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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
arXiv2014

Investigating the Influence of Visualization on Student Understanding of Quantum Superposition

Visualizations in interactive computer simulations are a powerful tool to help students develop productive mental models, particularly in the case of quantum phenomena that have no classical analogue. The QuVis Quantum Mechanics Visualization Project develops research-based interactive simulations for the learning and teaching of quantum mechanics. We describe efforts to refine the visual representation of a single-photon superposition state in the QuVis simulations. We developed various depictions of a photon incident on a beam splitter, and investigated their influence on student thinking through individual interviews. Outcomes from this study led to the incorporation of a revised visualization in all QuVis single-photon simulations. In-class trials in 2013 and 2014 using the Interferometer Experiments simulation in an introductory quantum physics course were used for a comparative study of the initial and revised visualizations. The class that used the revised visualization showed a lower frequency of incorrect ideas about quantum superposition, such as the photon splitting into two half-energy components.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Pwning Level Bosses in MATLAB: Student Reactions to a Game-Inspired Computational Physics Course

We investigated student reactions to two computational physics courses incorporating several videogame-like aspects. These included use of gaming terminology such as "levels," "weapons," and "bosses"; a game-style point system linked to course grades; a self-paced schedule with no deadlines; a mastery design in which only entirely correct attempts earn credit, but students can retry until they succeed; immediate feedback via self-test code; an assignment progression from "minions" (small, focused tasks) to "level bosses" (integrative tasks); and believable, authentic assignment scenarios. Through semi-structured interviews and course evaluations, we found that a majority of students considered the courses effective and the game-like aspects beneficial. In particular, many claimed that the point system increased their motivation; the self-paced nature caused them to reflect on their self-discipline; the possibility and necessity of repeating assignments until perfect aided learning; and the authentic tasks helped them envision using course skills in their professional futures.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Peer assessment enhances student learning

Feedback has a powerful influence on learning, but it is also expensive to provide. In large classes, it may even be impossible for instructors to provide individualized feedback. Peer assessment has received attention lately as a way of providing personalized feedback that scales to large classes. Besides these obvious benefits, some researchers have also conjectured that students learn by peer assessing, although no studies have ever conclusively demonstrated this effect. By conducting a randomized controlled trial in an introductory statistics class, we provide evidence that peer assessment causes significant gains in student achievement. The strength of our conclusions depends critically on the careful design of the experiment, which was made possible by a web-based platform that we developed. Hence, our study is also a proof of concept of the high-quality experiments that are possible with online tools.

stat.AP↗
arXiv2014

A thought to illustrate the uncertainty principle on the base of Otto-Wiener's experiment

In this short paper a new thought experiment has been introduced to illustrate the famous Heisenberg's uncertainty principle based on Otto-Wiener's experiment (1890) associated with standing light waves. This illustration is quite easy as well as far more realizing than all other thought experiments generally found in textbooks. In this work seeding of quantum nature of light has been done with the Otto-Wiener's experiment. May be this new thought experiment will help the students to understand the Heisenberg's principle in a better way and also enhance their interest of learning quantum mechanics from the beginning of their course.

physics.hist-ph↗
arXiv2014

Kinesthetic activities in physics instruction: Image schematic justification and design based on didactic situations

One of the major difficulties in learning physics is for students to develop a conceptual understanding of the core concepts of physics. Many authors have argued that student conceptions of basic physical phenomena are rooted in basic schemas, originating in fundamental kinesthetic experiences of being. If central schemas have a bodily basis, this idea should be utilized in physics instruction. Thus, we argue that kinesthetic activities, including careful experiential and conceptual analysis will provide useful entry point for student acquisition of the basic conceptions of physics, and can overcome the phenomenological gap between the experiential and the conceptual understanding. We discuss the nature of image schemas and focus particularly on one: effort-resistance-flow. We argue that this schema is fundamental not only in our everyday experience, but also in most of school physics. We provide an example of a kinesthetic model and describe how an instructional strategy of these exercises can support student understanding and intuition with respect to central physics concepts.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Rheology in the Teaching Lab: Properties of Starch Suspensions

