Physics

The use of Data Retrieval Tests (DRTs), as an alternative to physics laboratory notebook marking, is discussed. The implementation of a Moodle-based, on-line DRT for 1st year physics students is described. The advantages of using such a methodology are highlighted and student comments shown. The paper also describes how students change their behaviour as a consequence of having an end of module DRT via 'bootstrapping', both singly and in peer groups.

The dynamics of a traditional toy, the yoyo, is investigated theoretically and experimentally using smartphone' sensors. In particular, using the gyroscope the angular velocity is measured. The experimental results are complemented thanks to a digital video analysis. The concordance between theoretical and experimental results is discussed. As the yoyo is a ubiquitous, simple and traditional toy this simple proposal could encourage students to experiment with everyday objects and modern technologies.

In this paper we introduce the new and planned features of Easy Java/JavaScript Simulations (EJS) to support Learning Analytics (LA) and Educational Data Mining (EDM) research and practice in the use of simulations for the teaching and self-learning of natural sciences and engineering. Simulations created with EJS can now be easily embedded in a popular Learning Management System using a new plug-in that allows creation of full-fledged instructional units that also collect and record fine-grained, instructional-savvy data of the students interaction with the simulation. The resulting data can then be mined to obtain information about students performance, behaviors, or learning procedures with the intention to support student learning, provide instructors with timely information about student performance, and also help optimize the pedagogic design of the simulations themselves. We describe the current development and architecture, as well as future directions for testing and extending the current capabilities of EJS as a modelling and authoring tool to support LA and EDM research and practice in the use of simulations for teaching science, in particular in the context of the increasingly popular online learning platforms.

There were two objectives. The first was to determine if a real time graphing activity will influence the interpretation of the subject of kinematic graphs, as measured by the TUGK. The second was to determine if attitude, as measured by CLASS, has a connection with graphical interpretation. The graphing activity did not affect graphical interpretation; this might be due to the short time spent on the treatment. However, there was a connection between attitude and graphical interpretation. The subjects of this study were non science majors attending a medium sized state owned university.

The progressive introduction of the flip teaching (FT) instructional model into higher education has accelerated in recent years. The FT methodology seems to be especially suitable for laboratory practice sessions: before the lab session the students are given documents and videos that explain the theoretical contents and the experimental procedure. When this material is studied in advance, the practice session can be devoted to the discussion, clarification and practical application of the acquired knowledge. This paper describes the effect of the FT methodology on the students' academic performance when it was applied to the laboratory practice in two subjects, Physics and Electricity, of a technical degree. The laboratory and final grades of these subjects were compared in four consecutive years. The characteristics of all four years were quite similar, except that the traditional teaching method (TM) was used in two, while FT was applied in the other two. The statistical analysis shows that the academic results of the students were better in both subjects under FT than those obtained using TM, and that the difference was statistically significant.

We have been investigating advanced students' learning of quantum mechanics concepts and have developed interactive tutorials which strive to help students learn these concepts. Two such tutorials, focused on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and the double-slit experiment (DSE), help students learn how to use the concept of "which-path" information to reason about the presence or absence of interference in these two experiments in different situations. After working on a pretest that asked students to predict interference in the MZI with single photons and polarizers of various orientations placed in one or both paths of the MZI, students worked on the MZI tutorial which, among other things, guided them to reason in terms of which-path information in order to predict interference in similar situations. We investigated the extent to which students were able to use reasoning related to which-path information learned in the MZI tutorial to answer analogous questions on the DSE (before working on the DSE tutorial). After students worked on the DSE pretest they worked on a DSE tutorial in which they learned to use the concept of which-path information to answer questions about interference in the DSE with single particles with mass sent through the two slits and a monochromatic lamp placed between the slits and the screen. We investigated if this additional exposure to the concept of which-path information promoted improved learning and performance in the DSE questions with single photons and polarizers placed after one or both slits. We find evidence that both tutorials promoted which-path information reasoning and helped students use this reasoning appropriately in contexts different from the ones in which they had learned it.

There are diverse teaching methodologies to promote both collaborative and individual work in undergraduate physics courses. However, few educational studies seek to understand how students learn and apply new knowledge through open-ended activities that require mathematical modeling and experimentation focused on environmental problems. In this work, we propose a novel home experiment to simulate the dynamics of a particulate under temperature inversion and model it as damped harmonic motion. Twenty six first year students enrolled in STEM majors answered six qualitative questions after designing and developing the experiment. These questions helped analyze the students epistemological beliefs about their learning process of physics topics and its applications. Results showed that this type of open-ended experiments could facilitate the students understanding of physics phenomena. In addition, this experiment showed that it could help physics professors to promote students epistemological development by giving their students the opportunity to search for different sources of knowledge and becoming self-learners instead of looking at the professor as the epistemological authority. At the end, students described this activity as a positive experience that helped them realize alternative ways to apply physics topics in different contexts of their environment.

The Beginners Lab Course in Physics is scheduled very early in the course of studies not only for students of physics but also for students for which physics is a minor subject. We provide all partipants with several auxilliary materials for the preparation of the experiments and for writing a protocol. In our study, we enlighten the effect of the usage of these materials on the success of passing the lab course. ----- Das Anfängerpraktikum Physik ist eine früh im Studienverlauf stattfindende Veranstaltung sowohl für Hauptfachstudierende Physik, alsauch für Studierende mit Nebenfach Physik. Die vorliegende Untersuchung beleuchtet den Effekt der Verwendung von Hilfsmitteln zur Versuchsvorbereitung und Protokollierung auf das erfolgreiche Bestehen des Praktikums.

In ancient times, electricity was viewed as a spirit or soul residing in an inanimate substance. A fluid image was introduced in an attempt to visualize its movement. It was also an effort to concretize its nature into the realm of physical objects as opposed to metaphysical. Eventually, a water circuit analogy has evolved and been introduced in science and engineering textbooks, old and new, to extend the depiction of a fluid image. However, educational research in physics and science education has documented a number of pedagogical issues regarding the use of this analogy. This paper outlines the historical attempts in the concretization of a fluid image to promote History of Science approach in teaching physics among physics teachers in first year undergraduate and physics in-service teachers. Equally important, it discusses the pedagogical concerns of this analogy as it relates to science teaching and learning processes in secondary physics education. The discussions might serve as pedagogical considerations for first year undergraduate physics instructors that need to connect with students entering post-secondary physics courses.

The article sets out to analyze national and foreign experience of use of electronic textbooks in the system of education; to justify the use of Smart Kids technology as a system of methods, forms, and electronic educational game resources, electronic textbooks for educational process in the system of elementary school. Four forms of implementation of Smart Kids technology (Smart Case, Smart Teacher, Smart Class, and Smart Kids) were described con-sidering the facilities of every school as well as the level of information and communication technology qualification of the elementary school teacher. The aim of introduction of the technology for each form of teaching, the necessary equipment, and means for its implementation in elementary school environment were determined. Based on the procedural approach to work of an elementary school teacher, six stages of introduction of the technology were justified. Spe-cific aspects of introduction of blended teaching using the principles of Smart Kids technology were defined. The experience of introduction of electronic textbooks to the system of elementary education of Ukraine was described, the choice of electronic textbooks by elementary school teachers was justified, the comments and suggestions of teachers regarding the arrangement of electronic content in E-textbooks were summarized, the main approaches of teachers to the choice of an electronic textbook and development of their information and communication competence were specified. It was identified that the forms, methods, and techniques of use of electronic textbooks in teaching elementary school pupils require further justification.