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arXiv2010

Hitchhiker's Guide to First Year Physics Labs at UCD

This project began as a collection of handouts attempting to provide a slightly more in depth theoretical background to the first year labs performed at University College Dublin. Over time, these handouts were patched together, and this book (if it can be called a book) emerged. The book is intended to complement the University College Dublin first year laboratory manuals, but can also be read independently. The UCD labs span a wide range of subjects, and consequently so do the chapters of this book, beginning with experimental techniques, moving onto classical mechanics, touching on E&M, and ending with a variety of more advanced topics.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Circuit Design: An inquiry lab activity at Maui Community College

We present an inquiry lab activity on Circuit Design that was conducted in Fall 2009 with first-year community college students majoring in Electrical Engineering Technology. This inquiry emphasized the use of engineering process skills, including circuit assembly and problem solving, while learning technical content. Content goals of the inquiry emphasized understanding voltage dividers (Kirchoff's voltage law) and analysis and optimization of resistive networks (Thevenin equivalence). We assumed prior exposure to series and parallel circuits and Ohm's law (the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance) and designed the inquiry to develop these skills. The inquiry utilized selection of engineering challenges on a specific circuit (the Wheatstone Bridge) to realize these learning goals. Students generated questions and observations during the starters, which were categorized into four engineering challenges or design goals. The students formed teams and chose one challenge to focus on during the inquiry. We created a rubric for summative assessment which helped to clarify and solidify project goals while designing the inquiry and aided in formative assessment during the activity. After describing implementation, we compare and contrast engineering-oriented inquiry design as opposed to activities geared toward science learning.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Digital image exploration at Maui Community College

We designed a two-day laboratory exploration of fundamental concepts in digital images for an introductory engineering course at Maui Community College. Our objective was for the students to understand spatial vs. brightness resolution, standard file formats, image tradeoffs, and the engineering design cycle. We used open investigation, question generation, and an engineering design challenge to help our students achieve these learning goals. We also experimented with incorporating Hawaiian language and cultural awareness into our activity. We present our method, student response, and reflections on the success of our design. The 2008 re-design of this activity focused on better incorporating authentic engineering process skills, and on using a rubric for summative assessment of the students' poster presentations. A single file containing all documents and presentations used in this lesson is available online.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

A College-Level Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activity on Transiting Planets

We have designed an inquiry-based laboratory activity on transiting extrasolar planets for an introductory college-level astronomy class. The activity was designed with the intent of simultaneously teaching science process skills and factual content about transits and light curves. In the activity, groups of two to four students each formulate a specific science question and design and carry out an investigation using a table-top model of a star and orbiting planet. Each group then presents their findings to other students in their class. In a final presentation, the instructors integrate students' findings with a summary of how measured light curves indicate properties of planetary systems. The activity debuted at Hartnell College in November 2009 and has also been adapted for a lecture-based astronomy course at U.C. Santa Cruz. We present the results of student surveys before and after the astronomy course at Hartnell and discuss how well our activity promotes students' confidence and identity as scientists, relative to traditional lab activities.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

The Design and Implementation of the Akamai Maui Short Course

We describe the design and elements of implementation of the Akamai Maui Short Course (AMSC). The AMSC contains four full inquiry activities each of which builds on those previous: Camera Obscura and Sun Shadows, Lenses and Refraction, Color and Light, and the Adaptive Optics Demonstrator. In addition we describe the workings of two additional strands: 1) Communication, and 2) Science, Technology and Society. We also discuss our assessment methods and our results.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Teaching Optics and Systems Engineering With Adaptive Optics Workbenches

Adaptive optics workbenches are fully functional optical systems that can be used to illustrate and teach a variety of concepts and cognitive processes. Four systems have been funded, designed and constructed by various institutions and people as part of education programs associated with the Center for Adaptive Optics, the Professional Development Program and the Institute for Science and Engineer Educators. Activities can range from first-year undergraduate explorations to professional level training. These workbenches have been used in many venues including the Center for Adaptive Optics AO Summer School, the Maui Community College hosted Akamai Maui Short Course, classrooms, training of new staff in laboratories and other venues. The activity content has focused on various elements of systems thinking, characterization, feedback and system control, basic optics and optical alignment as well as advanced topics such as phase conjugation, wave-front sensing and correction concepts and system design. The workbenches have slightly different designs and performance capabilities. We describe here outlines for several activities utilizing these different designs and some examples of common student learner outcomes and experiences.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Teaching Charge Coupled Devices Using Models as Part of the Engineering Design Process at Maui Community College