In everyday life we encounter many complex fluids, from shear-thinning paint and toothpaste to shear-thickening starch suspensions. The study of their properties offers an opportunity for students to relate sophisticated physical concepts to their everyday experience. Modern rheology uses expensive equipment impractical for the teaching laboratory. Here we describe a rudimentary rheometer suitable for student laboratories that can demonstrate and quantify discontinuous shear thickening, the most dramatic property of complex fluids, and use it to measure the properties of starch suspensions.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Introduction to foundations of probability and randomness (for students in physics), Lectures given at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Science, Lecture-1: Kolmogorov and von Mises

The education system for students in physics suffers (worldwide) from the absence of a deep course in probability and randomness. This is the real problem for students interested in quantum information theory, quantum optics, and quantum foundations. Here the primitive treatment of probability and randomness may lead to deep misunderstandings of theory and wrong interpretations of experimental results. Since during my visits (in 2013 and 2014) to IQOQI a number of students (experimenters!) asked me permanently about foundational problems of probability and randomness, especially inter-relation between classical and quantum structures, this year I gave two lectures on these problems. Surprisingly the interest of experiment-oriented students to mathematical peculiarities was very high. This (as well as permanent reminding of prof. Zeilinger) motivated me to write a text based on these lectures which were originally presented in the traditional black-board form. I hope that this might be useful for students from IQOQI as well as other young physicists.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2014

EMP Needs of Medical Undergraduates in a Saudi Context

Needs analysis (NA) is an information gathering process (Nunan 1988) that is executed to identify the learners reasons for learning a language so that they might be taught the relevant teaching materials. This study was undertaken at College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS), Taif University during the academic year 2008 to identify English for Medical Purposes (EMP) needs of the medical undergraduates. Multiple methods of data collection such as exploratory interviews, observations and a questionnaire were used to find out their linguistic needs and the data were triangulated to validate the findings. The findings offered significant insights in selecting suitable course contents to teach English to freshmen medical undergraduates of CMMS. It has been reported that 1) the students lacked the required level of English language proficiency, 2) they needed reading and speaking skills more than others and 3) the data analysis also helped identify the most important language tasks in the context of CMMS. Both populations; the faculty members and the medical undergraduates, recommended that English contact hours should be increased and that EMP should be emphasized more instead of EAP to prepare the learners for their medical studies

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Librational motion of asymmetric rolling bodies and the role of friction force

We designed a very simple asymmetric rolling spool and we studied it experimentally, in the librational regime, by using a video camera and video analysis software. Comparison of experimental results and theoretical analysis allows addressing critical aspects related both to the characteristic of the oscillatory anharmonic motion of the system and to the role of friction forces in determining it. For that reasons the asymmetric rolling spool can be presented to undergraduate students as an interesting case study where to apply their physics knowledge to understand the behavior of real objects.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

An Exploration of the Limits of the Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution

Selected aspects of the Maxwell-Boltzmann for molecular speeds are discussed, with special attention to physical effects of the low speed and high speed limits. We use simple approaches to study several topics which could be included in introductory courses, but are usually only discussed in more advanced or specialized courses.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Friction of spheres on a rotating parabolic support

This article illustrates the role of friction on the motion of a rolling sphere on pedagogical example. We use a parabolic support rotating around it axis to study the static equilibrium positions of a single sphere. Due to the particular choice of the shape of support, some easy analytical calculations allow theoretical predictions. (i) In the frictionless case, there is an eigen frequency of rotation where the gravity balances the centrifugal force. All positions on the parabola are therefore in static equilibrium. At others rates of rotation, the sphere can go to the center or escape to infinity. It depends only on the sign of the detuning with the eigenfrequency. (ii) In contrast, we show that the static friction imposes a range of equilibrium positions at all rotating rates. These predictions can be compared to the maximum equilibrium radius measured on the experimental device. A reasonable estimate of the static friction between the support and spheres made of different materials can be extracted from this maximum equilibrium radius. To go further in understanding of the experimental results, we perform a stability analysis also in the case with friction. This analysis involves the rolling friction. We show that this rolling friction can be estimated in the same device just by the check the dissipation during the motion of the sphere.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2015

