Related papers: Transforming physics laboratory work from 'cookboo…
In this article we argue how the use of structured laboratory guides are pedagogically inadequate for meaningful learning. Subsequently, an approach to laboratory activities in accordance with scientific work and the constructivist vision…
The study guide (textbook) is part of a set of materials designed to support high-quality practical training in physics. It includes a collection of tasks for organizing both in-class and independent work. The guide serves as a foundation…
The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was developed as a broadly applicable assessment tool for undergraduate physics lab courses. At the beginning and end of the semester, the E-CLASS…
While it is well known which curricular practices can improve student performance on measures of conceptual understanding, the sustaining of these practices and the role of faculty members in implementing these practices are less well…
Undergraduate biochemistry laboratory courses often do not provide students with an authentic research experience, particularly when the express purpose of the laboratory is purely instructional. However, an instructional laboratory course…
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the challenges of maintaining hands-on laboratory instruction in undergraduate physics education. In response, we developed and deployed an interactive online physics laboratory platform designed to closely…
This paper wants to show how practical geometry, created to give a concrete help to people involved in trade, in land-surveying and even in astronomy, underwent a transformation that underlined its didactical value and turned it first into…
With the advent of research-grade robotic telescopes (and professional archives) coupled with the wide availability of the Internet in schools, getting high-quality data in the classroom has become much easier than ever before. Robotic…
When education researchers describe newly developed curricular materials, they typically concentrate on the research base behind their design, and the efficacy of the final products, but do not highlight the initial stages of creating the…
Writing is an integral part of the process of science. In the undergraduate physics curriculum, the most common place that students engage with scientific writing is in lab classes, typically through lab notebooks, reports, and proposals.…
This is a report of a course on modern physics designed and taught to undergraduate science and engineering students in the Spring of 2013. The course, meant for freshmen, attempts to integrate statistical mechanics into non-classical…
Student learning in instructional physics labs is a growing area of research that includes studies exploring students' beliefs and expectations about experimental physics. To directly probe students' epistemologies about experimental…
With the interactivity and multiple representation features, computer simulations lend itself to the guided inquiry learning. However, these simulations are usually designed for post-elementary students. Thus, the aim of this study is to…
Most STEM students experience the introductory physics sequence in large-enrollment (N $\gtrsim$ 100 students) classrooms, led by one lecturer and supported by a few teaching assistants. This work describes methods and principles we used to…
Physics lab courses are integral parts of an undergraduate physics education, and offer a variety of opportunities for learning. Many of these opportunities center around a common learning goal in introductory physics lab courses:…
This paper describes our large reformed introductory physics course at UC Davis, which bioscience students have been taking since 1996. The central feature of this course is a focus on sense-making by the students during the five hours per…
Experimental activities are an essential part of physics education. In addition to conveying scientific knowledge, they play a significant role in developing scientific literacy, inquiry skills, and critical thinking. In today's world,…
School visits to research laboratories or facilities represent a unique way to bring students closer to science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. However, such visits can be very expensive for students and…
Covariational reasoning -- reasoning about how changes in one quantity relate to changes in another quantity -- has been examined extensively in mathematics education research. Little research has been done, however, on covariational…
Implementing a laboratory activity involves a complex interplay among learning goals, available resources, feedback about the existing course, best practices for teaching, and an overall philosophy about teaching labs. Building on our…