John Stewart

Revitalizing an undergraduate physics program: A case study of the University of Arkansas

In recent years, a number of states have enacted initiatives to close undergraduate departments with low graduation rates. In response, the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Physical Society have presented workshops to help interested programs increase graduation rates. One program asked to present at these workshops was the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. As a result of a number of initiatives, the University of Arkansas Physics Department has seen an increase from an average of 1 to 2 graduates per year in the mid-1990s to 27 graduates in 2012. This growth resulted from many changes: a revision of the introductory physics course sequence, a reworking of degree requirements to allow increased flexibility, an increased focus on in-department academic advising, and specific faculty hires to support the educational mission. The purpose of this paper is to explore the details of the revised program.

The Leaf Electroscope: A Take-Home Project of Unexpected Depth

The leaf electroscope is a common piece of demonstration equipment found in many high school and introductory college physics laboratories. Its simplicity allows a compelling demonstration of electrostatic forces, and its versatility makes it useful in the demonstration of a number of physical phenomena. The electroscope has a long history; a device for detecting net static charge using a rotating needle, the versorium, was described by Gilbert in De Magnete in 1600.1 The leaf electroscope was invented by Bennet and described in a letter published by the Royal Society in 1787.2 This paper will describe the use of the leaf electroscope as a build-at-home project in the second-semester introductory calculus-based physics class at the University of Arkansas.

Optimally Engineering Traditional Introductory Physics Classes.

This paper presents a measurement of the time and resources committed to traditional student actions such as reading and working homework. The perception of the educational value of each basic action for both students and faculty is captured. From this information, basic educational efficiencies are computed for a traditional mechanics course and a non-traditional hands-on Electricity and Magnetism course. The calculations show an allocation of resources in the traditional course which uses the most student time in the least educationally valuable activity. The computed efficiencies also show overseen student note-taking as potentially a very valuable general tool. The techniques presented allow any institution to carry out quantitative educational engineering of their course offerings at the highest level.

Part II: A Computationally Based Modeling System for Class Elements Using Formal Observer-Based Experimental Connections

This article extends and refines the modeling system presented previously (Stewart, 1997). The initial system was sufficient for the optimization of delivery of education at a departmental level. This system is greatly more powerful, precise, and scientific, and fulfills the role of a modeling system for the research and development of educational practices. The model is applied to two widely diverse educational processes, Student Actions and Do Homework Problem, establishing the formalism and demonstrating its usefulness. The use of a rigorous computational syntax imposes completeness criteria on the modeling itself and uniformity. Experimental definition of the formation process of the patterns allows anyone to introduce new features of a model. This and the uniformity allows the models to become the property of the education community, not merely a single researcher, in the same way that mathematical models allow scientists to utilize and build upon previous research.

Using linguistic references to characterize class integration

A technique using linguistic references in the communication of a physics class to characterize class integration is introduced. Measurement of a traditional physics class shows only marginal integration. Measurement of a modified physics class shows that integration can be dramatically improved. A measurement of a best-selling textbook shows very good integration of the section text, but poor integration of discretionary blocks, such as examples, problems, tables and illustrations. Various graphical techniques are presented to visualize the reference data.