and lack of persistence among females in particular, two issues that relate closely to the "preparation for future study" goal held by many high school science teachers. In other words, these teachers often seek to promote future success and to prevent future failure in their students' academic careers. This thesis studies the connection between the teaching practices recommended by reformers and researchers for high school teachers, and their students' subsequent college physics performance. The teaching practices studied were: laboratory experiences, class discussion experiences, content coverage, and reliance on textbooks. This study analyzed a survey of 1500 students from 16 different lecture-format college physics courses at 14 different universities. Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study accounted for course-level variables (Calculus-based/Non-calculus course type, professor's gender, and university selectivity). This study controlled for the student's parents education, high school science/mathematics achievement, high school calculus background, and racial background. In addition, the interactions between gender and both pedagogical/curricular and course-level variables were analyzed. The results indicated that teaching fewer topics in greater depth in high school physics appeared to be helpful to college physics students. An interaction between college course type and content coverage showed that students in Calculus-based physics reaped even greater benefits from a depth-oriented curriculum. Also students with fewer labs per month in high school physics appeared to perform better in college physics than did students with many more labs per month. The only significant interaction was between gender and Calculus-based/Non-calculus college course type. Females appeared to do better on average than their males counterparts in Non-calculus physics, but this trend is clearly reversed for Calculus-based physics. This is a disturbing result for educators who have worked to promote persistence among women in engineering and science research. Recommendations are included for high school physics teachers, students and their parents, and college physics instructors.

IN MY OPINION: The how of physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibble, Bob

2000-03-01

In a society such as ours, increasingly concerned as it is with improving quality, it is relatively easy to find data charting the fortunes, good or ill, of the quality of education. League tables are such an example. The `quality' of a school, whatever that means, might be judged by its league table position. A science department might be judged as offering a high quality service if its value-added indices are positive. There is often mention made of the quality of A-level students or postgraduate entrants to the teaching profession. What then of the quality of physics teaching? As an initial trainer/educator of physics teachers I am expected to have a view as to some of the ingredients which might be part of the balanced diet of good physics teaching. School inspectors certainly have a view. I expect that most heads of departments and advisers will also have something to say on the subject. Perhaps there is a consensus within the profession as to what constitutes good physics teaching. Certainly at the IOP Congress two years ago a number of teachers in a discussion session I chaired came up with what appeared to be a shared view of the qualities of good teaching. These qualities included teaching that allowed for pupils to have their say, to articulate their ideas, teachers who listened and encouraged discussion, group work and problem solving tasks, clear lesson structures shared with learners, imaginative use of resources, shared enthusiasm, clear outcomes and much more. If there is a professional consensus then why can many physics lessons be so cripplingly dull? The gradual demise in the status of physics as a desirable subject of choice, post-16, in schools has resulted in fewer young people choosing to study physics and to teach physics. If physics has an image problem, there is all the more reason for the quality of physics teaching to rise above the mediocre. Now one might say that I am speaking from a limited experience and the situation I describe doesn't apply to your teaching. You are probably right on both counts. However, the fact that you are reading this journal indicates that you are likely to be taking a dynamic interest in your own teaching, more interest than most. As far as my sampling goes, you only have to speak to students who watch physics teaching in schools and to inspectors who do the same and to heads of departments who make it their job to get out and about into other classrooms. Yes, there is good teaching but there is so much that is simply as safe as houses, plodding through the syllabus, covering the material in a transmission style but so unimaginatively. Physics teaching looks tired. Is there an initiative to be taken? Recent curriculum developments have forged ahead with new materials for learners. But most of this amounts to developments in the WHAT of physics teaching. They offer either support for learners or new interpretations of syllabus content. There is no doubt that these initiatives are of considerable value and they will help to change the face of physics as a subject but I don't think in themselves they offer solutions that will change the HOW of physics teaching in the way that, for example, the Nuffield initiatives did in the 1970s. The original Nuffield programmes included teacher's handbooks that had pages devoted to teaching strategies. The guides encouraged reflection on such issues as the dangers of teaching theory, students reporting their findings, the value of discussion in helping students to `get ideas inside themselves' etc. There were pages about the HOW alongside pages about the WHAT. There is no doubt that a factor in this equation resides with national issues such as school resources, class sizes, contact hours and the drive to increase pass rates. However, even within these parameters can we identify ways forward that will enable professional change and revitalize classroom experiences? Schools have a long history of in-service professional development but I wonder if development days have lost the plot somewhat. How often are such days devoted to generic, whole school issues and how often do they focus on teachers and teaching? As a teacher I found it a rare luxury to find a forum, both the time and the place, to talk about teaching. Occasionally the ASE local section meetings or the ASE annual meeting provided space for professional reflection, and I often returned from such events with ideas to try out and to share with colleagues. Perhaps better use might be made of subject departments as agents for change. A modest investment in training middle managers as teacher-mentors and leaders might result in change that would be managed from within schools. Teachers helping teachers. I'll end this editorial with a plea to head teachers, advisers, department heads and the physics teaching community. Resurrect the HOW of physics teaching. Let's create space and time for teachers to share, reflect and explore their trade, to observe others teaching, to articulate their strategies for lesson planning and motivating learners and to be brave enough to step out from the stifling atmosphere of their classroom boxes and breathe again.

Advanced Physics Labs and Undergraduate Research: Helping Them Work Together

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Richard W.

2009-10-01

The 2009 Advanced Lab Topical Conference in Ann Arbor affirmed the importance of advanced labs that teach crucial skills and methodologies by carefully conducting a time-honored experiment. Others however argued that such a constrained experiment can play a complementary role to more open-ended, project experiences. A genuine ``experiment'' where neither student or faculty member is exactly sure of the best approach or anticipated result can often trigger real excitement, creativity, and career direction for students while reinforcing the advanced lab and undergraduate research interface. Several examples are cited in areas of AMO physics, optics, fluids, and acoustics. Colleges and universities that have dual-degree engineering, engineering physics, or applied physics programs may especially profit from interdisciplinary projects that utilize optical, electromagnetic, and acoustical measurements in conjunction with computational physics and simulation.

Cardiac examination and the effect of dual-processing instruction in a cardiopulmonary simulator.

PubMed

Sibbald, Matt; McKinney, James; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo B; Yu, Eric; Wood, David A; Nair, Parvathy; Eva, Kevin W; Hatala, Rose

2013-08-01

Use of dual-processing has been widely touted as a strategy to reduce diagnostic error in clinical medicine. However, this strategy has not been tested among medical trainees with complex diagnostic problems. We sought to determine whether dual-processing instruction could reduce diagnostic error across a spectrum of experience with trainees undertaking cardiac physical exam. Three experiments were conducted using a similar design to teach cardiac physical exam using a cardiopulmonary simulator. One experiment was conducted in each of three groups: experienced, intermediate and novice trainees. In all three experiments, participants were randomized to receive undirected or dual-processing verbal instruction during teaching, practice and testing phases. When tested, dual-processing instruction did not change the probability assigned to the correct diagnosis in any of the three experiments. Among intermediates, there was an apparent interaction between the diagnosis tested and the effect of dual-processing instruction. Among relative novices, dual processing instruction may have dampened the harmful effect of a bias away from the correct diagnosis. Further work is needed to define the role of dual-processing instruction to reduce cognitive error. This study suggests that it cannot be blindly applied to complex diagnostic problems such as cardiac physical exam.

Theme-Based Project Learning: Design and Application of Convergent Science Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chun, Man-Seog; Kang, Kwang Il; Kim, Young H.; Kim, Young Mee

2015-01-01

This case study aims to verify the benefits of theme-based project learning for convergent science experiments. The study explores the possibilities of enhancing creative, integrated and collaborative teaching and learning abilities in science-gifted education. A convergent project-based science experiment program of physics, chemistry and biology…

Teaching Quantum Uncertainty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hobson, Art

2011-01-01

An earlier paper introduces quantum physics by means of four experiments: Youngs double-slit interference experiment using (1) a light beam, (2) a low-intensity light beam with time-lapse photography, (3) an electron beam, and (4) a low-intensity electron beam with time-lapse photography. It's ironic that, although these experiments demonstrate…

EDITORIAL: A word from the new Editor-in-Chief A word from the new Editor-in-Chief

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mostowski, Jan

2011-01-01

TIn the autumn of 2010 I became the Editor-in Chief of European Journal of Physics (EJP). EJP is a place for teachers, instructors and professors to exchange their views on teaching physics at university level and share their experience. It is general opinion that no good research is possible without connection with good, high-quality teaching, at the university level in particular. Therefore excellence in physics teaching is important to the physics community. European Journal of Physics is proud of its contribution to achieving this goal. As Editor-in-Chief, I will continue to work to this general objective of the journal. We will publish articles on specific topics in physics, stressing originality of presentation and suitability for use in students'laboratories, lectures and physics teaching in general. We will also publish more pedagogical papers presenting the achievements of particular teaching methods. In addition, we will continue to publish special sections on particular areas of physics, as well as the annual special section on physics competitions. European Journal of Physics is in good shape. Due to the work of the previous editors and the publisher, the readership is high and growing steadily, and many excellent papers are being submitted and published. I hope that this positive trend for the journal will continue, and I will do my best to keep to this high standard. A few words about myself. I work in the Institute of Physics in Warsaw, Poland. My main research interests are in theoretical quantum optics and I have published about 80 research papers on this topic. For many years I was involved in teaching physics at university and in high school. I am a co-author of a textbook on physics for high-school students and of a problem book in quantum mechanics. For the last ten years, I have been involved in the International Physics Olympiad and over the last few years I have been a member of the Editorial Board of European Journal of Physics.

Chaos: A Topic for Interdisciplinary Education in Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bae, Saebyok

2009-01-01

Since society and science need interdisciplinary works, the interesting topic of chaos is chosen for interdisciplinary education in physics. The educational programme contains various university-level activities such as computer simulations, chaos experiment and team projects besides ordinary teaching. According to the participants, the programme…

Students' Difficulties with Integration in Electricity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Dong-Hai; Rebello, N. Sanjay

2011-01-01

This study investigates the common difficulties that students in introductory physics experience when solving problems involving integration in the context of electricity. We conducted teaching-learning interviews with 15 students in a second-semester calculus-based introductory physics course on several problems involving integration. We found…

Teaching and Learning in Physical Education for Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grineski, Steven

1988-01-01

Planned physical education experiences should be an integral part of the preschool or kindergarten curriculum to: foster normal motor development, take advantage of children's readiness to develop and practice motor skills, fulfill children's need and desire for movement, and develop fundamental motor patterns. (CB)

Development of instructional manual encouraging student active learning for high school teaching on fluid mechanics through Torricelli's tank experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apiwan, Suttinee; Puttharugsa, Chokchai; Khemmani, Supitch

2018-01-01

The purposes of this research were to help students to perform Physics laboratory by themselves and to provide guidelines for high school teacher to develop active learning on fluid mechanics by using Torricelli's tank experiment. The research was conducted as follows: 1) constructed an appropriate Torricelli's tank experiment for high school teaching and investigated the condition for maximum water falling distance. As a consequence, it was found that the distance of the falling water measured from the experiment was shorter than that obtained from the theory of ideal fluid because of the energy loss during a flow, 2) developed instructional manual for high school teaching that encourages active learning by using problem based learning (PBL) approach, which is consistent with the trend of teaching and learning in 21st century. The content validity of our instructional manual using Index of Item-objective Congruence (IOC) as evaluated by three experts was over 0.67. The manual developed was therefore qualified for classroom practice.

Teaching Strategis Designed to Change the Undergraduate Experience for College Women Learning Chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Samia

A college for women has been cited as one of the most productive origins of female physical science doctorates in the United States. A case study was conducted to investigate teaching strategies that support the retention of women in the physical sciences, based on evidence from one of the college's most notable instructors and her teaching strategies. The strategies this teacher used included a personal "contract", confidence building techniques, and science internships. Data were collected from classroom documents, classroom observations, teacher interviews, student focus groups, student feedback sheets, Likert-response student surveys, and student final exams. Evidence from the Likert-response survey and focus groups suggested that the contract increased students' likelihood of success in the course and that confidence-building strategies improved students' confidence in their ability to succeed in science. An analysis of students' final exam scores indicated that student marks improved after the introduction of the aforementioned teaching innovations: 4% of students taking the same science course with the same teacher earned less than a C-, compared to a previous three-year average of 18% of students with below C- grades. In addition, notably fewer minority women dropped the course than they had in the past. The findings of this study suggest that this teacher's strategies may have played a part in retaining these women in the physical sciences. Based on the data, a theoretical model is proposed that suggests how switching or "fading" out of the course may have been addressed and how multiple teaching strategies can work in concert with each other to contribute to women's positive experiences in the physical sciences.

Let's Get Physical: Teaching Physics through Gymnastics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sojourner, Elena J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Weise, Eric D.

2018-01-01

The concept of embodied learning--that we can learn with our bodies and with our minds--is a well-established concept in physics and math education research, and includes symbolic understanding (e.g., gestures that track how students think or facilitate learning to model complex systems of energy flow) as well as the literal experience of…

Locating the Center of Gravity: The Dance of Normal and Frictional Forces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balta, Nuri

2012-01-01

Teaching physics concepts with the basic materials that are around us is one of the beauties of physics. Without expensive lab materials and long experiments, many physics concepts can be taught to students using simple tools. Demonstrations with these tools can be presented as discrepant events that surprise, amaze, or puzzle students. Greenslade…

Game Play: What Does It Mean for Pedagogy to Think Like a Game Developer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pill, Shane

2014-01-01

What could a sport coach or sport teacher within physical education learn from digital game design and the way digital games capture, sustain, and maintain children's attention? Would the physical education learning experience be different if physical educators designed and enacted sport teaching by attempting to accommodate the learning needs and…

The Perceptions and Experiences of School Management Teams and Teachers of the Management of Physical Resources in Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mestry, Raj; Bodalina, Kishan

2015-01-01

The effective management of physical resources significantly impacts on the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The procurement, utilization and maintenance of physical resources through organized structures, well-designed policies and rigid processes are critical for quality education. According to the South African Schools Act 1996, a…

Effects of Two Different Types of Physics Learning on the Results of CLASS Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marusic, Mirko; Slisko, Josip

2012-01-01

During a one-semester-long research project with high school students, we deployed and gauged efficiency of two different reform teaching methods: reading, presenting, and questioning (RPQ) and experimenting and discussion (ED). In this paper we report on changes in students' attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. We used the…

Building Concepts through Writing-to-Learn in College Physics Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bullock, Shawn

2006-01-01

This paper draws on an action research inquiry into my teaching practice featuring careful analysis of the experiences of some of the students in my college-level introductory college physics course. Specifically, the research describes and interprets the role of Writing-to-Learn pedagogies in a physics classroom with a view to exploring how such…

Enhancing Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Perceived Self-Efficacy of Argumentation-Based Pedagogy through Modelling and Mastery Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogan-Bekiroglu, Feral; Aydeniz, Mehmet

2013-01-01

This study explored the impact of explicit instruction on argumentation-based pedagogy, coupled with modelling and hands-on learning activities on pre-service physics teachers' perceived self-efficacy to teach science through argumentation. Participants consisted of 24 pre-service physics teachers attending an established teacher education program…

A Summer Math and Physics Program for High School Students: Student Performance and Lessons Learned in the Second Year

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timme, Nicholas; Baird, Michael; Bennett, Jake; Fry, Jason; Garrison, Lance; Maltese, Adam

2013-01-01

For the past two years, the Foundations in Physics and Mathematics (FPM) summer program has been held at Indiana University in order to fulfill two goals: provide additional physics and mathematics instruction at the high school level, and provide physics graduate students with experience and autonomy in designing curricula and teaching courses.…

Investigating and accounting for physics graduate students' tutorial classroom practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goertzen, Renee Michelle

Physics Education researchers have been working to understanding how students learn physics, which has led to the creation of a body of research-based curricula. It is equally important to study novice instructors, graduate teaching assistants (TAs), who often teach these students. The study of TAs has similarities to how students have been studied: it is important to identify what preconceptions they often enter the classroom with, what resources they may have that they could apply to their physics teaching, and how both the classroom environment and past experiences affect what they are doing in the classroom. Although TAs are responsible for a significant portion of students' instruction at many universities, science TAs and their teaching have not been the focus of any significant amount of study. This dissertation begins to fill this gap by examining physics graduate students who teach discussion sections for introductory courses using tutorials, which are guided worksheets completed by groups of students. While assisting students with their conceptual understanding of physics, TAs are also expected to convey classroom norms of constructing arguments and listening and responding to the reasoning of others. Physics graduate students enter into the role of tutorial TA having relative content expertise but minimal or no pedagogical expertise. This analysis contends that considering the broader influences on TAs can account for TA behavior. Observations from two institutions (University of Colorado, Boulder and University of Maryland, College Park) show that TAs have different valuations (or buy-in) of the tutorials they teach, which have specific, identifiable consequences in the classroom. These differences can be explained by differences in the TAs' different teaching environments. Next, I examine cases of a behavior shared by three TAs, in which they focus on relatively superficial indicators of knowledge. Because the beliefs that underlie their teaching decisions vary, I argue that understanding and addressing the TAs individual beliefs will lead to more effective professional development. Lastly, this analysis advocates a new perspective on TA professional development: one in which TAs' ideas about teaching are taken to be interesting, plausible, and potentially productive.

A few ideas for teaching environmental physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forinash, Kyle

2016-11-01

Unlike a typical university physics course there is no standardised syllabus for environmental physics. The topics covered also range beyond what is normally part of the physics curriculum, requiring the instructor to become knowledgeable about fields outside of physics. Some of these issues are complex and, unlike the laws of physics, change rapidly over time. This paper, based on 15 years experience teaching undergraduate environmental physics courses, both for non-science students and for students with strong backgrounds in the sciences, attempts to present a reasonable range of concepts and educational resources which could be included in an environmental physics course or added to an existing physics course as motivation for learning traditional physics concepts. An additional goal is to warn the reader of pitfalls they may encounter in trying to include material with which they may not be familiar. The approach is different from environmental courses taught in the social sciences in that the focus of an environmental physics course is on physical constraints to environmental solutions rather than limitations imposed by culture or politics.

Virtual experiments in electronics: beyond logistics, budgets, and the art of the possible

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, Brian

1999-09-01

It is common and correct to suppose that computers support flexible delivery of educational resources by offering virtual experiments that replicate and substitute for experiments traditionally offered in conventional teaching laboratories. However, traditional methods are limited by logistics, costs, and what is physically possible to accomplish on a laboratory bench. Virtual experiments allow experimental approaches to teaching and learning to transcend these limits. This paper analyses recent and current developments in educational software for 1st- year physics, 2nd-year electronics engineering and 3rd-year communication engineering, based on three criteria: (1)Is the virtual experiment possible in a real laboratory? (2)How direct is the link between the experimental manipulation and the reinforcement of theoretical learning? (3) What impact might the virtual experiment have on the learner's acquisition of practical measurement skills? Virtual experiments allow more flexibility in the directness of the link between experimental manipulation and the theoretical message. However, increasing the directness of this link may reduce or even abolish the measurement processes associated with traditional experiments. Virtual experiments thus pose educational challenges: (a) expanding the design of experimentally based curricula beyond traditional boundaries and (b) ensuring that the learner acquires sufficient experience in making practical measurements.

Student perceptions of a video-based blended learning approach for improving pediatric physical examination skills.

PubMed

Lehmann, Ronny; Seitz, Anke; Bosse, Hans Martin; Lutz, Thomas; Huwendiek, Sören

2016-11-01

Physical examination skills are crucial for a medical doctor. The physical examination of children differs significantly from that of adults. Students often have only limited contact with pediatric patients to practice these skills. In order to improve the acquisition of pediatric physical examination skills during bedside teaching, we have developed a combined video-based training concept, subsequently evaluating its use and perception. Fifteen videos were compiled, demonstrating defined physical examination sequences in children of different ages. Students were encouraged to use these videos as preparation for bedside teaching during their pediatric clerkship. After bedside teaching, acceptance of this approach was evaluated using a 10-item survey, asking for the frequency of video use and the benefits to learning, self-confidence, and preparation of bedside teaching as well as the concluding OSCE. N=175 out of 299 students returned survey forms (58.5%). Students most frequently used videos, either illustrating complete examination sequences or corresponding focus examinations frequently assessed in the OSCE. Students perceived the videos as a helpful method of conveying the practical process and preparation for bedside teaching as well as the OSCE, and altogether considered them a worthwhile learning experience. Self-confidence at bedside teaching was enhanced by preparation with the videos. The demonstration of a defined standardized procedural sequence, explanatory comments, and demonstration of infrequent procedures and findings were perceived as particularly supportive. Long video segments, poor alignment with other curricular learning activities, and technical problems were perceived as less helpful. Students prefer an optional individual use of the videos, with easy technical access, thoughtful combination with the bedside teaching, and consecutive standardized practice of demonstrated procedures. Preparation with instructional videos combined with bedside teaching, were perceived to improve the acquisition of pediatric physical examination skills. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Teaching Plasmonics, Scanning Probe Microscopy and Other Useful Experiments at the Upper Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Erik

2012-10-01

It is important to teach students concepts and experimental skills relating to modern research being performed today. Experiments that help educate students about the latest research helps them get jobs and into the doors at many great academic institutions. PSU's Advanced Experimental Class for physics undergraduates offers many novel experiments to help the students accomplish this task. Labs involving Plasmonics, thin film deposition, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and more will be discussed. In addition, a new NSF funded project involving the building of a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) SPM will be discussed.

What Are the Effects of Teaching Experience on In-Service Elementary Science Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akarsu, Bayram

2007-01-01

This study investigates relationships between understanding of nature of science and four key factors elementary science teachers possess, which are: (1) Their specializations in different science areas (Physics, chemistry, and biology), (2) Gender issues, (3) How long they have been teaching in elementary school environments, (4) Their…

Project Physics Teacher Guide 1, Concepts of Motion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Harvard Project Physics.

Teaching procedures of Project Physics Unit 1 are presented in this manual to help teachers make effective use of learning materials. Curriculum objectives are discussed in connection with instructional materials, suggested year time schedules, multi-media schedules, schedule blocks, resource charts, and experiment summaries. Brief analyses are…

Car Stopping Distance on a Tabletop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haugland, Ole Anton

2013-01-01

Stopping distances in car braking can be an intriguing topic in physics teaching. It illustrates some basic principles of physics, and sheds valuable light on students' attitude towards aggressive driving. Due to safety considerations, it can be difficult to make experiments with actual car braking. (Contains 2 figures.)

Overcoming Content-Associated Challenges Using Attention-Focused Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebec, Michael T.; Kesteloot, Lauren

2015-01-01

A common challenge in higher education is teaching required content for which students traditionally have lower levels of interest. Physical therapist education programs experience this challenge when training entry-level students to document in the medical record. The authors compared learning outcomes among physical therapy students taught…

Teaching Classical Mechanics Concepts Using Visuo-Haptic Simulators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neri, Luis; Noguez, Julieta; Robledo-Rella, Victor; Escobar-Castillejos, David; Gonzalez-Nucamendi, Andres

2018-01-01

In this work, the design and implementation of several physics scenarios using haptic devices are presented and discussed. Four visuo-haptic applications were developed for an undergraduate engineering physics course. Experiments with experimental and control groups were designed and implemented. Activities and exercises related to classical…

Plasma globe revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lincoln, James

2018-01-01

The plasma globe or plasma ball is an underutilized resource for teaching the physics of electricity. It also offers a convenient source of electric field that can be used for demonstrations and experiments. Unlike the Van de Graaff generator, the plasma globe does not shock you and is essentially silent. Other authors have written up some of these activities, but the full potential of the plasma globe is generally not taken advantage of by most teachers. I hope that this article can bring more awareness to how this ubiquitous piece of novelty lighting can be an essential physics teaching apparatus.

Promoting Physical Understanding through Peer Mentoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nossal, S. M.; Huesmann, A.; Hooper, E.; Moore, C.; Watson, L.; Trestrail, A.; Weber, J.; Timbie, P.; Jacob, A.

2015-12-01

The Physics Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides a supportive learning community for students studying introductory physics, as well as teaching and leadership experience for undergraduate Peer Mentor Tutors who receive extensive training and supervision. Many of our Peer Tutors were former Physics Learning Center participants. A central goal of the Physics Learning Center is to address achievement/equity gaps (e.g. race, gender, socio-economic status, disability, age, transfer status, etc.) for undergraduate students pursuing majors and coursework in STEM fields. Students meet twice a week in small learning teams of 3-8 students, facilitated by a trained Peer Mentor Tutor or staff member. These active learning teams focus on discussing core physical concepts and practicing problem-solving. The weekly training of the tutors addresses both teaching and mentoring issues in science education such as helping students to build confidence, strategies for assessing student understanding, and fostering a growth mindset. A second weekly training meeting addresses common misconceptions and strategies for teaching specific physics topics. For non-science majors we have a small Peer Mentor Tutor program for Physics in the Arts. We will discuss the Physics Learning Center's approaches to promoting inclusion, understanding, and confidence for both our participants and Peer Mentor Tutors, as well as examples from the geosciences that can be used to illustrate introductory physics concepts.

Twelve tips for overnight teaching.

PubMed

Richards, Jeremy B; Wilcox, Susan R; Roberts, David H; Schwartzstein, Richard M

2014-03-01

The European Working Time Directive and the United States' duty hour restrictions have changed resident physicians' schedules, specifically increasing overnight shifts and decreasing overall time spent in the hospital. As residents' perception of night shifts is that they have little educational value, efforts to improve educational opportunities and night attending teaching are desirable. However, resources about and recommendations for best practices for overnight teaching by faculty are scarce. To provide 12 tips to highlight strategies intended to optimize attending physicians' overnight teaching skills and strategies. The tips provided are based on our experiences and reflections as in-house faculty supervising residents working overnight, by our experience and group discussions as medical educators, and the available literature. The 12 tips presented offer specific strategies to optimize attending physicians' overnight teaching for resident physicians, specifically highlighting the unique logistics, pedagogy and follow-up of overnight teaching. Preparation for teaching is important in any environment, but understanding the unique timing and circumstances associated with overnight teaching is vital to ensure that overnight teaching is effective. Acknowledging and addressing the physical and cognitive obstacles associated with overnight teaching and learning is necessary to maximize the educational value of overnight teaching.

The Problem Solving Method in Teaching Physics in Elementary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jandrić, Gordana Hajduković; Obadović, Dušanka Ž.; Stojanović, Maja

2010-01-01

The most of the teachers ask if there is a "best" known way to teach. The most effective teaching method depends on the specific goals of the course and the needs of the students. An investigation has been carried out to compare the effect of teaching selected physics topics using problem-solving method on the overall achievements of the acquired knowledge and teaching the same material by traditional teaching method. The investigation was performed as a pedagogical experiment of the type of parallel groups with randomly chosen sample of students attending grades eight. The control and experimental groups were equalized in the relevant pedagogical parameters. The obtained results were treated statistically. The comparison showed a significant difference in respect of the speed of acquiring knowledge, the problem-solving teaching being advantageous over traditional methodDo not replace the word "abstract," but do replace the rest of this text. If you must insert a hard line break, please use Shift+Enter rather than just tapping your "Enter" key. You may want to print this page and refer to it as a style sample before you begin working on your paper.

Imagery, intuition and imagination in quantum physics education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stapleton, Andrew J.

2018-03-01

In response to the authors, I demonstrate how threshold concepts offer a means to both contextualise teaching and learning of quantum physics and help transform students into the culture of physics, and as a way to identify particularly troublesome concepts within quantum physics. By drawing parallels from my own doctoral research in another area of contemporary physics—special relativity—I highlight concepts that require an ontological change, namely a shift beyond the reality of everyday Newtonian experience such as time dilation and length contraction, as being troublesome concepts that can present barriers to learning with students often asking "is it real?". Similarly, the domain of quantum physics requires students to move beyond "common sense" perception as it brings into sharp focus the difference between what is experienced via the sense perceptions and the mental abstraction of phenomena. And it's this issue that highlights the important role imagery and creativity have both in quantum physics and in the evolution of physics more generally, and lies in stark contrast to the apparent mathematical focus and lack of opportunity for students to explore ontological issues evident in the authors' research. By reflecting on the authors' observations of a focus on mathematical formalisms and problem solving at the expense of alternative approaches, I explore the dialectic between Heisenberg's highly mathematical approach and Schrödinger's mechanical wave view of the atom, together with its conceptual imagery, at the heart of the evolution of quantum mechanics. In turn, I highlight the significance of imagery, imagination and intuition in quantum physics, together with the importance of adopting an epistemological pluralism—multiple ways of knowing and thinking—in physics education. Again drawing parallels with the authors' work and my own, I identify the role thought experiments have in both quantum physics education and in physics more generally. By introducing the notion of play, I advocate adopting and celebrating multiple approaches of teaching and learning, including thought experiments, play, dialogue and a more conceptual approach inclusive of multiple forms of representation, that complements the current instructional, mathematical approach so as to provide better balance to learning, teaching and the curriculum.