The CCD Modeling Activity was designed to supplement the curriculum of the Electrical and Computing Engineering Technology program at the Maui Community College. The activity was designed to help learners understand how a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) works. A team of visiting graduate students was invited to teach an activity through the Teaching and Curriculum Collaborative (TeCC) as part of the Center for Adaptive Optics/Institute for Science and Engineer Educators Professional Development Program. One of the primary goals was to have students gain an understanding of the function of a CCD by constructing a model representing the CCD readout process. In this paper we discuss the design and implementation of the activity and the challenges we faced.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

A Global Citizen of the Skies

Global citizenship plays an important role in today's schools. Many subjects taught in schools have already incorporated such ideas. Science and physics have also followed suit. However, when dealing with astronomy - a topic so seemingly far removed from society - it becomes difficult to imagine any links with global citizenship. At Nottingham Trent University observatory we have developed an activity ideal to transport the idea of global citizenship and deal with common astronomical misconceptions. It incorporates role playing in the inspiring environment of an astronomical observatory. In this activity stellar constellations with their myths and history pose an ideal opportunity to explore global citizenship. Students not only place themselves in someone else's situation, but also compare their different reactions when faced with a common situation. This idea is extended to analyse the change in constellation culture throughout time and the affect politics has had on constellations. In this article we outline the details of this activity and how it deals with common astronomical misconceptions. We also demonstrate its implementation into astronomy taught at schools. First results showing the impact the activity had on the students will also be given.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Teaching Astronomy with an Inquiry Activity on Stellar Populations

We describe a new inquiry design aimed at teaching advanced high-school to senior college students the basics of stellar populations. The inquiry is designed to have students come up with their own version of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram as a tool to understand how stars evolve based on their color, mass, and luminosity. The inquiry makes use of pictures and spectra of stars, which the students analyze and interpret to answer the questions they come up with at the beginning. The students undergo a similar experience to real astronomers, using the same tools and methods to figure out the phenomena they are trying to understand. Specifically, they use images and spectra of stars, and organize the data via tables and plots to find trends that will then enable them to answer their questions. The inquiry also includes a "thinking tool" to help connect the trends students observe to the larger picture of stellar evolution. We include a description of the goals of the inquiry, the activity description, the motivations and thoughts that went into the design of the inquiry, and reflections on how the inquiry activity worked in practice.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2010

Peak into the Past - An Archaeo-Astronomy Summer School

Our landscape has been shaped by man throughout the millennia. It still contains many clues to how it was used in the past giving us insights into ancient cultures and their everyday life. Our summer school uses archaeology and astronomy as a focus for effective out-of-classroom learning experiences. It demonstrates how a field trip can be used to its full potential by utilising ancient monuments as outdoor classrooms. This article shows how such a summer school can be embedded into the secondary curriculum; giving advice, example activities, locations to visit, and outlines the impact this work has had.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Investigations about Science Misconceptions

Students entering engineering in universities of applied sciences were tested to see whether they understood easy Science problems within the first week of the first semester. The test comprised of mathematics and physics questions in both linear and diagrammatic form. Science misconceptions are investigated here by comparison to a model of misconception based on the findings of other investigators. The misconceptions demonstrated by the answers confirm this model of misconception. The results are discussed with traditional theories about education as well as with recent psychological research and with neuroscience insights. These comparisons enable further investigation of misconceptions.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Productivity tools to study constrained motion: electrician's approach to mechanician's problem

An application design is offered, which students of physics can use when authoring a solver for mechanical systems with constraints. A 'chainlist' concept is introduced to capture a constrained mechanical system configuration and to pass the simulation scenario to the solver application. Code samples are given to start off the solver application (simulator) project. A short review of linear algebra for constrained motion computations (pseudoinverse) is given.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Arithmetic Operations Beyond Floating Point Number Precision

