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arXiv2022

Caduta dei gravi nell'aria: uno studio sperimentale sull'evoluzione dell'apprendimento attraverso PI

Physics Education Research has shown that the active methodologies are better than traditional methodologies, the most popular are PODS and PI. However, there are three problems that blur their effectiveness: first, the pre and post-test do not allow to know what happens in the learning process; second, the answers that average - performance students give to questions of a test are influenced by the answers of the more advanced students; third, in many types of research on PI the students do not experiment. In the present work, it is exposed a research on the learning through PI with $42$ students over a small physical concept (Bodies falling in air), the interaction between the students was designed to correct the aforementioned problems. It was found a linear evolution of the gain $G$, with high concentration in the correct model and it was not observed peaks or interference.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Building a Culture of Equitable Access and Success for Marginalized Members in Today's Particle Physics Community

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) are not only called for to ensure morality and justice in our society, they also support ongoing and future excellence in particle physics. Over the past decade, the particle physics community has devised programs to support DEIA along multiple axes, and the way we think about measuring and implementing these initiatives has evolved. DEIA in physics is a broad topic, so in this paper we focus on the experiences of marginalized communities and outline ways different stakeholders can build a culture of equitable access for the success of marginalized individuals. Specifically, we identify urgent needs in the following areas: (1) We need to acquire a better understanding of the status quo, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to assess the effectiveness of existing programs and to develop best practices; (2) we need to develop effective and inclusive ways to engage marginalized communities; (3) we need to create infrastructure to better support members of marginalized communities, on an academic, financial and personal level; (4) we need to create an environment conducive to equitable access and success by establishing community expectations, fostering inclusion in social interactions, and holding individuals and institutions accountable; and (5) we need to establish a mechanism to monitor progress in the area of DEIA, including the implementation of the recommendations enumerated in this paper and others during the Snowmass 2021 process.

physics.soc-ph↗
arXiv2022

Absence of a COVID-induced academic drop in high-school physics learning

At the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, the majority of secondary instruction in the United States transitioned to an online environment. In many parts of the country, online schooling continued for upwards of two years. Many experts have hypothesized an "academic slide" (a reduction in student learning) following this period of online instruction. We investigated the change in student preparation for introductory college physics in incoming Stanford university students between the Fall term of 2019 to the Fall term of 2021. We did this by looking at the performance on a validated physics diagnostic exam that all Stanford students intending to take a physics course took before enrolling in an introductory physics course. We found no statistically or educationally significant change in scores. Despite many anecdotal faculty reports, at least for this population, the level of student preparation in physics and related math appears to be unchanged.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

The dog-and-rabbit chase problem

The dog-and-rabbit chase problem is a classical problem that illustrates the concepts of elementary kinematics and, therefore, can be used in introductory mechanics teaching. By dealing with the relative motion, the problem naturally requires solving elementary differential equations and stimulates students to learn mathematics. The efficiency of the approach we adopt is emphasized by extending the class of problems that can be solved by applying it.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Higgs in a box: investigating the nature of a scientific discovery

The discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations in 2012 concluded the longest search for a particle in the history of particle physics and was based on the largest and most complex physics experiments ever conducted, involving thousands of scientists and engineers from around the world. It provided crucial evidence for a theory developed in the 1960s that describes the existence of the invisible Brout-Englert-Higgs field and the effects of this field on the mass of elementary particles. After the discovery, the work on the theoretical prediction was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2013. This discovery provides a prime example of modern science in the making and a fantastic opportunity to discuss important aspects of Nature of Science (NoS) in the classroom. In this article, we draw connections between a) milestones in the discovery of the Higgs boson, b) important aspects of NoS, and c) hands-on activities with mystery boxes, which are an effective tool to enable students to experience elements of scientific discovery and explicitly reflect on NoS. We hope that this supports educators in bringing lively discussions about modern physics research into their classrooms.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Thin film optics computations in a high-level programming language environment: tutorial

