Related papers: Kill The Math and Let the Introductory Course Be B…
In a recent report, the American Association of Physics Teachers has developed an updated set of recommendations for curriculum of undergraduate physics labs.1 This document focuses on six major themes: constructing knowledge, modeling,…
Introductory programming courses often emphasize mastering syntax and basic constructs before progressing to more complex and interesting programs. This bottom-up approach can be frustrating for novices, shifting the focus away from problem…
The research on and application of artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered a comprehensive scientific, economic, social and political discussion. Here we argue that statistics, as an interdisciplinary scientific field, plays a…
Learning to use math in physics involves combining (blending) our everyday experiences and the conceptual ideas of physics with symbolic mathematical representations. Graphs are one of the best ways to learn to build the blend. They are a…
Most students do not enroll in introductory astronomy as part of their major; for many, it is the last science course they will ever take. Thus, it has great potential to shape students' attitudes toward STEM fields for the rest of their…
Learning to create, use, and evaluate models is a central element of becoming a scientist. In physics, we often begin an analysis of a complex system with highly simplified or toy models. In introductory physics classes, we tend to use them…
Biology is data-rich, and it is equally rich in concepts and hypotheses. Part of trying to understand biological processes and systems is therefore to confront our ideas and hypotheses with data using statistical methods to determine the…
Web-based systems for assessment or homework are commonly used in many different domains. Several studies show that these systems can have positive effects on learning outcomes. Many research efforts also have made these systems quite…
In the data science courses at the University of British Columbia, we define data science as the study, development and practice of reproducible and auditable processes to obtain insight from data. While reproducibility is core to our…
An opiniated essay on what pure mathematics is and why the adjective "pure" in "pure mathematics" is not a good choice.
There have been several modifications of how basic calculus has been taught, but very few of these modifications have considered the computational tools available at our disposal. Here, we present a few tools that are easy to develop and…
Real-life conjectures do not come with instructions saying whether they they should be proven or, instead, refuted. Yet, as we now know, in either case the final argument produced had better be not just convincing but actually verifiable in…
Analysis of institutional data for physics majors showing predictive relationships between required mathematics and physics courses in various years is important for contemplating how the courses build on each other and whether there is…
We provide a computational exercise suitable for early introduction in an undergraduate statistics or data science course that allows students to 'play the whole game' of data science: performing both data collection and data analysis.…
Previous research has found that introductory physics students perform far better on numeric problems than on otherwise equivalent symbolic problems. This paper describes a framework to explain these differences developed by analyzing…
The substantial gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce can be traced back to the underrepresentation of women at various milestones in the career pathway. Calculus is a necessary step in this…
Highly Principled Data Science insists on methodologies that are: (1) scientifically justified, (2) statistically principled, and (3) computationally efficient. An astrostatistics collaboration, together with some reminiscences, illustrates…
Including real-time data collection technology is a common practice to upgrade physics labs, and the assumption is such technology improves student learning, yet little has been done to demonstrate the effects of technology. Specific…
Working with letters that represent unknown constants, i.e., parameters, has been historically challenging for students. This is an important skill for their success in many future quantitative settings, and yet it appears this topic is…
In this paper we discuss how teaching of mathematics for middle school and high school students can be improved dramatically when motivation of concepts and ideas is done through the classical problems and the history of mathematics. This…