Critical Storytelling as a Teaching Strategy in Physical Education Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrett, Robyne

2006-01-01

Stories capture the richness and nuances of meaning in everyday existence and give insight into the complexity of our experiences and understandings. They can evoke an emotional response in the reader, which moves them beyond the literary experience to a more "lived" and embodied experience. This article is concerned with…

From students to researchers: The education of physics graduate students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yuhfen

This dissertation aims to make two research contributions: (1) In physics education research, this work aims to advance our understanding of physics student learning at the graduate level. This work attempts to better understand how physics researchers and teachers are produced, and what factors support or encourage the process of becoming a researcher and a teacher. (2) In cognitive science research in the domain of expert/novice differences, researchers are interested in defining and understanding what expertise is. This work aims to provide some insight into some of the components of expertise that go into becoming a competent expert researcher in the domain of physics. This in turn may contribute to our general understanding of expertise across multiple domains. Physics graduate students learn in their classes as students, teach as teaching assistants, and do research with research group as apprentices. They are expected to transition from students to independent researchers and teachers. The three activities of learning, teaching, and research appear to be very different and demand very different skill-sets. In reality, these activities are interrelated and have subtle effects on each other. Understanding how students transition from students to researchers and teachers is important both to PER and physics in general. In physics, an understanding of how physics students become researchers may help us to keep on training physicists who will further advance our understanding of physics. In PER, an understanding of how graduate students learn to teach will help us to train better physics teachers for the future. In this dissertation, I examine physics graduate students' approaches to teaching, learning, and research through semi-structured interviews. The collected data is interpreted and analyzed through a framework that focuses on students' epistemological beliefs and locus of authority. The data show how students' beliefs about knowledge interact with their learning, teaching, and research activities. In many cases, their perception of the learning, teaching, or research environment influences their choice of learning, teaching, or research approach. Physics graduate students learn "the language of physics" from the core courses, but don't learn many transferable research skills from taking courses. Constrained by the teaching environment, many graduate students are not motivated to teach as teaching assistants. Some finishing graduate students have clearly become confident and able researchers, while others remain dependent on their advisors for even the simplest direction. The data also show that it is possible for a single graduate student to hold very distinct beliefs about learning and teaching between classroom and research settings. It is possible for a well-motivated graduate student to take unfavorable approach toward learning when the environment does not support learning for deep understanding. This dissertation attempts to distill out aspects of success in the graduate program and identify features of positive experiences that help graduate students to transition from students to competent and confident researchers. The data suggest that having graduate students treated as legitimate participants is the vital element for them to build their confidence as researchers and teachers.

Are Learning Assistants Better K-12 Science Teachers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Kara E.; Webb, David C.; Otero, Valerie K.

2010-10-01

This study investigates how the undergraduate Learning Assistant (LA) experience affects teachers' first year of teaching. The LA Program provides interested science majors with the opportunity to explore teaching through weekly teaching responsibilities, an introduction to physics education research, and a learning community within the university. Some of these LAs are recruited to secondary science teacher certification programs. We hypothesized that the LA experience would enhance the teaching practices of the LAs who ultimately become teachers. To test this hypothesis, LAs were compared to a matched sample of teachers who completed the same teacher certification program as the LAs but did not have the LA "treatment." LAs and "non-LAs" were compared through interviews, classroom observations, artifact packages, and observations made with Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol (RTOP) collected within the first year of teaching. Some differences were found; these findings and their implications are discussed.

Achievement Evaluation within a Non-Conventional Framework: Some Experiences in Physics and Humour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worner, C. H.; Romero, A.; Bustamante, G.

2010-01-01

An achievement evaluation of a non-conventional physics course for liberal arts students is presented. The theoretical ground for this course focuses on the use of humour as a teaching tool. Preliminary evidence shows that a learning process is accomplished. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Using Multiple Intelligences to Teach Tennis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Melanie; Kernodle, Michael

2004-01-01

Physical education classes will have students with special needs, at different skill levels, from various cultures, and of different genders. In order to be an effective physical educator, the teacher needs to design and provide experiences that nurture the development of all children. In 1983, Howard Gardner proposed that there were many…

Ideas and Activities for Physical Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiappetta, Eugene L., Ed.

This manual is designed to supplement an existing physical science curriculum and to assist in providing the learning experiences required to implement an effective course. The first chapter outlines the purposes of this manual and provides a set of teaching tips. Topics such as electricity, wave motion, light, sound, periodic table and nuclear…

Considerations for Pursuing a Doctoral Degree in PETE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Emily; Lux, Karen

2012-01-01

The path to becoming a physical education teacher traditionally involves a university-based teacher education program. It is here that aspiring teachers learn basic skills, gain the fundamental knowledge, and experience teaching for the first time. None of this is possible without quality physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty--those…

Comparative Cognitive Task Analyses of Experimental Science and Instructional Laboratory Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wieman, Carl

2015-01-01

Undergraduate instructional labs in physics generate intense opinions. Their advocates are passionate as to their importance for teaching physics as an experimental activity and providing "hands-on" learning experiences, while their detractors (often but not entirely students) offer harsh criticisms that they are pointless, confusing and…

The Primary Schoolteacher and Physical Education: A Review of Research and Implications for Irish Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Tim; Mandigo, James

2012-01-01

This article reviews research on primary physical education (PE). In primary schools around the world PE is taught by the classroom teacher rather than by a PE specialist. Most classroom teachers feel poorly prepared to teach PE programmes that are meaningful to pupils and provide the types of experiences that lead to lifelong participation. This…

High School Teaching and College Performance: Looking for Connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tai, Robert H.

2006-12-01

How much impact does high school have on college? Are decisions about classroom activities and student work in high school physics associated with student performance in college physics? In our paper, we look at several aspects of high school physics including laboratory experiences, homework activities, and classroom activities and their association with college physics grades. Our results revisit in greater depth and earlier analysis carried out a decade earlier.

News Education: Physics Education Networks meeting has global scale Competition: Competition seeks the next Brian Cox Experiment: New measurement of neutrino time-of-flight consistent with the speed of light Event: A day for all those who teach physics Conference: Students attend first Anglo-Japanese international science conference Celebration: Will 2015 be the 'Year of Light'? Teachers: Challenging our intuition in spectacular fashion: the fascinating world of quantum physics awaits Research: Science sharpens up sport Learning: Kittinger and Baumgartner: on a mission to the edge of space International: London International Youth Science Forum calls for leading young scientists Competition: Physics paralympian challenge needs inquisitive, analytical, artistic and eloquent pupils Forthcoming events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-05-01

Education: Physics Education Networks meeting has global scale Competition: Competition seeks the next Brian Cox Experiment: New measurement of neutrino time-of-flight consistent with the speed of light Event: A day for all those who teach physics Conference: Students attend first Anglo-Japanese international science conference Celebration: Will 2015 be the 'Year of Light'? Teachers: Challenging our intuition in spectacular fashion: the fascinating world of quantum physics awaits Research: Science sharpens up sport Learning: Kittinger and Baumgartner: on a mission to the edge of space International: London International Youth Science Forum calls for leading young scientists Competition: Physics paralympian challenge needs inquisitive, analytical, artistic and eloquent pupils Forthcoming events

Teacher and pupil perspectives on the use of Virtual Field Trips as physically active lessons.

PubMed

Norris, E; Shelton, N; Dunsmuir, S; Duke-Williams, O; Stamatakis, E

2015-11-25

Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) are emerging physically active lessons that combine curriculum content with globe-based movement using interactive whiteboards. No research has yet examined the acceptability of these sessions by target users. This study aimed to (1) assess current physically active lesson teaching practices, (2) assess teacher attitudes towards VFTs and (3) investigate pupil perceptions of VFTs. Data was collected from teaching staff interviews (n = 12) and three elementary school pupil focus groups (k = 3, n = 18), with all participants provided with a sample VFT session. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Teachers described VFTs as a flexible teaching tool, allowing inclusive learning across abilities and a range of taught subjects. They stressed a packed curriculum may make delivering VFT sessions problematic and warned that some teachers may be resistant to their use of technology. Pupils enjoyed the ability to move in the classroom and the ability to share a new teaching experience with their peers. This work suggests positive attitudes towards VFTs as novel, physically active lessons and identifies potential teacher concerns for consideration in forthcoming intervention planning. Future experimental work will assess if these attitudes persist during longitudinal exposure to VFTs.

Simple and Beautiful Experiments III by LADY CATS and Science Teachers' group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanemura, M.; Okiharu, F.; Ishii, K.; Onishi, H.; Taniguchi, M.; Uchida, T.; Yasuda, J.; Hoshino, T.; Yoshimura, T.; Hashimoto, T.; Wada, S.; Kinoshita, K.; Ebata, T.; Kawakatsu, H.

2010-07-01

LADY CATS (LADY Creators of Activities for Teaching Science) is an organization of science teachers. Our group includes a lot of female teachers, which is rather unusual in the field of physics. We would like to propose and exhibit beautiful and simple science experiments that can demonstrate the principles of physics to fascinate students' interest. These experiments are easily made and low-cost. It is also aimed to catch female and humanities students' eyes on physics from the view point of female teachers. Furthermore, we believe that these ideas help resolve gender problems and support non-specialist teachers in primary school.

Teaching caring and competence: Student transformation during an older adult focused service-learning course.

PubMed

Brown, Karen M; Bright, Leslie M

2017-11-01

Innovative teaching strategies develop nurses' knowledge, skills, and attitudes while simultaneously integrating the art of caring and transforming attitudes toward adults over age 65. The study's purpose was to explore students' experiences and attitudes toward older adults with cognitive and/or physical limitations as well as the effects on students' knowledge and skills during a baccalaureate nursing, course which included a service-learning experience. Service-learning synthesizes meaningful community service, academic instruction, and reflection. Participants included baccalaureate students enrolled in a service-learning nursing course focused on older adults. This retrospective, qualitative, phenomenological study used reflective journals and an online survey to explore baccalaureate nursing students' experiences toward older adults with cognitive and/or physical limitations. Themes included initial attitudes of anticipation, apprehension, anxiety, and ageist stereotypes. Final attitudes included a "completely changed perspective" of caring, compassion, and respect indicative of a rewarding, "life-changing" experience. Participants cited enhanced learning, especially in the areas of patient-centered care, collaboration, communication, advocacy, empathy, assessment skills, and evidence-based practice. This innovative teaching strategy led to transformed attitudes toward older adults, reduced fear of older adult populations, an increased desire to work with older adults, and the ability to form a transpersonal, caring relationship while enhancing nursing knowledge and skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preservice Teachers' Use of Production and Reproduction Teaching Styles within Multi-Activity and Sport Education Units

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Mitchum; Curtner-Smith, Mathew

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of one component of physical education teacher education on preservice teachers' (PTs) use of Mosston's (1981) spectrum of teaching styles within an early field experience (EFE). Participants were two PTs who were trained to use the spectrum within a methods course and team/turn-taught…

PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION, AND EVALUATION OF MEDIA FOR TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE SCIENCE VIA TELEVISION FOR USE IN SELF INSTRUCTION. FINAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

WHITE, HARVEY E.

THIS IS AN OUTLINE OF PROCEDURES FOLLOWED IN DEVELOPING EXHIBITS SUITABLE AS AUTOINSTRUCTIONAL DEVICES AND AS DEMONSTRATION DEVICES FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS. THE 27 TEACHING EXHIBITS WERE DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND CONCEPTS AND PERFORM EXPERIMENTS IN PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, AND BIOLOGY. SOME OF THE EXHIBITS EMPLOYED…

An Exploration of Higher Education Teaching in Second Life in the Context of Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ata, Ridvan

2016-01-01

This study explores teaching experiences of educators within the virtual world of Second Life (SL) and pedagogical practices adopted. A blended approach is applied by using physical classrooms, BlackboardTM, web-based resources, and the virtual world of SL in an Information Literacy (IL) class for 1st year undergraduate students at an institution…

Towards a high quality high school workforce: A longitudinal, demographic analysis of U.S. public school physics teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rushton, Gregory T.; Rosengrant, David; Dewar, Andrew; Shah, Lisa; Ray, Herman E.; Sheppard, Keith; Watanabe, Lynn

2017-12-01

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 the entire physics teaching workforce had changed; and (iii) if workforce diversity (with respect to race and gender) had changed over time. Our data indicate that trends in these domains have generally been positive, but still fall short of having a highly qualified physics teacher in each classroom. Additionally, the population of physics teachers has more novices and fewer veterans than it did 10 years ago, although veteran physics teachers are not as rare as those in other branches of high school STEM fields. We also analyzed trends in physics teacher race and gender diversity and found them to lag behind other STEM and non-STEM teacher communities. High school physics is still mostly taught by white males with backgrounds from outside of physics. Implications for future policy decisions at the local and national levels are discussed, including attending to the specific needs of degree-holding and non-degree-holding physics teachers separately and localizing teacher recruitment and preparation efforts in regional centers.

A student-centered approach for developing active learning: the construction of physical models as a teaching tool in medical physiology.

PubMed

Rezende-Filho, Flávio Moura; da Fonseca, Lucas José Sá; Nunes-Souza, Valéria; Guedes, Glaucevane da Silva; Rabelo, Luiza Antas

2014-09-15

Teaching physiology, a complex and constantly evolving subject, is not a simple task. A considerable body of knowledge about cognitive processes and teaching and learning methods has accumulated over the years, helping teachers to determine the most efficient way to teach, and highlighting student's active participation as a means to improve learning outcomes. In this context, this paper describes and qualitatively analyzes an experience of a student-centered teaching-learning methodology based on the construction of physiological-physical models, focusing on their possible application in the practice of teaching physiology. After having Physiology classes and revising the literature, students, divided in small groups, built physiological-physical models predominantly using low-cost materials, for studying different topics in Physiology. Groups were followed by monitors and guided by teachers during the whole process, finally presenting the results in a Symposium on Integrative Physiology. Along the proposed activities, students were capable of efficiently creating physiological-physical models (118 in total) highly representative of different physiological processes. The implementation of the proposal indicated that students successfully achieved active learning and meaningful learning in Physiology while addressing multiple learning styles. The proposed method has proved to be an attractive, accessible and relatively simple approach to facilitate the physiology teaching-learning process, while facing difficulties imposed by recent requirements, especially those relating to the use of experimental animals and professional training guidelines. Finally, students' active participation in the production of knowledge may result in a holistic education, and possibly, better professional practices.

Electrochromic WO[subscript 3] Films: Nanotechnology Experiments in Instrumental Analysis and Physical Chemistry Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hepel, Maria

2008-01-01

This experiment teaches students the methodology of investigating novel properties of materials using new instrumental techniques: atomic force microscopy (AFM), electrochemical quartz crystal nanobalance (EQCN), voltammetric techniques (linear potential scan and chronoamperometry), and light reflectance measurements. The unique capabilities of…

STEM education and Fermi problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holubova, Renata

2017-01-01

One of the research areas of Physics education is the study of the educational process. Investigations in this area are aimed for example on the teaching and learning process and its results. The conception of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is discussed - it is one possible approach to the preparation of the curriculum and the focus on the educational process at basic and secondary schools. At schools in the Czech Republic STEM is much more realized by the application of interdisciplinary relations between subjects Physics-Nature-Technique. In both conceptions the aim is to support pupils' creativity, critical thinking, cross-curricular links. In this context the possibility of using Fermi problems in teaching Physics was discussed (as an interdisciplinary and constructivist activity). The aim of our research was the analysis of Fermi problems solving strategies, the ability of pupils to solve Fermi problems. The outcome of our analysis was to find out methods and teaching strategies which are important to use in teaching - how to solve qualitative and interdisciplinary tasks in physics. In this paper the theoretical basis of STEM education and Fermi problems will be presented. The outcome of our findings based on the research activities will be discussed so as our experiences from 10 years of Fermi problems competition that takes place at the Science Faculty, Palacky University in Olomouc. Changes in competencies of solving tasks by our students (from the point of view in terms of modern, activating teaching methods recommended by theory of Physics education and other science subjects) will be identified.

An analysis of the relationship between teachers' acquisition of physics content knowledge and their level of science teaching efficacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marion, Virginia Frances

1998-12-01

The goal of Project Inquiry, a two-year long multiphase study, was to transform the delivery of science instruction from a traditional, textbook driven delivery approach to a hands-on, minds-on, constructivist approach. Teachers from a midwestern urban school district were trained in constructivism while learning physics concepts and content through guided inquiry instruction in collaborative groups. The objectives aimed to increase teachers' content expertise and science teaching efficacy, as well as to have teachers become better facilitators of learning. Phase two of the three phases of Project Inquiry was the focus of this study. Fifty-seven teachers participated in Phase two, which began with an intense two week summer institute in 1995. A longitudinal time-series (OxOO), quasi-experimental research design was used to investigate the relationship between science teaching efficacy scores and gains in physics content knowledge. The data consisted of: (a) six sets of pre and post physics content knowledge test scores (electricity, magnetism, matter and balance); (b) three sets of STEBI-A (inservice), Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument scores, a pre to post, pre to follow-up, and post to follow-up; and (c) demographic variables that were used as covariates, grade taught, years of experience, and postbaccalaureate training. Using the general linear model with an Alpha level of.05, and testing the hypothesized relationships, results indicated that although there were significant positive gains in content knowledge (p =.000) and science teaching efficacy (p =.000), the overall average gains in physics content knowledge were not predictive of gains in either Personal Science Teaching Efficacy or Science Outcome Expectancy. Post hoc analysis used individual content gain scores, in regression models that included the three covariates: grade taught, years of experience, and post baccalaureate training, to test the relationship between knowledge gains and efficacy gains. A series of interactions between significant content areas and the covariates was also run. Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy and Personal Science Teaching Efficacy showed different relationships with the predictor variables. Though gains in specific content areas were related to gains in Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy and Personal Science Teaching Efficacy, gains in Personal Science Teaching Efficacy were further modified by the covariates. These results may reflect not only a more complex relationship between content knowledge gain and Personal Science Teaching Efficacy but also the complex nature of the construct. Evaluation of the physics content knowledge tests revealed that the tests were not valid for evaluating 35 of the 37 identified learning objectives. Although the data did not render valid results, it does give insights into possible relationships that may exist given a more stringent investigation with a valid instrument to measure content knowledge gains. In addition, this study demonstrated the importance of considering the likelihood of interactions among a given set of variables and the covariates. The findings also suggest the possible value of considering the psychological factors associated with the change process when planning professional development programs.

Teaching Contemporary Physics Topics Using Real-Time Data Obtained via the World Wide Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Post-Zwicker, A. P.; Davis, W.; Grip, R.; McKay, M.; Pfaff, R.; Stotler, D. P.

1999-12-01

As a teaching tool, the World Wide Web (WWW) is unprecedented in its ability to transmit information and enhance communication between scientist and student. Just beginning to be developed are sites that actively engage the user in the learning process and provide hands-on methods of teaching contemporary topics. These topics are often not found in the classroom due to the complexity and expense of the laboratory equipment and the WWW is an ideal tool for overcoming this difficulty. This paper presents a model for using the Internet to teach high school students about plasma physics and fusion energy. Students are given access to real-time data, virtual experiments, and communication with professional scientists via email. Preliminary data indicate that student collaboration and student-led learning is encouraged when using the site in the classroom. Scientist/student mentoring is enhanced with this form of communication.

Generation of Graphite Particles by Abrasion and Their Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troy, Raymond Steven

Self-efficacy beliefs that relate to teachers' motivation and performance have been an important area of concern for preservice teacher education. This study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs and the factors associated in a specialized elementary physics content course. In addition, the study is one of few to investigate the relationship between the changes in science self-efficacy beliefs and changes in physical science conceptual understanding. Participants included fifty-one preservice elementary teachers enrolled in two term of the physical science content course. Data collection and analysis procedures included both qualitative and quantitative measures. Data collection included implementation of Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) (Bleicher, 2004) and Physical Science Concept Test as pre- and post-test, two semi-structured interviews with 18 participants (nine each semester), classroom observations and artifacts. A pre-post, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) design was used to test the significance of differences between the pre- and post-surveys across time. Results indicated statistically significant gains in participants' science self-efficacy beliefs on both scales of STEBI-B - personal science teaching beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs. Additionally, a positive moderate relationship between science conceptual understandings and personal science teaching efficacy beliefs was found. Post-hoc analysis of the STEBI-B data was used to select 18 participants for interviews. The participants belonged to each group representing the low, medium and high initial levels of self-efficacy beliefs. Participants' responses indicated positive shifts in their science teacher self-image and confidence to teach science in future. Four categories that represented the course-related factors contributing towards science self-efficacy beliefs included: (1) enhanced science conceptual understandings, (2) active learning experiences, (3) teaching strategies, and (4) instructor as a role-model. Findings suggest that despite of the nature of prior science experiences preservice elementary teachers previously had, an exposure to a course that integrates relevant science content along with modeled instructional strategies can positively impact science self-efficacy beliefs. While some course elements such as active learning experiences and teaching models seemed to impact all groups positively, the low group participants were particularly influenced by the multiple representations of the content and the course instructor as a role model. These findings have important implications for preservice science teacher preparation programs.

Development of preservice elementary teachers' science self- efficacy beliefs and its relation to science conceptual understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menon, Deepika

Self-efficacy beliefs that relate to teachers' motivation and performance have been an important area of concern for preservice teacher education. This study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs and the factors associated in a specialized elementary physics content course. In addition, the study is one of few to investigate the relationship between the changes in science self-efficacy beliefs and changes in physical science conceptual understanding. Participants included fifty-one preservice elementary teachers enrolled in two term of the physical science content course. Data collection and analysis procedures included both qualitative and quantitative measures. Data collection included implementation of Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) (Bleicher, 2004) and Physical Science Concept Test as pre- and post-test, two semi-structured interviews with 18 participants (nine each semester), classroom observations and artifacts. A pre-post, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) design was used to test the significance of differences between the pre- and post-surveys across time. Results indicated statistically significant gains in participants' science self-efficacy beliefs on both scales of STEBI-B - personal science teaching beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs. Additionally, a positive moderate relationship between science conceptual understandings and personal science teaching efficacy beliefs was found. Post-hoc analysis of the STEBI-B data was used to select 18 participants for interviews. The participants belonged to each group representing the low, medium and high initial levels of self-efficacy beliefs. Participants' responses indicated positive shifts in their science teacher self-image and confidence to teach science in future. Four categories that represented the course-related factors contributing towards science self-efficacy beliefs included: (1) enhanced science conceptual understandings, (2) active learning experiences, (3) teaching strategies, and (4) instructor as a role-model. Findings suggest that despite of the nature of prior science experiences preservice elementary teachers previously had, an exposure to a course that integrates relevant science content along with modeled instructional strategies can positively impact science self-efficacy beliefs. While some course elements such as active learning experiences and teaching models seemed to impact all groups positively, the low group participants were particularly influenced by the multiple representations of the content and the course instructor as a role model. These findings have important implications for preservice science teacher preparation programs.

Exploring what contributes to the knowledge development of secondary physics and physical science teachers in a continuous professional development context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelms, April Wagnon

This dissertation used qualitative methodologies, specifically phenomenological research, to investigate what contributes to the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of physics and physical science teachers who participate in a content-specific continuous professional development program. There were five participants in this study. The researcher conducted participant observations and interviews, rated participants degree of reformed teaching practices using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, surveyed participants' self-efficacy beliefs using the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument "A," and rated participants'' level of PCK using the PCK Rubrics.. All data were analyzed, and a composite description of what contributes to physics and physical science teachers' PCK development through a continuous professional development program emerged. A theory also emerged from the participants' experiences pertaining to how teachers' assimilate new conditions into their existing teaching schema, how conditions change teachers' perceptions of their practice, and outcomes of teachers' new ideas towards their practice. This study contributed to the literature by suggesting emergent themes and a theory on the development of physics and physical science teachers' PCK. PCK development is theorized to be a spiral process incorporating new conditions into the spiral as teachers employ new science content knowledge and pedagogical practices in their individual classroom contexts.

Use of Bratwurst Sausage as a Model Cadaver in Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences Lab Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sidebottom, David

2015-01-01

The general physics course that is taught in most departments as a service course for pre-med or pre-health students is undergoing a large shift in course content to better appeal to this group of learners. This revision also extends to the laboratory component, where more emphasis is being placed on teaching physics through biological examples.…

The Value Profile of Physical Education Teachers in Taiwan, ROC

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Hsien-Yung; Silverman, Stephen

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the educational value orientations of physical education teachers in Taiwan, and the relationships of gender, teaching experience, grade level, and the locations in which they work. Value orientations were measured with the Value Orientation Inventory-2, which was translated into complicated Chinese for…

Learning a New Curricular Approach: Mechanisms of Knowledge Acquisition in Preservice Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rovegno, Inez

1992-01-01

Reports a study of preservice physical educators' acquisition of knowledge of a nontraditional movement approach to physical education. Interviews and field observations indicated that before student teaching their knowledge of deeper content objectives was weak. In early field experiences, students attended to aspects of the approach relevant to…

Physics Labs with Flavor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agrest, Mikhail M.

2009-01-01

This paper describes my attempts to look deeper into the so-called "shoot for your grade" labs, started in the '90s, when I began applying my teaching experience in Russia to introductory physics labs at the College of Charleston and other higher education institutions in South Carolina. The term "shoot for your grade" became popular among…

Perceived Differences and Preferred Norms: Dutch Physical Educators Constructing Gendered Ethnicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Doodewaard, Corina; Knoppers, Annelies

2018-01-01

Many physical education (PE) teachers have been challenged by the shift from teaching in primarily ethnic homogenous contexts to multi-ethnic (ME) classes. Teachers in secondary schools often experience difficulty in class management in such classes. This difficulty may limit their ability to create a positive student--teacher relationship and may…

Interactive Screen Experiments--Innovative Virtual Laboratories for Distance Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatherly, P. A.; Jordan, S. E.; Cayless, A.

2009-01-01

The desirability and value of laboratory work for physics students is a well-established principle and issues arise where students are inherently remote from their host institution, as is the case for the UK's Open University. In this paper, we present developments from the Physics Innovations Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning…

A Survey Instrument: General Educators and Students with Physical Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Delar K.

A survey instrument is presented that is designed to explore the in-service training needs of general elementary and secondary teachers as they relate to learners with physical disabilities. It contains 75 items and takes 20-25 minutes to complete. The survey includes questions about the educator's teaching experience, teacher training in special…

High School Physics: An Interactive Instructional Approach That Meets the Next Generation Science Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Shaobo; Mejia, Joel Alejandro; Becker, Kurt; Neilson, Drew

2015-01-01

Improving high school physics teaching and learning is important to the long-term success of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Efforts are currently in place to develop an understanding of science among high school students through formal and informal educational experiences in engineering design activities…

Teaching Perspectives of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers: The Shanghai Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lijuan

2014-01-01

Background: In the physical education (PE) domain, teachers are given the freedom to make important educational decisions. Because of the common assumption that the decisions teachers make are based on a set of educational perspectives, a considerable number of studies have addressed the importance of studying the thinking and beliefs of PE…

Advanced teaching labs in physics - celebrating progress; challenges ahead

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Richard

A few examples of optical physics experiments may help us first reflect on significant progress on how advanced lab initiatives may now be more effectively developed, discussed, and disseminated - as opposed to only 10 or 15 years back. Many cooperative developments of the last decade are having profound impacts on advanced lab workers and students. Central to these changes are the programs of the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) (Immersions, BFY conferences), AAPT (advlab-l server, ComPADRE, apparatus competitions, summer workshops/sessions), APS (Reichert Award, FEd activities and sessions), and the Jonathan F. Reichert Foundation (ALPhA support and institution matched equipment grants for Immersion participants). Broad NSF support has helped undergird several of these initiatives. Two of the most significant challenges before this new advanced lab community are (a) to somehow enhance funding opportunities for teaching equipment and apparatus in an era of minimal NSF equipment support, and (b) to help develop a more complementary relationship between research-based advanced lab pedagogies and the development of fresh physics experiments that help enable the mentoring and experimental challenge of our students.

Exploring teachers' perspectives on the impact of out-of-school science-based programs for secondary level physics classrooms in Nebraska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baquerizo-Birth, Marisol

This exploratory phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of six high school physics teachers in Nebraska regarding their perceptions on the impact of participating in a science-based out-of-school program. By exploring the research question, we discover how this experience relates to these teachers' self-concept and professional growth. Open-ended, semi-structured, one-on-one interviews are used as the data collection method to explore teachers' perceptions. Responses reveal that teachers participating in the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project (CROP) as a means of exploring advanced, extracurricular physics projects perceive their participation as an opportunity for enrichment, collaboration, helping their students, and empowerment. Intertwined in the presented narratives, teachers refer to their schools' limited administrative support as a source of struggle tied to the challenge of balancing school and teaching responsibilities with CROP participants' responsibilities. This study proposes teachers must feel confident with their specific subject area to achieve a progressive view of self, and that supplemental professional development opportunities are crucial to physics teaching.

Problemi e di Fisica e Astronomia ed il metodo di Gerberto docente

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigismondi, Costantino

2015-04-01

Teaching Physics and Astronomy to pupils of 14-19 years old requires nowadays a continuous upgrade of knowledge as well as a capacity of selecting topics. The art of presenting arguments made Gerbert the teacher Rogatus a Pluribus in the end of X century and it is still actual; the proposed series of problems wants to link everyday experiences with the mathematical models of the phenomena, to allow the prediction and explanation of the experimental data. These problems of Physics and Astronomy are “observation oriented”, as the method of Gerbert was to start from the experience to get the theory, and not viceversa. Physics is much more than an “applied Algebra”. In the dispute of Ravenna (980) between Gerbert and Otric from Magdeburg, the primacy of Physics with respect to Mathematics was discussed. In the Italian secondary technical schools there are laboratory activities, while there is nothing similar for Lyceums and for the Astronomy teaching which is limited to a series of notions to be learned without any kind of observation; considered too difficult in polluted skyes.

An inexpensive, multipurpose physical pendulum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, David

2012-10-01

The pendulum is a highly versatile tool for teaching physics. Many special purpose pendula for student experiments have been described.1-4 In this paper, I describe an inexpensive, multipurpose physical pendulum that can function as both a variable gravity and ballistic pendulum. I designed the apparatus for use in a rotational dynamics unit of the AP Physics C mechanics course. The use of a bike wheel hub pivot allows for low-friction, rugged operation that yields results commensurate with those obtained with much more expensive pendula available on the market (typically 500 per unit5), placing these types of experiments within reach of the teacher on a restricted budget.

