arXiv subjects

Marcos D. Caballero

Publications and source records attributed to Marcos D. Caballero.

58 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Fostering Computational Thinking

Students taking introductory physics are rarely exposed to computational modeling. In a one-semester large lecture introductory calculus-based mechanics course at Georgia Tech, students learned to solve physics problems using the VPython programming environment. During the term 1357 students in this course solved a suite of fourteen computational modeling homework questions delivered using an online commercial course management system. Their proficiency with computational modeling was evaluated in a proctored environment using a novel central force problem. The majority of students (60.4%) successfully completed the evaluation. Analysis of erroneous student-submitted programs indicated that a small set of student errors explained why most programs failed. We discuss the design and implementation of the computational modeling homework and evaluation, the results from the evaluation and the implications for instruction in computational modeling in introductory STEM courses.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2011

Extending and Evaluating and Novel Course Reform of introductory Mechanics

The research presented in this thesis was motivated by the need to improve introductory physics courses. Introductory physics courses are generally the first courses in which students learn to create models to solve complex problems. However, many students taking introductory physics courses fail to acquire a command of the concepts, methods and tools presented in these courses. The reforms proposed by this thesis focus on altering the content of introductory courses rather than content delivery methods as most reforms do. This thesis explores how the performance on a widely used test of conceptual understanding in mechanics compares between students taking a course with updated and modified content and students taking a traditional course. Better performance by traditional students was found to stem from their additional practice on the types of items which appeared on the test. The results of this work brought into question the role of the introductory physics course for non-majors. One aspect of this new role is the teaching of new methods such as computation (the use of a computer to solve numerically, simulate and visualize physical problems). This thesis explores the potential benefits for students who learn computation as part of physics course. After students worked through a suite of computational homework problems, many were able to model a new physical situation with which they had no experience. The failure of some students to model this new situation might have stemmed from their unfavorable attitudes towards learning computation. In this thesis, we present the development of a new tool for characterizing students' attitudes. Preliminary measurements indicated significant differences between successful and unsuccessful students.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2009

A Tale of Two Curricula: The performance of two thousand students in introductory electromagnetism

The performance of over 2000 students in introductory calculus-based electromagnetism (E&M) courses at four large research universities was measured using the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA). Two different curricula were used at these universities: a traditional E&M curriculum and the Matter & Interactions (M&I) curriculum. At each university, post-instruction BEMA test averages were significantly higher for the M&I curriculum than for the traditional curriculum. The differences in post-test averages cannot be explained by differences in variables such as pre-instruction BEMA scores, grade point average, or SAT scores. BEMA performance on categories of items organized by subtopic was also compared at one of the universities; M&I averages were significantly higher in each topic. The results suggest that the M&I curriculum is more effective than the traditional curriculum at teaching E&M concepts to students, possibly because the learning progression in M&I reorganizes and augments the traditional sequence of topics, for example, by increasing early emphasis on the vector field concept and by emphasizing the effects of fields on matter at the microscopic level.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2008

Placing the Deep Impact Mission into Context: Two Decades of Observations of 9P/Tempel 1 from McDonald Observatory

We report on low-spectral resolution observations of comet 9P/Tempel 1 from 1983, 1989, 1994 and 2005 using the 2.7m Harlan J. Smith telescope of McDonald Observatory. This comet was the target of NASA's Deep Impact mission and our observations allowed us to characterize the comet prior to the impact. We found that the comet showed a decrease in gas production from 1983 to 2005, with the the decrease being different factors for different species. OH decreased by a factor 2.7, NH by 1.7, CN by 1.6, C$_{3}$ by 1.8, CH by 1.4 and C$_{2}$ by 1.3. Despite the decrease in overall gas production and these slightly different decrease factors, we find that the gas production rates of OH, NH, C$_{3}$, CH and C$_{2}$ ratioed to that of CN were constant over all of the apparitions. We saw no change in the production rate ratios after the impact. We found that the peak gas production occurred about two months prior to perihelion. Comet Tempel 1 is a "normal" comet.

astro-ph↗