learning, and amixture of these methods. Smolnikar and Mohorcic presented a framework for developing PICmicrocontroller hardware circuits and software code for embedded application [1]. Theirpedagogy targets traditional EE students. Sakar and Craig showed several projects to incorporatePIC microcontrollers into a computer architecture course [2]. Birsan and Sharad introduced ajust-in-time approach to teach embedded systems [3]. Meshkova et al describe a novellaboratory and project course called SMEAGOL (Small, Embedded, Advanced and GenericObjects Laboratory) that incorporated several active learning approaches [4]. Ferreira et alpresented a multifunctional module called MILES (Microcontroller Learning System) formicrocontroller-based system
different from what is discussed in lecture that week.) Because ofthis, laboratory teaching assistants (TAs) need to be familiar with the content of the course. TheM&I labs are taught in an interactive studio style, where students engage in hands-onexperiments, computer modeling activities, and group problem solving. Because of this, labsideally require more than one TA per 20-student section, and special TA training is required.In Spring 2006, a small number of graduate TAs were trained in the labs for both semester ofM&I. These TAs served as experienced TAs in future semesters, and were supplemented withnew TAs who were trained “just-in-time” during weekly course meetings. To make up for TAslost from the pool each semester, a larger
, reinforces thegraphical connections between the various representations of the motion and connects to a largerproblem-solving framework.1 Brasell, H. “The Effect of Real-time Laboratory Graphing on Learning Graphic Representations of Distance andVelocity,” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 24, (1987).2 van Zee, E.H., Cole, A., Hogan, K., Oropeza, D. and Roberts, D. “Using Probeware and the Internet to EnhanceLearning,” Maryland Association of Science Teachers Rapper 25, (2000).3 Beichner, R. J., “The Effect of Simultaneous Motion Presentation and Graph Generation in a Kinematics Lab,”Journal of Research in Science Teaching 27, 803-815 (1990).4 Mokros, J. R. and Tinker, R. F. “The Impact of Microcomputer-Based Labs on Children’s Ability to
fourgroups who completed the FCI, two groups before and two groups after the curriculum change,were drawn from lecture and laboratory sections with different instructors and different styles.All four sections’ normalized gain is typical for teaching methods using traditional lecture ratherthan interactive engagement in the lecture hall. Both sections after the curriculum changeproduced lower gains on the FCI than the sections before the curriculum change, but this mayindicate that many factors are involved in student conceptual knowledge beyond the scope of thelaboratory curriculum. A successful lab curriculum, facilitated artfully, would contribute toimprovements in the normalized gain on the FCI, but it might not cause much effect on its
experiment.At RHIT, the Physics Department was the first to incorporate the “studio” style of teaching in the SpringQuarter of 1997-98. This teaching concept was introduced earlier by Professor Jack Wilson6 atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and has since been implemented in many institutions6-10. In thisformat, the teacher spends less time at the blackboard, and the lectures are broken up by mini-experiments. The separate lecture/laboratory format of teaching is eliminated. At RHIT it was found thatthe students under this new format outscored those in the traditional method by 15% in the finalexamination, even after the examination was independently graded by three different instructors, thusproving that this teaching method to be superior
& Exposition, Louisville, KY, (2010).15 Materials physics: A new contemporary undergraduate laboratory. H. Jaeger, M.J. Pechan, and D.K. Lottis, Am. J. Phys. 66(8), 724-730 (1998).16 Using Organic Light-emitting Electrochemical Thim-Film Devices to Teach Materials Science. H. Sevian, S. Muller, H. Rudmann, and M.F. Rubner, Journ. Of Chem. Ed., 81(11), 1620-1623, (2004).17 Two examples of organic opto-electronic devices: Light emitting diodes and solar cells. J.L. Maldonado, G. Ramos-Ortíz, M.L. Miranda, S Vázquez-Córdova, M.A. Meneses-Nava O. Barbosa-García, M. Ortíz-Gutiérrez, Am. J. Phys. 76(12), 1130-1136 (2008).18 Absence of Diffusion in Certain Random Lattices. P.W. Anderson, Phys. Rev., 109, 1492-1505
implements their completed microcontroller system, forcing the students to develop their empirical reasoning and communicative learning ability. The students met for the course during the afternoon, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, four days a week, over a four-week period, in a fully-equipped teaching laboratory where students had access to all
maintains an active laboratory group that develops laser systems for optical sensing and LIDAR applications. Dr. Mead has previously served as Senior Program Officer at the National Academy of Engineering and served as study director for the pivotal report, Engineering of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century.Dr. Ruth A. Streveler, Purdue University, West Lafayette Ruth A. Streveler is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. Before coming to Purdue she spent 12 years at Colorado School of Mines, where she was the founding Director of the Center for Engineering Education. Dr. Streveler earned a BA in Biology from Indi- ana University-Bloomington, MS in Zoology from the
