Jack M. Wilson

Studio courses: How information technology is changing the way we teach, on campus and off

Over the last decide, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute studio classroom model has been applied in various engineering, science, mathematics, and other courses, both at Rensselaer and at other campuses. The studio classroom was designed to provide an interactive learning environment that incorporates the advances in computing and communication and builds upon the cognitive science research on how people learn. In many cases, the studio course replaces the large enrolment course, combining lecture, rectitation, and laboratory into one interactive faculty that is as comfortable as it is high tech. The introduction of the studio courses has led to a better learning environment for both the students and the faculty members. Attendance in classes and student evaluations both improved. To some extent the studio classroom works to change the focus from the lecturer to the student. It requires that the student take some of the responsibility for the learning process. The studio classroom was recognized by the Theodore Hesburgh Award, the Pew Prize, the Boeing Award, and other honors.

Student Programming in the Introductory Physics Course: M.U.P.P.E.T.

Since 1983, the Maryland University Project in Physics and Educational Technology (M.U.P.P.E.T.) has been investigating the implication of including student programming in an introductory physics course for physics majors. Many significant changes can result. One can rearrange some content to be more physically appropriate, include more realistic problems, and introduce some contemporary topics. One can begin training the student in professional research‐related skills at an earlier stage than is traditional. An interesting point to note is that the inclusion of carefully considered computer content requires an increased emphasis on qualitative and analytic thinking.

A multimedia model for undergraduate education

Abstract In the search for greater productivity in undergraduate education, increasing enrollments have typically forced a continuing tradeoff between quality and cost. Large lectures (with 300–500 students) have become standard for introductory courses in many institutions. Educational technology has long been touted as an important tool for increasing productivity. However, its most common applications in undergraduate education (such as videotaped lectures) have been disappointing in terms of the quality of education they provide; and more innovative, computer-based applications have been deemed costly. Educators at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new interactive, multimedia model called the “Studio” that replaces the traditional lecture/recitation/lab format with a single Studio classroom of 48–64 students. Student performance and satisfaction are high, and total cost is lower than in the traditional model. The Studio is the core of an ambitious set of interactive, collaborative, multimedia, and distance learning techniques at Rensselaer which are attracting widespread interest among educators nationally and internationally.

The Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment: Part I. Background and System Operation

The CUPLE consortium, which has the support of the IBM Corporation, the Annenberg/CPB project, and the American Association of Physics Teachers, has produced the prototype of a new instructional resource for college and university physics courses. The Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment (CUPLE) combines flexible computer‐based tools with inputs from laboratory experiments, video recordings, and other sources. This two‐part report discusses motivations for, and implementations of, the CUPLE concepts. In Part I, the authors describe the context for curriculum reform, the choices of hardware and software platforms, and operation of the system. Part II, of this report will appear in the next issue. It describes the modular text materials, student programming, the linkage with laboratory experiments, the use of video tools, and the open system environment.

Using Computers in Teaching Physics

The computer has revolutionized the way we do physics, but surprisingly, it has not significantly altered the way we teach physics. Talks and papers on teaching with computers fill the meetings and journals of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and workshops on the topic abound, yet the real impact of computers in the classroom is slight. In physics research, change comes quickly, disseminates rapidly and is widely appreciated. In physics teaching, change evolves gradually, spreads slowly and frequently meets with resistance. On 6 June 1988 The Wall Street Journal published a story with the headline “Computers Failing as Teaching Aids.” The reasons the Journal cited for this failure at the general pre‐college education level apply equally well to physics teaching at the introductory college level: lack of access to computers, poor software and faculty members who are inadequately prepared to use computers effectively.

The Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment: Part II. The Basis for Integrated Studies

The CUPLE consortium, which has the support of the IBM Corporation, the Annenberg/CPB project, and the American Association of Physics Teachers, has produced the prototype of a new instructional resource for college and university physics courses. The Comprehensive Unified Physics Learning Environment (CUPLE) combines flexible computer‐based tools with inputs from laboratory experiments, video recordings, and other sources. This two‐part report discusses motivations for, and implementations of, the CUPLE concepts. Part I of this report appeared in the previous issue, and described the context for curriculum reform, the choices of hardware and software platforms, and operation of the system. In Part II, the authors describe the modular text materials, student programming, the linkage with laboratory experiments, the use of video tools, and the open system environment.

Experimental simulation in the modern physics laboratory

Graphic computer simulations of laboratory experiments in modern physics have been developed for student use prior to each laboratory. The graphic simulations partially replace the traditional pre‐lab briefing in an open laboratory setting. Experimental simulation is intended to familiarize the students with the experiment, to allow the students to try a larger number of ’’experimental’’ combinations of variables, to encourage student participation in the design of the experiment, and to build the students confidence in their laboratory ability. Each simulation is designed to be as realistic as posible to provide the student with the same choices of experimental procedure and the same type of data output as would be provided in the laboratory.

Designing and developing curriculum innovations with teams of engineering students and faculty

Rensselaer has been following a strategy for both horizontal and vertical integration of computing throughout the undergraduate curriculum. This strategy is being applied in a context where basic science courses are being taught to engineering students by creating new courses combining Physics and Engineering Dynamics, Chemistry and Materials Science, and Mathematics and Engineering Analysis. Redesigning the curriculum has been one of the great challenges of the last few years, and, in most cases, the redesign has been accomplished using teams of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty working together to create new learning environments and materials. The team approach builds on the strength of each of the team members.<<ETX>>

How computing and communications are changing physics education

The forces that have caused such upheaval in global industry are also stimulating change in undergraduate and graduate physics education. Increasing financial pressure on programs is coupled with legislative and trustee pressure to focus on educational programs. Cutbacks in federal funding for research present some unattractive choices to the research universities. In the corporate laboratory, research is being aligned along business interest lines and physics is often taking a back seat. In some laboratories, Bell Laboratory for example, physicists have been retrained to work in the network and information science areas. The shift from manufacturing and heavy industry to information services, networking, and computers presents an ever changing set of opportunities to students. In spite of these (often adverse) global trends, universities are called upon to make significant increases in quality without the prospects for any additional resources. In many places this has led to re-engineered courses and cur...

Software: Integration, Collaboration, Standards, Progress

Any discussion of the software standards for microcomputer-based laboratories (MBL) must take into account the proliferation of technological tools for use in physics. Among these are: spreadsheet physics, microcomputer-based laboratories, programming for problem solving, videotapes, videodiscs, CD-ROMs, simulations, symbolic mathematics, and modeling [1]. We must avoid the trap of becoming “the person with a hammer to whom all things look like a nail.”