Case Study: Focus on Personal/Professional Preparation in Physical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

University of South Florida, Tampa. Coll. of Education.

This paper describes a program featuring integrated course sequences and continuous teaching experience that prepares teachers who can create a variety of learning environments that provide meaningful movement experiences for grades K-12,. The 2-year program sequence includes the following elements: (a) selective admissions and retention…

Developing and Piloting Interactive Physics Experiments for Secondary Schools in Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Msoka, Vidate C.; Mtebe, Joel S.; Kissaka, Mussa M.; Kalinga, Ellen C.

2015-01-01

Students in secondary schools in Tanzania have been facing difficulties in conducting laboratory experiments. This has been due to the acute shortage of laboratory facilities and poor teaching methodologies. Consequently, students perceive science subjects as unattractive, difficult and irrelevant to understanding the world around them. An…

Astrophysics on the Lab Bench

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Stephen W.

2010-01-01

In this article some basic laboratory bench experiments are described that are useful for teaching high school students some of the basic principles of stellar astrophysics. For example, in one experiment, students slam a plastic water-filled bottle down onto a bench, ejecting water towards the ceiling, illustrating the physics associated with a…

Virtually Exploring A Pillar Of Experimental Physics: The Hertz Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonanno, A.; Sapia, P.; Camarca, M.; Oliva, A.

2008-05-01

In the present work we report on the implementation and early assessment of a multimedia learning object, developed using the Java programming language, which also integrates in a creative way some internet freely available educational resources, intended to support the teaching/learning process of the historical Hertz experiment.

Coordinating Effective Field Experiences: Recommendations for Cooperating Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEntyre, Kelsey; Baxter, Deborah; Richards, K. Andrew R.

2018-01-01

The role of the cooperating teacher is an integral component of field-based teacher education because the cooperating teacher can bridge the gap between the knowledge developed on campus during physical education teacher education and preservice teachers' field-based learning experiences leading up to and including student teaching. In order to…

The Law of Inertia: How Understanding Its History Can Improve Physics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coelho, Ricardo Lopes

2007-01-01

The law of inertia is a problem in teaching due to the impossibility of showing the proposition experimentally. As we cannot do an experiment to verify the law, we cannot know if it is correct. On the other hand, we know that the science based upon it is successful. A study in the history of mechanics has shown that there are different foundations…

The Blame Game in the Science Preparation of Future Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, Fredrick

2003-10-01

Who is responsible for the general lack of science preparation in our newly certified K-12 teachers? If it is true that teachers "teach as they were taught," then we must look to the college and university departments. The American Physical Society (APS), in partnership with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP), has initiated PhysTEC in concert with national reports calling for the improvement of K-12 science teaching. PhysTEC aims to help physics and education faculty work together to provide an education for future teachers that emphasizes a student-centered, hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning science. An update of the first two years of the project will be given. Program components include: (1) A long-term, active collaboration between the physics and education departments; (2) A full-time Teacher-in-Residence (TIR) program that provides for a local K-12 science teacher to become a full-time participant in assisting faculty with both team-teaching and course revisions; (3) The redesign of content and pedagogy of targeted physics and education courses; and (4) The establishment of a Induction and mentoring program novice science teachers. This includes the participation of physics faculty in increasing and improving a wide array of school experiences. http://www.phystec.org/

Relativity, quantum physics and philosophy in the upper secondary curriculum: challenges, opportunities and proposed approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henriksen, Ellen K.; Bungum, Berit; Angell, Carl; Tellefsen, Cathrine W.; Frågåt, Thomas; Vetleseter Bøe, Maria

2014-11-01

In this article, we discuss how quantum physics and relativity can be taught in upper secondary school, in ways that promote conceptual understanding and philosophical reflections. We present the ReleQuant project, in which web-based teaching modules have been developed. The modules address competence aims in the Norwegian national curriculum for physics (final year of upper secondary education), which is unique in that it includes general relativity, entangled photons and the epistemological consequences of modern physics. These topics, with their high demands on students’ understanding of abstract and counter-intuitive concepts and principles, are challenging for teachers to teach and for students to learn. However, they also provide opportunities to present modern physics in innovative ways that students may find motivating and relevant both in terms of modern technological applications and in terms of contributions to students’ intellectual development. Beginning with these challenges and opportunities, we briefly present previous research and theoretical perspectives with relevance to student learning and motivation in modern physics. Based on this, we outline the ReleQuant teaching approach, where students use written and oral language and a collaborative exploration of animations and simulations as part of their learning process. Finally, we present some of the first experiences from classroom tests of the quantum physics modules.

Recognizing Prefixes in Scientific Quantities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sokolowski, Andrzej

2015-09-01

Although recognizing prefixes in physical quantities is inherent for practitioners, it might not be inherent for students, who do not use prefixes in their everyday life experiences. This deficiency surfaces in AP Physics exams. For example, readers of an AP Physics exam reported "a common mistake of incorrectly converting nanometers to meters." Similar students' mistakes were reported also by AP Chemistry readers "as in previous years, students still had difficulty converting kJ to J." While traditional teaching focuses on memorizing the symbols of prefixes, little attention is given to helping learners recognize a prefix in a given quantity. I noticed in my teaching practice that by making the processes of identifying prefixes more explicit, students make fewer mistakes on unit conversion. Thus, this paper presents an outline of a lesson that focuses on prefix recognition. It is designed for a first-year college physics class; however, its key points can be addressed to any group of physics students.

How Things Work: Teaching Physics in the Context of Everyday Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloomfield, Louis

2015-03-01

How Things Work is an unconventional introduction to physics, a course that starts with whole objects and looks inside them to see what makes them work. Effectively ``case-study physics,'' it is designed primarily for non-science students who are unsure of the role of physics in the world and are looking for relevance in their studies. How Things Work is essentially the generalization of context-based introductory courses (Physics of the Human Body, Physics of the Automobile, and Physics of Music) and demonstrates that when physics is taught in the context of ordinary objects, these students are enthusiastic about it, look forward to classes, ask insightful questions, experiment on their own, and find themselves explaining to friends and family how things in their world work. In this talk, I will discuss the concept and structure of a How Things Work course and look briefly at how to teach its objects and assess what students learn from it. Although this course focuses on concepts rather than on calculations, it is rich in physics and requires that students think hard about the world around them. It also teaches problem solving and logical thinking skills, and demands that students face their misconceptions and failures of intuition. Lastly, it is actually quantitative in many respects, though its results are usually more words than numbers: your weight, the battery's voltage, or the acceleration due to gravity.

Cognitive Disequilibrium and Service-Learning in Physical Education Teacher Education: Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers in a Study Abroad Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Stephen; Pellet, Heidi Henschel; Perez, Mark I.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' experiences of cognitive disequilibrium (CD) theory during a service-learning project in a study abroad experience. Method: A case study with 8 participants was used. Data sources consisted of: Formal interviews, videos of planning, videos of teaching, videos of reflection…

Astro Academy: Principia--Using Tracker to Analyse Experiments Undertaken by Tim Peake on the International Space Station

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mobbs, Robin

2016-01-01

While on the International Space Station, Tim Peake undertook and recorded video files of experiments suitable for physics teaching coordinated by the National Space Academy. This article describes how the video of these experiments was prepared for use with tracking software. The tracking files of the videos are suitable for use by teachers or…

Effect of teaching stress management skills on self-esteem and behavioral adjustment in people with somatomotor disabilities

PubMed Central

Kamalinasab, Z; Mahdavi, A; Ebrahimi, M; Vahidi Nekoo, M; Aghaei, M; Ebrahimi, F

2015-01-01

Objective: Psychological interventions for enhancing mental health in those with somatomotor-physical disabilities are vital. The existing research aimed to examine the effect of teaching stress management skills on self-esteem and behavioral adjustment in individuals with somatomotor-physical disabilities. Methodology: The method of the survey was semi-experimental with a pre-test post-test design and a control group. Hence, in Tehran, 40 girls with somatomotor-physical disabilities were selected by using convenience sampling, and they were divided into two groups: control and experiment. Both groups were tested by using a demography questionnaire, Rozenberg’s self-esteem scale, and a behavioral adjustment questionnaire. Afterwards, the test group received lessons on stress management within ten sessions, but the control group received no interventions. Then both groups were post-tested, and the collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics methods through SPSS software. Findings: Findings showed that teaching stress management skills significantly increased self-esteem and behavioral adjustment in girls with somatomotor-physical disabilities (p < 0.001). Conclusion: According to the study, it could be concluded that teaching stress management skills is an effective way to help endangered individuals such as girls who have somatomotor-physical disabilities because it is highly efficient especially when it is performed in groups, it is cheap, and acceptable by different people. PMID:28316725

A qualitative assessment of faculty perspectives of small group teaching experience in Iraq.

PubMed

Saleh, Abubakir M; Shabila, Nazar P; Dabbagh, Ali A; Al-Tawil, Namir G; Al-Hadithi, Tariq S

2015-02-15

Although medical colleges in Iraq started recently to increasingly use small group teaching approach, there is limited research on the challenges, opportunities and needs of small group teaching in Iraq particularly in Kurdistan Region. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the small group teaching experience in the 4(th) and 5(th) year of study in Hawler College of Medicine with a focus on characterizing the impressions of faculty members about how small group teaching is proceeding in the college. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 20 purposively selected faculty members was conducted. An interview guide was used for data collection that was around different issues related to small group teaching in medical education including planning, preparation, positive aspects, problems facing its implementation, factors related to it and recommendations for improvement. Qualitative data analysis comprised identifying themes that emerged from the review of transcribed interviews. Participants reported some positive experience and a number of positive outcomes related to this experience including better controlling the class, enhancing students' understanding of the subject, increasing interaction in the class, increasing the students' confidence, enhancing more contact between teachers and students, improving the presentation skills of the students and improving the teacher performance. The participants emphasized poor preparation and planning for application of this system and highlighted a number of problems and challenges facing this experience particularly in terms of poor infrastructure and teaching facilities, poor orientation of students and teachers, inadequate course time for some subjects and shortage of faculty members in a number of departments. The main suggestions to improve this experience included improving the infrastructure and teaching facilities, using more interactive teaching methods and better organization and management of the system. Despite what the faculty perceived as the college's failure to provide physical settings or training for small group learning to the faculty and the students, the faculty members were able to articulate positive experiences and outcomes associated with their college's efforts to introduce teaching in smaller group sessions.

Smartphones as Experimental Tools: Different Methods to Determine the Gravitational Acceleration in Classroom Physics by Using Everyday Devices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhn, Jochen; Vogt, Patrik

2013-01-01

New media technology becomes more and more important for our daily life as well as for teaching physics. Within the scope of our N.E.T. research project we develop experiments using New Media Experimental Tools (N.E.T.) in physics education and study their influence on students learning abilities. We want to present the possibilities e.g. of…

How should we teach faculty about research-based teaching?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olmstead, Alice; Turpen, Chandra; Prather, Edward E.

2015-01-01

Faculty professional development (PD) workshops are the primary mechanism used to increase the adoption and adaptation of research-based instructional strategies (RBIS). PD workshops draw in large numbers of physics and astronomy instructors and can serve a critical role in changing instructional practices within our community. Our research focuses on two of the largest and longest-running PD workshops accessible to faculty: the New Physics and Astronomy Faculty Workshop and the Center for Astronomy Education Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop. We seek to reveal opportunities to improve these workshops through increased awareness of instructors' experiences and prior knowledge, and increased awareness of how these workshops are designed and implemented.Other studies often assume that instructors have coherent theories of teaching and learning, and conclude that many have wrong ideas that need to be confronted or 'fixed'. Our approach is to first investigate the ideas that instructors have about teaching and learning, and identify what we call their 'potentially productive resources'. This approach is better suited to inform respectful PD efforts that build on instructors' intuitions, and we have analyzed interviews with several young astronomy/physics faculty members who were about to attend these PD workshops to demonstrate how this approach can be applied. The primary findings of our first study are: 1) instructors are trying out practices that show some alignment with common RBIS; 2) instructors' values show alignment with common discipline-based education research goals; and 3) instructors often experience dissatisfaction with specific aspects of their instruction. Taken together our findings are poised to inform changes to existing PD efforts.Our ongoing research focuses on the development of a real-time observation tool to document what happens during workshops and what learning opportunities these PD practices create for participants. We will show the preliminary results of this work.

Promoting Success in the Physical Sciences: The University of Wisconsin's Physics Learning Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nossal, S. M.; Jacob, A. T.

2002-05-01

The Physics Learning Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides small group, academic and mentoring support for students enrolled in algebra-based introductory physics courses. Those students accepted into our program are potentially at-risk academically in their physics course or for feeling isolated at the University. They include, among others, students who have not taken high school physics, returning adults, minority students, students with disabilities, and students with English as a second language. A core component of the program is the peer-lead teaching and mentoring groups that match upper level undergraduate physics majors with students potentially at-risk in introductory physics. The tutors receive ongoing training and supervision throughout the year. The program has expanded over the years to include staff tutors, the majority of whom are scientists who seek additional teaching experience. The Physics Peer Mentor Tutor Program is run in collaboration with a similar chemistry program at the University of Wisconsin's Chemistry Learning Center. We will describe our Physics Learning Programs and discuss some of the challenges, successes, and strategies used to work with our tutors and students.

Exploring the Job Satisfaction of Late Career Secondary Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, Russell L.; Hemphill, Michael A.; Richards, K. Andrew R.; Templin, Tom

2016-01-01

As teachers move toward the end of their careers, understanding the experiences that help them derive satisfaction from their work has implications for helping them stay engaged in teaching. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the job satisfaction of late career physical education teachers. Jessica, Sandy, and Bill were later…

The Place of Learning Quantum Theory in Physics Teacher Education: Motivational Elements Arising from the Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Körhasan, Nilüfer Didis

2015-01-01

Quantum theory is one of the most successful theories in physics. Because of its abstract, mathematical, and counter-intuitive nature, many students have problems learning the theory, just as teachers experience difficulty in teaching it. Pedagogical research on quantum theory has mainly focused on cognitive issues. However, affective issues about…

Teaching Physics Novices at University: A Case for Stronger Scaffolding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindstrom, Christine; Sharma, Manjula D.

2011-01-01

In 2006 a new type of tutorial, called Map Meeting, was successfully trialled with novice first year physics students at the University of Sydney, Australia. Subsequently, in first semester 2007 a large-scale experiment was carried out with 262 students who were allocated either to the strongly scaffolding Map Meetings or to the less scaffolding…

Computer Self-Efficacy, Computer Anxiety, Performance and Personal Outcomes of Turkish Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aktag, Isil

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the computer self-efficacy, performance outcome, personal outcome, and affect and anxiety level of physical education teachers. Influence of teaching experience, computer usage and participation of seminars or in-service programs on computer self-efficacy level were determined. The subjects of this study…

Teaching a Chemistry MOOC with a Virtual Laboratory: Lessons Learned from an Introductory Physical Chemistry Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Malley, Patrick J.; Agger, Jonathan R.; Anderson, Michael W.

2015-01-01

An analysis is presented of the experience and lessons learned of running a MOOC in introductory physical chemistry. The course was unique in allowing students to conduct experimental measurements using a virtual laboratory constructed using video and simulations. A breakdown of the student background and motivation for taking the course is…

Elementary Classroom Teachers and Physical Education: Change in Teacher-Related Factors during Pre-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Tim; Mandigo, James; Kosnik, Clare

2013-01-01

Background: In many contexts, elementary physical education (PE) classes are taught by the classroom teacher rather than by a PE specialist. Elementary classroom teachers often cite negative attitudes resulting from experiences as school pupils and inadequate pre-service PE teacher education as barriers to teaching a quality PE programme. Purpose:…

Utilizing Alternative Assessment Techniques with Physically Impaired Students To Increase Work Completion and Improve Work Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Traci L.

This paper describes a practicum project that involved teaching 14 students (ages 8 through 13) with physical disabilities (cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy) to plan, organize, and complete projects and assignments independently. The paper explains the low expectations for the students and the students' lack of experience in…

Towards Primary School Physics Teaching and Learning: Design Research Approach. Research Report 256

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juuti, Kalle

2005-01-01

This thesis describes a project to design a primary school physics learning environment which takes into account teachers' needs, design procedures, properties of the learning environment, and pupil learning outcomes. The project's design team has wide experience in research and development work in relation to science education, the use of ICT in…

Demonstration Experiments for Solid-State Physics Using a Table-Top Mechanical Stirling Refrigerator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osorio, M. R.; Morales, A. Palacio; Rodrigo, J. G.; Suderow, H.; Vieira, S.

2012-01-01

Liquid-free cryogenic devices are acquiring importance in basic science and engineering. But they can also lead to improvements in teaching low temperature and solid-state physics to graduate students and specialists. Most of the devices are relatively expensive, but small-sized equipment is slowly becoming available. Here, we have designed…

Nonlinear Pedagogy and Its Role in Encouraging Twenty-First Century Competencies through Physical Education: A Singapore Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Miriam Chang Yi; Chow, Jia Yi; Button, Chris; Tan, Clara Wee Keat

2017-01-01

Nonlinear Pedagogy is an exploratory approach to teaching and learning Physical Education that can be potentially effective to help children acquire relevant twenty-first century competencies. Underpinned by Ecological Dynamics, the focus of Nonlinear Pedagogy is on the learner and includes the provision of less prescriptive instructions and…

Why School-Based Narrative Inquiry in Physical Education Research? An International Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craig, Cheryl J.; You, JeongAe; Oh, Suhak

2012-01-01

While conducting a comparative research study in secondary Physical Education in South Korea and the United States, the question arose as to why the narrative inquiry research method we employed was chosen to study the experiences of teachers teaching the particular subject area to youth enrolled in four secondary schools (middle and high) in…

The Influence of Occupational Socialisation upon the Teaching of Pupils Experiencing Social and Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Leary, Nick; Longmore, Carl; Medcalf, Richard

2015-01-01

Research within physical education (PE) utilising the occupational socialisation framework indicates that the childhood phase of socialisation is the most powerful phase of socialisation. However, for most teachers working with pupils experiencing special educational needs (SEN), the childhood phase often lacks direct experience of SEN and thus…

Including Overweight and Obese Students in Physical Education: An Urgent Need and Effective Teaching Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Huanyu; Li, Weidong; Zhao, Qi; Li, Mingda

2017-01-01

Students who are overweight or obese generally have low physical ability and fitness levels, experience serious weight-related health implications, are teased and excluded by their peers, and suffer psycho-social and emotional damages as a result of weight stigma. Overweight and obese students have presented an unprecedented challenge for teachers…

Physical Computing for STEAM Education: Maker-Educators' Experiences in an Online Graduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Yu-Chang; Ching, Yu-Hui; Baldwin, Sally

2018-01-01

This research explored how K-16 educators learned physical computing, and developed as maker-educators in an online graduate course. With peer support and instructor guidance, these educators designed maker projects using Scratch and Makey Makey, and developed educational maker proposals with plans of teaching the topics of their choice in STEAM…

Visualization of polarization state and its application in optics classroom teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Bing; Liu, Wei; Shi, Jianhua; Wang, Wei; Yao, Tianfu; Liu, Shugang

2017-08-01

Polarization of light and the related knowledge are key and difficult points in optical teaching, and they are difficult to be understood since they are very abstract concepts. To help students understand the polarization properties of light, some classroom demonstration experiments have been constructed by employing the optical source, polarizers, wave plates optical cage system and polarization axis finder (PAF). The PAF is a polarization indicating device with many linear polarizing components concentric circles, which can visualize the polarization axis's direction of linearly polarized light intuitively. With the help of these demonstration experiment systems, the conversion and difference between the linear polarized light and circularly polarized light have been observed directly by inserting or removing a quarter-wave plate. The rotation phenomenon of linearly polarized light's polarization axis when it propagates through an optical active medium has been observed and studied in experiment, and the strain distribution of some mounted and unmounted lenses have also been demonstrated and observed in experiment conveniently. Furthermore, some typical polarization targets, such as liquid crystal display (LCD), polarized dark glass and skylight, have been observed based on PAF, which is quite suitable to help students understand these targets' polarization properties and the related physical laws. Finally, these demonstration experimental systems have been employed in classroom teaching of our university in physical optics, optoelectronics and photoelectric detection courses, and they are very popular with teachers and students.

Linking teaching and research in an undergraduate course and exploring student learning experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallin, Patric; Adawi, Tom; Gold, Julie

2017-01-01

In this case study, we first describe how teaching and research are linked in a master's course on tissue engineering. A central component of the course is an authentic research project that the students carry out in smaller groups and in collaboration with faculty. We then explore how the students experience learning in this kind of discovery-oriented environment. Data were collected through a survey, reflective writing, and interviews. Using a general inductive approach for qualitative analysis, we identified three themes related to the students' learning experiences: learning to navigate the field, learning to do real research, and learning to work with others. Overall, the students strongly valued learning in a discovery-oriented environment and three aspects of the course contributed to much of its success: taking a holistic approach to linking teaching and research, engaging students in the whole inquiry process, and situating authentic problems in an authentic physical and social context.

Facilitating Small-Scale Implementation of Inquiry-Based Teaching: Encounters and Experiences of Experimento Multipliers in One South African Province

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dudu, Washington Takawira

2017-01-01

This paper explores the experiences of 37 physical science high school teachers who participated in a professional development (PD) programme coordinated by three Experimento multipliers. The Experimento programme is a Siemens Stiftung international educational programme aimed at providing didactic and methodological approaches to classroom…

Reichert Award Talk: Preparing Physics Students in an Era of Virtual Reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akerlof, Carl; Torres-Isea, Ramón

2015-03-01

Like many other institutions with a large and active faculty, the University of Michigan Physics Department has a rich curriculum of undergraduate courses that focus on the use of 19th Century mathematics to understand the behavior of matter and energy. Most people who have pursued a career in this field appreciate that success usually depends on a much wider variety of skills. Addressing those needs has been the major emphasis of our undergraduate advanced lab program. This covers a broad range of topics. First of all, physics will continue to enlarge its encroachment into new areas. Thus, we have added experiments in radio astrophysics and non-linear dynamics. Computational and statistical methods are integrated into the experiments as appropriate and development of effective communication skills is heavily stressed. While there are efforts elsewhere to replace traditional hands- on experimentation with simulations, interactive video-based laboratory modules, and remotely controlled laboratory experiments, we consider these tools to be appropriate only for pre-lab and post-lab activities. None of these tools can provide the long-lasting experimental skills and knowledge-packed memories that a well-designed teaching experiment can. Hence, we choose to focus on providing a comprehensive list of experiments in a safe, well-equipped, teaching environment. The overall guiding principle is to provide a multi-faceted introduction to a rewarding career in science.

A narrative inquiry into teaching physics as inquiry: An examination of in-service exemplars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Paige K.

Studies show that teachers who have experienced inquiry are more likely to practice the inquiry method in their own classrooms (McDermott, 2007; Olson, 1995; Pereira, 2005; Windschitl, 2002). This study explores changes in science teachers' personal practical knowledge (Clandinin, 1986) after participating in a graduate level physics inquiry course and subsequent professional development throughout the school year. In addition, teacher participants were studied to determine the roadblocks they encountered when altering curriculum mandates in ways that would enable them to work with the inquiry method. The results of this course and subsequent professional development sessions were analyzed for the benefits of using the inquiry method to teacher learning and to ascertain whether the teacher participants would be more apt to employ the inquiry method in their own classrooms. Moreover, the results of this study were analyzed to inform my personal practice as a leader preparing undergraduate science teachers in the teachHOUSTON program as well as in my continuing work with in-service teachers. An inquiry course may be added to the teachHOUSTON course sequence, based on the discoveries unearthed by this thesis study. This research study is conducted as a narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 1992, 2000; Craig, 2011; Polkinghorne, 1995) where story works as both a research method and a form of representation (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). Narrative inquiry is strongly influenced by John Dewey (1938) who believed that one must rely on past experiences and knowledge to solve current and future problems and that life experience is in fact education. This study inquires into the narratives of two teachers who are teaching secondary science in public schools. These stories illuminate the teachers' lived experiences as they co-constructed curriculum with their students. The images of teacher as a curriculum maker vs. teacher as a curriculum implementer (Craig & Ross, 2008; Craig, 2010) demonstrate what needs to be taken into account when teachers live physics curriculum alongside their students in physics classroom settings. The exemplars featured in this thesis illuminate teachers' developing knowledge as they expand their understandings of inquiry in a physics inquiry course undertaken for professional development purposes and their subsequent enactment of science curriculum in their own classrooms with their students as they, too, inquire into physics.

IBPRO - A Novel Short-Duration Teaching Course in Advanced Physics and Biology Underlying Cancer Radiotherapy.

PubMed

Joiner, Michael C; Tracey, Monica W; Kacin, Sara E; Burmeister, Jay W

2017-06-01

This article provides a summary and status report of the ongoing advanced education program IBPRO - Integrated course in Biology and Physics of Radiation Oncology. IBPRO is a five-year program funded by NCI. It addresses the recognized deficiency in the number of mentors available who have the required knowledge and skill to provide the teaching and training that is required for future radiation oncologists and researchers in radiation sciences. Each year, IBPRO brings together 50 attendees typically at assistant professor level and upwards, who are already qualified/certified radiation oncologists, medical physicists or biologists. These attendees receive keynote lectures and activities based on active learning strategies, merging together the clinical, biological and physics underpinnings of radiation oncology, at the forefront of the field. This experience is aimed at increasing collaborations, raising the level and amount of basic and applied research undertaken in radiation oncology, and enabling attendees to confidently become involved in the future teaching and training of researchers and radiation oncologists.

IBPRO – a novel short-duration teaching course in advanced physics and biology underlying cancer radiotherapy

PubMed Central

Joiner, Michael C.; Tracey, Monica W.; Kacin, Sara E.; Burmeister, Jay W.

2017-01-01

This article provides a summary and status report of the ongoing advanced education program IBPRO – Integrated course in Biology and Physics of Radiation Oncology. IBPRO is a five-year program funded by NCI. It addresses the recognized deficiency in the number of mentors available who have the required knowledge and skill to provide the teaching and training that is required for future radiation oncologists and researchers in radiation sciences. Each year, IBPRO brings together 50 attendees typically at assistant professor level and upwards, who are already qualified/certified radiation oncologists, medical physicists or biologists. These attendees receive keynote lectures and activities based on active learning strategies, merging together the clinical, biological and physics underpinnings of radiation oncology, at the forefront of the field. This experience is aimed at increasing collaborations, raising the level and amount of basic and applied research undertaken in radiation oncology, and enabling attendees to confidently become involved in the future teaching and training of researchers and radiation oncologists. PMID:28328309

Construction of the radiation oncology teaching files system for charged particle radiotherapy.

PubMed

Masami, Mukai; Yutaka, Ando; Yasuo, Okuda; Naoto, Takahashi; Yoshihisa, Yoda; Hiroshi, Tsuji; Tadashi, Kamada

2013-01-01

Our hospital started the charged particle therapy since 1996. New institutions for charged particle therapy are planned in the world. Our hospital are accepting many visitors from those newly planned medical institutions and having many opportunities to provide with the training to them. Based upon our experiences, we have developed the radiation oncology teaching files system for charged particle therapy. We adopted the PowerPoint of Microsoft as a basic framework of our teaching files system. By using our export function of the viewer any physician can create teaching files easily and effectively. Now our teaching file system has 33 cases for clinical and physics contents. We expect that we can improve the safety and accuracy of charged particle therapy by using our teaching files system substantially.

Activity-Based Introductory Physics Reform *

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Ronald

2004-05-01

Physics education research has shown that learning environments that engage students and allow them to take an active part in their learning can lead to large conceptual gains compared to those of good traditional instruction. Examples of successful curricula and methods include Peer Instruction, Just in Time Teaching, RealTime Physics, Workshop Physics, Scale-Up, and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs). RealTime Physics promotes interaction among students in a laboratory setting and makes use of powerful real-time data logging tools to teach concepts as well as quantitative relationships. An active learning environment is often difficult to achieve in large lecture sessions and Workshop Physics and Scale-Up largely eliminate lectures in favor of collaborative student activities. Peer Instruction, Just in Time Teaching, and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) make lectures more interactive in complementary ways. This presentation will introduce these reforms and use Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) with the audience to illustrate the types of curricula and tools used in the curricula above. ILDs make use real experiments, real-time data logging tools and student interaction to create an active learning environment in large lecture classes. A short video of students involved in interactive lecture demonstrations will be shown. The results of research studies at various institutions to measure the effectiveness of these methods will be presented.