, "The Propagation of Errors," The American Physics Teacher 7, no. 6 (1939): 351-357.7 J. R. Taylor, Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties in Physical Measurements, (New York,N.Y.: University Science Books, 1996), 327.8 Philip R. Bevington and D. Keith Robinson, Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences, 3rded.(New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill, 2002), 352.9 Andy Buffler, Saalih Allie, and Fred Lubben, "Teaching Measurement and Uncertainty the GUM Way," ThePhysics Teacher 46, no. 9 (2008): 539-543.10 Les Kirkup et al., "Designing a new physics laboratory programme for first-year engineering students," PhysicsEducation 33, no. 4 (1998): 258-265.11 Seshini Pillay et al., "Effectiveness of a GUM
Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) for well over 20 years. Dr. Larkin served on the Board of Directors for ASEE from 1997-1999 as Chair of Professional Interest Council (PIC) III and as Vice President of PICs. Dr. Larkin has received numerous national and international awards including the ASEE Distinguished Educator and Service Award from the Physics and Engineering Physics Division in 1998. Dr. Larkin received the Outstanding Teaching in the General Education Award from AU in 2000. In 2000 2001 she served as a National Science Foundation ASEE Visiting Scholar. Page 22.260.1 c
understanding of Newtonian concept of force and requires a student toselect between Newtonian concepts and common sense alternatives. It focused on six conceptualdimensions: Kinematics, Newton’s First Law, Newton’s Second Law, Newton’s Third Law,Superposition Principle, and Kinds of Force. Results from the FCI showed that students maystruggle with qualitative problems but end up doing well on conventional tests5. The main focusof FCI in the literature has been on improving teaching of a physics course and not specificallyon the preparation of students for follow-on courses.A more recent alternative to the FCI is the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE).Covering a wider variety of topics than the FCI, such as more questions on kinematics, the
optimized chip layout with regard to performance, power, size, etc.This paper describes a sophomore-level electronic devices course that gives a balanced treatmentof semiconductor physics and associated circuit analysis. The course serves as a requirement inthe electrical engineering and computer engineering curricula at Missouri University of Scienceand Technology (formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla). It was developed in response toconcern about the number of lower-level coursework options for majors, development of thecomputer engineering program, comments from employers wanting more electronics instruction,and other pedagogical issues. The scope, objectives, design, assessment instruments, andassociated laboratory for the course are
. In 1997 he returned to academia, joining the engineering faculty of the University of St. Thomas and has taught courses in elec- tronics, digital system design, mathematics, physics, circuit theory, electromagnetics, statistical process control, computing, mechatronics, control theory, metrology and design.Dr. Marty Johnston, University of St. Thomas Marty Johnston received his B.S. from Walla Walla College and his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the University of California – Riverside. He is currently an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN where he teaches a variety of physics courses. His research focuses on nonlinear dynamics. Working alongside undergraduate students
Professor in the Department of Physics, State University of New York at Oswego. Ieta is a member of Professional Engineers of Ontario. Page 25.729.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012IMPLEMENTATION OF AN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH COURSEA capstone course comes as the peak experience for students in higher education programs. Thechallenge may sometime extend to their advisors as well. We report our experience with teachinga senior research project course to Physics students at a teaching university using a recently setup Applied Electrostatics Laboratory. The design of the course allowed
with student writing as a learning and assessment tool in her introductory physics courses for non-majors. She has been an active member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) for over 25 years. Dr. Larkin served on the Board of Directors for ASEE from 1997-1999 as Chair of Professional Interest Council (PIC) III and as Vice President of PICs. Dr. Larkin has received numerous national and international awards including the ASEE Distinguished Edu- cator and Service Award from the Physics and Engineering Physics Division in 1998. Dr. Larkin received the Outstanding Teaching in the General Education Award from AU in 2000. In 2000 – 2001 she
