Pascal Klein

Classical experiments revisited: smartphones and tablet PCs as experimental tools in acoustics and optics

Smartphones and tablets are used as experimental tools and for quantitative measurements in two traditional laboratory experiments for undergraduate physics courses. The Doppler effect is analyzed and the speed of sound is determined with an accuracy of about 5% using ultrasonic frequency and two smartphones, which serve as rotating sound emitter and stationary sound detector. Emphasis is put on the investigation of measurement errors in order to judge experimentally derived results and to sensitize undergraduate students to the methods of error estimates. The distance dependence of the illuminance of a light bulb is investigated using an ambient light sensor of a mobile device. Satisfactory results indicate that the spectrum of possible smartphone experiments goes well beyond those already published for mechanics.

Video analysis of projectile motion using tablet computers as experimental tools

Tablet computers were used as experimental tools to record and analyse the motion of a ball thrown vertically from a moving skateboard. Special applications plotted the measurement data component by component, allowing a simple determination of initial conditions and g in order to explore the underlying laws of motion. This experiment can easily be performed by students themselves, providing more autonomy in their problem-solving processes than traditional learning approaches. We believe that this autonomy and the authenticity of the experimental tool both foster their motivation.

Video Analysis Exercises in Regular Introductory Physics Courses: Effects of Conventional Methods and Possibilities of Mobile Devices

Annual data collection concerning introductory physics courses at German universities (Matzdorf, 2011) has shown significant dropout rates (25–30%), especially in teacher education (> 30%). The very high perceived difficulty of the learning content is considered to be the main reason for this (Heublein, Hutzsch, Schreiber, Sommer, & Besuch, 2010; Albrecht & Nordmeier, 2011).

Video-based problems in introductory mechanics physics courses

Introductory mechanics physics courses at the transition from school to university are a challenge for students. They are faced with an abrupt and necessary increase of theoretical content and requirements on their conceptual understanding of phyiscs. In order to support this transition we replaced part of the mandatory weekly theory-based paper-and-pencil problems with video analysis problems of equal content and level of difficulty. Video-based problems (VBP) are a new problem format for teaching physics from a linked sequence of theoretical and video-based experimental tasks. Experimental tasks are related to the well-known concept of video motion analysis. This introduction of an experimental part in recitations allows the establishment of theory–experiment interplay as well as connections between physical content and context fields such as nature, technique, everyday life and applied physics by conducting model-and context-related experiments. Furthermore, laws and formulas as predominantly representative forms are extended by the use of diagrams and vectors. In this paper we give general reasons for this approach, describe the structure and added values of VBP, and show that they cover a relevant part of mechanics courses at university. Emphasis is put on theory–experiment interplay as a structural added value of VBP to promote studentsʼ construction of knowledge and conceptual understanding.

A study on representational competence in physics using mobile eye tracking systems

In this paper, we have conducted an eye tracking experiment by employing an inexpensive, lightweight, and portable eye tracker paired with a tablet. Students were instructed to solve the physics problems by presenting them three coherent representations about a phenomenon: Vectorial representations, data tables and diagrams. The effectiveness of each representation was assessed for three levels of student expertise (experts, intermediates and novices) using eye-tracking gaze data. The results show that students of different skill level (a) prefer different representations for problem-solving, (b) switch between representations with different frequencies, and (c) can be distinguished by the density of representation use. The obtained results confirm earlier findings of physics education research quantitatively which were initially obtained by student interviews and observational studies.

Augmented Learning on Anticipating Textbooks with Eye Tracking

This paper demonstrates how eye tracking technologies can understand providers to realize a personalized learning. Although curiosity is an important factor for learning, textbooks have been static and constant among various learners. The motivation of our work is to develop a digital textbook which displays contents dynamically based on students’ interests. As interest is a positive predictor of learning, we hypothesize that students’ learning and understanding will improve when they are presented information which is in line with their current cognitive state. As the first step, we investigate students’ reading behaviors with an eye tracker, and propose attention and comprehension prediction approaches. These methods were evaluated on a dataset including eight participants’ readings on a learning material in Physics. We classified participants’ comprehension levels into three classes, novice, intermediate, and expert, indicating significant differences in reading behavior and solving tasks.

Entropy based transition analysis of eye movement on physics representational competence

In this paper, we have conducted an eye tracking experiment by employing an inexpensive, lightweight, and portable eye tracker paired with a tablet. Students were instructed to solve the physics problems by presenting them three coherent representations about a phenomenon: Vectorial representations, data tables and diagrams. The effectiveness of each representation was assessed for three levels of student expertise (experts, intermediates and novices) using entropy-based transition analysis of the gaze data. The results show that students of different skill level (a) prefer different representations for problem-solving, (b) switch between representations with different frequencies, and (c) can be distinguished by the density of representation use. The obtained results confirm earlier findings of physics education research quantitatively which were initially obtained by student interviews and observational studies.

Any problems? a wearable sensor-based platform for representational learning-analytics.

We describe in this work a sensor-based learning platform which supports both the teacher and the learner during exercises. We use a combination of eye tracker, sensor pen and exercise texts to capture the progress of learners. The eye tracker retrieves information about the gaze, for example reading or scanning for key words; the sensor pen captures trends like number of words or the pressure applied to the paper. Combining this information, the platform should be used to indicate problems of the learner to the teacher. Besides presenting the data information to the teacher, we work on advancing the platform to an adaptive system, which could give individual feedback to the learners themselves according to their individual cognitive and affective requirements.

Students’ Visual Attention While Solving Multiple Representation Problems in Upper-Division Physics

The famous physicist Feynman reminded us, that different representations of the same physical law can evoke varied mental pictures and thus assist in making new discoveries. In this study, we taught students two different (but yet equivalent) cognitive strategies to graphically interpret the physical meaning of divergence, a concept which is settled at the intersection between upper division mathematics and physics. Using eye-tracking, we studied students’ understanding and cognitive processing of both strategies when they were engaged in graphical vector field representations and tried to integrate abstract mathematical equations for problem solving. Fixation patterns and relevant eye-tracking measures reveal that both visual strategies are cognitively processed differently, that different strategies result in different gaze patterns, and that both strategies may lead to different learning outcomes. We discuss implications for future research, for example, how positive learning can be fostered by computer-generated individual feedback based on gaze data, and for implementing findings into teaching.

Systeme von Massepunkten, Stöße

Zentraler elastischer und inelastischer Stos; Impulserhaltungssatz; inelastischer Stos bei kontinuierlicher und diskreter Massenanderung eines Korpers; Drehimpulserhaltung im Zentralkraftfeld; Energieerhaltungssatz.