SU-F-E-15: Initial Experience Implementing a Case Method Teaching Approach to Radiation Oncology Physics Residents, Graduate Students and Doctorate of Medical Physics Students

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gutierrez, A

Purpose: Case Method Teaching approach is a teaching tool used commonly in business school to challenge students with real-world situations—i.e. cases. The students are placed in the role of the decision maker and have to provide a solution based on the multitude of information provided. Specifically, students must develop an ability to quickly make sense of a complex problem, provide a solution incorporating all of the objectives (at time conflicting) and constraints, and communicate that solution in a succinct, professional and effective manner. The validity of the solution is highly dependent on the auxiliary information provided in the case andmore » the basic didactic knowledge of the student. A Case Method Teaching approach was developed and implemented into an on-going course focused on AAPM Task Group reports at UTHSCSA. Methods: A current course at UTHSCSA reviews and discusses 15 AAPM Task Group reports per semester. The course is structured into three topic modules: Imaging QA, Stereotactic Radiotherapy, and Special Patient Measurements—i.e. pacemakers, fetal dose. After a topic module is complete, the students are divided into groups (2–3 people) and are asked to review a case study related to the module topic. Students then provide a solution presented in an executive summary and class presentation. Results: Case studies were created to address each module topic. Through team work and whole-class discussion, a collaborative learning environment was established. Students additionally learned concepts such vendor relations, financial negotiations, capital project management, and competitive strategy. Conclusion: Case Method Teaching approach is an effective teaching tool to further enhance the learning experience of radiation oncology physics students by presenting them with though-provoking dilemmas that require students to distinguish pertinent from peripheral information, formulate strategies and recommendations for action, and confront obstacles to implementation.« less

Experiences of using mobile technologies and virtual field tours in Physical Geography: implications for hydrology education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kingston, D. G.; Eastwood, W. J.; Jones, P. I.; Johnson, R.; Marshall, S.; Hannah, D. M.

2012-05-01

Education in hydrology is changing rapidly due to diversification of students, emergent major scientific and practical challenges that our discipline must engage with, shifting pedagogic ideas and higher education environments, the need for students to develop new discipline specific and transferrable skills, and the advent of innovative technologies for learning and teaching. This paper focuses on new technologies in the context of learning and teaching in Physical Geography and reflects on the implications of our experiences for education in hydrology. We evaluate the experience of designing and trialling novel mobile technology-based field exercises and a virtual field tour for a Year 1 undergraduate Physical Geography module at a UK university. The new exercises are based on using and obtaining spatial data, operation of meteorological equipment (explained using an interactive DVD), and include introductions to global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS). The technology and exercises were well received in a pilot study and subsequent rolling-out to the full student cohort (∼150 students). A statistically significant improvement in marks was observed following the redesign. Although the students enjoyed using mobile technology, the increased interactivity and opportunity for peer learning were considered to be the primary benefits by students. This is reinforced further by student preference for the new interactive virtual field tour over the previous "show-and-tell" field exercise. Despite the new exercises having many advantages, exercise development was not trivial due to the high start-up costs, the need for provision of sufficient technical support and the relative difficulty of making year-to-year changes (to the virtual field tour in particular). Our experiences are highly relevant to the implementation of novel learning and teaching technologies in hydrology education.

Experiences of using mobile technologies and virtual fieldtrips in Physical Geography: implications for hydrology education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kingston, D. G.; Eastwood, W. J.; Jones, P. I.; Johnson, R.; Marshall, S.; Hannah, D. M.

2011-12-01

Education in hydrology is changing rapidly due to diversification of students, emergent major scientific and practical challenges that our discipline must engage with, shifting pedagogic ideas and higher education environments, the need for students to develop new discipline specific and transferrable skills, and the advent of innovative technologies for learning and teaching. This paper focuses on new technologies in the context of learning and teaching in Physical Geography and reflects on the implications of our experiences for education in hydrology. We evaluate the experience of designing and trialling novel mobile technology-based field exercises and a virtual field trip for a Year 1 undergraduate Physical Geography module at a UK university. The new exercises are based on using and obtaining spatial data, operation of meteorological equipment (explained using an interactive DVD), and include introductions to global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS). The technology and exercises were well received in a pilot study and subsequent rolling-out to the full student cohort (∼150 students). A statistically significant improvement in marks was observed following the redesign. Although the students enjoyed using mobile technology, the increased interactivity and opportunity for peer learning were considered to be the primary benefits by students. This is reinforced further by student preference for the new interactive virtual field trip over the previous "show-and-tell" field exercise. Despite the new exercises having many advantages, exercise development was not trivial due to the high start-up costs, the need for provision of sufficient technical support and the relative difficulty of making year-to-year changes (to the virtual field trip in particular). We believe our experiences are directly relevant to the implementation of such novel learning and teaching technologies in hydrology education.

Lessons learned: A case study of an integrated way of teaching introductory physics to at-risk students at Rutgers University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etkina, E.; Gibbons, K.; Holton, B. L.; Horton, G. K.

1999-09-01

In order to provide a physics instructional environment in which at-risk students (particularly women and minorities) can successfully learn and enjoy introductory physics, we have introduced Extended General Physics as an option for science, science teaching, and pre-health professions majors at Rutgers University. We have taught the course for the last five years. In this new course, we have used many elements that have been proven to be successful in physics instruction. We have added a new component, the minilab, stressing qualitative experiments performed by the students. By integrating all the elements, and structuring the time the students invest in the course, we have created a successful program for students-at-risk, indeed for all students. Our aim was not only to foster successful mastery of the traditional physics syllabus by the students, but to create a sense of community through the cooperation of students with each other and their instructors. We present a template for implementation of our program elsewhere.

On Her Majesty's Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, J. Robert

1972-01-01

Presents a quick overview of British Educational System based upon the author's year of experience in a British Grammar School under Teacher Exchange Program. Significant points to note are: student selection procedures for universities, examination system, and physics teaching. (PS)

TEACHING PHYSICS: A computer-based revitalization of Atwood's machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trumper, Ricardo; Gelbman, Moshe

2000-09-01

Atwood's machine is used in a microcomputer-based experiment to demonstrate Newton's second law with considerable precision. The friction force on the masses and the moment of inertia of the pulley can also be estimated.

Laboratory preparation questionnaires as a tool for the implementation of the Just in Time Teaching in the Physics I laboratories: Research training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, David A.; Sanchez, Melba J.; Forero, Oscar M.

2017-06-01

The implementation of the JiTT (Just in Time Teaching) strategy is presented to increase the previous preparation of students enrolled in the subject Physics Laboratory I offered at the Industrial University of Santander (UIS), Colombia. In this study, a laboratory preparation questionnaire (CPL) was applied as a tool for the implementation of JiTT combined with elements of mediated learning. It was found that the CPL allows to improve the students’ experience regarding the preparation of the laboratory and the development of the experimental session. These questionnaires were implemented in an academic manager (Moodle) and a web application (lab.ciencias.uis.edu.co) was used to publish the contents essential for the preparation of the student before each practical session. The most significant result was that the students performed the experimental session with the basic knowledge to improve their learning experience.

Investigating the role of sliding friction in rolling motion: a teaching sequence based on experiments and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Ambrosis, Anna; Malgieri, Massimiliano; Mascheretti, Paolo; Onorato, Pasquale

2015-05-01

We designed a teaching-learning sequence on rolling motion, rooted in previous research about student conceptions, and proposing an educational reconstruction strongly centred on the role of friction in different cases of rolling. A series of experiments based on video analysis is used to highlight selected key concepts and to motivate students in their exploration of the topic; and interactive simulations, which can be modified on the fly by students to model different physical situations, are used to stimulate autonomous investigation in enquiry activities. The activity sequence was designed for students on introductory physics courses and was tested with a group of student teachers. Comparisons between pre- and post-tests, and between our results and those reported in the literature, indicate that students’ understanding of rolling motion improved markedly and some typical difficulties were overcome.

Oersted Medal Lecture, January 6, 2015: AAPT, TPT, and Me

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamola, Karl C.

2016-01-01

AAPT established The Physics Teacher more than 50 years ago as a magazine for high school teachers. Over the decades, the publication has evolved in a number of important ways, and I was privileged to play a part in that evolution. I will describe some of the important preparation I received for that role and share some of the insights I gained during my 13 years as editor. I'll outline the history of The Physics Teacher, leading to its eventually becoming a peer-reviewed journal serving a very broad audience. I will also discuss TPT's role in the physics teaching community and the important positive influence it has had on the evolution of AAPT. I'll conclude with some observations and conclusions drawn from my more than 40 years of teaching experience.

Integrating Service-Learning Pedagogy for Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Identity Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Rachel E.; Bradbury, Leslie U.; McGlasson, Martha A.

2015-04-01

The purpose of this article is to explore how preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) interpreted their service-learning experiences within a pre-methods environmentally focused course and how their interpretations shaped their science teaching identities. Along a continuum of service-learning experiences were events that emphasized science learning, that focused on science teaching, and that were transitional, with elements of both science learning and science teaching. These various service-learning experiences were designed to be "boundary experiences" for professional identity development (Geijsel & Meijers in Educational Studies, 3(4), 419-430, 2005), providing opportunities for PSETs to reflect on meanings in cultural contexts and how they are related to their own personal meanings. We analyzed written reflections and end-of-course oral reflection interviews from 42 PSETs on their various service-learning experiences. PSETs discussed themes related to the meanings they made of the service-learning experiences: (a) experiencing science in relation to their lives as humans and future teachers, (b) interacting with elementary students and other PSETs, and (c) making an impact in the physical environment and in the community. The connections that PSETs were making between the discursive spaces (service-learning contexts) and their own meaning-making of these experiences (as connected to their own interests in relation to their future professions and daily lives) shows evidence of the potential that various types of science service-learning experiences have for PSETs in developing inbound science teaching identity trajectories (Wenger in Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). The findings of this study point to positive outcomes for PSETs when they participate in structured service-learning experiences along a learning to teaching continuum (246).

Training to Teach Physical Education in a Grammar School for Boys: Female Narratives and Mentor Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stidder, Gary

2014-01-01

This research examines the school-based training experiences of a female trainee teacher of physical education (Emily) at a grammar school for boys. The purpose of this research is to consider whether the sex of the trainee teacher either inhibits or advances the professional development of trainee teachers in an opposite-sex school. Emily…

Using Soda Cans to Teach Physical Science Students about Density

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanger, Michael J.; Humphreys, Teari C.; LaPorte, Mark M.

2009-01-01

In this experiment, physical science students measured the mass of several soda cans, measured the mass and volume of water displaced when these cans were placed in water, and determined whether these cans sank or floated in water. Then, the students plotted graphs of the mass of displaced water versus the volume of displaced water, the mass of…

THE STRATEGY OF THE TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE--AN APPLICATION TO LEARNING RUSSIAN.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ASHER, JAMES J.

THE ESSENCE OF THE TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE IS THAT LEARNERS ARE SILENT, LISTEN TO A COMMAND IN THE LANGUAGE BEING TAUGHT, THEN, OBEY THE COMMAND BY ACTING IT OUT WITH THE INSTRUCTOR AS A MODEL. THE METHOD WAS APPLIED TO TEACHING RUSSIAN AFTER AN INITIAL EXPERIMENT HAD BEEN TRIED WITH JAPANESE. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP ACTED OUT THE COMMANDS. THE…

InterPlay: A Tool for Cultivating Expression in Technique Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Sarah

2013-01-01

In her experience teaching modern dance at a range of institutions, the author has noticed that even as many students exhibit superior physical skill in technique class, most are lacking when it comes to expression. From large university BFA to smaller liberal arts programs, she finds that her students often fall into a land of physical imitation,…

An Intelligent and Interactive Simulation and Tutoring Environment for Exploring and Learning Simple Machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myneni, Lakshman Sundeep

Students in middle school science classes have difficulty mastering physics concepts such as energy and work, taught in the context of simple machines. Moreover, students' naive conceptions of physics often remain unchanged after completing a science class. To address this problem, I developed an intelligent tutoring system, called the Virtual Physics System (ViPS), which coaches students through problem solving with one class of simple machines, pulley systems. The tutor uses a unique cognitive based approach to teaching simple machines, and includes innovations in three areas. (1) It employs a teaching strategy that focuses on highlighting links among concepts of the domain that are essential for conceptual understanding yet are seldom learned by students. (2) Concepts are taught through a combination of effective human tutoring techniques (e.g., hinting) and simulations. (3) For each student, the system identifies which misconceptions he or she has, from a common set of student misconceptions gathered from domain experts, and tailors tutoring to match the correct line of scientific reasoning regarding the misconceptions. ViPS was implemented as a platform on which students can design and simulate pulley system experiments, integrated with a constraint-based tutor that intervenes when students make errors during problem solving to teach them and to help them. ViPS has a web-based client-server architecture, and has been implemented using Java technologies. ViPS is different from existing physics simulations and tutoring systems due to several original features. (1). It is the first system to integrate a simulation based virtual experimentation platform with an intelligent tutoring component. (2) It uses a novel approach, based on Bayesian networks, to help students construct correct pulley systems for experimental simulation. (3) It identifies student misconceptions based on a novel decision tree applied to student pretest scores, and tailors tutoring to individual students based on detected misconceptions. ViPS has been evaluated through usability and usefulness experiments with undergraduate engineering students taking their first college-level engineering physics course and undergraduate pre-service teachers taking their first college-level physics course. These experiments demonstrated that ViPS is highly usable and effective. Students using ViPS reduced their misconceptions, and students conducting virtual experiments in ViPS learned more than students who conducted experiments with physical pulley systems. Interestingly, it was also found that college students exhibited many of the same misconceptions that have been identified in middle school students.

The Effect of the Computer Assisted Teaching and 7e Model of the Constructivist Learning Methods on the Achievements and Attitudes of High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gönen, Selahattin; Kocakaya, Serhat; Inan, Cemil

2006-01-01

This study provides a comparative effect study of the Computer Assisted Teaching and the 7E model of the Constructivist Learning methods on attitudes and achievements of the students in physics classes. The experiments have been carried out in a private high school in Diyarbakir/Turkey on groups of first year students whose pre-test scores of…

Examining the development of knowledge for teaching a novel introductory physics curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seung, Eulsun

The purpose of this study was to investigate how graduate physics teaching assistants (TAs) develop professional knowledge for teaching a new undergraduate introductory physics curriculum, Matter and Interactions (M&I ). M&I has recently been adopted as a novel introductory physics course that focuses on the application of a small number of fundamental physical principles on the atomic and molecular nature of matter. In this study, I examined the process of five TAs' development of knowledge for implementing the M&I course---from the time they engaged in an M&I content and methods workshop through their first semester as TAs for the course. Through a qualitative, multiple case study research design, data was collected from multiple sources: non-participant observations, digitally recorded video, semi-structured interviews, TAs' written reflections, and field notes. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The TAs' knowledge for teaching M&I was identified in three domains: pedagogical content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and subject matter knowledge. First, the three components of TAs' pedagogical content knowledge were identified: knowledge of the goals of M&I, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of students' learning. Second, pedagogical knowledge that the TAs demonstrated during the study fell predominantly into the category of classroom management and organization. The knowledge of classroom management and organization was categorized into two components: time management skills and group composition. Last, the TAs' subject matter knowledge that they developed through their M&I teaching experience was described in terms of the conceptual structure of the M&I curriculum, the new approach of the M&I curriculum, and specific topic knowledge. The TAs' knowledge for teaching developed from propositional knowledge to personal practical knowledge, and the process of knowledge development consisted of three phases: accepting, actualizing, and internalizing. In addition, the TAs' knowledge developed by combining various components of knowledge for teaching. Two factors that influenced the TAs' knowledge development were identified. First, the TAs' goals in the recitation class and their goals for the checkpoints in the laboratory class influenced their knowledge development. Second, various dilemmas that the TAs encountered during their teaching practice affected the TAs' knowledge development.

The impact of three instructional styles of teaching physics on students' achievement and attitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Arfaj, Maher Mohammed

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of three instructional styles (traditional teaching, problem-based instruction, and teaching by demonstration) of teaching physics on students' attitudes and achievement. The sample consisted of 106 Saudi students in three physics classes in the second semester of the academic year 1998--1999. Three instruments were used in collecting the data for both quantitative and qualitative parts of the study. For the quantitative part, the researcher developed and pilot tested a 35-item questionnaire with versions to measure students' attitudes before the start of the experiment and then to measure students' attitudes toward the method of teaching. In addition, the researcher developed a 12-item achievement test to measure students gain scores which was administered at the beginning and the end of the treatment. For the qualitative part, the researcher constructed an interview guide consisting of five-open ended questions. The questions were geared to discover students' attitudes toward the implemented instructional style, and if this instructional style assisted them to acquire a good understanding of the studied unit. In the quantitative part, the results showed a significant correlation between students' attitudes toward the method of teaching and their achievement on the posttests. Furthermore, the findings from the one-way ANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference among the three groups in terms of achievement. The mean of achievement gain scores was highest for the problem-based group, followed by the group that was taught by demonstration, and then the traditional teaching group. The findings from the ANOVA indicated that there was also no significant difference between the three groups in terms of attitudes. In the qualitative part, the answers of the five questions revealed four themes: attitudes toward the method of teaching, reasons for liking or disliking the method of teaching, methods of teaching role and academic achievement, and suggestions for improving the method of teaching.

Bridging Physics and Biology Using Resistance and Axons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyer, Joshua M.

2014-11-01

When teaching physics, it is often difficult to get biology-oriented students to see the relevance of physics.1 A complaint often heard is that biology students are required to take physics for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) as part of a "weeding out" process, but that they don't feel like they need physics for biology. Despite this impression held by students, there have been calls for better physics education for future physicians and life scientists.2,3 Research is being performed to improve physics classes and labs by linking topics in biology and physics.4,5 Described here is a laboratory experiment covering the topics of resistance of materials and circuits/Kirchhoff's laws in a biology context with their direct application to neurons, axons, and electrical impulse transmission within animals. This experiment will also demonstrate the mechanism believed to cause multiple sclerosis. The apparatus was designed with low-cost and readily available materials in mind.

Symmetry and aesthetics in introductory physics: An experiment in interdisciplinary physics and fine arts education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Veen, Janet Krause

In a recent editorial in Physics Today (July, 2006, p. 10) the ability of physicists to "imagine new realities" was correlated with what have been traditionally considered non-scientific qualities of imagination and creativity, which are usually associated with fine arts. In view of the current developments in physics of the 21st Century, including the searches for cosmic dark energy and evidence from the Large Hadron Collider which, it is hoped, will verify or refute the proposals of String Theory, the importance of developing creativity and imagination through education is gaining recognition. Two questions are addressed by this study: First, How can we bring the sense of aesthetics and creativity, which are important in the practice of physics, into the teaching and learning of physics at the introductory college level, without sacrificing the mathematical rigor which is necessary for proper understanding of physics? Second, How can we provide access to physics for a diverse population of students which includes physics majors, arts majors, and future teachers? An interdisciplinary curriculum which begins with teaching math as a language of nature, and utilizes arts to help visualize the connections between mathematics and the physical universe, may provide answers to these questions. In this dissertation I describe in detail the case study of the eleven students - seven physics majors and four arts majors - who participated in an experimental course, Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics, in Winter Quarter, 2007, at UCSB's College of Creative Studies. The very positive results of this experiment suggest that this model deserves further testing, and could provide an entry into the study of physics for physics majors, liberal arts majors, future teachers, and as a foundation for media arts and technology programs.

UNESCO active learning approach in optics and photonics leads to significant change in Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berrada, K.; Channa, R.; Outzourhit, A.; Azizan, M.; Oueriagli, A.

2014-07-01

There are many difficulties in teaching science and technology in developing countries. Several different teaching strategies have to be applied in these cases. More specifically, for developing countries competencies in teaching science in the introductory classroom has attracted much attention. As a specific example we will consider the Moroccan system. In most developing countries everything is moving so slowly that the progress stays static for development. Also, any change needs time, effort and engagement. In our case we discovered that many teachers feel uncomfortable when introducing new teaching methods and evaluation in classes at introductory physics. However, the introduction of an Active Learning in our curricula showed difficulties that students have in understanding physics and especially concepts. Students were interested in having Active Learning courses much more than passive and traditional ones. Changing believes on physical phenomena and reality of the world students become more attractive and their way of thinking Science changed. The main philosophy of fostering modern hands-on learning techniques -adapted to local needs and availability of teaching resources- is elaborated. The Active Learning program provides the teachers with a conceptual evaluation instrument, drawn from relevant physics education research, giving teachers an important tool to measure student learning. We will try to describe the UNESCO Chair project in physics created in 2010 at Cadi Ayyad University since our first experience with UNESCO ALOP program. Many efforts have been done so far and the project helps now to develop more national and international collaborations between universities and Regional Academies of Education and Training. As a new result of these actions and according to our local needs, the translation of the ALOP program into Arabic is now available under the auspice of UNESCO and encouragement of international partners SPIE, ICTP, ICO and OSA.

Introducing Undergraduates to a Research Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weinberg, Robert

1974-01-01

Discusses a student project which is intended to teach undergraduates concepts and techniques of nuclear physics, experimental methods used in particle detection, and provide experience in a functioning research environment. Included are detailed procedures for carrying out the project. (CC)

P.S.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Australian Science Teachers Journal, 1973

1973-01-01

Presents ideas from readers on techniques and equipment that might be useful in teaching secondary school science. Suggests how to construct cheap wall charts, modify a vacuum cleaner into a blower, construct a stereo microscope lamp holder, and outlines simple physics laboratory experiments. (JR)

Apparatus for Teaching Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottlieb, Herbert H., Ed.

1977-01-01

Describes an electronic digital counter, a speed-of-light experiment using a television, a simple out-of-circuit method for determining if a transistor is made of silicon or germanium, and the use of dry cells to power TTL integrated circuits. (MLH)

Self-directed learning: A heretical experiment in teaching physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silverman, M. P.

1995-06-01

An account is given of the instruction of university-level introductory physics courses according to an educational framework in which (1) curiosity-driven inquiry is recognized as an essential activity of both science and science teaching; (2) the principal role of the instructor is to provide students the incentive to learn science through their pursuit of personally meaningful questions; (3) the commission of errors is regarded as a natural concomitant to learning and is not penalized; (4) emphasis is placed on laboratory investigations that foster minimally restrictive free exploration rather than prescriptive adherence to formal procedure; (5) research skills are developed through out-of-class projects that involve literature search, experiment, and the modeling of real-world physical phenomena: (6) the precise and articulate use of language is regarded as seminal to communication in science (as it is in the humanities) and is promoted through activities that help develop written and oral language skills; (7) the evaluation of student performance is based on a portfolio of accomplished work rather than on the outcome of formal testing.

Teaching quantum physics by the sum over paths approach and GeoGebra simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malgieri, M.; Onorato, P.; De Ambrosis, A.

2014-09-01

We present a research-based teaching sequence in introductory quantum physics using the Feynman sum over paths approach. Our reconstruction avoids the historical pathway, and starts by reconsidering optics from the standpoint of the quantum nature of light, analysing both traditional and modern experiments. The core of our educational path lies in the treatment of conceptual and epistemological themes, peculiar of quantum theory, based on evidence from quantum optics, such as the single photon Mach-Zehnder and Zhou-Wang-Mandel experiments. The sequence is supported by a collection of interactive simulations, realized in the open source GeoGebra environment, which we used to assist students in learning the basics of the method, and help them explore the proposed experimental situations as modeled in the sum over paths perspective. We tested our approach in the context of a post-graduate training course for pre-service physics teachers; according to the data we collected, student teachers displayed a greatly improved understanding of conceptual issues, and acquired significant abilities in using the sum over path method for problem solving.

Methods of teaching the physics of climate change in undergraduate physics courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Michael

2015-04-01

Although anthropogenic climate change is generally accepted in the scientific community, there is considerable skepticism among the general population and, therefore, in undergraduate students of all majors. Students are often asked by their peers, family members, and others, whether they ``believe'' climate change is occurring and what should be done about it (if anything). I will present my experiences and recommendations for teaching the physics of climate change to both physics and non-science majors. For non-science majors, the basic approach is to try to develop an appreciation for the scientific method (particularly peer-reviewed research) in a course on energy and the environment. For physics majors, the pertinent material is normally covered in their undergraduate courses in modern physics and thermodynamics. Nevertheless, it helps to review the basics, e.g. introductory quantum mechanics (discrete energy levels of atomic systems), molecular spectroscopy, and blackbody radiation. I have done this in a separate elective topics course, titled ``Physics of Climate Change,'' to help the students see how their knowledge gives them insight into a topic that is very volatile (socially and politically).

Meeting the Discipline-Culture Framework of Physics Knowledge: A Teaching Experience in Italian Secondary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levrini, Olivia; Bertozzi, Eugenio; Gagliardi, Marta; Tomasini, Nella Grimellini; Pecori, Barbara; Tasquier, Giulia; Galili, Igal

2014-09-01

The paper deals with physics teaching/learning in high school. An investigation in three upper secondary school classes in Italy explored the reactions of students to a structuring lecture on optics within the discipline-culture (DC) framework that organises physics knowledge around four interrelated fundamental theories of light. The lecture presented optics as an unfolding conceptual discourse of physicists regarding the nature of light. Along with the knowledge constructed in a school course of a scientific lyceum, the students provided epistemological comments, displaying their perception of physics knowledge presented in the classroom. Students' views and knowledge were investigated by questionnaires prior to and after the lecture and in special discussions held in each class. They revealed a variety of attitudes and views which allowed inferences about the potential of the DC framework in an educational context. The findings and interpretation indicate the positive and stimulating impact of the lecture and the way in which DC-based approach to knowledge organization makes physics at school cultural and attractive.

Are Fourth-Year Medical Students Effective Teachers of the Physical Examination to First-Year Medical Students?

PubMed Central

Haist, Steven A; Wilson, John F; Fosson, Sue E; Brigham, Nancy L

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE To determine if fourth-year medical students are as effective as faculty in teaching the physical examination to first-year medical students. DESIGN Stratified randomization of the first-year students. SETTING A public medical school. PARTICIPANTS All 100 first-year medical students in one medical school class were randomly assigned (controlling for gender) to either a faculty or a fourth-year student preceptor for the Physical Examination Module. MAIN RESULTS The first-year students of faculty preceptors scored no differently on the written examination than the students of the fourth-year medical student preceptors (82.8% vs 80.3%, p = .09) and no differently on a standardized patient practical examination (95.5% vs 95.4%, p = .92). Also, the first-year students rated the two groups of preceptors similarly on an evaluation form, with faculty rated higher on six items and the student preceptors rated higher on six items (all p > .10). The fourth-year student preceptors rated the experience favorably. CONCLUSIONS Fourth-year medical students were as successful as faculty in teaching first-year medical students the physical examination as measured by first-year student’s performances on objective measures and ratings of teaching effectiveness.

Seeing in a different light—using an infrared camera to teach heat transfer and optical phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei Wong, Choun; Subramaniam, R.

2018-05-01

The infrared camera is a useful tool in physics education to ‘see’ in the infrared. In this paper, we describe four simple experiments that focus on phenomena related to heat transfer and optics that are encountered at undergraduate physics level using an infrared camera, and discuss the strengths and limitations of this tool for such purposes.

A Comparison of the Degree of Student Satisfaction Using a Simulation or a Traditional Wet Lab to Teach Physical Properties of Ice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crandall, Philip G.; O'Bryan, Corliss A.; Killian, Susan A.; Beck, Dennis E.; Jarvis, Nathan; Clausen, Ed

2015-01-01

It is often difficult to offer food chemistry students traditional, hands-on laboratory experiences due to lack of funds for equipment, insufficient laboratory space, or the nature of distance education. A traditional wet laboratory exercise was developed to demonstrate the effects of the physical properties of ice formation when making…

Seeing in a Different Light--Using an Infrared Camera to Teach Heat Transfer and Optical Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Choun Pei; Subramaniam, R.

2018-01-01

The infrared camera is a useful tool in physics education to 'see' in the infrared. In this paper, we describe four simple experiments that focus on phenomena related to heat transfer and optics that are encountered at undergraduate physics level using an infrared camera, and discuss the strengths and limitations of this tool for such purposes.

Bridging the Gap -- But Mind You Don't Fall. Primary Physical Education Teachers' Perceptions of the Transition Process to Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rainer, Paul; Cropley, Brendan

2015-01-01

Currently there is a large variation in the quality of children's experiences, both across and within primary schools and concerns regarding the quality of physical education (PE) teaching. Significantly, a failure to engage children at this critical time in appropriate high quality PE provision, prior to the transition to secondary education, is…

Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshops: 20 Years of Workshops and 2000 Faculty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilborn, Robert

Most college and university new faculty members start their teaching careers with almost no formal training in pedagogy. To address this issue, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Astronomical Society, and the American Physical Society have been offering since 1996 workshops for physics and astronomy new faculty members (and in recent years for experienced faculty members as well). The workshops introduce faculty members to a variety of interactive engagement teaching (IET) methods and the evidence for their effectiveness, embedded in a framework of general professional development. Currently the workshops engage about 50% of the new tenure-track hires in physics and astronomy. The workshops are quite successful in making the participants aware of IET methods and motivating them to implement them in their classes. However, about 1/3 of the participants stop using IET methods within a year or two. The faculty members cite (a) lack of time and energy to change, (b) content coverage concerns, and (c) difficulty getting students engaged as reasons for their discontinuance. To help overcome these barriers, we have introduced faculty online learning communities (FOLCs). The FOLCs provide peer support and advice through webinars and coaching from more experienced faculty members. Recommendations based on the workshops and the experiences of the participants can enhance the teaching effectiveness of future physics and astronomy faculty members. This work was supported in part by NSF Grant 1431638.

Achieving Very Low Levels of Detection: An Improved Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Experiment for the Physical Chemistry Teaching Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillan, Brian G.

