Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, Oswego State University College; Rachid Manseur, State University of New York, Oswego; Thomas E. Doyle P.Eng., McMaster University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

- fluid experiments.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSAn old VEECO instrument, **** Add sentence on what a VEECO instrument is **** has beenlocated in the department and made available. With the help of a senior faculty, the instrument isinstalled in the laboratory and allows the study of electrospray at reduced atmospheric pressure.The instrument is still being adjusted for this purpose but it is estimated that the procedure willbe completed during Spring 2011. These changes will allow for quicker evaporation of the spraydroplets and essentially open up a different avenue for micro and nano-particle synthesis. One ofthe authors will teach a capstone course in the Spring that will use the developed laboratory asthe main research facility. Students will

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Ludwigsen, Kettering University; Janet Brelin-Fornari, Kettering University; Joseph Neal, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sudipa Mitra-Kirtley, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Rana Mitra, Southeastern Louisiana University; Maarij M Syed, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Ross, University of Detroit Mercy; Meghann Norah Murray, University of Detroit Mercy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

& 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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Baha Jassemnejad, University of Central Oklahoma; Wei Siang Pee, University of Central Oklahoma; Kevin Rada; Montell Jermaine Wright, University of Central Oklahoma, Robotics Research; Kaitlin Rose Foran, University of Central Oklahoma; Evan C. Lemley, University of Central Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Patricia F. Mead, Norfolk State University; Ruth A. Streveler, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Lauren D. Thomas, Virginia Tech; Candace A. Cobb, Norfolk State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeffrey A. Jalkio, University of Saint Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

, "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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Teresa L. Larkin, American University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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

Conference Session

Innovations in Teaching Physics or Engineering Physics I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kristi J. Shryock, Texas A&M University; Arun R. Srinivasa, Texas A&M University, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Jefferey E. Froyd, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Physics & Physics

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