Low-cost educational robotics applied to physics teaching in Brazil

In this paper we propose strategies and methodologies of teaching topics in high school physics, through a show of Educational Robotics. The Exhibition was part of a set of actions promoted by a brazilian government program of incentive for teaching activities (PIBID) and whose primary focus is the training of teachers, improvement of teaching in public schools, dissemination of science and formation of new scientists and researchers. By means of workshops, banners and prototyping of robotics, we are able to create a connection between the study areas and their surrounding, making learning meaningful and accessible for the students involved and contributing to their cognitive development.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

A simple experiment demonstrating the connection between chaos and music

In this pedagogical paper we study the dripping pattern of a leaking faucet which we analyse on the basis of a musical procedure which we outline and match the power spectral density of these drops (which are recorded as noise signals over time) to verify the $\frac{1}{f^β}$ power law which characterizes the nature of such systems with non linear characteristics.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

A simple mathematical model underlying Keller's individualized teaching method

Keller's article entitled ``Good-bye teacher...'' [J. Appl. Behav. Anal. \textbf{1}, 79-89 (1968)] was fundamental for the development and dissemination of Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), which was one of the central issues in the discussions on psychology and education in the 1970s and 1980s, and nowadays has attracted attention in the context of the increasing use of online education. Belonging to a class of approaches usually named as mastery learning, PSI and modified PSI courses (Keller-type courses) present several interesting results, such as final grade distributions where the majority of students achieve the highest grades. Here, we present a simple mathematical model underlying Keller-type individualized teaching methods, describing, in terms of average characteristic parameters, the time evolution of the distribution of students per unit of content, and that most students achieve the highest grades at the end of the course. By applying this model to a real case of an introductory electromagnetism Keller-type course, we obtained its characteristic parameters with which we showed good agreement between the predictions and observations. The model presented here results in a simple formula, which is very accessible for use by a wide audience interested in planning or investigating Keller-type or other mastering learning methods.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Applying Conceptual Blending to Model Coordinated Use of Multiple Ontological Metaphors

Energy is an abstract science concept, so the ways that we think and talk about energy rely heavily on ontological metaphors: metaphors for what kind of thing energy is. Two commonly used ontological metaphors for energy are energy as a substance and energy as a vertical location. Our previous work has demonstrated that students and experts can productively use both the substance and location ontologies for energy. In this paper, we use Fauconnier and Turner's conceptual blending framework to demonstrate that experts and novices can successfully blend the substance and location ontologies into a coherent mental model in order to reason about energy. Our data come from classroom recordings of a physics professor teaching a physics course for the life sciences, and from an interview with an undergraduate student in that course. We analyze these data using predicate analysis and gesture analysis, looking at verbal utterances, gestures, and the interaction between them. This analysis yields evidence that the speakers are blending the substance and location ontologies into a single blended mental space.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2014

Crowdfunding Astronomy Outreach Projects: Lessons Learned from the UNAWE Crowdfunding Campaign

In recent years, crowdfunding has become a popular method of funding new technology or entertainment products, or artistic projects. The idea is that people or projects ask for many small donations from individuals who support the proposed work, rather than a large amount from a single source. Crowdfunding is usually done via an online portal or platform which handles the financial transactions involved. The Universe Awareness (UNAWE) programme decided to undertake a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign centring on the resource Universe in a Box2. In this article we present the lessons learned and best practices from that campaign.

cs.CY↗
arXiv2015

A Framework for Transforming Departmental Culture to Support Educational Innovation

This paper provides a research-based framework for promoting institutional change in higher education. To date, most educational change efforts have focused on relatively narrow subsets of the university system (e.g., faculty teaching practices or administrative policies) and have been largely driven by implicit change logics; both of these features have limited the success of such efforts at achieving sustained, systemic change. Drawing from the literature on organizational and cultural change, our framework encourages change agents to coordinate their activities across three key levels of the university and to ground their activities in the various change perspectives that emerge from that literature. We use examples from a change project that we have been carrying out at a large research university to illustrate how our framework can be used as a basis for planning and implementing holistic change.

physics.ed-ph↗