2016-01-01

This experiment was designed and successfully introduced to complement the nanochemistry taught to undergraduate students in a useful and interesting way. Colloidal Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple, room-temperature method, and the resulting suspension was then used to study the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of methylene…

Collaborative Robotic Instruction: A Graph Teaching Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitnik, Ruben; Recabarren, Matias; Nussbaum, Miguel; Soto, Alvaro

2009-01-01

Graphing is a key skill in the study of Physics. Drawing and interpreting graphs play a key role in the understanding of science, while the lack of these has proved to be a handicap and a limiting factor in the learning of scientific concepts. It has been observed that despite the amount of previous graph-working experience, students of all ages…

Responses of Study Abroad Students in Australia to Experience-Based Pedagogy in Sport Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Light, Richard; Georgakis, Steve

2008-01-01

This paper contributes to research on the scholarship of teaching in the physical education/sport studies fields by examining the responses of study abroad students from overseas studying in Australia to a unit of study in sport studies that placed the interpretation of experience as the centre of the learning process. It draws on research…

Glucose Metabolism from Mouth to Muscle: A Student Experiment to Teach Glucose Metabolism during Exercise and Rest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engeroff, Tobias; Fleckenstein, Johannes; Banzer, Winfried

2017-01-01

We developed an experiment to help students understand basic regulation of postabsorptive and postprandial glucose metabolism and the availability of energy sources for physical activity in the fed and fasted state. Within a practical session, teams of two or three students (1 subject and 1 or 2 investigators) performed one of three different…

Implementing ILDs and Assessment in Small-enrollment, Calculus-based Physics Classes -- Lessons, Observations and Open Questions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason-McCaffrey, Deborah

2011-04-01

At Salem State, we offer a Physics minor, but most of our teaching load is support courses for other science majors and a lab sequence which satisfies the University's core education requirement. In three years of using assessments and ILDs in small-enrollment calculus-based Physics classes, there has been a significant implementation learning curve, there are encouraging results, a few cautions, and still some open questions to report. ILDs can be highly effective teaching tools. They do require significant advance preparation as well as a safe environment for student participation. Motivating students to do their best on assessment pre- and post-tests can also be difficult. Strategies for motivating assessment performance, experiments using clickers to encourage participation in ILDs, and modifying and developing home-grown ILDs are discussed.

Views about Learning Physics Held by Physics Teachers with Differing Approaches to Teaching Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulhall, Pamela; Gunstone, Richard

2012-01-01

Research into teacher thinking offers potential insights into ways of promoting better teaching. A recent qualitative study explored the views about physics, and learning and teaching physics of a group of teachers whose classroom practice was "traditional" and a group who used conceptual change teaching approaches. This paper focuses on the views…

Examining Physics Graduate Teaching Assistants' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching a New Physics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seung, Eulsun; Bryan, Lynn A.; Haugan, Mark P.

2012-01-01

In this study, we investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that physics graduate teaching assistants (TAs) developed in the context of teaching a new introductory physics curriculum, "Matter and Interactions" ("M&I"). "M&I" is an innovative introductory physics course that emphasizes a unified framework for understanding the world and…

The first Italian doctorate (PhD Course) in Physics Education Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michelini, Marisa; Santi, Lorenzo

2008-05-01

The first PhD Italian course in Physics Education Research in Udine aims to qualify young researchers and teachers coming from all the Italian groups of research in the field. It becomes a context for developing research projects carried out following parallel research lines on: Teaching/Learning paths for didactic innovation, cognitive research, ICT for strategies to overcome conceptual knots in physics; E-learning for personalization; d) Computer on-line experiments and modelling; e) Teacher formation and training; f) Informal learning in science.

Two web-based laboratories of the FisL@bs network: Hooke's and Snell's laws

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de la Torre, L.; Sánchez, J.; Dormido, S.; Sánchez, J. P.; Yuste, M.; Carreras, C.

2011-03-01

FisL@bs is a network of remote and virtual laboratories for physics university education via the Internet that offers students the possibility of performing hands-on experiments in different fields of physics in two ways: simulation and real remote operation. This paper gives a detailed account of a novel way in physics in which distance learning students can gain practical experience autonomously. FisL@bs uses the same structure as AutomatL@bs, a network of virtual and remote laboratories for learning/teaching of control engineering, which has been in operation for four years. Students can experiment with the laboratories offered using an Internet connection and a Java-compatible web browser. This paper, specially intended for university educators but easily comprehensible even for undergraduate students, explains how the portal works and the hardware and software tools used to create it. In addition, it also describes two physics experiments already available: spring elasticity and the laws of reflection and refraction.

Using the History of Physics to Enrich Your Teaching.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Cameron

2014-03-01

As students most of us probably acquired the impression that the brilliant theories and experiments described in our texts sprang essentially fully-formed from the minds of their developers. As my own teaching career progressed, I began to explore the details of how what I was teaching - particularly in the area of modern physics - had come about. I learned that the real history was often a much more muddled and uncertain business than the polished narratives presented in texts; indeed, leading physicists themselves were often in a state of confusion not unlike that of a student encountering complex ideas for the first time. Exploring the history of our science also naturally leads to learning about the personalities and lives of its developers. In this talk, which is intended for a non-specialist audience, I will relate a few examples of how my own appreciation and teaching of physics has been enriched by exploring its roots. I will also relate some human-interest episodes from of the lives of famous physicists from the time of Kepler through the twentieth century. Some of these vignettes are tragic, some are funny, and some are inspiring, but all serve as reminders that even great physicists are subject to the usual whims of human nature and the sometimes cruel circumstances of their times.

Development of a Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphries, Charlotte A.; Hebert, Edward; Daigle, Kay; Martin, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

Relationships have been found between teacher efficacy and many teaching and learning variables, but few researchers have examined teaching efficacy in physical education. The instrument reported here, the Physical Education Teaching Efficacy Scale, was developed based on the teaching efficacy literature, existing scales, and National Association…

Views about Physics Held by Physics Teachers with Differing Approaches to Teaching Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulhall, Pamela; Gunstone, Richard

2008-01-01

Physics teachers' approaches to teaching physics are generally considered to be linked to their views about physics. In this qualitative study, the views about physics held by a group of physics teachers whose teaching practice was traditional were explored and compared with the views held by physics teachers who used conceptual change approaches.…

Preparing Physics and Chemistry Teachers at the University of Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novodvorsky, Ingrid

2006-04-01

Beginning in 2000, science majors at the University of Arizona who wish to teach in middle or high schools have enrolled in the College of Science Teacher Preparation Program (CoS TPP). Students in the program take General Education courses, content courses, and science pedagogy courses that make them eligible for teacher certification. Students can remain in their science degree programs, and take the required science pedagogy courses, or they can enroll in a BS in Science Education degree that includes the pedagogy courses, with concentrations available in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics. Science educators from six different departments, two permanent Adjunct Instructors, and two Teachers in Residence teach the program's courses. (One of the Teachers in Residence is supported by the PhysTEC project.) Most of the pedagogy courses include field experiences in area science classrooms; the program works with some 115 mentor teachers from throughout the Tucson area, who host preservice teachers in their field experiences. In the first six years of the program, 14 program graduates have been chemistry and physics teachers. This compares to a total of six chemistry and physics teachers produced by the College of Education program in the four years preceding the creation of the CoS TPP. In this presentation, I will describe the unique features of the courses that prospective chemistry and physics teachers take and the field experiences in which they participate. In addition, I will describe how PhysTEC-supplied resources have been used to improve the program, and the ways in which we are assessing the program's success.

Topics of Astronomy in Physics Teaching: the study of the oceanic tides addressed to the significant learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dos Santos Neta, Maria Luiza

2017-02-01

In the Medium Teaching when topics of Astronomy are supplied happen in Physics discipline with the use of methodologies that don't contribute to the development of the learning significant, however to turn them effective it is fundamental, for the apprehension of habitual events. By this context intends to analyze and to understand the current contributions of the use of a proposal of Teaching of Physics promoted the significant learning again, when topics of Astronomy be worked with the students of the Medium Teaching of a public school of the State Net of Teaching located in the city of Sirinhaém, in the south coast of Pernambuco. This research presented characteristic qualitative, as well as quantitative contemplating methodological procedures, such as: the application of a Pre-Test, the didactic intervention/sequences stages of the Cycle of Experience and Post-Test, following by situation-problem. As central theme one worked contents regarding the Astronomy, with prominence for the oceanic tides, being the significant learning stimulated to each stage: exhibition of videos, slides groups, discussions and activities written. The results obtained in the Pre-Test demonstrated that, the conditions of the previous knowledge presented by the students, in relation to the theme to be worked - oceanic tides - if they found inadequate to begin the study on the phenomenon. However, after the application of the didactic intervention/ sequences stages and comparing the result of the Post-Test in function of the Pre-Test was verified that, the previous knowledge are in appropriate conditions for the understanding of the event, as well as, for they be used in situation-problem that demands her understanding They suggests her that, the application of the Cycle of Experience as didactic sequence frequently happens, because it is verified that her use potentiates the construction of the significant learning.

Apprenticeship: Applications in Adult Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Nancy M.; May, W. Ed; Loertscher, Rebecca; Cobia, Craig

2003-01-01

In the workplace, teacher-mentors guide apprentices in communities of practice. Apprenticeship teaches complex physical and cognitive skills, conveys tacit knowledge, and enculturates learners into the community. Apprenticeships must be well planned and monitored and offer experiences aligned with core practices. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)

Removing Preconceptions with a "Learning Cycle."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gang, Su

1995-01-01

Describes a teaching experiment that uses the Learning Cycle to achieve the reorientation of physics' students conceptual frameworks away from commonsense perspectives toward scientifically rigorous outlooks. Uses Archimedes' principle as the content topic while using the Learning Cycle to remove students' nonscientific preconceptions. (JRH)

Secondary Students' Understanding of Basic Ideas of Special Relativity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitriadi, Kyriaki; Halkia, Krystallia

2012-11-01

A major topic that has marked 'modern physics' is the theory of special relativity (TSR). The present work focuses on the possibility of teaching the basic ideas of the TSR to students at the upper secondary level in such a way that they are able to understand and learn the ideas. Its aim is to investigate students' learning processes towards the two axioms of the theory (the principle of relativity and the invariance of the speed of light) and their consequences (the relativity of simultaneity, time dilation and length contraction). Based on an analysis of physics college textbooks, on a review of the relevant bibliography and on a pilot study, a teaching and learning sequence consisting of five sessions was developed. To collect the data, experimental interviews (the so-called teaching experiment) were used. The teaching experiment may be viewed as a Piagetian clinical interview that is deliberately employed as a teaching and learning situation. The sample consisted of 40 10th grade students (aged 15-16). The data were collected by taping and transcribing the 'interviews', as well as from two open-ended questionnaires filled out by each student, one before and the other after the sessions. Methods of qualitative content analysis were applied. The results show that upper secondary education students are able to cope with the basic ideas of the TSR, but there are some difficulties caused by the following student conceptions: (a) there is an absolute frame of reference, (b) objects have fixed properties and (c) the way events happen is independent of what the observers perceive.

Northern Ireland and 'The Troubles', outlining an innovative approach to nursing/midwifery student teaching and module evaluation.

PubMed

McMullan, Johanna; Clarke, Susan A; O'Hagan, Marie Therese; O'Connor, Tony; Power, John J

2016-02-01

This discussion paper outlines an approach to developing and evaluating an educative programme primarily delivered by lay `citizen trainers' in educating student nurses, and student midwives to the impact of and experience of extended and extensive civil unrest within their communities (`the Troubles' ). This is drawn from experience within the Northern Ireland `Troubles' and all of the citizen trainers were directly affected physically/psychologically. The programme was intended to both educate but primarily to help facilitate student nurses and student midwives to better understanding to experience and context and to more effective care delivery to those affected by/damaged by `the Troubles'. Evaluation of the teaching and learning by the students was significantly positive. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching the Teachers: Physical Science for the Non-Scientific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michels, D. J.; Pickert, S. M.; Montrose, C. J.; Thompson, J. L.

2004-12-01

The Catholic University of America, in collaboration with the Solar Physics Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory and the Goddard Space Flight Center, has begun development of an experimental, inquiry-driven and standards-referenced physical science course for undergraduate, pre-service K-8 teachers. The course is team-taught by faculty from the University's Departments of Education and Physics and NRL solar physics research personnel. Basic physical science concepts are taught in the context of the Sun and Sun-Earth Connections, through direct observation, web-based solar data, and images and movies from ongoing space missions. The Sun can illuminate, in ways that cannot be duplicated with comparable clarity in the laboratory, the basics of magnetic and gravitational force fields, Newton's Laws, and light and optics. The immediacy of the connection to ongoing space research and live mission data serves as well to inspire student interest and curiosity. Teaching objectives include pedagogical methods, especially hands-on and observational experiences appropriate to the physics content and the K-8 classroom. The CUA Program, called TOPS! (Top Teachers of Physical Science!) has completed its first year of classroom experience; the first few batches of Program graduates should be in K-8 classrooms in time to capitalize on the motivational opportunities offered by the 2007-2008 IHY and IPY. We present data on the attitudinal and scientific progress of fifteen pre-service Early Childhood and Elementary Education majors as they experienced, many for the first time, the marvels of attractive and repulsive forces, live observations of solar system dynamics, access to real-time satellite data and NASA educational resources.

New teaching methods in use at UC Irvine's optical engineering and instrument design programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silberman, Donn M.; Rowe, T. Scott; Jo, Joshua; Dimas, David

2012-10-01

New teaching methods reach geographically dispersed students with advances in Distance Education. Capabilities include a new "Hybrid" teaching method with an instructor in a classroom and a live WebEx simulcast for remote students. Our Distance Education Geometric and Physical Optics courses include Hands-On Optics experiments. Low cost laboratory kits have been developed and YouTube type video recordings of the instructor using these tools guide the students through their labs. A weekly "Office Hour" has been developed using WebEx and a Live Webcam the instructor uses to display his live writings from his notebook for answering students' questions.

The CMS Data Analysis School Experience

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De Filippis, N.; Bauerdick, L.; Chen, J.

The CMS Data Analysis School is an official event organized by the CMS Collaboration to teach students and post-docs how to perform a physics analysis. The school is coordinated by the CMS schools committee and was first implemented at the LHC Physics Center at Fermilab in 2010. As part of the training, there are a number of “short” exercises on physics object reconstruction and identification, Monte Carlo simulation, and statistical analysis, which are followed by “long” exercises based on physics analyses. Some of the long exercises go beyond the current state of the art of the corresponding CMS analyses. Thismore » paper describes the goals of the school, the preparations for a school, the structure of the training, and student satisfaction with the experience as measured by surveys.« less

The CMS data analysis school experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Filippis, N.; Bauerdick, L.; Chen, J.; Gallo, E.; Klima, B.; Malik, S.; Mulders, M.; Palla, F.; Rolandi, G.

2017-10-01

The CMS Data Analysis School is an official event organized by the CMS Collaboration to teach students and post-docs how to perform a physics analysis. The school is coordinated by the CMS schools committee and was first implemented at the LHC Physics Center at Fermilab in 2010. As part of the training, there are a number of “short” exercises on physics object reconstruction and identification, Monte Carlo simulation, and statistical analysis, which are followed by “long” exercises based on physics analyses. Some of the long exercises go beyond the current state of the art of the corresponding CMS analyses. This paper describes the goals of the school, the preparations for a school, the structure of the training, and student satisfaction with the experience as measured by surveys.

Use of Bratwurst Sausage as a Model Cadaver in Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences Lab Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidebottom, David

2015-09-01

The general physics course that is taught in most departments as a service course for pre-med or pre-health students is undergoing a large shift in course content to better appeal to this group of learners. This revision also extends to the laboratory component, where more emphasis is being placed on teaching physics through biological examples. Here, two undergraduate-level lab experiments, one dealing with buoyancy and the other with heat transfer, are described. The two labs were designed specifically to appeal to pre-med students taking introductory physics, and their novelty arises from the use of a bratwurst sausage as a miniature model cadaver. Results suggest that the sausage provides a suitable approximation to the mass density and thermal properties of the human body.

Doing it differently: attempts to improve Millikan's oil-drop experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heering, Peter; Klassen, Stephen

2010-07-01

Millikan's oil-drop experiment is one of the classic experiments from the history of physics. Due to its content (the determination of the elementary charge) it is also among those experiments that are frequently used and discussed in teaching situations. Disappointingly, a review of the educational literature on this experiment reveals that its implementation in teaching situations is not especially successful. Using a collaborative approach, we have attempted to develop an understanding of the difficulties that students encounter with this experiment. In our approach, apart from evaluating students' lab reports, we used questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Additionally, we have used the historical development of the oil-drop experiment as a resource for restructuring the educational use of the experiment, and we have attempted to develop a more thorough understanding of the experiment through an analysis of the data generated in the experiment and its mathematical treatment. As a result, we suggest a different use of the apparatus that appears to result in less frustration of the students as well as a better understanding of the experiment and its difficulties by the students.

Turkish Physics Teachers' Views about the 2007 Physics Teaching Program and its Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercan, Fatih Caglayan

2013-01-01

The renewal of the secondary school physics teaching program was initiated in 2008, however, there is limited research investigating physics teachers' enactment of the teaching program in their classes. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe teachers' views about the official teaching program and its implementation. The…

Lithography of Polymer Nanostructures on Glass for Teaching Polymer Chemistry and Physics.

PubMed

Sahar-Halbany, Adi; Vance, Jennifer M; Drain, Charles Michael

2011-05-01

As nanolithography becomes increasingly important in technology and daily life, a variety of inexpensive and creative methods toward communicating the concepts underpinning these processes in the classroom are necessary. An experiment is described that uses simple CD-Rs, C-clamps, an oven, and a freezer to provide concrete examples and insights into the chemistry and principles of nanolithography. The experiment also has flexibility, making it suitable for a range of classroom levels from high school to more advanced labs in college. Because CD-Rs are composed of grooves of polycarbonate, the experiment provides a basis for discussions and exploration into the chemistry and physics of polymers on the nanoscale.

Program to enrich science and mathematics experiences of high school students through interactive museum internships

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reif, R.J.; Lock, C.R.

1998-11-01

This project addressed the problem of female and minority representation in science and mathematics education and in related fields. It was designed to recruit high school students from under-represented groups into a program that provided significant, meaningful experiences to encourage those young people to pursue careers in science and science teaching. It provided role models for those students. It provided experiences outside of the normal school environment, experiences that put the participants in the position to serve as role models themselves for disadvantaged young people. It also provided encouragement to pursue careers in science and mathematics teaching and related careers.more » In these respects, it complemented other successful programs to encourage participation in science. And, it differed in that it provided incentives at a crucial time, when career decisions are being made during the high school years. Further, it encouraged the pursuit of careers in science teaching. The objectives of this project were to: (1) provide enrichment instruction in basic concepts in the life, earth, space, physical sciences and mathematics to selected high school students participating in the program; (2) provide instruction in teaching methods or processes, including verbal communication skills and the use of questioning; (3) provide opportunities for participants, as paid student interns, to transfer knowledge to other peers and adults; (4) encourage minority and female students with high academic potential to pursue careers in science teaching.« less

NEWS: Colin Siddons (1913-1999)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baruch, John; Chapman, Bryan

2000-05-01

Colin Siddons Colin Siddons, who died on 8 November 1999 aged 86, was one of the most brilliant of the generation of physics teachers who came into teaching out of necessity rather than vocation in the 1930s. He elevated physics teaching into an art and it was for his inspirational physics teaching that he won international recognition. He was made an Honorary Life Member of the Association for Science Education, awarded an Honorary Master of Science degree by the University of Leeds in recognition of his `Outstanding Career in Science Teaching', and in 1992 the Institute of Physics awarded him its prestigious Bragg Medal for services to physics education. He was one of those science sons of Bradford who, along with the Noble Prize winner Sir Edward Appleton and the outstanding cosmologist Fred Hoyle, are hardly recognized in their own city. Colin wove together his politics and humanism in a career that could not but collide with the stuffy, class-ridden and prejudiced society of Britain in the thirties. He left Cambridge with a first-class honours degree in Physics, a product of the University Physics laboratories of Thompson and Rutherford, who did so much to break the mould of nineteenth century science, launching science into the modern era. With his degree he applied to work as a Meteorologist at the Air Ministry. His scientific competence was not in doubt but the fact that he read Tolstoy made him unacceptable to the interview panel. In the Britain of the thirties, with a working class background and a father out of work Colin had to get a job. After 83 applications and 13 interviews, in which he learned the hard way that teachers' personal lives were not allowed to deviate from convention, he got his first teaching post in Devon. He soon found that his school governors did not take kindly to teachers publicly challenging the support their local MP was expressing for Hitler and Mussolini. Later, when Colin had returned to Yorkshire, Chamberlain's notorious Munich agreement in 1939 drove the 26-year-old, who had been horrified as a six-year-old at the pointless slaughter of the 1914-18 war, to join the Communist Party. His public opposition to the war led to his arrest for criticizing the British Government. He spent three months in Wakefield goal and was suspended from his teaching post by Bradford Education Committee. On his release he worked at Marks and Spencer's as a porter until he was called up. The British Army were unable to recognize the value of a first-class physics degree from Cambridge when associated with political conviction. Even by the end of the war they had not recognized that Colin's political views were the same as our allies', the Russians. Colin spent the war in Egypt as an ordinary soldier with the Eighth Army, learning Russian and educating his fellow soldiers in politics, physics and astronomy. Demobbed in 1946 he first taught at Penistone but he was soon back in Bradford after his suspension was lifted, not without a good deal of opposition, by the casting vote of the Chairman of the Education Committee. He became Head of Science at Thornton Grammar School, where his genius for using common household materials to demonstrate physical principles was honed. Washing-up bottles, kitchen foil tapes, polystyrene plates, baked bean tins, 78 rpm vinyl records, dandelion and feathers all featured in Colin's Aladdin's cave of Physics, with which he first charmed and inspired his own students. His demonstrations were, for many years, a highlight of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Science Education. After retirement he was as at home doing experiments with primary school children as he was with delegates at international conferences. His first wife, Joan, was a teacher and also a very practical woman. Colin was always trying out new ideas for experiments with her and their three children. Colin was heartbroken when she died of breast cancer in 1968. Eventually he married Mary, an old school friend of his first wife, who continued the tradition of feeding Colin many of the technological titbits of an active kitchen. Colin's humanism, left-wing politics and zest for physics and physics teaching continued right up to the end of his life. He read the Morning Star, and his instructions for his funeral service led to a dignified celebration of his life without `religious hypocrisy'. He was particularly disappointed not to be able to go to Cornwall and see the August Eclipse for himself, but it was probably the Institute of Physics' citation on the Bragg award that best captured Colin's passions for physics: ``Colin Siddons, during a lifetime in physics education, consistently produced experiments of wit and ingenuity that simultaneously make difficult principles accessible to the young and can be extended to tax the most able prospective physicist. As well as delighting thousands of students with his lecture demonstrations, he has illuminated physics for many teachers in revealing his art of teaching.'' Friends of Colin who have been in touch since learning of his death, including several from overseas, all agree that physics teaching is unlikely to see Colin's like again.

Deep learning for teaching university physics to computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Jackson P.; Price, Watt A.

2017-04-01

Attempts to improve physics instruction suggest that there is a fundamental barrier to the human learning of physics. We argue that the new capabilities of artificial intelligence justify a reconsideration not of how we teach physics but to whom we teach physics.

Teach the Related Sciences for Graphic Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voss, Lawrence

1974-01-01

At Ferris State College, the chemistry and physics related to the particular skill area of the technically-oriented student are taught. The assumption is that a student will better understand the elements of his trade if his experience is broadened through relevant science information. (KP)

Apparatus for Teaching Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Walter, Ed.

1990-01-01

Provides the apparatus setup, experimental method, necessary formulas, and references for three measurement experiments: (1) "Determine the Magnetic Induction of a Coil with a Hall Element"; (2) "Measuring Magnetic Force and Magnetic Field of Small Permanent Magnets"; and (3) "Measurements of Sound Velocity by Means of PZT" (piezoelectric…

Apparatus for Teaching Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottlieb, Herbert H., Ed.

1982-01-01

Discusses: (1) construction of an integrated spherical reflectometer; (2) limitations of the NOAA Weather Radio Network; and (3) a simple experiment to demonstrate/measure influence of damping force on amplitude resonance. Also discusses whether or not a homemade electrophorus can lose its charge and then recharge itself. (JN)

Teaching ``The Physics of Energy'' at MIT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaffe, Robert

2009-05-01

New physics courses on energy are popping up at colleges and universities across the country. Many require little or no previous physics background, aiming to introduce a broad audience to this complex and critical problem, often augmenting the scientific message with economic and policy discussions. Others are advanced courses, focussing on highly specialized subjects like solar voltaics, nuclear physics, or thermal fluids, for example. About two years ago Washington Taylor and I undertook to develop a course on the ``Physics of Energy'' open to all MIT students who had taken MIT's common core of university level calculus, physics, and chemistry. By avoiding higher level prerequisites, we aimed to attract and make the subject relevant to students in the life sciences, economics, etc. --- as well as physical scientists and engineers --- who want to approach energy issues in a sophisticated and analytical fashion, exploiting their background in calculus, mechanics, and E & M, but without having to take advanced courses in thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, or nuclear physics beforehand. Our object was to interweave teaching the fundamental physics principles at the foundations of energy science with the applications of those principles to energy systems. We envisioned a course that would present the basics of statistical, quantum, and fluid mechanics at a fairly sophisticated level and apply those concepts to the study of energy sources, conversion, transport, losses, storage, conservation, and end use. In the end we developed almost all of the material for the course from scratch. The course debuted this past fall. I will describe what we learned and what general lessons our experience might have for others who contemplate teaching energy physics broadly to a technically sophisticated audience.

Physics Laboratory in UEC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takada, Tohru; Nakamura, Jin; Suzuki, Masaru

All the first-year students in the University of Electro-Communications (UEC) take "Basic Physics I", "Basic Physics II" and "Physics Laboratory" as required subjects; Basic Physics I and Basic Physics II are calculus-based physics of mechanics, wave and oscillation, thermal physics and electromagnetics. Physics Laboratory is designed mainly aiming at learning the skill of basic experimental technique and technical writing. Although 95% students have taken physics in the senior high school, they poorly understand it by connecting with experience, and it is difficult to learn Physics Laboratory in the university. For this reason, we introduced two ICT (Information and Communication Technology) systems of Physics Laboratory to support students'learning and staff's teaching. By using quantitative data obtained from the ICT systems, we can easily check understanding of physics contents in students, and can improve physics education.

Pedagogical approaches, contextual variables, and the development of student self-efficacy in undergraduate physics courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fencl, Heidi S.; Scheel, Karen R.

2004-09-01

Self-efficacy, or a person's situation-specific belief that s/he can succeed in a given task, has been successful in a variety of educational studies for predicting behaviors such as perseverance and success (grades), and for understanding which behaviors are attempted or avoided. The focus of this study was to examine if classroom factors such as teaching strategies and classroom climate contribute to students' physics self-efficacy. 121 undergraduates in first semester, calculus-based introductory physics courses completed surveys assessing course experiences, self-efficacy and other outcome variables, and demographic information. Students in sections including a mix of teaching strategies did significantly better than students in the traditional section on outcome variables including self-efficacy. When individual strategies were examined, the strongest relationships were found between cooperative learning strategies and all sources of self-efficacy, and between climate variables and all sources of efficacy.

Simulation and Visualization of Chaos in a Driven Nonlinear Pendulum -- An Aid to Introducing Chaotic Systems in Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akpojotor, Godfrey; Ehwerhemuepha, Louis; Amromanoh, Ogheneriobororue

2013-03-01

The presence of physical systems whose characteristics change in a seemingly erratic manner gives rise to the study of chaotic systems. The characteristics of these systems are due to their hypersensitivity to changes in initial conditions. In order to understand chaotic systems, some sort of simulation and visualization is pertinent. Consequently, in this work, we have simulated and graphically visualized chaos in a driven nonlinear pendulum as a means of introducing chaotic systems. The results obtained which highlight the hypersensitivity of the pendulum are used to discuss the effectiveness of teaching and learning the physics of chaotic system using Python. This study is one of the many studies under the African Computational Science and Engineering Tour Project (PASET) which is using Python to model, simulate and visualize concepts, laws and phenomena in Science and Engineering to compliment the teaching/learning of theory and experiment.

Representing the Quantum Object Through Fiction in Teaching. The Ontological Contribution of Gamow's Narrative as Part of an Introduction to Quantum Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Héraud, Jean-Loup; Lautesse, Philippe; Ferlin, Fabrice; Chabot, Hugues

2017-05-01

Our work extends a previous study of epistemological presuppositions in teaching quantum physics in upper scientific secondary school in France. Here, the problematic reference of quantum theory's concepts is treated at the ontological level (the counterintuitive nature of quantum objects). We consider the approach of using narratives describing possible alternative worlds to address the issue. These possible worlds are based on the counterfactual logic developed in the work of D. Lewis. We will show that the narratives written by G. Gamow describe such possible worlds. Some parts of these narratives are found in textbooks in France. These worlds are governed by laws similar to but importantly different from those in our real world. They allow us to materialize properties inaccessible to everyday experience. In this sense, these fiction stories make ontological propositions concerning the nature and structure of the fundamental elements of our physical universe.

Characterization of study focus of the Brazilian academic-scientific production about experimentation in Physics Teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesendonk, F. S.; Terrazzan, E. A.

2016-12-01

In this article, we presented a characterization of the recent academic and scientific literature on experiments in Physics Education in terms of focus and research intentions and results built through these investigations. For this, we used as a source of information 10 national Academic and Scientific Journals available on websites. By consulting these journals, we identified that 147 papers published from 2009 to 2013 had as their main focus the experimental research. We classified the Works in categories established a priori and subcategories established a posteriori. At the end, we found out that few articles deal with this issue (9%). Moreover, in most productions there is a superficial discussion of theoretical studies on the use of experimentation in teaching. This makes the contribution of these productions for the development of conceptual discussions about the potential and limited use of experimentation in Physics Education to be relatively small.

