Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reagan Curtis, West Virginia University; Braxton Lewis, West Virginia University; Wathiq Abdul-Razzaq, West Virginia University; Gary Winn, West Virginia University; Robin Hensel, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

students identify their own misconceptions.* Acknowledgement and Disclaimer: Page 14.1103.2“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0525484. Any opinions, findings,and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the National Science Foundation.”The pedagogical challenge for physics instructors is clear. Students come with pervasive deep-rooted misconceptions about how the most foundational physics principles work. Traditionalapproaches to moving students beyond these misconceptions

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian Belu, Drexel University; Alexandru Belu, Case Western Reserve University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

examples, most applications of theory are omitted. One reason that those examples arewell known is that they admit analytic solution: they typically represent simplified solutions thatgenerally fail to fully reflect the reality. In most situations, analytic solutions simply do not exist, andone cannot proceed without the assistance of a computer. Although some textbooks have sectionsdiscussing numerical methods, many of them contain just the theory of numerical methods, and one isrequired to posses programming skill for practice; this part is hence generally neglected. Essentially allexperiments in physics measure numbers, so any formulation must eventually be reducible to numbers.Under a conventional curriculum, a student’s ability to calculate

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anca Sala, Baker College; Raghu Echempati, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

student learning in the course. The target goal we have adopted is to have an average achievement of 70% or better for each SLO. The cells in red in Tables 7, and 8 reflect the SLO’s where the percent average is less than 70%. A similar table is created for each course section, each time the course is taught. While these tables hold detailed information per student, the averaged data for the entire class is further used to create year-to-year comparisons such as the ones in Figures 1, and 2 below. Page 14.843.6

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, State University of New York, Oswego; Rachid Manseur, State University of New York, Oswego; Thomas Doyle, McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

, whichallowed all students to identify and reflect on physics ideas and their applications. Thesuccessful aspects together with possible improvements of the teaching procedures arereported.1. IntroductionThe use of Blackboard system [1] is widespread now and is recommended over regularcourse websites [2], as it is significantly more versatile for course management andinteraction with students. The system is most effective for distance courses [3] as onlinecourses [4] can be delivered in a consistent meaningful manner even if recent works showthat there are some challenges associated with distance learning [5]. The system has greatbuilt in flexibility and allows instructors to use their imagination in designing the course[6], interacting with students

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

making students the“experts.” Some of the topics students in the spring 2008 PNM class chose to write about areexpressed in the following paper titles: ≠ Capturing the Stars: The Reflecting Telescope ≠ LASIK: Bringing “Good” Vision to “Great” Vision ≠ RFID: Radio Frequency Identification ≠ The Sound of Music: The Physics of a Violin ≠ Acoustics of the Mixing/Mastering Studio ≠ Professional Recording: Evolutions in Audio Technology ≠ The Deadliest Predators: Sharks and the Bioelectromagnetic SenseIn addition to writing about topics that relate to topics covered in class during the semester,students are also encouraged to choose topics that overlap in some way with their major area of