Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Phy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, Murray State University; Arthur Pallone

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

member and a registered Professional Engineer of Ontario. He taught at the University of Western Ontario and is now Assistant Professor at Murray State University, Department of Engineering and Physics.Art Pallone, Murray State University Art Pallone holds a Ph.D in Applied Physics from the Colorado School of Mines (2000) in Golden, CO USA. He also holds an M.S. in Applied Physics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1995) and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan (1991). From 2000 to 2003, he held a Davies Fellows Postdoctoral Teaching and Research appointment cosponsored by the United States Military Academy and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. He

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Phy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Ross, University of Detroit Mercy; Jenna Ross, Utica Center for Mathematics Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

, persuasivespeaking, and physics. Our unique program targets incoming high school freshmen from adiverse urban population. For several years the physics course was based on a traditionalintroductory college mechanics laboratory curriculum. This curriculum was not inquiry-basedand provided only limited opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge byperforming open-ended activities.Scholarly research into the teaching and, more importantly, the learning of physics has providedvaluable guidance for the design of innovative curricula and pedagogy 1 . The pedagogicalstrategies that are able to demonstrate high rates of student achievement, as measured bystandardized examinations, involve some form of what is commonly called interactiveengagement

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anca Sala, Baker College; Raghu Echempati, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

, taken by engineeringstudents in their Sophomore year. Each calculus-based General Physics course is a 4-credit, 5-contact hours course, out of which 3 hours per week are dedicated to lecture, and 2 hours perweek are dedicated to laboratory experiments. General Physics I is offered in Fall and coversMechanics, General Physics II is offered in Winter and covers Electricity and Magnetism, andGeneral Physics III is offered in Spring and covers Oscillations, Waves, Thermodynamics,Optics, and Modern Physics. Page 13.438.2The paper describes our methodology for assessing student achievement in the General PhysicsIII course, and the results we obtained

Conference Session

Technology in the Physics or Engineering Physics C

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Walter H. Johnson, Suffolk University; Chris Rogers, Tufts University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

. A construction of knowledgethrough meaningful activities, reflected in socio-constructivist ideas, rather then acquisitionthrough transmission in formal instruction, became important for deeper conceptual knowledgedevelopment, and scientific inquiry became an integral part of the learning sciences.Our instructional module should be effective in improving students learning based uponeducational theories such as multiple intelligences and constructivism. The unit provides alearning environment based on several principles of Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory. Avariety of learning activities are included, such as discussions that promote student–studentinteractions, group projects that allow for creative elements and laboratory

Conference Session

Technology in the Physics or Engineering Physics C

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nataliia Perova, Tufts University; Patricia Hogan, Suffolk University; Walter H. Johnson, Suffolk University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

concepts using real-time microcomputer-based laboratory tools. American Journal of Physics, 58, 858-86731. Thornton, R. K., & Sokoloff, D.R. (1998). Assessing student learning of Newton’s laws: The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and the Evaluation of Active Learning Laboratory and Lecture Curricula. American Journal of Physics, 66 (4), 338-352.32. Trowbridge, D., and McDermott, L.C., (1980). Investigation of students understanding of the concept of Velocity in one dimension. American Journal of Physics, 58, 1020-1028.33. Trowbridge, D., and McDermott, L.C. (1981). Investigation of students understanding of the concept of acceleration in one dimension. American Journal of Physics, 48, 242-253

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Winston Jackson, California Institute of Technology; Jennifer Franck, California Institute of Technology; James Maloney, California Institute of Technology; Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux, California Institute of Technology; Julian Rimoli, California Institute of Technology; Luz Rivas, California Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

program. He received his masters of science in physics from Caltech for his work in the field of nano-scale mechanical resonators. Before arriving at Caltech, he earned his bachelors of science in physics from the University of Florida.Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux, California Institute of Technology J. P. Ochoa-Ricoux was born in Mexico city in 1980. He obtained his B.S. in Physics Engineering with Honors from the ITESM (Monterrey Tech) in 2003. Since then he has been a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, where he studies the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations in the MINOS Experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He also served as a physics instructor for the

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Phy

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Kohlmyer, Georgia Institute of Technology; Michael Schatz, Georgia Institute of Technology; Richard Catrambone, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marcus Marr, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

07 2 sections, 200 students total 1 section, 150 students Summer 07 None 1 section, 150 students Fall 07 1 section, 150 students 2 sections, 300 students total Spring 08 2 sections, 300 students total 2 sections, 300 students totalIn addition to the lectures, the M&I course entails many changes in the laboratory component ofthe course. In the M&I labs, there is a strong connection between lab and lecture content—theactivities in lab each week are designed to explore and reinforce the concepts being discussed inlecture that particular week. (In contrast, many of the labs in the traditional introductory courseat Georgia Tech are on topics

Conference Session

Programmatic Issues in Physics or Engineering Physics Programs

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Glenn Ellis, Smith College; Mary Moriarty, Smith College; Gary Felder, Smith College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

mandatory for students identified bythe above criteria.II. IN THE CLASSROOMThe class met for six hours a day for five consecutive days during the last week of August. All11 students attended each session and arrived on time and were actively engaged throughout theentire class time. Prof. Glenn Ellis from the Picker Engineering Program was the lead instructorin the course. Dr. Catherine McCune, Director of the Quantitative Learner Center (QLC), alsoled a two-hour session and was present for much of the class time. Two Smith engineeringstudents—Shannon Comiskey (a junior) and Briana Tomboulian (a senior)—provided additionalassistance in the classroom. Hands-on activities and laboratories, group-learning experiencesand class discussion were the

Conference Session

Technology in the Physics or Engineering Physics C

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raymond Winton, Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

complementary MOS transistors (CMOS) in order toachieve high-density circuits with both high-speed and a reduced power budget. Thesefactors are also how we define much of our classroom dialogue in all forms of electrical andcomputer engineering.Driven by demands for smaller, faster, and more extensive circuits, MOS device dimensionshave been reduced to sub-micron levels [1]. At these sizes a few volts of potential producesextremely high electric fields, a factor that is both beneficial and problematic. The highfields are what enables the desired qualities of the MOS device. But the high fields also pushthe analyses well beyond most of the simple physics, which has its laws and roots in low-field laboratory benchwork. So classroom descriptions of the