The Intuitive Physics of the Equilibrium of the Lever and of the Hydraulic Pressures: Implications for the Teaching of Elementary Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masin, Sergio Cesare; Crivellaro, Francesco; Varotto, Diego

2014-01-01

The research field of intuitive physics focuses on discrepancies between theoretical and intuitive physical knowledge. Consideration of these discrepancies can help in the teaching of elementary physics. However, evidence shows that theoretical and intuitive physical knowledge may also be congruent. Physics teaching could further benefit from…

Incidence and risk factors of workplace violence against nurses in a Chinese top-level teaching hospital: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoming; Lv, Ming; Wang, Min; Wang, Xiufeng; Liu, Junyan; Zheng, Nan; Liu, Chunlan

2018-04-01

To investigate the incidence of workplace violence involving nurses and to identify related risk factors in a high-quality Chinese teaching hospital. A cross-sectional study design was used. The final sample comprised responses from 1831 registered nurses collected with a whole-hospital survey from June 1 to June 15, 2016. The demographic characteristics of the nurses who had experienced any form of violence were collected, and logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the risk factors for nurses related to workplace violence. Out of the total number of nurses surveyed, 904 (49.4%) nurses reported having experienced any type of violence in the past year. The frequencies of exposure to physical and non-physical violence were 6.3% (116) and 49.0% (897), respectively. All the incidence rates of violence were lower than those of other studies based on regional hospitals in China and were at the same level found in developed countries and districts. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that nurses at levels 2 to 4 and female nurses in clinical departments were the most vulnerable to non-physical violence. For physical violence, the two independent risk factors were working in an emergency department and having 6-10 years of work experience. Workplace violence directly threatens nurses from high-quality Chinese teaching hospitals. However, the incidence of WPV against nurses in this teaching hospital was better than that in regional hospitals. This study also provides reference material to identify areas where nurses encounter relatively high levels of workplace violence in high-quality Chinese teaching hospitals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

When the globe is your classroom: teaching and learning about large-scale environmental change online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, E. A.; Coleman, K. J.; Barford, C. L.; Kucharik, C.; Foley, J. A.

2005-12-01

Understanding environmental problems that cross physical and disciplinary boundaries requires a more holistic view of the world - a "systems" approach. Yet it is a challenge for many learners to start thinking this way, particularly when the problems are large in scale and not easily visible. We will describe our online university course, "Humans and the Changing Biosphere," which takes a whole-systems perspective for teaching regional to global-scale environmental science concepts, including climate, hydrology, ecology, and human demographics. We will share our syllabus and learning objectives and summarize our efforts to incorporate "best" practices for online teaching. We will describe challenges we have faced, and our efforts to reach different learner types. Our goals for this presentation are: (1) to communicate how a systems approach ties together environmental sciences (including climate, hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, and demography) that are often taught as separate disciplines; (2) to generate discussion about challenges of teaching large-scale environmental processes; (3) to share our experiences in teaching these topics online; (4) to receive ideas and feedback on future teaching strategies. We will explain why we developed this course online, and share our experiences about benefits and challenges of teaching over the web - including some suggestions about how to use technology to supplement face-to-face learning experiences (and vice versa). We will summarize assessment data about what students learned during the course, and discuss key misconceptions and barriers to learning. We will highlight the role of an online discussion board in creating classroom community, identifying misconceptions, and engaging different types of learners.

A Model for Bilingual Physics Teaching: "The Feynman Lectures "

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metzner, Heqing W.

2006-12-01

Feynman was not only a great physicist but also a remarkably effective educator. The Feynman Lectures on Physics originally published in 1963 were designed to be GUIDES for teachers and for gifted students. More than 40 years later, his peculiar teaching ideas have special application to bilingual physics teaching in China because: (1) Each individual lecture provides a self contained unit for bilingual teaching; (2)The lectures broaden the physics understanding of students; and (3)Feynman's original thought in English is experienced through the bilingual teaching of physics.

Different Habitus: Different Strategies in Teaching Physics? Relationships between Teachers' Social, Economic and Cultural Capital and Strategies in Teaching Physics in Upper Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engström, Susanne; Carlhed, Carina

2014-01-01

With environmental awareness in the societies of today, political steering documents emphasize that all education should include sustainable development. But it seems to be others competing ideals for teaching physics, or why do the physics teachers teach as they do? Physics teachers in secondary school in Sweden have generally, been focused on…

A Radiation Laboratory Curriculum Development at Western Kentucky University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barzilov, Alexander P.; Novikov, Ivan S.; Womble, Phil C.

2009-03-01

We present the latest developments for the radiation laboratory curriculum at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Western Kentucky University. During the last decade, the Applied Physics Institute (API) at WKU accumulated various equipment for radiation experimentation. This includes various neutron sources (computer controlled d-t and d-d neutron generators, and isotopic 252 Cf and PuBe sources), the set of gamma sources with various intensities, gamma detectors with various energy resolutions (NaI, BGO, GSO, LaBr and HPGe) and the 2.5-MeV Van de Graaff particle accelerator. XRF and XRD apparatuses are also available for students and members at the API. This equipment is currently used in numerous scientific and teaching activities. Members of the API also developed a set of laboratory activities for undergraduate students taking classes from the physics curriculum (Nuclear Physics, Atomic Physics, and Radiation Biophysics). Our goal is to develop a set of radiation laboratories, which will strengthen the curriculum of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and environmental science at WKU. The teaching and research activities are integrated into real-world projects and hands-on activities to engage students. The proposed experiments and their relevance to the modern status of physical science are discussed.

Students' views on the impact of peer physical examination and palpation as a pedagogic tool for teaching and learning living human anatomy.

PubMed

Chinnah, Tudor I; de Bere, Sam Regan; Collett, Tracey

2011-01-01

Modern medical education teaching and learning approaches now lay emphasis on students acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant to medical practice. To explore students' perceived impacts of using hands-on approaches involving peer/life model physical examination and palpation in teaching and learning living human anatomy on their practice of physical examination of real patients. This study used exploratory focus groups and a questionnaire survey of years 3-5 medical students. The focus group discussions revealed new insights into the positive impacts of the hands-on approaches on students' clinical skills and professional attitudes when dealing with patients. Students' exposure to the hands-on approaches helped them to feel comfortable with therapeutically touching unclothed patients' bodies and physically examining them in the clinical environment. At least 60% of the questionnaire survey respondents agreed with the focus group participants on this view. Over 75% also agreed that the hands-on experiences helped them develop good professional attitudes in their encounter with patients. This study highlights the perceived educational value of the hands-on approaches as a pedagogic tool with a positive impact on students' clinical skills and professional attitudes that helps in easing their transition into clinical practice.

Medical Students' Professional Development as Educators Revealed Through Reflections on Their Teaching Following a Students-as-Teachers Course.

PubMed

Yoon, Michelle H; Blatt, Benjamin C; Greenberg, Larrie W

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: Teaching is an important part of the tri-partite mission of every medical center. Although teaching often is given lower priority and recognition as opposed to patient care and/or research, this activity for many physicians in academic medicine ranks second to their patient care responsibilities. Medical teacher training has traditionally been aimed at faculty and residents through faculty development initiatives, continuing education for physicians at professional conferences, formalized degree or certificate programs in education, and residents as teachers programs. More recently medical schools have developed medical-students-as-teachers programs, often offered as 4th-year electives, to introduce learners to the theory of teaching and learning with appropriate application in the clinical setting. Data on learner outcomes and students' perceptions and experiences in these programs consist mostly of their satisfaction after completing such a program. In this article we explore 4th-year medical student trainees' experiences and emerging self-concepts as educators during a teaching elective. The purpose of this project was to explore students' reflections on their experiences in a 4th-year medical students-as-teachers course in their own words through their written self-assessment narratives. We used qualitative content analysis to examine 96 trainees' self-reported, written reflective narratives of how they translated their students-as-teachers course experience into application by applying newly learned educational theories, instructional strategies, and feedback skills while teaching novice peers physical diagnosis skills. Narratives revealed candid self-assessments and detailed descriptions of their experiences and what they valued most from the course. Content analysis revealed nine key themes: using teaching strategies for adult learning, preparing for class, modeling professionalism, incorporating clinical correlations, exceeding course requirements, giving and receiving feedback, providing mentoring, creating a positive learning climate, and growing as educators. Insights: This study's results reveal how learners perceive and translate their experiences in a teaching course, in terms of incorporating particular knowledge or skills, valuing or displaying certain professional behaviors, and gaining self-awareness and satisfaction from teaching experiences. The findings of this study, specifically major themes from self-assessment narratives, provide us with a better understanding of medical students' developing identities and emerging professional self-concept as educators, specifically as experienced through a combination of formal teaching, and applying education theories and strategies. Findings may be informative from a program evaluation lens but also for faculty development initiatives related to training medical teachers and the larger landscape of the emerging field of Health Professions Education.

Interesting Guided-Inquiry Labs for a Large-Enrollment, Active Learning Physics II Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagoner, Kasey; Hynes, K. Mairin; Flanagan, Daniel

2018-04-01

Introductory physics labs often focus on a series of common experiments intending to teach the student the measurement side of physics. While these experiments have the potential to be quite instructive, we observed that our students often consider them to be boring and monotonous, which often leads to them being uninstructive. To combat this, we have designed a series of labs with two major goals: the experiments should be relevant to the students' world, and the labs should gently guide the students to develop the experimental process on their own. Meeting these goals is difficult, particularly in a course with large enrollment where labs are instructed by graduate students. We have had success meeting these goals in our classroom, where over the last decade our introductory physics course has transformed from a traditional, lecture-learning class to a flipped class based on the textbook Six Ideas that Shaped Physics. Here we describe the structure of the new labs we have designed to capitalize on our classroom success while overcoming the aforementioned difficulties. These new labs are more engaging and instructive for our introductory physics students.

NASA Celebrates the World Year of Physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szofran, Frank; Schneider, Twila

2004-01-01

One of the goals of NASA's Exploration Systems Education and Outreach team is to provide educators and students authentic, relevant opportunities and activities. In celebration of the World Year of Physics 2005, there will be several NASA-sponsored events and classroom activities geared to the teaching and learning of physics. Proposed events and activities include a contest for high school classes to design a reduced gravity experiment or demonstration for flight on an aircraft executing a parabolic flight path, amusement park activities with a NASA twist, and a symposium bringing together prominent leaders in the diverse areas of physics research.

Teaching physics mysteries versus pseudoscience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuttner, Fred

2007-04-01

The interpretation of quantum mechanics (and the encounter with consciousness) is contentious and has been called ``physics' skeleton in the closet.'' The reluctance of physicists to share this enigma with students and with the larger public has left the discussion open to the wild claims of purveyors of pseudoscience. The movie ``What the Bleep'' is a recent example. Bringing the enigma into the open is the best way to combat pseudoscience and share the true, deep mysteries that physics has uncovered. I will discuss my own experience and that of colleagues with ways of presenting this material to physics majors, non-majors, and the public.

A cross-cultural, multilevel study of inquiry-based instruction effects on conceptual understanding and motivation in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negishi, Meiko

Student achievement and motivation to learn physics is highly valued in many industrialized countries including the United States and Japan. Science education curricula in these countries emphasize the importance and encourage classroom teachers to use an inquiry approach. This dissertation investigated high school students' motivational orientations and their understanding of physics concepts in a context of inquiry-based instruction. The goals were to explore the patterns of instructional effects on motivation and learning in each country and to examine cultural differences and similarities. Participants consisted of 108 students (55 females, 53 males) and 9 physics teachers in the United States and 616 students (203 females and 413 males) and 11 physics teachers in Japan. Students were administered (a) Force Concept Inventory measuring physics conceptual understanding and (b) Attitudes about Science Questionnaire measuring student motivational orientations. Teachers were given a survey regarding their use of inquiry teaching practices and background information. Additionally, three teachers in each country were interviewed and observed in their classrooms. For the data analysis, two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) methods were used to examine individual student differences (i.e., learning, motivation, and gender) within each classroom (i.e., inquiry-based teaching, teaching experience, and class size) in the U.S. and Japan, separately. Descriptive statistical analyses were also conducted. The results indicated that there was a cultural similarity in that current teaching practices had minimal influence on conceptual understanding as well as motivation of high school students between the U.S. and Japan. In contrast, cultural differences were observed in classroom structures and instructional approaches. Furthermore, this study revealed gender inequity in Japanese students' conceptual understanding and self-efficacy. Limitations of the study, as well as implications for high school physics teachers are discussed. Future research in this line could explore students' use of cognitive strategies to overcome misconceptions in Western and Eastern cultures. Also, exploring the best practices in changing student misconceptions and promoting motivation across cultures would enrich our understanding and current teaching practices.

A national survey to explore the willingness of Japanese standardized patients to participate in teaching physical examination skills to undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Abe, Keiko; Suzuki, Tomio; Fujisaki, Kazuhiki; Ban, Nobutaro

2009-07-01

Standardized patients (SPs) are an increasingly prevalent resource in medical education and evaluation. There is a variety of clinical skills training programs including courses designed to teach and assess communication skills as well as physical examination (PE) skills. In Japan, SPs have contributed enormously to help medical students improve their communication skills. However, there are few SPs who participate in physical examination training and the use of SPs for physical examination is rarely considered as a useful educational resource. The purpose is to explore SPs' perceptions about participating in PE training. A 27-item questionnaire was used to survey 532 SPs in Japan. The response rate was 62% (n = 332). The ratio of females to males was 4:1. SPs perceived PE training using SPs was effective in teaching students physical examination. Eighty percent of SPs were willing to have PE of head, arms, and legs. Twenty-five percent were willing to have PE on their chest, back, and abdomen. Willingness varied by gender and age. SPs perceived that including SPs in physical examination was valuable. Males or people over 50 years old are more willing to participate than females or people under 50. Reluctance to participate in PE may decrease through experience or improved knowledge of PE training and by beginning with examination of head, neck, and legs, then gradually moving to chest, back, and abdomen.

Teaching climate change in undergraduate courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Michael

2013-04-01

Although anthropogenic climate change is generally accepted in the scientific community, there is considerable skepticism among the general population and, therefore, in undergraduate students of all majors. Students are often asked by their peers, family members, and others, whether they ``believe'' climate change is occurring and what should be done about it (if anything). I will present my experiences and recommendations for teaching the physics of climate change to both physics and non-science majors. For non-science majors, the basic approach is to try to develop an appreciation for the scientific method (particularly peer-reviewed research) in a course on energy and the environment. For physics majors, the pertinent material is normally covered in their undergraduate courses in modern physics and thermodynamics. Nevertheless, it helps to review the basics, e.g. introductory quantum mechanics (discrete energy levels of atomic systems), molecular spectroscopy, and blackbody radiation. I have done this in a separate elective topics course, titled ``Physics of Climate Change,'' to help the students see how their knowledge gives them insight into a topic that is very volatile (socially and politically).

The challenges of developing computational physics: the case of South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salagaram, T.; Chetty, N.

2013-08-01

Most modern scientific research problems are complex and interdisciplinary in nature. It is impossible to study such problems in detail without the use of computation in addition to theory and experiment. Although it is widely agreed that students should be introduced to computational methods at the undergraduate level, it remains a challenge to do this in a full traditional undergraduate curriculum. In this paper, we report on a survey that we conducted of undergraduate physics curricula in South Africa to determine the content and the approach taken in the teaching of computational physics. We also considered the pedagogy of computational physics at the postgraduate and research levels at various South African universities, research facilities and institutions. We conclude that the state of computational physics training in South Africa, especially at the undergraduate teaching level, is generally weak and needs to be given more attention at all universities. Failure to do so will impact negatively on the countrys capacity to grow its endeavours generally in the field of computational sciences, with negative impacts on research, and in commerce and industry.

Second Catwalk: Narrative, Context, and Embodiment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speiser, Bob; Walter, Chuck

1996-01-01

Uses Muybridge's sequence of photos of a moving cat to examine how one might picture changes in the cat's velocity. Classroom implications include building on personally enacted physical experience and recognizing uncertainty as fundamental. Concludes that carefully examined case examples are essential in teaching students to learn and reason…

Are Three Sheets Enough? Using Toilet Paper to Teach Science and Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolverton, Christopher J.; Woolverton, Lyssa N.

2006-01-01

Toilet paper (TP) composition and physical characteristics were used to model scientific investigations that combined several "National Science Education Standards." Experiments with TP permitted the integration of TP history, societal change resulting from invention, mathematics (including geometry and statistics), germ theory, and personal…

Exploring Uncertainty with Projectile Launchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orzel, Chad; Reich, Gary; Marr, Jonathan

2012-01-01

The proper choice of a measurement technique that minimizes systematic and random uncertainty is an essential part of experimental physics. These issues are difficult to teach in the introductory laboratory, though. Because most experiments involve only a single measurement technique, students are often unable to make a clear distinction between…

Apparatus for Teaching Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottlieb, Herbert H., Ed.

1981-01-01

Describes: (1) a seven-segment LED display successfully used as an "illuminated" object for introductory optics experiments and advantages for its use; (2) a series/parallel circuit demonstration especially useful in introductory courses for nonmajors; and (3) a method for igniting a sodium arc lamp with an incandescent lamp. (JN)

Apparatus for Teaching Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Walter, Ed.

1989-01-01

Describes three activities: "Solar Approach to Ohm's Law," dealing with the Ohm's law and the inverse square law; "Using LED's to Demonstrate Induced Current," showing Faraday's law and Lenz's law by using light emitting diodes (LEDs); and "The Helium-Filled Organ Pipe," discussing a discrepancy between theory and experiment. (YP)

Ideas II. A Sharing of Teaching Practices by Secondary School Physical Education Practitioners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Ronald P., Ed.

This book describes physical education activity teaching ideas for the secondary school level. The first section describes curriculum ideas in such areas as adapted physical education, quality control, elective physical education, and advanced physical education. Section II describes instructional ideas involving peer teaching, skill improvement,…

Teaching Research in the Traditional Classroom: Why Make Graduate Students Wait?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, Lincoln D.

2016-05-01

Physics graduate programs tend to divide the degree into two parts: (1) theory, taught in classes, almost totally divorced from the lab setting; and (2) research, taught in a research group through hands-on lab experience and mentorship. As we come to understand from undergraduate physics education research that modifying our teaching can rather easily produce quantifiably better results, it is reasonable to ask if we can make similar improvements at the graduate level. In this talk I will present the results of beginning research instruction in the classroom in the very first semester of graduate school, in the most traditional of classes - classical mechanics. In this approach, students build their knowledge from hands-on projects. They get immediately certified and experienced in the machine shop and electronics lab. There are no formal lectures. Students develop and present their own problems, and teach and challenge each other in the classroom. In contrast to polished lectures, both the instructor and the students together learn from their many public mistakes. Students give conference-style presentations instead of exams. As a result, students not only excel in analytical skills, but they also learn to tie theory to measurement, identify statistical and systematic errors, simulate computationally and model theoretically, and design their own experiments. Funded by NSF.

Physics Teacher Preparation's Role in the Transformation of a Physics Department

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, Laird

2011-04-01

Physics teacher preparation programs offer one vehicle of creating sustained educational transformation within a physics department. Strategic implementations pave the way for developing more and better prepared physics teachers while providing a cohort of trained peer instructors to drive reform in the physics course sequence. We present the design and results of the new physics teacher preparation programs implemented at Florida International University (FIU). FIU implemented University of Colorado's Learning Assistant (LA) program in 2008, through the support of a PhysTEC Primary Partner Institute Grant. The LA program is an experiential teaching program for undergraduates that recruits and prepares future teachers while driving reform in the department, as LAs must experience research-validated curricula in order to make informed decisions about teaching in their future. FIU's Physics LA program now employs over 40 LAs, impacts over 2,000 introductory physics students per year, and is now fully sustained by university funding. The LA program's success has prompted a spread to chemistry, earth science, mathematics, and biology and serves as the foundation in the university's strategic vision. The impact is most compelling as FIU is a minority-serving urban public research institution in Miami, Florida serving over 42,000 students, of which 64% are Hispanic, 13% are Black, and 56% are women.

Integrating Science Content and Pedagogy in the Earth, Life, and Physical Sciences: A K-8 Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Continuum at the University of Delaware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, J.; Allen, D.; Donham, R.; Fifield, S.; Ford, D.; Shipman, H.; Dagher, Z.

2007-12-01

University of Delaware faculty in the geological sciences, biological sciences, and the physics and astronomy departments have partnered with faculty and researchers from the school of education to form a continuum for K- 8 pre-service teacher preparation in science. The goal of the continuum is to develop integrated understandings of content and pedagogy so that these future teachers can effectively use inquiry-based approaches in teaching science in their classrooms. Throughout the continuum where earth science content appears an earth system science approach, with emphasis on inquiry-based activities, is employed. The continuum for K-8 pre-service teachers includes a gateway content course in the earth, life, or physical sciences taken during the freshman year followed by integrated science content and methods courses taken during the sophomore year. These integrated courses, called the Science Semester, were designed and implemented with funding from the National Science Foundation. During the Science Semester, traditional content and pedagogy subject matter boundaries are crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based science. Students work collaboratively on multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. They also critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning during the Science Semester. The PBL activities that are the hallmark of the Science Semester provide the backdrop through which fundamental earth system interactions can be studied. For example in a PBL investigation that focuses on kids, cancer, and the environment, the hydrologic cycle with emphasis on surface runoff and ground water contamination is studied. Those students seeking secondary certification in science will enroll, as a bridge toward their student teaching experience, in an additional content course within a science discipline that is concurrently taught with a science methods course. Emphasizing inquiry-based activities, these bridge courses also focus on developing integrated understandings of the sciences. The continuum extends beyond the student teaching experience by tracking cohorts of science teachers during their in-service years. With funding from the National Science Foundation's Teacher Professional Continuum program, we are conducting research on this inquiry-based professional development approach for K-8 teachers across this continuum.

Simulation teaching method in Engineering Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Qieni; Wang, Yi; Li, Hongbin

2017-08-01

We here introduce a pedagogical method of theoretical simulation as one major means of the teaching process of "Engineering Optics" in course quality improvement action plan (Qc) in our school. Students, in groups of three to five, complete simulations of interference, diffraction, electromagnetism and polarization of light; each student is evaluated and scored in light of his performance in the interviews between the teacher and the student, and each student can opt to be interviewed many times until he is satisfied with his score and learning. After three years of Qc practice, the remarkable teaching and learning effect is obatined. Such theoretical simulation experiment is a very valuable teaching method worthwhile for physical optics which is highly theoretical and abstruse. This teaching methodology works well in training students as to how to ask questions and how to solve problems, which can also stimulate their interest in research learning and their initiative to develop their self-confidence and sense of innovation.

COMPRES Mineral Physics Educational Modules for Advanced Undergraduates and Graduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnley, P. C.; Thomas, S.

2012-12-01

The Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences (COMPRES) is a community-based consortium whose goal is to advance and facilitate experimental high pressure research in the Earth Sciences. An important aspect of this goal is sharing our knowledge with the next generation of researchers. To facilitate this, we have created a group of web-based educational modules on mineral physics topics. The modules reside in the On Cutting Edge, Teaching Mineralogy collection on the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) website. Although the modules are designed to function as part of a full semester course, each module can also stand alone. Potential users of the modules include mineral physics faculty teaching "bricks and mortar" classes at their own institutions, or in distance education setting, mineralogy teachers interested in including supplementary material in their mineralogy class, undergraduates doing independent study projects and graduate students and colleagues in other sub-disciplines who wish to brush up on a mineral physics topic. We used the modules to teach an on-line course entitled "Introduction to Mineral Physics" during the spring 2012 semester. More than 20 students and postdocs as well as 15 faculty and senior scientists participated in the course which met twice weekly as a webinar. Recordings of faculty lectures and student-led discussions of journal articles are now available upon request and edited versions of the lectures will be incorporated into the educational modules. Our experience in creating the modules and the course indicates that the use of 1) community-generated internet-based resources and 2) webinars to enable shared teaching between faculty at different universities, has the potential to both enrich graduate education and create efficiencies for university faculty.;

THE EFFECT OF OUTPATIENT SERVICE QUALITY ON PATIENT SATISFACTION IN TEACHING HOSPITALS IN IRAN

PubMed Central

Pouragha, Behrouz; Zarei, Ehsan

2016-01-01

Aim: The quality of services plays a primary role in achieving patient satisfaction. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effect of outpatient service quality on patient satisfaction in teaching hospitals in Iran. Methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014. The study sample included 500 patients were selected with systematic random method from the outpatient departments (clinics) of four teaching hospitals in Tehran. The survey instrument was a questionnaire consisted of 44 items, which were confirmed its reliability and validity. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multivariate regression methods with the SPSS.18 software. Results: According to the findings of this study, the majority of patients had a positive experience in the outpatient departments of the teaching hospitals and thus evaluated the services as good. Perceived service costs, physician consultation, physical environment, and information to patient were found to be the most important determinants of outpatient satisfaction. Conclusion: The results suggest that improving the quality of consultation, providing information to the patients during examination and consultation, creating value for patients by reducing costs or improving service quality, and enhancing the physical environment quality of the clinic can be regarded as effective strategies for the management of teaching hospitals toward increasing outpatient satisfaction. PMID:27047262

THE EFFECT OF OUTPATIENT SERVICE QUALITY ON PATIENT SATISFACTION IN TEACHING HOSPITALS IN IRAN.

PubMed

Pouragha, Behrouz; Zarei, Ehsan

2016-02-01

The quality of services plays a primary role in achieving patient satisfaction. The main purpose of this study was to explore the effect of outpatient service quality on patient satisfaction in teaching hospitals in Iran. this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014. The study sample included 500 patients were selected with systematic random method from the outpatient departments (clinics) of four teaching hospitals in Tehran. The survey instrument was a questionnaire consisted of 44 items, which were confirmed its reliability and validity. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and multivariate regression methods with the SPSS.18 software. According to the findings of this study, the majority of patients had a positive experience in the outpatient departments of the teaching hospitals and thus evaluated the services as good. Perceived service costs, physician consultation, physical environment, and information to patient were found to be the most important determinants of outpatient satisfaction. The results suggest that improving the quality of consultation, providing information to the patients during examination and consultation, creating value for patients by reducing costs or improving service quality, and enhancing the physical environment quality of the clinic can be regarded as effective strategies for the management of teaching hospitals toward increasing outpatient satisfaction.

Influence of Three Different Methods of Teaching Physics on the Gain in Students' Development of Reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marušić, Mirko; Sliško, Josip

2012-01-01

The Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) was used to gauge the relative effectiveness of three different methods of pedagogy, Reading, Presenting, and Questioning (RPQ), Experimenting and Discussion (ED), and Traditional Methods (TM), on increasing students' level of scientific thinking. The data of a one-semester-long senior high-school project indicate that, for the LCTSR: (a) the RPQ group (n = 91) achieved effect-sizes d = 0.30 and (b) the ED group (n  =  85) attained effect-sizes d = 0.64. These methods have shown that the Piagetian and Vygotskian visions on learning and teaching can go hand in hand and as such achieve respectable results. To do so, it is important to challenge the students and thus encourage the shift towards higher levels of reasoning. This aim is facilitated through class management which recognizes the importance of collaborative learning. Carrying out Vygotsky's original intention to use teaching to promote cognitive development as well as subject concepts, this research has shown that it is better to have students experience cognitive conflict from directly observed experiments than by reflecting on reported experience from popularization papers or writings found on the internet.

Newly qualified teachers' visions of science learning and teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, Deborah L.

2011-12-01

This study investigated newly qualified teachers' visions of science learning and teaching. The study also documented their preparation in an elementary science methods course. The research questions were: What educational and professional experiences influenced the instructor's visions of science learning and teaching? What visions of science learning and teaching were promoted in the participants' science methods course? What visions of science learning and teaching did these newly qualified teachers bring with them as they graduated from their teacher preparation program? How did these visions compare with those advocated by reform documents? Data sources included participants' assignments, weekly reflections, and multi-media portfolio finals. Semi-structured interviews provided the emic voice of participants, after graduation but before they had begun to teach. These data were interpreted via a combination of qualitative methodologies. Vignettes described class activities. Assertions supported by excerpts from participants' writings emerged from repeated review of their assignments. A case study of a typical participant characterized weekly reflections and final multi-media portfolio. Four strands of science proficiency articulated in a national reform document provided a framework for interpreting activities, assignments, and interview responses. Prior experiences that influenced design of the methods course included an inquiry-based undergraduate physics course, participation in a reform-based teacher preparation program, undergraduate and graduate inquiry-based science teaching methods courses, participation in a teacher research group, continued connection to the university as a beginning teacher, teaching in diverse Title 1 schools, service as the county and state elementary science specialist, participation in the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, service on a National Research Council committee, and experience teaching a science methods course. The methods course studied here emphasized reform-based practices, science as inquiry, culturally responsive teaching, scientific discourse, and integration of science with technology and other disciplines. Participants' writings and interview responses articulated visions of science learning and teaching that included aspects of reform-based practices. Some participants intentionally incorporated and implemented reform-based strategies in field placements during the methods course and student teaching. The strands of scientific proficiency were evident in activities, assignments and participants' interviews in varying degrees.

How surgical mentors teach: a classification of in vivo teaching behaviors part 2: physical teaching guidance.

