Related papers: Implementing and assessing computational modeling …
Acquiring the mathematical, conceptual, and problem-solving skills required in university-level physics courses is hard work, and the average student often lacks the knowledge and study skills they need to succeed in the introductory…
Computational thinking is a way of reasoning about the world in terms of data. This mindset channels number crunching toward an ambition to discover knowledge through logic, models and simulations. Here we show how computational cognitive…
Students' difficulties in quantum mechanics may be the result of unproductive framing and not a fundamental inability to solve the problems or misconceptions about physics content. We observed groups of students solving quantum mechanics…
The Georgia Tech blended introductory calculus-based mechanics course emphasizes scientific communication as one of its learning goals, and to that end, we gave our students a series of four peer-evaluation assignments intended to develop…
In physics education research, instructors and researchers often use research-based assessments (RBAs) to assess students' skills and knowledge. In this paper, we support the development of a mechanics cognitive diagnostic to test and…
When executed well, project-based learning (PBL) engages students' intrinsic motivation, encourages students to learn far beyond a course's limited curriculum, and prepares students to think critically and maturely about the skills and…
Integrating computation into physics teaching is a curricular move that, at present, has been predominately studied for its cognitive impacts. However, if this modality of instruction shifts how students engage with physics, we argue there…
Homework in introductory physics represents an important part of a student's learning experience; therefore choosing the manner in which homework is presented merits investigation. We performed three rounds of clinical trials comparing the…
Generative models have demonstrated human-level proficiency in various benchmarks across domains like programming, natural sciences, and general knowledge. Despite these promising results on competitive benchmarks, they still struggle with…
University students taking introductory physics are generally successful executing mathematical procedures in context, but often struggle with the use of mathematical concepts for sense making. Physics instructors note that their students…
Instructors have limited time and resources to help struggling students, and these resources should be directed to the students who most need them. To address this, researchers have constructed models that can predict students' final course…
In this article we describe how we successfully incorporated data analysis in Python in a first-year laboratory course without significantly altering the course structure and without overburdening students. We show how we created and used…
What would you teach if you had only one course to help students grasp the essence of computation and perhaps inspire a few of them to make computing a subject of further study? Assume they have the standard college prep background. This…
With the introduction of educational robotics (ER) and computational thinking (CT) in classrooms, there is a rising need for operational models that help ensure that CT skills are adequately developed. One such model is the Creative…
A central goal of Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) is to prepare students to use physics to model and analyze biological situations, a skill of increasing importance for their future studies and careers. Here we report our…
Momentum exists in the physics community for integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum. One of many benefits would be preparation for computational research. Our investigation poses the question of which computational skills…
We describe a project-based introduction to reproducible and collaborative neuroimaging analysis. Traditional teaching on neuroimaging usually consists of a series of lectures that emphasize the big picture rather than the foundations on…
Recently Quantum Computation has generated a lot of interest due to the discovery of a quantum algorithm which can factor large numbers in polynomial time. The usefulness of a quantum com puter is limited by the effect of errors. Simulation…
This paper addresses the incorporation of problem decomposition skills as an important component of computational thinking (CT) in K-12 computer science (CS) education. Despite the growing integration of CS in schools, there is a lack of…
Computational elements in thermodynamics have become increasingly important in contemporary chemical-engineering research and practice. However, traditional thermodynamics instruction provides little exposure to computational…