Engineering Group in the Summer Bridge 2011Program designed and built an underwater ROV (remotely-operated vehicle) to performunderwater exploration of, for example, local ponds and lakes. The duration for the project wasfour weeks in July and the first part of the Fall semester. The students were given instruction in thebasic electrical and mechanical principles associated with the project, and introduced to a set ofcomponents that would be available in the completion of the project, through a sequence learningactivities that included lectures and laboratory exercises. Students were also given instruction onthe engineering design process paradigm. The separate elements of the course were integrated asthe students designed, constructed, tested, and
For the last lab, the analysis of the pre-test results (Fig. 15), revealed that, on average, 48 % of theanswers to the ten questions were correct. In contrast, the Post test results (Fig. 16) showed that, onaverage, students, answered 78 % of questions correctly. Students were satisfied with this new way of teaching. In fact, their feedback shows 82 %satisfaction. It should be noted that, a more detailed assessment study of the learning effectivenessof virtual physics lab is planned in spring 2013 semester. If this a l s o shows positive results,then further extensions of the virtual physics lab will be planned in the future. Conclusion This paper examined the potential of a game based virtual laboratory environment (both game
factor in the curriculum of the circuits courses taught to all engineers.While the power factor is simply the cosine of the phase angle between the voltage and current, ithas practical application for circuits containing reactive loads. Working scientists and engineersare concerned about the power factor in a broad variety of contexts ranging fromelectromechanical systems, e.g. motors, to impedance matching networks in audio and broadcastsystems. The power company cares about a user’s power factor and sets rates accordingly.We have developed a simple demonstration of an alternating current circuit using electric lampsas a proxy for resistive loads. The demonstration can be adapted to a laboratory experiment ineither a second semester general
AC 2012-4139: PHOTON MASSDr. Bert Pariser, Technical Career Institutes Bert Pariser is a faculty member in the Electronic Engineering Technology and the Computer Science Technology departments at Technical Career Institutes. His primary responsibility is developing curricu- lum and teaching methodology for physics, thermodynamics, electromagnetic field theory, computers, and databases. Pariser has prepared grant proposals to the National Science Foundation, which produced the funding for a Fiber Optics Laboratory. He served as Faculty Advisor to the IEEE and Tau Alpha Pi National Honor Society. Pariser was instrumental in merging Tau Alpha Pi National Honor Society into the ASEE. In addition, Pariser co-founded
Educaci´on del Noreste de M´exico (REDIIEN). Professor Dominguez has been a visiting researcher at Syracuse University and at the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches undergraduate courses in Mathematics and graduate courses in Education. Professor Dominguez is a thesis advisor on the master and doctoral programs on education of the Virtual University of Tecnologico de Monterrey. Her main research areas are: a) models and modeling, b) use of technology to improve learning and c) evaluation. In addition, Professor Dominguez is consultant for Texas Instruments (TI), she leads the group conTIgo T3 Latin America, and organizes and moderates webinars on the use of TI technology.Prof. Genaro Zavala, Tecnologico de
course.IntroductionThe study we present in this paper arose from two separate trends in our university and the largerhigher-education community, plus an observation. The first is the trend in Physics education tofocus on teaching for conceptual understanding, for example, through Peer Instruction1 orWorkshop Physics (which is part of The Physics Suite).2 The second trend is the push to improvestudent writing through programs such as Writing Across the Curriculum, and in particularthrough Writing to Learn, where short writing exercises are used to help students think through aconcept or a problem.3 The observation was that a considerable fraction of our students, whiletalking to other students in class or asking the instructor a question, was referring to
- Main Effect of Instruction, No Preconception-Instruction-InteractionIn this first example, students completed question sequences as required by a "flexible" homeworkassignment whereby they were required to participate in a physics education research experiment at somepoint during the academic term. These students were enrolled in an introductory, calculus-based physicscourse at large, public university, and completed the experiment in a physics education researchlaboratory by answering questions on laboratory computers.In particular, students were presented with questions in which they were asked to compare the time offlight of two projectiles. Specialized stimulus-delivery software was used to present these questions andrecord responses 6