PubMed

Sutkin, Gary; Littleton, Eliza B; Kanter, Steven L

2015-01-01

To study surgical teaching captured on film and analyze it at a fine level of detail to categorize physical teaching behaviors. We describe live, filmed, intraoperative nonverbal exchanges between surgical attending physicians and their trainees (residents and fellows). From the films, we chose key teaching moments and transcribed participants' utterances, actions, and gestures. In follow-up interviews, attending physicians and trainees watched videos of their teaching case and answered open-ended questions about their teaching methods. Using a grounded theory approach, we examined the videos and interviews for what might be construed as a teaching behavior and refined the physical teaching categories through constant comparison. We filmed 5 cases in the operating suite of a university teaching hospital that provides gynecologic surgical care. We included 5 attending gynecologic surgeons, 3 fellows, and 5 residents for this study. More than 6 hours of film and 3 hours of interviews were transcribed, and more than 250 physical teaching motions were captured. Attending surgeons relied on actions and gestures, sometimes wordlessly, to achieve pedagogical and surgical goals simultaneously. Physical teaching included attending physician-initiated actions that required immediate corollary actions from the trainee, gestures to illustrate a step or indicate which instrument to be used next, supporting or retracting tissues, repositioning the trainee's instruments, and placement of the attending physicians' hands on the trainees' hands to guide them. Attending physicians often voiced surprise at the range of their own teaching behaviors captured on film. Interrater reliability was high using the Cohen κ, which was 0.76 for the physical categories. Physical guidance is essential in educating a surgical trainee, may be tacit, and is not always accompanied by speech. Awareness of teaching behaviors may encourage deliberate teaching and reflection on how to innovate pedagogy for the teaching operating room. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Counterfactual Thought Experiments: A Necessary Teaching Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebow, Richard Ned

2007-01-01

Counterfactuals are routinely used in physical and biological sciences to develop and evaluate sophisticated, non-linear models. They have been used with telling effect in the study of economic history and American politics. For some historians, counterfactual arguments have no scholarly standing. They consider them flights of fancy, fun over a…

Testing the Fracture Behaviour of Chocolate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, L. B.; Goodall, R.

2011-01-01

In teaching the materials science aspects of physics, mechanical behaviour is important due to its relevance to many practical applications. This article presents a method for experimentally examining the toughness of chocolate, including a design for a simple test rig, and a number of experiments that can be performed in the classroom. Typical…

Similarities and Differences in Pedagogy and Content: 5 Years Later.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Phillip; O'Sullivan, Mary

1998-01-01

Examined changes in one elementary physical educator's pedagogy and content as a function of experience. Interviews and observations of the educator's teaching in years 2 and 6 indicated similarities in pedagogical organization of lessons but differences in content. Managerial and instructional routines and professional isolation remained the…

Probing Planck's Law at Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonnet, I.; Gabelli, J.

2010-01-01

We report on the physics around an incandescent lamp. Using a consumer-grade digital camera, we combine electrical and optical measurements to explore Planck's law of black-body radiation. This simple teaching experiment is successfully used to measure both Stefan's and Planck's constants. Our measurements lead to a strikingly accurate value for…

Teaching Motion with the Global Positioning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budisa, Marko; Planinsic, Gorazd

2003-01-01

We have used the GPS receiver and a PC interface to track different types of motion. Various hands-on experiments that enlighten the physics of motion at the secondary school level are suggested (visualization of 2D and 3D motion, measuring car drag coefficient and fuel consumption). (Contains 8 figures.)

An Atmospheric Pressure Ping-Pong "Ballometer"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazachkov, Alexander; Kryuchkov, Dmitriy; Willis, Courtney; Moore, John C.

2006-01-01

Classroom experiments on atmospheric pressure focus largely on demonstrating its existence, often in a most impressive way. A series of amusing physics demonstrations is widely known and practiced by educators teaching the topic. However, measuring the value of atmospheric pressure(P[subscript atm]) is generally done in a rather mundane way,…

Influence of Three Different Methods of Teaching Physics on the Gain in Students' Development of Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marusic, Mirko; Slisko, Josip

2012-01-01

The Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) was used to gauge the relative effectiveness of three different methods of pedagogy, "Reading, Presenting, and Questioning" (RPQ), "Experimenting and Discussion" (ED), and "Traditional Methods" (TM), on increasing students' level of scientific thinking. The…

An Experience Teaching an Undergraduate Level Course in Biophysics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feizabadi, Mitra Shojania

2009-01-01

The importance of including concepts, examples, and techniques from mathematics and the physical and information sciences in biology courses to fulfill the need of today's undergraduates has been the principle motivation for developing interdisciplinary biology-focused courses. Although this movement started many years ago, developing and offering…

Experience in Collaboration: McDenver at McDonald's.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Combs, Clarice Sue

2002-01-01

The McDenver at McDonald's project provided a nontraditional, community-based teaching and learning environment for faculty and students in a health, physical education, and recreation (HPER) department and a school of nursing. Children and parents come to McDonald's, children received developmental screenings, and parents completed conferences…

Hands-On Nuclear Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Jeff

2013-01-01

Nuclear science is an important topic in terms of its application to power generation, medical diagnostics and treatment, and national defense. Unfortunately, the subatomic domain is far removed from daily experience, and few learning aids are available to teachers. What follows describes a low-tech, hands-on method to teach important concepts in…

SU-E-E-06: Teaching Medical Physics in a Radiology Museum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bednarek, D; Rudin, S

Purpose: To enhance the learning process in the teaching of medical physics by providing a venue to experience the historical equipment and devices of radiology. Methods: We have created a museum by assembling a large collection of equipment and artifacts related to radiology and medical physics. As part of a learning-in-context educational approach, classes for a survey course in medical physics are held in the museum so that students are able to visually and tangibly experience the implements of radiology, while related topics are discussed. The students learn how x-ray equipment and techniques evolved throughout the years and they learnmore » to appreciate the differences and similarities between current x-ray technology and that of the early days. The collection contains items dating from the era of the discovery of x-rays up to recent times and includes gas x-ray tubes, hand-held fluoroscopes, generators, spark-gap kV meters, stereoscopes, glass-plate radiographs, a photofluorographic unit, wood-interspaced grid, flat-panel detector, linear-accelerator klystron, and brachytherapy radium applicators, as well as an extensive library containing some of the seminal literature of the field so that students can delve deeper into the technology. In addition to the classes, guided tours are provided for radiologic-technology, bioengineering, physics and medical students, as well as group and individual tours for the general public. Results: Student course assessments have consistently included positive expressions of their experience in the museum. Numerous students have volunteered to assist with display preparation and have learned by researching the content. Many individuals have been attracted on a walk-in basis and have expressed a deep curiosity in the technology, with positive feedback. Conclusion: The museum and its artifacts have been invaluable in stimulating interest in the history and technology of medical physics. Students and visitors alike obtain a deeper appreciation of the contribution physics has made to medicine.« less

Construction of Virtual-Experiment Systems for Information Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

She, Jin-Hua; Amano, Naoki

Practice is very important in education because it not only can stimulate the motivation of learning, but also can deepen the understanding of theory. However, due to the limitations on the time and experiment resources, experiments cannot be simply introduced in every lesson. To make the best use of multimedia technology, this paper designs five virtual experiment systems, which are based on the knowledge of physics at the high-school lever, to improve the effectiveness of teaching data processing. The systems are designed by employing the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and the inner game principle to ensure the easy use and to reduce the cognitive load. The learning process is divided into two stages: the first stage teaches the basic concepts of data processing; and the second stage practices the techniques taught in the first stage and uses them to build a linear model and to carry out estimation. The virtual experiment systems have been tested in an university's data processing course, and have demonstrated their validity.

Physics Teacher Demonstrations for the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murfee, Lee

2005-04-01

A sharing of physics and physics teaching demonstrations by Lee Murfee, a teacher of students learning physics and mathematics at Berkeley Preparatory School and the United States Military Academy for 21 years, and active member of the Florida Section of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Presentation is a fast paced array of physics and physics teaching demonstrations. Topics include who and what we teach, a successful science department philosophy, forces, acceleration, impulse, momentum, observations, pendulums, springs, friction, inclined plane, rotational motion, moment of inertia, teaching description of motion with data, equations and graphing, slope, uniform circular motion, derivatives, integrals, PASCO Data Studio sensor applications, students presenting to students, flashboards, sound, pressure, and sensitivity analysis in determining specific heat. Demonstrations apply to high school and college introductory physics teaching; handouts and some door prizes/gifts will be provided.

Elastic Waves: Mental Models and Teaching/Learning Sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarantino, Giovanni

In last years many research studies have pointed out relevant student diff- culties in understanding the physics of mechanical waves. Moreover, it has been reported that these diffculties deal with some fundamental concepts as the role of the medium in wave propagation, the superposition principle and the mathematical description of waves involving the use of functions of two variables. In the context of pre-service courses for teacher preparation a teaching/learning (T/L) sequence based on using simple RTL experiments and interactive simulation environments aimed to show the effect of medium properties on the propagation speed of a wave pulse, has been experimented. Here, preliminary results of investigations carried out with a 120 traineeteacher (TT) group are reported and discussed.

Teaching Physical Geography with Toys, Household Items, and Food

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnahan, Laura; Pankratz, Mary Jo; Alberts, Heike

2014-01-01

While many college physical geography instructors already use a wide variety of creative teaching approaches in their classes, others have not yet been exposed to teaching with toys, household items, or food. The goal in this article is to present some ideas for teaching college-level physical geography (weather/climate and geomorphology) for…

Teaching Einsteinian Physics at Schools: Part 2, Models and Analogies for Quantum Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaur, Tejinder; Blair, David; Moschilla, John; Zadnik, Marjan

2017-01-01

The Einstein-First project approaches the teaching of Einsteinian physics through the use of physical models and analogies. This paper presents an approach to the teaching of quantum physics which begins by emphasising the particle-nature of light through the use of toy projectiles to represent photons. This allows key concepts including the…

Physics Teaching in a Rural School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilhite, Lora

1979-01-01

The author describes, in a highly personal manner, physics teaching in a rural school. Topics detailed include: program descriptions, teaching methods, textbook selection and adoption procedures, teaching load, and the problems associated with teaching in a school district with limited funds. (BT)

Graduate student training and creating new physics labs for biology students, killing two birds with one stone.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Barbara

2001-03-01

At UCSD biology majors are required to take 3 quarters of a calculus based physics course. This is taught in a standard format large lecture class partly by faculty and partly by freeway flyers. We are working with physics graduate students who are also participating in our PFPF (Preparing Future Physics Faculty) program to write, review, and teach new weekly labs for these biology students. This provides an experience for the grad student that is both rewarding to them and useful to the department. The grad students participate in curriculum development, they observe the students behaviour in the labs, and assess the effectiveness of different lab formats. The labs are intended to provide an interactive, hands on experience with a wide variety of equipment which is mostly both simple and inexpensive. Both students and grads find the labs to be engaging and fun. Based on group discussions the labs are modified to try to try to create the best teaching environment. The biology students benefit from the improvements both in the quality of the labs they do, and from the enthusiasm of the TAs who take an active interest in their learning. The ability to make significant changes to the material taught maintains the interest of the grad students and helps to make the labs a stable and robust environment.

Quantitative Comparisons to Promote Inquiry in the Introductory Physics Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, N. G.; Bonn, D. A.

2015-09-01

In a recent report, the American Association of Physics Teachers has developed an updated set of recommendations for curriculum of undergraduate physics labs. This document focuses on six major themes: constructing knowledge, modeling, designing experiments, developing technical and practical laboratory skills, analyzing and visualizing data, and communicating physics. These themes all tie together as a set of practical skills in scientific measurement, analysis, and experimentation. In addition to teaching students how to use these skills, it is important for students to know when to use them so that they can use them autonomously. This requires, especially in the case of analytical skills, high levels of inquiry behaviors to reflect on data and iterate measurements, which students rarely do in lab experiments. Often, they perform lab experiments in a plug-and-chug frame, procedurally completing each activity with little to no sensemaking. An emphasis on obtaining true theoretical values or agreement on individual measurements also reinforces inauthentic behaviors such as retroactively inflating measurement uncertainties. This paper aims to offer a relatively simple pedagogical framework for engaging students authentically in experimentation and inquiry in physics labs.

Teaching Weight-Gravity and Gravitation in Middle School. Testing a New Instructional Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galili, Igal; Bar, Varda; Brosh, Yaffa

2016-12-01

This study deals with the school instruction of the concept of weight. The historical review reveals the major steps in changing weight definition reflecting the epistemological changes in physics. The latest change drawing on the operation of weighing has been not widely copied into physics education. We compared the older instruction based on the gravitational definition of weight with the newer one based on the operational definition. The experimental teaching was applied in two versions, simpler and extended. The study examined the impact of this instruction on the middle school students in regular teaching environment. The experiment involved three groups ( N = 486) of 14-year-old students (ninth grade). The assessment drew on a written questionnaire and personal interviews. The elicited schemes of conceptual knowledge allowed to evaluate the impact on students' pertinent knowledge. The advantage of the new teaching manifested itself in the significant decrease of the well-known misconceptions such as "space causes weightlessness," "weight is an unchanged property of the body considered," and "heavier objects fall faster". The twofold advantage—epistemological and conceptual—of the operational definition of weight supports the correspondent curricular changes of its adoption.

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Metacognitive Knowledge about Their Instructional Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yerdelen-Damar, Sevda; Özdemir, Ömer Faruk; Ünal, Cezmi

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices. The participants included six pre-service physics teachers. A taxonomy of metacognition for teaching was developed to analyze the level of pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices.…

SU-A-BRA-02: Making the Most of a One Hour Lecture with Alternative Teaching Methodologies: Implementing Project-Based and Flipped Learning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howell, R.

Vic Montemayor - No one has been more passionate about improving the quality and effectiveness of the teaching of Medical Physics than Bill Hendee. It was in August of 2008 that the first AAPM Workshop on Becoming a Better Teacher of Medical Physics was held, organized and run by Bill Hendee. This was followed up in July of 2010 with a summer school on the same topic, again organized by Bill. There has been continued interest in alternate approaches to teaching medical physics since those initial gatherings. The momentum established by these workshops is made clear each year in themore » annual Innovation in Medical Physics Education session, which highlights work being done in all forms of medical physics education, from one-on-one residencies or classroom presentations to large-scale program revisions and on-line resources for international audiences. This symposium, presented on behalf of the Education Council, highlights the work of three finalists from past Innovation in Education sessions. Each will be presenting their approaches to and innovations in teaching medical physics. It is hoped that audience members interested in trying something new in their teaching of medical physics will find some of these ideas and approaches readily applicable to their own classrooms. Rebecca Howell - The presentation will discuss ways to maximize classroom learning, i.e., increasing the amount of material covered while also enhancing students’ understanding of the broader implications of the course topics. Specifically, the presentation will focus on two teaching methodologies, project based learning and flip learning. These teaching methods will be illustrated using an example of graduate medical physics course where both are used in conjunction with traditional lectures. Additionally, the presentation will focus on our experience implementing these methods including challenges that were overcome. Jay Burmeister - My presentation will discuss the incorporation of active learning techniques into a traditional medical physics classroom course. I will describe these techniques and how they were implemented as well as student performance before and after implementation. Student feedback indicated that these course changes improved their ability to actively assimilate the course content, thus improving their understanding of the material. Shahid Naqvi - My talk will focus on ways to help students visualize crucial concepts that lie at the core of radiation physics. Although particle tracks generated by Monte Carlo simulations have served as an indispensable visualization tool, students often struggle to resolve the underlying physics from a simultaneous jumble of tracks. We can clarify the physics by “coding” the tracks, e.g., by coloring the tracks according to their “starting” or “crossing” regions. The regionally-coded tracks when overlaid with dose distributions help the students see the elusive connection between dose, kerma and electronic disequilibrium. Tracks coded according to local energy or energy-loss rate can illustrate the need for stopping power corrections in electron beams and explain the Bragg peak in a proton beam. Coding tracks according to parent interaction type and order can clarify the often misunderstood distinction between primary and scatter dose. The students can thus see the “whole” simultaneously with the “sum of the parts,” which enhances their physical insight and creates a sustainable foundation for further learning. After the presentations the speakers and moderator will be open to questions and discussion with the audience members. Learning Objectives: Be able to explain Project-Based Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain Flipped Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain active-learning strategies for the teaching of Medical Physics. Be able to explain how Monte Carlo simulations can be used to deepen a student’s understanding of radiation physics and dosimetry.« less

Virtual experiment of optical spatial filtering in Matlab environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Yunjing; Wang, Chunyong; Song, Yang; Lai, Jiancheng; Wang, Qinghua; Qi, Jing; Shen, Zhonghua

2017-08-01

The principle of spatial filtering experiment has been introduced, and the computer simulation platform with graphical user interface (GUI) has been made out in Matlab environment. Using it various filtering processes for different input image or different filtering purpose will be completed accurately, and filtering effect can be observed clearly with adjusting experimental parameters. The physical nature of the optical spatial filtering can be showed vividly, and so experimental teaching effect will be promoted.

The language of the arrows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2015-10-01

I think and hope that most experienced physics and astronomy teachers would agree that teaching is both a science and a creative art. There is a way to creatively introduce vectors into introductory astronomy that lets students learn some basic, but fundamental, physics and at the same time demonstrates that mathematics need not be a barrier in a science course. The approach is entirely graphical in that it is based on the geometric properties of vectors and is implemented by drawing diagrams. Despite the simplicity, it allows astronomy students to experience genuine physics reasoning at about the same level of a conceptual physics course (and possibly a higher level).

Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings from the GET-PE Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyndman, Brendon P.

2017-01-01

Identifying and understanding the perceptions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) is vital to informing teaching practices. The purpose of the "Generalist Entry into Teaching Physical Education" (GET-PE) study was to investigate Australian generalist PSTs' perceptions of the barriers to teaching physical education (PE) classes. A…

Teachers' approaches to teaching physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-12-01

Benjamin Franklin said, "Tell me, and I forget. Teach me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn." He would not be surprised to learn that research in physics pedagogy has consistently shown that the traditional lecture is the least effective teaching method for teaching physics. We asked high school physics teachers which teaching activities they used in their classrooms. While almost all teachers still lecture sometimes, two-thirds use something other than lecture most of the time. The five most often-used activities are shown in the table below. In the January issue, we will look at the 2013 Nationwide Survey of High School Physics teachers. Susan White is Research Manager in the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics; she directs the Nationwide Survey of High School Physics Teachers. If you have any questions, please contact Susan at swhite@aip.org.

Measuring the coefficient of restitution and more: a simple experiment to promote students’ critical thinking and autonomous work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, Manuel Á.; González, Miguel Á.; Vegas, Jesús; Llamas, César

2017-09-01

A simple experiment on the determination of the coefficient of restitution of different materials is taken as the basis of an extendable work that can be done by students in an autonomous way. On the whole, the work described in this paper would involve concepts of kinematics, materials science, air drag and buoyancy, and would help students to think of physics as a whole subject instead of a set of, more or less, isolated parts. The experiment can be done either in teaching laboratories or as an autonomous work by students at home. Students’ smartphones and cheap balls of different materials are the only experimental materials required to do the experiment. The proposed work also permits the students to analyse the limitations of a physical model used in the experiment by analysing the approximations considered in it, and then enhancing their critical thinking.

Open inquiry-based learning experiences: a case study in the context of energy exchange by thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pizzolato, Nicola; Fazio, Claudio; Rosario Battaglia, Onofrio

2014-01-01

An open inquiry (OI)-based teaching/learning experience, regarding a scientific investigation of the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation, is presented. A sample of upper secondary school physics teachers carried out this experience at the University of Palermo, Italy, in the framework of ESTABLISH, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing inquiry-based science education. The teachers had the opportunity to personally experience an OI-based learning activity, with the aim of exploring the pedagogical potentialities of this teaching approach to promote both the understanding of difficult concepts and a deeper view of scientific practices. The teachers were firstly engaged in discussions concerning real-life problematic situations, and then stimulated to design and carry out their own laboratory activities, aimed at investigating the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation. A scientific study on the energy exchange between a powered resistor and its surrounding environment, during the heating and cooling processes, was designed and performed. Here we report the phases of this experiment by following the teachers' perspective. A structured interview conducted both before and after the OI experience allowed us to analyze and point out the teachers' feedback from a pedagogical point of view. The advantages and limits of an OI-based approach to promote the development of more student-centred inquiry-oriented teaching strategies are finally discussed.

Teaching Physics for Conceptual Understanding Exemplified for Einstein's Special Relativity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Undreiu, Lucian M.

2006-12-01

In most liberal arts colleges the prerequisites for College Physics, Introductory or Calculus based, are strictly related to Mathematics. As a state of fact, the majorities of the students perceive Physics as a conglomerate of mathematical equations, a collection of facts to be memorized and they regard Physics as one of the most difficult subjects. A change of this attitude towards Physics, and Science in general, is intrinsically connected with the promotion of conceptual understanding and stimulation of critical thinking. In such an environment, the educators are facilitators, rather than the source of knowledge. One good way of doing this is to challenge the students to think about what they see around them and to connect physics with the real world. Motivation occurs when students realize that what was learned is interesting and relevant. Visual teaching aids such as educational videos or computer simulations, as well as computer-assisted experiments, can greatly enhance the effectiveness of a science lecture or laboratory. Difficult topics can be discussed through animated analogies. Special Relativity is recognized as a challenging topic and is probably one of the most misunderstood theories of Physics. While understanding Special Relativity requires a detachment from ordinary perception and every day life notions, animated analogies can prove to be very successful in making difficult topics accessible.

The Importance of Indirect Teaching Behaviour and Its Educational Effects in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Hyunwoo; Choi, Euichang

2016-01-01

Background: Physical education teacher behaviour has been a subject of study in physical education including physical education teacher education for 30 years. However, the research on teacher behaviour has tended to focus on direct teaching behaviour (DTB) to demonstrate the benefits of effective teaching, centred on a technical understanding of…

The Process of Physics Teaching Assistants' Pedagogical Content Knowledge Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seung, Eulsun

2013-01-01

This study explored the process of physics teaching assistants' (TAs) PCK development in the context of teaching a new undergraduate introductory physics course. "Matter and Interactions" (M&I) has recently adopted a new introductory physics course that focuses on the application of a small number of fundamental physical…

Teaching a Hypothesis-driven Physical Diagnosis Curriculum to Pulmonary Fellows Improves Performance of First-Year Medical Students.

PubMed

Staitieh, Bashar S; Saghafi, Ramin; Kempker, Jordan A; Schulman, David A

2016-04-01

Hypothesis-driven physical examination emphasizes the role of bedside examination in the refinement of differential diagnoses and improves diagnostic acumen. This approach has not yet been investigated as a tool to improve the ability of higher-level trainees to teach medical students. To assess the effect of teaching hypothesis-driven physical diagnosis to pulmonary fellows on their ability to improve the pulmonary examination skills of first-year medical students. Fellows and students were assessed on teaching and diagnostic skills by self-rating on a Likert scale. One group of fellows received the hypothesis-driven teaching curriculum (the "intervention" group) and another received instruction on head-to-toe examination. Both groups subsequently taught physical diagnosis to a group of first-year medical students. An oral examination was administered to all students after completion of the course. Fellows were comfortable teaching physical diagnosis to students. Students in both groups reported a lack of comfort with the pulmonary examination at the beginning of the course and improvement in their comfort by the end. Students trained by intervention group fellows outperformed students trained by control group fellows in the interpretation of physical findings (P < 0.05). Teaching hypothesis-driven physical examination to higher-level trainees who teach medical students improves the ability of students to interpret physical findings. This benefit should be confirmed using validated testing tools.

The practice of problem-based investigative teaching reform in semiconductor physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Aiping; Wu, Gaojian; Gu, Dawei; Jiang, Hongying; Wang, Lei

2017-08-01

Semiconductor physics is an important basic course for the students of the majors of applied physics, optoelectronics, and microelectronics. The authors have been carrying out investigative-teaching reform in semiconductor physics teaching. Firstly, the teaching content was re-structured based on scientific problems. Secondly, the students were placed in groups to discuss different scientific problems and to present a few short science-reports. Thirdly, micro-lesson videos were produced for the students to study and analyze before or after class. With comparative analysis, we find out that the semiconductor-physics curriculum content was greatly enriched. In addition, the students' learning motivation and scientific thinking ability increased, and their innovation ability was improved. Overall, the teaching quality of the semiconductor physics course could be significantly improved.

Ostomate-for-a-Day: A Novel Pedagogy for Teaching Ostomy Care to Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

PubMed

Kerr, Noël

2015-08-01

The literature describing successful pedagogies for teaching ostomy care to baccalaureate nursing students is limited. This qualitative study investigated the potential benefits of participating in an immersive simulation that allowed baccalaureate nursing students to explore the physical and psychosocial impact of ostomy surgery. Junior-level nursing students attended a 2-hour interactive session during which they learned about preoperative stoma site marking and practiced the maneuvers on a peer. Students then wore an ostomy appliance for the next 24 hours, completed tasks simulating ostomy self-care, and submitted a three- to four-page reflection on the experience. These data were coded using the iterative process of constant comparison described by Glaser. Six major themes were identified: Accommodation for Activities of Daily Living, Coping with Annoyances, Body Image and Feelings, Disclosure, Insights for Teaching, and Empathy. Each participant affirmed the value of the experience. Suggestions for future research studies are discussed. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

CNC Technology Brings out Hidden Talents in Disabled Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lintz, Jeff

2004-01-01

In this article, the author shares his experience teaching production technology to special education students at Hialeah Middle School in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He has had many students who clearly had talent in graphics and design that went unrealized because of their physical disabilities. He has seen students with an enormous amount of…

The Potential Role of Virtual Reality in Environmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Gregory L.; Disinger, John F.

1997-01-01

Investigates the acceptability and possible role of virtual reality (VR) in environmental education. Among the principal findings were that the sample population of environmental educators indicated an acceptance of VR as a teaching tool. VR applications that allow students to have an experience not available in the physical world were perceived…

Recoil Experiments Using a Compressed Air Cannon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Brett

2006-01-01

Ping-Pong vacuum cannons, potato guns, and compressed air cannons are popular and dramatic demonstrations for lecture and lab. Students enjoy them for the spectacle, but they can also be used effectively to teach physics. Recently we have used a student-built compressed air cannon as a laboratory activity to investigate impulse, conservation of…

Prism Foil from an LCD Monitor as a Tool for Teaching Introductory Optics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Planinsic, Gorazd; Gojkosek, Mihael

2011-01-01

Transparent prism foil is part of a backlight system in LCD monitors that are widely used today. This paper describes the optical properties of the prism foil and several pedagogical applications suitable for undergraduate introductory physics level. Examples include experiments that employ refraction, total internal reflection, diffraction and…

A 30-Year Scoping Review of the Physical Education Teacher Satisfaction Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, K. Andrew R.; Washburn, Nicholas; Carson, Russell L.; Hemphill, Michael A.

2017-01-01

While stress has always been present in the teaching profession, recent trends such as standardized testing and school and teacher accountability may be making teachers' work more stressful. Teacher satisfaction research has emerged as a popular lens through which to understand how teachers experience their work. This scoping review sought to…

Teaching Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Science Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hager, Paul; Sleet, Ray; Logan, Peter; Hooper, Mal

2003-01-01

Explains the design and evaluation of a project aimed at fostering the critical thinking abilities and dispositions of first year students at an Australian university. Most of the tasks relate to applications of chemistry and physics in everyday life. Many students revealed that their thinking skills were enhanced by their experience in attempting…

The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories. Teaching with Historic Places.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolger, Benjamin

This lesson explores the group of buildings in West Orange, New Jersey, built in 1887, that formed the core of Thomas Edison's research and development complex. They consisted of chemistry, physics, and metallurgy laboratories; machine shop; pattern shop; research library; and rooms for experiments. The lesson explains that the prototypes (ideas…

Micropolitical Staffroom Stories: Beginning Health and Physical Education Teachers' Experiences of the Staffroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christensen, Erin

2013-01-01

Within the burgeoning literature concerning beginning teacher transition, professional development and learning several studies have unpacked the micropolitical context of the school. However, little is known about the micropolitical context of the staffroom, the place in which teachers spend the majority of their non-teaching school time. This…

Capsela Scientific: Hands-On Physical Science Curriculum for Grades 3-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swartz, Clifford; Friedman, Madeleine

Many educators feel that elementary school science programs should concentrate on phenomena and concepts that are literally tangible. This document serves as the teaching manual which accompanies the Capsela modular system of manipulative and motorized models. The experiments in the manual are intended to provide a structured approach to using the…

Promoting Perseverance and Challenge in Physical Education: The Missing Ingredient for Improved Games Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sproule, John; Ollis, Stewart; Gray, Shirley; Thorburn, Malcolm; Allison, Pete; Horton, Peter

2011-01-01

This paper explores critical notions about how improved understandings of students learning experiences within practical learning environments could sensitise teachers to appreciate the complex influences more that affect how levels of challenge and perseverance are constructed by students. The authors, in furthering their critique, build on the…

Teaching Balance Training to Improve Stability and Cognition for Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shim, Andrew L.; Norman, Shannon P.; Kim, Young Ae

2013-01-01

There are many benefits to having young children train or practice on balance boards. The physical education setting allows educators to provide opportunities for youth to develop essential fitness skills that can be transferred into other life experiences. Balance-board activities and exercises can help in training the central and peripheral…

Evaluation of the PhunkyFoods Programme. Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teeman, David; Reed, Frances; Bielby, Gill; Scott, Emma; Sims, David

2008-01-01

The PhunkyFoods Programme (PFP), launched in 2005 by Purely Nutrition, teaches primary children key messages related to healthy eating and physical exercise in a light hearted and fun manner through art, drama, music, play and practical experience with food. It aims to enhance pupil performance, increase concentration, and improve behaviour,…

Interprofessional Education in Gross Anatomy: Experience with First-Year Medical and Physical Therapy Students at Mayo Clinic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Steven S.; Yuan, Brandon J.; Lachman, Nirusha; Hellyer, Nathan J.; Krause, David A.; Hollman, John H.; Youdas, James W.; Pawlina, Wojciech

2008-01-01

Interprofessional education (IPE) in clinical practice is believed to improve outcomes in health care delivery. Integrating teaching and learning objectives through cross discipline student interaction in basic sciences has the potential to initiate interprofessional collaboration at the early stages of health care education. Student attitudes and…

Evaluation of a Theory of Instructional Sequences for Physics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wackermann, Rainer; Trendel, Georg; Fischer, Hans E.

