A resource for improving student learning, Lecture notes of Particle Physics

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Research in physics education:

A resource for improving student learning

Lillian C. McDermott Peter S. Shaffer University of Washington

New Physics and Astronomy

Faculty Workshop

June 2017

Physics Education Group at the University of Washington

Physics Ph.D. Graduates

Physics Ph.D. Students

Anne Alesandrini

Dean Bretland

Sheh Lit Chang

Kevin Cutler

Lisa Goodhew

Alexis Olsho

Tong Wan

Bert Xue

Faculty

Lillian C. McDermott

Paula Heron

Peter Shaffer

Suzanne White-Brahmia

Lecturers & Post-docs

Donna Messina (K-12 teacher)

Ryan Hazelton

Coordinated program of research, curriculum development, and instruction is supported, in part, by grants from the National Science Foundation. 2

Goals of UW Physics Education Group

• Conduct research on learning and teaching of physics concepts and reasoning (differs from traditional education research)
• Develop instructional procedures that:
  • are effective at helping students learn (concepts and reasoning)
  • yield similar results when used by faculty at other institutions
• Document impact and procedures in journals that are read by physics faculty (written in language accessible to physicists) - To help all faculty improve the effectiveness of instruction whether or not they are engaged in physics education research. Joint AAPT and APS resolutions (1999) encouraging physics departments to engage in: (1) physics education research and (2) the preparation of K-12 teachers
• Strengthen the preparation of K-12 teachers to teach physics and astronomy by inquiry

In working toward these goals, we have come to an important generalization: On certain types of qualitative questions, student performance is essentially the same over a wide range of student ability:

• before and after standard instruction
• in calculus-based and algebra-based courses
• with and without standard demonstrations
• with and without standard laboratory
• in large and small classes
• regardless of popularity of the instructor Hearing lectures, reading textbooks, seeing demonstrations, doing homework, and performing laboratory experiments often have little effect on student learning.

◊ Teaching by telling is an ineffective mode of instruction

for most students.

Teaching by questioning can be more effective. Students must be intellectually active

Caution: “active learning” does not always lead to “intellectual engagement” Documented research is necessary to determine the depth of understanding.

Curriculum

Development

Research

Instruction

at UW

Instruction

at pilot sites Application of research to development of curriculum Research-based ≠ Research-validated

Research-based curriculum development

Preparing precollege teachers to teach physics and physical

science

- Physics by Inquiry – (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996) Self-contained, laboratory-based, no lectures

Improving student learning in introductory physics

- Tutorials in Introductory Physics – (Prentice Hall, 2002) Supplementary to lecture-based course

Emphasis in tutorials is on

• constructing concepts
• developing reasoning ability
• relating physics formalism to real world not on
• solving standard quantitative problems

Primary context (at UW) for tutorials Each week:

• 3 lectures (50 minutes)
• 1 laboratory (2-3 hours)
• 1 tutorial (50 minutes)

However, use can vary ( e.g., in lectures or labs)

depending on constraints like

class size, room availability, number of lecturers, number of TAs or peer-instructors, etc.

Example of tutorial: Dynamics of rigid bodies

• Pretest
  • Please complete on your own; take no more than about 5 minutes to answer.
• Tutorial
  • Please work in small groups
  • There will be full-workshop discussions (not typical of small group tutorial sessions*)
• Assessment of tutorial and generalizations _ Similar in structure to TA preparation sessions_*

Dynamics of rigid bodies, page 1 A spool is pulled across a frictionless table as shown. The hand pulls horizontally. The thread has been wrapped many times around the bottom of the spool.

• Predict whether the spool will rotate. Explain.
• Predict whether the center of the spool will move and if so, in which direction. Explain. Test your answers by performing the experiment on a table with friction. As instructors, think about answers that students might give to these tasks and what it might indicate about their thinking. What do your answers suggest about what would happen if the table were frictionless? observe video (as a group).

Dynamics of rigid bodies, page 1 A spool is pulled across a frictionless table as shown. The hand pulls horizontally. The thread has been wrapped many times around the bottom of the spool.

• Predict whether the spool will rotate. Explain.
• Predict whether the center of the spool will move and if so, in which direction. Explain. Test your answers by performing the experiment on a table with friction. As instructors, think about answers that students might give to these tasks and what it might indicate about their thinking. What do your answers suggest about what would happen if the table were frictionless? observe video (as a group).

Examples of student responses to spools question from page 1 (when given as pretest)

The spool will rotate and not translate

• “The force of the string will cause torque. ... There is no force applied directly to the spool to make it go forward.”

The spool will translate and not rotate

• “There is no friction due to the surface so the … particles on the other side [of the spool] have no force keeping it put - so the spool will not rotate.”
• “on a frictionless surface. The tension will not generate rotation because there is no force acting in the opposite direction to generate rotation. … for rotation to begin, there must be a force acting in the positive and negative direction on the spool and in this case, there is no negative force.” Force not at center of mass results in rotation only. Force not at center of mass results only in translation of entire object unless another force acts to rotate object