Related papers: Learning Electromagnetism through a playful fair-g…
This study investigates a group of high school students in a physics classroom interacting with a computer simulation that simulates the electrostatic interaction as a hockey game, the Electric Field Hockey. The activity featured in this…
In this innovative practice work-in-progress paper, we compare two different methods to teach machine learning concepts to undergraduate students in Electrical Engineering. While machine learning is now being offered as a senior-level…
The rising demand for higher education has led universities to offer courses in multiple formats, including Intensive Instruction Courses (IICs), to meet the needs of a diverse student body. While active teaching methods improve physics…
This is the first paper of a series aiming to present a new teaching sequence for Particle Physics in high school. We propose a systematic discussion of the subject, covering not only the understanding of its key concepts, but also of the…
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…
An approach to the teaching of electromagnetism to senior undergraduate students, designed for overcoming the fragmentation of the theory is described. As usual it starts from the static case, but it is strictly based on Helmholtz theorem…
Commercial video games are increasingly using sophisticated physics simulations to create a more immersive experience for players. This also makes them a powerful tool for engaging students in learning physics. We provide some examples to…
We demonstrate how to derive Maxwell's equations, including Faraday's law and Maxwell's correction to Amp\`ere's law, by generalizing the description of static electromagnetism to dynamical situations. Thereby, Faraday's law is introduced…
Textbooks play a fundamental role in teaching and learning in school science classrooms. In this paper we investigate the presentation of the nature of the electromagnetic field in a dozen of the world's most popular introductory university…
The present work proposes a discussion on the self-energy of charged particles in the framework of nonlinear electrodynamics. We seek magnet- ically stable solutions generated by purely electric charges whose electric and magnetic fields…
Students must learn effective problem solving strategies in order to develop expertise in physics. Effective problem solving strategies include a conceptual analysis of the problem followed by planning of the solution, and then…
We present an intermediate-level course on sustainable physics, which combines lectures and student projects. Sustainable physics concepts are progressively introduced through both a global and a specialized perspective: climate change and…
Quasistatics is introduced so that it fits smoothly into the standard textbook presentation of electrodynamics. The usual path from statics to general electrodynamics is rather short and surprisingly simple. A closer look reveals however…
The modeling theory of instruction is widely applied and highly successful in high-school instruction, and seldom in university physics. One reason is lack of familiarity with models in the physics classroom. Ongoing curriculum development…
Educational research has shown that narratives are useful tools that can help young students make sense of scientific phenomena. Based on previous research, I argue that narratives can also become tools for high school students to make…
Training students in basic concepts of physics, such as the ones related to mass, volume, or density, is much more complicated than just stating the underlying definitions and laws. One of the reasons for this is that most students have…
Equations are about more than computing physical quantities or constructing formal models; they are also about understanding. The conceptual systems physicists use to think about nature are made from many different resources, formal and…
Serious Games (SGs) represent a new approach to improve learning processes more effectively and economically than traditional methods. This paper aims to present a SG approach for the electro-mobility context, in order to encourage the use…
The idea that the electron is an extended charged object the spinning of which is responsible for its magnetic moment is shown to require a sizable portion of the electron to spin at speeds very close to the speed of light, and in fact to…
Mathematical reasoning with algebraic and graphical representations is essential for success in physics courses. Many problems require students to fluently move between algebraic and graphical representations. We developed a freely…