2010-01-01

The background of the study is the theory of "basis models of teaching and learning", a comprehensive set of models of learning processes which includes, for example, learning through experience and problem-solving. The combined use of different models of learning processes has not been fully investigated and it is frequently not clear…

Opportunities for Teaching Sustainable Development through the Chemistry Component of CAPS Physical Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsakeni, Maria

2018-01-01

The realisation that education may, in part, have contributed to non-sustainable environmental practices warrants rethinking about what learners experience at school. One approach could involve the promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD). This study analysed the opportunities to integrate ESD presented by the chemistry component…

Effect of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) on Teacher Burnout

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Ann E.

2010-01-01

Teaching is a stressful profession. Often teachers experience burnout and become emotionally and physically spent early in their careers. The level of burnout among teachers in the field of education is having a negative impact on retention, recruitment, and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of…

A Kindergarten Curriculum Guide for Indian Children: A Bilingual-Bicultural Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, DC.

A bilingual and bicultural approach is presented for teaching Navajo Indian students by enhancing and utilizing the familiar while broadening and enriching the students' experiences related to the larger American culture. Information is given on the significance of early learning, physical and mental aspects of the five year old, articulation of…

Teaching Bioprocess Engineering to Undergraduates: Multidisciplinary Hands-On Training in a One-Week Practical Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henkel, Marius; Zwick, Michaela; Beuker, Janina; Willenbacher, Judit; Baumann, Sandra; Oswald, Florian; Neumann, Anke; Siemann-Herzberg, Martin; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

2015-01-01

Bioprocess engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field of study which is strongly benefited by practical courses where students can actively experience the interconnection between biology, engineering, and physical sciences. This work describes a lab course developed for 2nd year undergraduate students of bioprocess engineering and related…

Lithography of Polymer Nanostructures on Glass for Teaching Polymer Chemistry and Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahar-Halbany, Adi; Vance, Jennifer M.; Drain, Charles Michael

2011-01-01

As nanolithography becomes increasingly important in technology and daily life, a variety of inexpensive and creative methods toward communicating the concepts underpinning these processes in the classroom are necessary. An experiment is described that uses simple CD-Rs, C-clamps, an oven, and a freezer to provide concrete examples and insights…

Teaching Geography in an International Region: Challenges of the Pacific Northwest Borderland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicol, Doug; Belec, John; Buckley, Patrick

2003-01-01

Offering a course across an international border, where students and faculty physically travel to both countries throughout the term, raises a host of pedagogical, cartographic, logistic, and cultural challenges. At the same time, two initial classes find the experience rewarding and evaluate the course positively. This paper reviews the offering…

Faster than "g", Revisited with High-Speed Imaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vollmer, Michael; Mollmann, Klaus-Peter

2012-01-01

The introduction of modern high-speed cameras in physics teaching provides a tool not only for easy visualization, but also for quantitative analysis of many simple though fast occurring phenomena. As an example, we present a very well-known demonstration experiment--sometimes also discussed in the context of falling chimneys--which is commonly…

Reasoning about Magnetism at the Microscopic Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Meng-Fei; Cheng, Yufang; Hung, Shuo-Hsien

2014-01-01

Based on our experience of teaching physics in middle and senior secondary school, we have found that students have difficulty in reasoning at the microscopic level. Their reasoning is limited to the observational level so they have problems in developing scientific models of magnetism. Here, we suggest several practical activities and the use of…

Examining Preservice Elementary Teachers' Technology Self-Efficacy: Impact of Mobile Technology-Based Physics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menon, Deepika; Chandrasekhar, Meera; Kosztin, Dorina; Steinhoff, Douglas

2017-01-01

While iPads and other mobile devices are gaining popularity in educational settings, challenges associated with teachers' use of technology continue to hold true. Preparing preservice teachers within teacher preparation programs to gain experience learning and teaching science using mobile technologies is critical for them to develop positive…

Promoting Physical Science to Education Majors: Making Connections between Science and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korb, Michele A.; Sirola, Christopher; Climack, Rebecca

2005-01-01

Elementary teachers have been identified as the single most important influence on student's future attitudes and motivations toward science. Research indicates that K-8 science teachers emphasize memorization more than the exploration of questions or critical thought as a result of their college science experiences. The reasons students gradually…

An Annotated Bibliography of Research into the Teaching and Learning of the Physical Sciences at the Higher Education Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, David

This document contains an annotated bibliography aimed at the teaching of the physical sciences at the tertiary level to those who wish to become more informed about teaching related research evidence and undertake science education research. The bibliography offers an overview of teaching and learning in the physical sciences and key references…

Using high speed smartphone cameras and video analysis techniques to teach mechanical wave physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonato, Jacopo; Gratton, Luigi M.; Onorato, Pasquale; Oss, Stefano

2017-07-01

We propose the use of smartphone-based slow-motion video analysis techniques as a valuable tool for investigating physics concepts ruling mechanical wave propagation. The simple experimental activities presented here, suitable for both high school and undergraduate students, allows one to measure, in a simple yet rigorous way, the speed of pulses along a spring and the period of transverse standing waves generated in the same spring. These experiments can be helpful in addressing several relevant concepts about the physics of mechanical waves and in overcoming some of the typical student misconceptions in this same field.

Newton's Zeroth Law: Learning from Listening to Our Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scherr, Rachel E.; Redish, Edward F.

2005-01-01

Modern instructional advice encourages us to not just tell our students what we want them to know, but to listen to them carefully. This helps us to find out "where they are" in order to better understand what tasks to offer them that might help them learn the physics most effectively. Sometimes, listening to students and trying to understand their intuitions not only helps them, it helps us—giving us new insights into the physics we are teaching. We had such an experience in the fall of 2003 in our algebra-based physics class at the University of Maryland.

A computer-based physics laboratory apparatus: Signal generator software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanakittiviroon, Tharest; Liangrocapart, Sompong

2005-09-01

This paper describes a computer-based physics laboratory apparatus to replace expensive instruments such as high-precision signal generators. This apparatus uses a sound card in a common personal computer to give sinusoidal signals with an accurate frequency that can be programmed to give different frequency signals repeatedly. An experiment on standing waves on an oscillating string uses this apparatus. In conjunction with interactive lab manuals, which have been developed using personal computers in our university, we achieve a complete set of low-cost, accurate, and easy-to-use equipment for teaching a physics laboratory.

UCTM2: An updated User friendly Configurable Trigger, scaler and delay Module for nuclear and particle physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourrion, O.; Boyer, B.; Derome, L.; Pignol, G.

2016-06-01

We developed a highly integrated and versatile electronic module to equip small nuclear physics experiments and lab teaching classes: the User friendly Configurable Trigger, scaler and delay Module for nuclear and particle physics (UCTM). It is configurable through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and provides a large number of possible trigger conditions without any Hardware Description Language (HDL) required knowledge. This new version significantly enhances the previous capabilities by providing two additional features: signal digitization and time measurements. The design, performances and a typical application are presented.

Helicity and nuclear β decay correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Ran; Sternberg, Matthew G.; Garcia, Alejandro

2017-01-01

We present simple derivations of nuclear β-decay correlations with an emphasis on the special role of helicity. This topic provides a good opportunity to teach students about helicity and chirality in particle physics with exercises that use simple aspects of quantum mechanics. In addition, this paper serves as an introduction to nuclear β-decay correlations from both a theoretical and experimental perspective. This article can be used to introduce students to ongoing experiments searching for hints of new physics in the low-energy precision frontier.

Gender Differences in Introductory University Physics Performance: The Influence of High School Physics Preparation and Affect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazari, Zahra

2006-12-01

The attrition of females studying physics after high school has been a continuing concern for the physics education community. If females are well prepared, feel confident, and do well in introductory college physics, they may be inclined to study physics further. This quantitative study uses HLM to identify factors from high school physics preparation (content, pedagogy, and assessment) and the affective domain that predict female and male performance in introductory college physics. The study includes controls for student demographic and academic background characteristics, and the final dataset consists of 1973 surveys from 54 introductory college physics classes. The results highlight high school physics and affective experiences that differentially predict female and male performance. These experiences include: learning requirements, computer graphing/analysis, long written problems, everyday world examples, community projects cumulative tests/quizzes, father's encouragement, family's belief that science leads to a better career, and the length of time students believe that high school physics would help in university physics. There were also experiences that similarly predict female and male performance. The results paint a dynamic picture of the factors from high school physics and the affective domain that influence the future physics performance of females and males. The implication is that there are many aspects to the teaching of physics in high school that, although widely used and thought to be effective, need reform in their implementation in order to be fully beneficial to females and/or males in college.

Reviews Website: Online Graphing Calculator Video Clip: Learning From the News Phone App: Graphing Calculator Book: Challenge and Change: A History of the Nuffield A-Level Physics Project Book: SEP Sound Book: Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching Book: Physics and Technology for Future Presidents iPhone App: iSeismometer Web Watch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-01-01

WE RECOMMEND Online Graphing Calculator Calculator plots online graphs Challenge and Change: A History of the Nuffield A-Level Physics Project Book delves deep into the history of Nuffield physics SEP Sound Booklet has ideas for teaching sound but lacks some basics Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching Fascinating book shows how politics impacts on the classroom Physics and Technology for Future Presidents A great book for teaching physics for the modern world iSeismometer iPhone app teaches students about seismic waves WORTH A LOOK Teachers TV Video Clip Lesson plan uses video clip to explore new galaxies Graphing Calculator App A phone app that handles formulae and graphs WEB WATCH Physics.org competition finds the best websites

The Complementary Teaching of Physics and Music Acoustics - The Science of Sound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milicevic, D.; Markusev, D.; Nesic, Lj.; Djordjevic, G.

2007-04-01

The results of some up-to-date solutions referring to teaching physics as a part of educational reform in Serbia, can be negative in a great deal to content and scope of teaching process which has existed so far. Basic course and characteristics of those solutions mean decreasing the number of classes of full-time physics teaching. Such tendencies are unjustified for many reasons, and the basic one is that physics is the foundation of understanding not only natural science, but also art and music (optics and acoustics respectively) and physical education (statics and dynamics). As a result of all this, there is necessity to have natural lessons of physics with the teachers of subjects such as music, art and physical education. The main objective of it is to conclude one good quality teaching cycle, and make student acquire new as well as revise their knowledge in different subjects.

Analyzing Virtual Physics Simulations with Tracker

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Claessens, Tom

2017-12-01

In the physics teaching community, Tracker is well known as a user-friendly open source video analysis software, authored by Douglas Brown. With this tool, the user can trace markers indicated on a video or on stroboscopic photos and perform kinematic analyses. Tracker also includes a data modeling tool that allows one to fit some theoretical equations of motion onto experimentally obtained data. In the field of particle mechanics, Tracker has been effectively used for learning and teaching about projectile motion, "toss up" and free-fall vertical motion, and to explain the principle of mechanical energy conservation. Also, Tracker has been successfully used in rigid body mechanics to interpret the results of experiments with rolling/slipping cylinders and moving rods. In this work, I propose an original method in which Tracker is used to analyze virtual computer simulations created with a physics-based motion solver, instead of analyzing video recording or stroboscopic photos. This could be an interesting approach to study kinematics and dynamics problems in physics education, in particular when there is no or limited access to physical labs. I demonstrate the working method with a typical (but quite challenging) problem in classical mechanics: a slipping/rolling cylinder on a rough surface.

Physics Teachers' Future Teaching Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Physics Teacher, 2012

2012-01-01

There are two sides of the physics teacher turnover equation: teachers leaving and teachers entering. This month we will focus on teachers' future teaching plans. As seen in the figure, about 5% of the 27,000 teachers who taught physics in U.S. high schools in 2008-09 were in their first year of teaching physics (but not necessarily their first…

Project: "Teach 'n' Reach" Physically Handicapped: Physical and Health Impaired, Visually Impaired. (Book 4 out of 4.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kagan, Arleen

The final volume (the fifth in the series and the fourth curriculum guide) in Project Teach 'n' Reach, a program designed to teach nondisabled students about disabilities, focuses on physical disabilities. Information on goals, performance objectives, and activity procedures are presented for topics dealing with physical and health impairments,…

Things I Wish They Had Told Me: Advice From a Newly Tenured Faculty Member From a Small, Liberal Arts College

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheldon, Peter

2002-04-01

I followed a relatively unique path to tenure. I knew I wanted to teach at a small, liberal arts college, so I chose to “post-doc” as a visiting faculty member instead of doing research. I continued to do research as I taught, but teaching was the main focus. I feel that the path that I followed, the opportunities for research and having found tremendously effective mentors in my three years as a visiting faculty member put me in the perfect position to find the job I wanted. I am now in the fourth year of my first tenure-track job, and find myself with tenure. Randolph-Macon Woman’s College is a nationally ranked liberal arts college in central VA with 720 students. The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers both a BA and a BS in physics, and in struggling to stay alive with only two faculty members, I have actually managed to keep going with a few research and grant opportunities. I hope that my experiences will strike a chord with some of the audience, and my experiences can help others to decide what is and what is not important to them in the finding and holding of a faculty job. Other topics that could be covered include juggling responsibilities, seeking grants, dealing with colleagues, interacting with students, and learning to teach.

Modified teaching approach for an enhanced medical physics graduate education experience

PubMed Central

Rutel, IB

2011-01-01

Lecture-based teaching promotes a passive interaction with students. Opportunities to modify this format are available to enhance the overall learning experience for both students and instructors. The description for a discussion-based learning format is presented as it applies to a graduate curriculum with technical (formal mathematical derivation) topics. The presented hybrid method involves several techniques, including problem-based learning, modeling, and online lectures, eliminating didactic lectures. The results from an end-of-course evaluation show that the students appear to prefer the modified format over the more traditional methodology of “lecture only” contact time. These results are motivation for further refinement and continued implementation of the described methodology in the current course and potentially other courses within the department graduate curriculum. PMID:22279505

MO-DE-BRA-05: Developing Effective Medical Physics Knowledge Structures: Models and Methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sprawls, P

Purpose: Develop a method and supporting online resources to be used by medical physics educators for teaching medical imaging professionals and trainees so they develop highly-effective physics knowledge structures that can contribute to improved diagnostic image quality on a global basis. Methods: The different types of mental knowledge structures were analyzed and modeled with respect to both the learning and teaching process for their development and the functions or tasks that can be performed with the knowledge. While symbolic verbal and mathematical knowledge structures are very important in medical physics for many purposes, the tasks of applying physics in clinicalmore » imaging--especially to optimize image quality and diagnostic accuracy--requires a sensory conceptual knowledge structure, specifically, an interconnected network of visually based concepts. This type of knowledge supports tasks such as analysis, evaluation, problem solving, interacting, and creating solutions. Traditional educational methods including lectures, online modules, and many texts are serial procedures and limited with respect to developing interconnected conceptual networks. A method consisting of the synergistic combination of on-site medical physics teachers and the online resource, CONET (Concept network developer), has been developed and made available for the topic Radiographic Image Quality. This was selected as the inaugural topic, others to follow, because it can be used by medical physicists teaching the large population of medical imaging professionals, such as radiology residents, who can apply the knowledge. Results: Tutorials for medical physics educators on developing effective knowledge structures are being presented and published and CONET is available with open access for all to use. Conclusion: An adjunct to traditional medical physics educational methods with the added focus on sensory concept development provides opportunities for medical physics teachers to share their knowledge and experience at a higher cognitive level and produce medical professionals with the enhanced ability to apply physics to clinical procedures.« less

Application of the K-W-L Teaching and Learning Method to an Introductory Physics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrinkle, Cheryl Schaefer; Manivannan, Mani K.

2009-01-01

The K-W-L method of teaching is a simple method that actively engages students in their own learning. It has been used with kindergarten and elementary grades to teach other subjects. The authors have successfully used it to teach physics at the college level. In their introductory physics labs, the K-W-L method helped students think about what…

Teaching Chemistry for All Its Worth: The Interaction between Facts, Ideas, and Language in Lavoisier's and Priestley's Chemistry Practice: The Case of the Study of the Composition of Air

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Berg, Kevin

2014-01-01

Both Lavoisier and Priestley were committed to the role of experiment and observation in their chemistry practice. According to Lavoisier the physical sciences embody three important ingredients; facts, ideas, and language, and Priestley would not have disagreed with this. Ideas had to be consistent with the facts generated from experiment and…

Historical Survey of Research in Physics Teacher Preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meltzer, David E.

2017-01-01

There have been efforts to provide specialized preparation for prospective physics teachers for over 100 years, both in the U.S. and elsewhere. However, systematic research investigations of these efforts are much more scarce, particularly in the U.S. I will review some highlights of research in physics teacher preparation reported in the U.S. and in several other countries as early as the 1920s. The more recent investigations (beginning around 1970) reveal a pattern of teacher preparation practices emphasizing multiple, extended experiences in analyzing physical systems-and making and testing hypotheses of experimental outcomes-by developing and reflecting on laboratory-based physics activities that are often subsequently taught (as simulated ``micro-teaching'' or in actual classrooms), all under close guidance and intensive coaching from expert physics-teacher educators. Outcomes reported include improvements in the quality of experiment design (emphasizing student-generated explanations rather than rote procedures), and in ability to communicate, better awareness of physics teachers' pedagogical knowledge, and improved learning gains by the teachers' students on tests of conceptual understanding. Supported in part by NSF DUE #1256333.

Teaching a Hypothesis-driven Physical Diagnosis Curriculum to Pulmonary Fellows Improves Performance of First-Year Medical Students

PubMed Central

Saghafi, Ramin; Kempker, Jordan A.; Schulman, David A.

2016-01-01

Rationale: Hypothesis-driven physical examination emphasizes the role of bedside examination in the refinement of differential diagnoses and improves diagnostic acumen. This approach has not yet been investigated as a tool to improve the ability of higher-level trainees to teach medical students. Objectives: To assess the effect of teaching hypothesis-driven physical diagnosis to pulmonary fellows on their ability to improve the pulmonary examination skills of first-year medical students. Methods: Fellows and students were assessed on teaching and diagnostic skills by self-rating on a Likert scale. One group of fellows received the hypothesis-driven teaching curriculum (the “intervention” group) and another received instruction on head-to-toe examination. Both groups subsequently taught physical diagnosis to a group of first-year medical students. An oral examination was administered to all students after completion of the course. Measurements and Main Results: Fellows were comfortable teaching physical diagnosis to students. Students in both groups reported a lack of comfort with the pulmonary examination at the beginning of the course and improvement in their comfort by the end. Students trained by intervention group fellows outperformed students trained by control group fellows in the interpretation of physical findings (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Teaching hypothesis-driven physical examination to higher-level trainees who teach medical students improves the ability of students to interpret physical findings. This benefit should be confirmed using validated testing tools. PMID:26730644

Teaching Physics from a Reduced Gravity Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benge, Raymond D.; Young, C.; Davis, S.; Worley, A.; Smith, L.; Gell, A.

2010-01-01

This poster reports on an educational experiment flown in January 2009 as part of NASA's Microgravity University program. The experiment flown was an investigation into the properties of harmonic oscillators in reduced gravity. Harmonic oscillators are studied in every introductory physics class. The equation for the period of a harmonic oscillator does not include the acceleration due to gravity, so the period should be independent of gravity. However, the equation for the period of a pendulum does include the acceleration due to gravity, so the period of a pendulum should appear longer under reduced gravity (such as lunar or Martian gravity) and shorter under hyper-gravity. Typical homework problems for introductory physics classes ask questions such as "What would be the period of oscillation if this experiment were performed on the Moon or Mars?” This gives students a chance to actually see the effects predicted by the equations. These environments can be simulated aboard an aircraft. Video of the experiments being performed aboard the aircraft is to be used in introductory physics classes. Students will be able to record information from watching the experiment performed aboard the aircraft in a similar manner to how they collect data in the laboratory. They can then determine if the experiment matches theory. Video and an experimental procedure are being prepared based upon this flight, and these materials will be available for download by faculty anywhere with access to the internet who wish to use the experiment in their own classrooms in both college and high school physics classes.

Engaging non-Majors: Teaching From the Eye of Hurricane Katrina and the Pacific Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarmiento, S. E.

2007-12-01

Engaging non-majors to become interested in the geosciences college courses they take for a science requirement represents a challenge. These courses are most likely the only exposure they will ever have to a formal earth science curriculum. Experience shows a general lack of motivation and the need to find effective teaching methods to raise their interest. In the beginning of the fall 2005 semester, I participated in a research project to measure water vapor contents on the ground of the eye of hurricane Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana. Sharing this experience with my physical and environmental geology students made a significant difference (25 percentage final grade improvement) on their interest and course performance over previous semesters. Class presentations with data collected in Katrina contributed to build a general trust in the instructor and in the way, students viewed the role of geosciences in the mitigation of natural hazardous processes. The use of travel blogs and internet enhanced courses allows teaching real time from almost anywhere as it was recently done from the east pacific (360 miles NW from Guam). An interactive portfolio of the faculty field experiences presented at the beginning of the semester has the potential to build student interest and their trust on the faculty experience and passion for the subject.

Earth Science Contexts for Teaching Physics. Part 2: Contexts Relating to the Teaching of Energy, Earth and Beyond and Radioactivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Chris; Kennett, Peter

2002-01-01

Explains how physics teaching can be more relevant for elementary and secondary students by integrating physics and earth science content that students can relate to and understand. Identifies and explains Earth contexts that can be appropriately implemented into the physics curriculum such as energy resources and radioactivity. (Author/YDS)

Microscopic models for bridging electrostatics and currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghi, L.; DeAmbrosis, A.; Mascheretti, P.

2007-03-01

A teaching sequence based on the use of microscopic models to link electrostatic phenomena with direct currents is presented. The sequence, devised for high school students, was designed after initial work carried out with student teachers attending a school of specialization for teaching physics at high school, at the University of Pavia. The results obtained with them are briefly presented, because they directed our steps for the development of the teaching sequence. For both the design of the experiments and their interpretation, we drew inspiration from the original works of Alessandro Volta; in addition, a structural model based on the particular role of electrons as elementary charges both in electrostatic phenomena and in currents was proposed. The teaching sequence starts from experiments on charging objects by rubbing and by induction, and engages students in constructing microscopic models to interpret their observations. By using these models and by closely examining the ideas of tension and capacitance, the students acknowledge that a charging (or discharging) process is due to the motion of electrons that, albeit for short time intervals, represent a current. Finally, they are made to see that the same happens in transients of direct current circuits.

The distinction between key ideas in teaching school physics and key ideas in the discipline of physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zongyi

2001-05-01

The distinction between key ideas in teaching a high school science and key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science has been largely ignored in scholarly discourse about what science teachers should teach and about what they should know. This article clarifies this distinction through exploring how and why key ideas in teaching high school physics differ from key ideas in the discipline of physics. Its theoretical underpinnings include Dewey's (1902/1990) distinction between the psychological and the logical and Harré's (1986) epistemology of science. It analyzes how and why the key ideas in teaching color, the speed of light, and light interference at the high school level differ from the key ideas at the disciplinary level. The thesis is that key ideas in teaching high school physics can differ from key ideas in the discipline in some significant ways, and that the differences manifest Dewey's distinction. As a result, the article challenges the assumption of equating key ideas in teaching a high school science with key ideas in the corresponding discipline of science, and the assumption that having a college degree in science is sufficient to teach high school science. Furthermore, the article expands the concept of pedagogical content knowledge by arguing that key ideas in teaching high school physics constitute an essential component.

SU-A-BRA-03: Creative Stimulation: A Flexible Hands-On Approach to Building a Deeper Understanding of Critical Concepts in Radiation Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naqvi, S.

Vic Montemayor - No one has been more passionate about improving the quality and effectiveness of the teaching of Medical Physics than Bill Hendee. It was in August of 2008 that the first AAPM Workshop on Becoming a Better Teacher of Medical Physics was held, organized and run by Bill Hendee. This was followed up in July of 2010 with a summer school on the same topic, again organized by Bill. There has been continued interest in alternate approaches to teaching medical physics since those initial gatherings. The momentum established by these workshops is made clear each year in themore » annual Innovation in Medical Physics Education session, which highlights work being done in all forms of medical physics education, from one-on-one residencies or classroom presentations to large-scale program revisions and on-line resources for international audiences. This symposium, presented on behalf of the Education Council, highlights the work of three finalists from past Innovation in Education sessions. Each will be presenting their approaches to and innovations in teaching medical physics. It is hoped that audience members interested in trying something new in their teaching of medical physics will find some of these ideas and approaches readily applicable to their own classrooms. Rebecca Howell - The presentation will discuss ways to maximize classroom learning, i.e., increasing the amount of material covered while also enhancing students’ understanding of the broader implications of the course topics. Specifically, the presentation will focus on two teaching methodologies, project based learning and flip learning. These teaching methods will be illustrated using an example of graduate medical physics course where both are used in conjunction with traditional lectures. Additionally, the presentation will focus on our experience implementing these methods including challenges that were overcome. Jay Burmeister - My presentation will discuss the incorporation of active learning techniques into a traditional medical physics classroom course. I will describe these techniques and how they were implemented as well as student performance before and after implementation. Student feedback indicated that these course changes improved their ability to actively assimilate the course content, thus improving their understanding of the material. Shahid Naqvi - My talk will focus on ways to help students visualize crucial concepts that lie at the core of radiation physics. Although particle tracks generated by Monte Carlo simulations have served as an indispensable visualization tool, students often struggle to resolve the underlying physics from a simultaneous jumble of tracks. We can clarify the physics by “coding” the tracks, e.g., by coloring the tracks according to their “starting” or “crossing” regions. The regionally-coded tracks when overlaid with dose distributions help the students see the elusive connection between dose, kerma and electronic disequilibrium. Tracks coded according to local energy or energy-loss rate can illustrate the need for stopping power corrections in electron beams and explain the Bragg peak in a proton beam. Coding tracks according to parent interaction type and order can clarify the often misunderstood distinction between primary and scatter dose. The students can thus see the “whole” simultaneously with the “sum of the parts,” which enhances their physical insight and creates a sustainable foundation for further learning. After the presentations the speakers and moderator will be open to questions and discussion with the audience members. Learning Objectives: Be able to explain Project-Based Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain Flipped Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain active-learning strategies for the teaching of Medical Physics. Be able to explain how Monte Carlo simulations can be used to deepen a student’s understanding of radiation physics and dosimetry.« less

SU-A-BRA-00: Education Council Symposium: Revitalizing Your Medical Physics Classroom: Some Examples and Thoughts from the Trenches

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Vic Montemayor - No one has been more passionate about improving the quality and effectiveness of the teaching of Medical Physics than Bill Hendee. It was in August of 2008 that the first AAPM Workshop on Becoming a Better Teacher of Medical Physics was held, organized and run by Bill Hendee. This was followed up in July of 2010 with a summer school on the same topic, again organized by Bill. There has been continued interest in alternate approaches to teaching medical physics since those initial gatherings. The momentum established by these workshops is made clear each year in themore » annual Innovation in Medical Physics Education session, which highlights work being done in all forms of medical physics education, from one-on-one residencies or classroom presentations to large-scale program revisions and on-line resources for international audiences. This symposium, presented on behalf of the Education Council, highlights the work of three finalists from past Innovation in Education sessions. Each will be presenting their approaches to and innovations in teaching medical physics. It is hoped that audience members interested in trying something new in their teaching of medical physics will find some of these ideas and approaches readily applicable to their own classrooms. Rebecca Howell - The presentation will discuss ways to maximize classroom learning, i.e., increasing the amount of material covered while also enhancing students’ understanding of the broader implications of the course topics. Specifically, the presentation will focus on two teaching methodologies, project based learning and flip learning. These teaching methods will be illustrated using an example of graduate medical physics course where both are used in conjunction with traditional lectures. Additionally, the presentation will focus on our experience implementing these methods including challenges that were overcome. Jay Burmeister - My presentation will discuss the incorporation of active learning techniques into a traditional medical physics classroom course. I will describe these techniques and how they were implemented as well as student performance before and after implementation. Student feedback indicated that these course changes improved their ability to actively assimilate the course content, thus improving their understanding of the material. Shahid Naqvi - My talk will focus on ways to help students visualize crucial concepts that lie at the core of radiation physics. Although particle tracks generated by Monte Carlo simulations have served as an indispensable visualization tool, students often struggle to resolve the underlying physics from a simultaneous jumble of tracks. We can clarify the physics by “coding” the tracks, e.g., by coloring the tracks according to their “starting” or “crossing” regions. The regionally-coded tracks when overlaid with dose distributions help the students see the elusive connection between dose, kerma and electronic disequilibrium. Tracks coded according to local energy or energy-loss rate can illustrate the need for stopping power corrections in electron beams and explain the Bragg peak in a proton beam. Coding tracks according to parent interaction type and order can clarify the often misunderstood distinction between primary and scatter dose. The students can thus see the “whole” simultaneously with the “sum of the parts,” which enhances their physical insight and creates a sustainable foundation for further learning. After the presentations the speakers and moderator will be open to questions and discussion with the audience members. Learning Objectives: Be able to explain Project-Based Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain Flipped Learning and how can it be incorporated into a Medical Physics classroom. Be able to explain active-learning strategies for the teaching of Medical Physics. Be able to explain how Monte Carlo simulations can be used to deepen a student’s understanding of radiation physics and dosimetry.« less