Thin film technology is a most relevant field in terms of number of different applications and, even more, in how widespread the use of the technology is. Virtually all optical devices involving light beams or with imaging capabilities available on the market contain thin film assemblies that are crucial for enhancing the practical performances of the device. So, nowadays, thin film coatings are routinely deposited on very different kinds of substrates. From the beginning, the use of thin films required the optical characterization of the coating materials as well as the design of the suitable thin film structures in order to meet the optical requirements. This has been a significant research topic in the past but the impact of high level programming languages has dramatically changed the scenario. Nowadays, to address the more advanced computation tasks related to thin film technology is much simple. The aim of the Tutorial presented here is to enable the reader (with only a basic knowledge of the use of Matlab or Python) to perform advanced numerical computations of the optical properties of thin film structures. We will explain the necessary steps and supply the corresponding program codes, with complete comments. For conciseness, our short theoretical introduction will follow the scheme established elsewhere and we will concentrate on developing in detail several practical examples of increasing difficulty, so that understanding and using the Tutorial becomes entirely intuitive.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Physics Masterclasses in Africa and the World

International Masterclasses (IMC) enable high school students and teachers to work with particle physicists to analyze authentic data from contemporary experiments and experience being "physicists for a day". The IMC program has a worldwide reach, including several universities and research institutes in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sao Tom'e and Principe, and South Africa. As technical infrastructure in Africa improves, there is a great opportunity for many more African institutes to offer IMC on their premises. The authors will discuss the advantages of IMC to Africa, how institutes may join, and ways to overcome obstacles.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Polaris: The Mathematics of Navigation and the Shape of the Earth

For millenia, sailors have used the empirical rule that the elevation angle of Polaris, the North Star, as measured by sextant, quadrant or astrolabe, is approximately equal to latitude. Here, we show using elementary trigonometry that Empirical Law 1 can be converted from a heuristic to a theorem. A second ancient empirical law is that the distance in kilometers from the observer to the North Pole, the geodesic distance measured along the spherical surface of the planet, is the number of degrees of colatitude multiplied by 111.1 kilometers. Can Empirical Law 2 be similarly rendered rigorous? No; whereas as the shape of the planet is controlled by trigonometry, the size of our world is an accident of cosmological history. However, Empirical Law 2, can be rigorously verified by measurements. The association of 111 km of north-south distance to one degree of latitude trivially yields the circumference of the globe as 40,000 km. We also extend these ideas and the parallel ray approximation to three different ways of modeling a Flat Earth. We show that photographs from orbit, taken by a very expensive satellite, are unnecessary to render the Flat Earth untenable; simple mathematics proves Earth a sphere just as well.

physics.pop-ph↗
arXiv2022

Methods to Simplify Object Tracking in Video Data

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in analyzing the motion of objects in video data as a way for students to connect the concepts of physics to something tangible like a video recording of an experiment. A variety of software exists for students to look at individual frames and click on the object to infer the x,y position. Some of these tools include a capability to automatically identify the position of the object in the frame. But it is not unusual, especially when inexperienced users are recording the video and configuring the program, for these algorithms to struggle to "lock on" to the moving object. In this paper, we both include some general advice to help object tracking algorithms locate an object and we provide our own algorithms that are simpler and potentially more effective than the sophisticated image processing algorithms that are currently being used. These algorithms focus not on a "template image" of the moving object but instead distinguish between the object and the background by analyzing only the colors of individual pixels. These algorithms are built into a free and open source program called the STEMcoding Object Tracker (http://go.osu.edu/objecttracker) which works in the browser (without any downloads) and is compatible with a variety of operating systems including chromebooks.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

What Hides within the Photograph: the Analysis of a Light Curve in the Classroom

Data from the Kepler satellite were analysed using the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) database. With the participation of 53 students, we determined the parameters of the HAT-P-7b (Kepler-2) exoplanet system (transit duration, planet-to-star radius ratio, orbital period, semi-major axis, and star mass). To achieve the result, we used approaches that are easy to understand and apply to secondary school students as well. In this way, they were able to gain insight into the essential process of light curve analysis.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Implementing Competency-Based Grading Improves the Performance of Women and First Generation Students in Introductory Physics

We present a model for competency-based grading for calculus-based introductory physics that encourages students to obtain proficiency with all course content. By allowing students to continually improve their proficiency with skills and content throughout the semester, this formative grading system is designed to create a more flexible learning environment that better accommodates the varying schedules and needs of students. While all students show improvement in their performance following the implementation of this grading system, the largest gains were found for women and first generation students, both of whom often pose a retention risk in science and engineering degree programs.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Simple precession calculation for Mercury: a linearization approach