In basic computational physics classes, students often raise the question of how to compute a number that exceeds the numerical limit of the machine. While technique of avoiding overflow/underflow has practical application in the electrical and electronics engineering industries, it is not commonly utilized in scientific computing, because scientific notation is adequate in most cases. We present an undergraduate project that deals with such calculations beyond a machine's numerical limit, known as arbitrary precision arithmetic. The assignment asks students to investigate the approach of calculating the exact value of a large number beyond the floating point number precision, using the basic scientific programming language Fortran. The basic concept is to utilize arrays to decompose the number and allocate finite memory. Examples of the successive multiplication of even number and the multiplication and division of two overflowing floats are presented. The multiple precision scheme has been applied to hardware and firmware design for digital signal processing (DSP) systems, and is gaining importance to scientific computing. Such basic arithmetic operations can be integrated to solve advanced mathematical problems to almost arbitrarily-high precision that is limited by the memory of the host machine.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2010

Lens Inquiry: An Astronomy Lab for Non-science Majors at Hartnell Community College

We describe a three hour inquiry activity involving converging lenses and telescopes as part of a semester-long astronomy lab course for non-science majors at Hartnell Community College in Salinas, CA. Students were shown several short demonstrations and given the chance to experiment with the materials, after which there was a class discussion about the phenomena they observed. Students worked in groups of 2-4 to design their own experiments to address a particular question of interest to them and then presented their findings to the class. An instructor-led presentation highlighted the students' discoveries and the lab's content goals, followed by a short worksheet-based activity that guided them in applying their new knowledge to build a simple telescope using two converging lenses. The activity was successful in emphasizing communication skills and giving students opportunities to engage in the process of science in different ways. One of the biggest challenges in designing this activity was covering all of the content given the short amount of time available. Future implementations may have more success by splitting the lab into two sessions, one focusing on converging lenses and the other focusing on telescopes.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

A simplified approach to electromagnetism using geometric algebra

A new simplified approach for teaching electromagnetism is presented using the formalism of geometric algebra (GA) which does not require vector calculus or tensor index notation, thus producing a much more accessible presentation for students. The four-dimensional spacetime proposed is completely symmetrical between the space and time dimensions, thus fulfilling Minkowski's original vision. In order to improve student reception we also focus on forces and the conservation of energy and momentum, which take a very simple form in GA, so that students can easily build on established intuitions in using these laws developed from studying Newtonian mechanics. The potential formulation is also integrated into the presentation that allows an alternate solution path, as well as an introduction to the Lagrangian approach. Several problems are solved throughout the text to make the implementation clear. We extend previous treatment of this area, through including the potential formulation, the conservation of energy and momentum, the generalization for magnetic monopoles, as well as simplifying previously reported results through eliminating the need for the spacetime metric.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2010

Making Liquid Oxygen

In this article I explain in detail a method for making small amounts of liquid oxygen in the classroom if there is no access to a cylinder of compressed oxygen gas. I also discuss two methods for identifying the fact that it is liquid oxygen as opposed to liquid nitrogen.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2010

Visualising a Fuse

In this brief article I describe an experiment to illustrate how a fuse works. I have used this as part of lessons for my year 11 classes to demonstrate how an electrical fuse 'blows' when too high a current passes through it.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2010

The Archaeo-Astronomy Project -- Supporting the Outdoor Classroom

Field trips and the outdoor classroom are a vital part of many courses at school and FE/HE level. They apply previously obtained skills and knowledge in the field and further deeper learning. However, it would be desirable to teach the material in situ rather than providing a field trip at the end of a course; thereby avoiding referring to the field trip in a few months time where everything will become much clearer. Furthermore, there is clear evidence provided by the National Peak Park Authority on how neglected e.g. the Peak District National Park sites are by Primary and Secondary schools. They quote inaccessibility and other common barriers associated to the outdoor classroom. The archaeo-astronomy project envisages the development of an Elearning environment allowing FE/HE students and pupils (Key Stage 2-4) to experience and explore ancient landscapes e.g. in the Peak District National Park. This project would support the learning experience of students on science and environmental modules. Furthermore, it would allow schools to overcome the initial problems of outdoor classroom. It is a research-based project located at Nottingham Trent University that spans a large age range from secondary school pupils up to undergraduate students. Additionally, it is a collaboration between different departments and highly interdisciplinary including aspects of Astronomy, Physics, Ecology, and Archaeology. A high priority is placed upon the feedback between participants and teachers, especially bridging the gap from HE to secondary schools and colleges. Thereby, students represent role models and support the learning and teaching experience at school level.

physics.ed-ph↗