Paper ID #6371Technology-Enabled Nurturing of Creativity and Innovation: A Specific Il-lustration from an Undergraduate Engineering Physics CourseProf. Frank V. Kowalski, Colorado School of Mines Prof. Frank Kowalski has been teaching physics at Colorado School of Mines since 1980.Susan E. Kowalski, Colorado School of MinesDr. Patrick B. Kohl, Department of Physics, Colorado School of MinesDr. Hsia-Po Vincent Kuo, Colorado School of Mines Page 23.1161.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013
actions (student activities to improve learning without any evaluation grades,namely, 1.Student support; 2.Technical Staff; 3.Video classes, and 4. Teaching service) anddirect learning actions (student activities to improve learning with evaluation grade, namely, 5.Online exercises; 6. Pre-Exam; 7. Laboratory reports; 8. Active Learning Projects; 9. LaboratorySeminars, and 10. Preparatory Discussion Laboratory Questions).Keywords: Physics, Engineering Education, Active LearningIntroductionLearning is a process. The assessment of learning is a powerful diagnosis that allows teachers toredirect their efforts towards assisting the weaknesses of the learning process as presented bystudents. This paper discusses 10 ways to improve learning Physics as
developing a good workethic. If done properly, these courses can teach students the importance of acquiring a conceptualunderstanding rather than rote memorization of how to plug into equations. When successful,these courses teach students how to digest a problem, sort out the relevant concepts, makeassumptions, and reflect critically on their analyses. Conversely, if done poorly, students begintheir engineering education unprepared, either in conceptual/technical knowledge, problemsolving skills, or both.Throughout its long history, physics has been taught in nearly the same manner – via lectures,often supplemented by a laboratory experience. Several decades ago physics educatorsrecognized the need for change; students were not learning the
Paper ID #12634The Introductory Physics Lab as a Consulting FirmDr. Daniel Ludwigsen, Kettering University Dr. Daniel Ludwigsen pursued research in Musical Acoustics while completing the Ph. D. in Physics from Brigham Young University. After joining Kettering University in support of the acoustics specialty within Applied Physics, Dr. Ludwigsen has broadened his professional interests to include physics education research and instructional design. In addition to an overhaul of the introductory physics laboratories, partially supported by NSF CCLI funding, Dr. Ludwigsen has written two courses at the sophomore/junior
conceptual knowledge.7 Other studies have looked at changing/enhancing theexperimental/laboratory component.6,8Physics education research has also focused on developing quantitative methods that can be usedto assess the effectiveness of the traditional teaching structure as well as the impact of newteaching strategies. Those efforts led to the development of a number of standardized physicsassessment tests.9,10 Via administration of the assessment tests, numerous physics educators haveshown that active learning methods and improved laboratory experiences provide substantialgains over the traditional lecture/lab format. Details of these methods, their assessment, and theevolution of physics education research have been documented in several books on
virtual knowledge spaces, and on the design of intelligent data analysis and validation schemes.Olivier Pfeiffer, Technische Universitat Berlin Olivier Pfeiffer received his M.Sc. in Mathematics at the Berlin University of Technology in 2002. His thesis in numerical mathematics investigated “Error Control using Adaptive Methods for Elliptic Control Problems in Matlab”. He has been working in several eLearning projects at the Berlin University of Technology, beginning as a student assistant in the Mumie project - a platform using new pedagogical concepts to support teaching of mathematics for mathematicians, engineers and natural scientists - at the Berlin University of Technology in
Paper ID #16191Innovations in Engineering Education through Integration of PhysicsDr. Kanti Prasad, University of Massachusetts, Lowell Dr. Kanti Prasad is a professor in the department of electrical and computer Engineering and is found- ing Director of Microelectronics/VLSI Technology Laboratories at the University Massachusetts Lowell. Professor Prasad initiated the Microelectronics/ VLSI program in 1984, and is teaching 16.469/16.502 VLSI Design and 16.470/504 VLSI Fabrication courses since its inception. From the spring of 1986 Pro- fessor Prasad developed 16.661 Local Area/Computer Networks, and since 1994 VHDL Based
. Control: Traditional Lecture-Recitation-Exam (LRE) FormatThe structure of the LRE format included three hours per week of face-to-face lecturesdelivered by faculty and two-hour recitations delivered by teaching assistants. The lectureswere recorded and the videos were available through the course website. In the recitations,students completed a set of special physics problems developed by the faculty instructor thathighlighted key weekly lecture concepts and methods. Weekly homework sets and readingassignments were based on the book, Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition) (Halliday2013).Students were also required to complete five laboratory experiments. This component accountedfor 5% of their final grade. Recitation participation