The additional precession of Mercury due to general relativity can be calculated by a method that is no more difficult than solving for the Newtonian orbit. The method relies on linearizing the relativistic orbit equation, is simpler than standard textbook methods, and is closely related to Newton's theorem on revolving orbits. The main result is accurate to all orders in $\tfrac{1}{c}$ for near-circular orbits.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2022

Learning Newtonian mechanics with an intrinsically integrated educational game

Research on cognitive effects of educational games in general shows promising results. However, large variations in learning outcomes between individual educational games exists. Research on the design process and different design elements of educational games has led to some interesting directions, but some design aspects remain unclear. We examined how an educational game designed on the basis of intrinsic integration theory, based on a strong alignment between game and learning goals, supports the learning of Newtonian mechanics. This study applied a mixed methods approach. An pre and posttest design was used to examine possible learning and transfer effects fostered by playing the educational game, Newtons Race. To examine how players played the game, log data of each player was digitally recorded during gameplay. Our findings demonstrated a significant positive learning effect of Newtons Race. This finding can be explained with acquired log data. Log data show that players gameplay mostly matched expected learning during the game, with physically correct game settings occurring more and more as gameplay progressed. The ability to transfer learned knowledge onto other situations was shown to be limited to situations closely resembling the game environment. Similar designed intrinsically integrated games on different (physics) subjects could also foster learning in a relative short time. In order to foster transfer to other situations we propose embedding the game within other instructional activities.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2023

The sensors of mobile devices: a innovative tool in the teaching of physical sciences

We show how builtin sensors in mobile devices can be used as portable laboratories at the service of teaching experimental sciences, especially physics, in the last years of high school and first years of university. We describe experiments that previously required expensive apparatus or were not feasible in teaching laboratories. Finally, we discuss some perspectives about the use of sensors in the physics teaching.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Computer based activity to understand proper acceleration using the Rindler observer

Using elementary knowledge of Special Relativity, we design a computational classroom experiment in excel and python. Here, we show that any inertial observer $\mathcal{B}$ with an arbitrary speed $u_\mathcal{B}$ is associated with a unique event ${E}$ along the worldline of Rindler observer $\mathcal{R}$. The inertial observer $\mathcal{B}$ records the velocity of $\mathcal{R}$ to be non-zero at every instant except at this unique ${E}$ where it is co-moving with $\mathcal{R}$. At this event, $\mathcal{B}$ records a minimized distance to $\mathcal{R}$ and a maximized acceleration of $\mathcal{R}$ along its worldline. Students grasp the concept of proper acceleration when they realise that though an inertial observer measures variable local acceleration but this maxima is the same for all inertial observers. Since the Rindler observer is associated with variable local velocity the time dilation factors are different. Parameterising the Rindler velocity by proper time we graphically present the concept of time dilation. We assume $\mathcal{B}$ to be moving with respect to an inertial observer $\mathcal{A}$ which is at rest and their clocks synchronize to zero when they meet.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Current Trends in Physics Enrollment

We analyze the current trends in higher education and discuss its impact on physics enrollment in US institutions. The pandemic, lockdowns, unemployment, and healthcare problems have led to unique social and economic conditions. These conditions have modified the latest trends in education. COVID-19 has had great impact on the academic culture due to online teaching and learning methods. We identify some of the key factors including economic problems, changes in job market, modifications in family obligations, physical and mental health conditions, and overall insecurity and uncertainty in life. These key factors are causing a shift in educational preferences. A few recommendations are made to get out of the current dilemma. We use all the data collected by the American Physical Society statistics department [1].

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2022

Bringing the second quantum revolution into high school

The aim of this thesis is to bridge the gap between the world of physics research and secondary education on contemporary quantum physics. We fostered the creation of a generative learning environment formed by quantum physics researchers, high school physics teachers and student. The result was the development of an teaching approach to the core ideas of quantum physics (quantum states, superposition and measurement) that has been used to design and implement teaching-learning activities in regular high school lessons.

physics.ed-ph↗