Priscilla W. Laws

Calculus‐Based Physics Without Lectures

Every fall several hundred thousand students enroll in calculus‐based “engineering” physics courses throughout the United States. Informal statistics tell us that over half of them will fail to complete the sequence of introductory courses. These students complain that physics is hard and boring. The most compelling student critique of traditional introductory physics and chemistry courses comes from college graduates in the humanities who were engaged by Sheila Tobias to take introductory science for credit. These students paint a devastating portrait of introductory courses as uninteresting, time consuming, narrowly fixated on the procedures of textbook problem solving, devoid of peer cooperation, lacking in student involvement during lectures, crammed with too much material, and biased away from conceptual understanding.

Using Digital Video Analysis in Introductory Mechanics Projects

During the first semester of our calculus-based introductory physics course sequence, students work in small groups on mechanics projects. Many teams choose digital video analysis for projects involving mechanics. We discuss the management of collaborative projects and schemes for critiquing collaborative papers and assigning individual grades. We also describe some of the more interesting projects. Finally, we offer some advice on how to find the information needed to create good digital video movies.

RealTime Physics: active learning labs transforming the introductory laboratory

Computer-based tools that enable students to collect, display and analyse data in real time have catalysed the design of a laboratory curriculum that allows students to master a coherent body of physics concepts while acquiring traditional laboratory skills. This paper describes RealTime Physics, a sequenced introductory laboratory curriculum that is based on the results of physics education research, and uses computer-based tools to facilitate student learning.

Women’s responses to an activity-based introductory physics program

It has been said that women ought to like science courses that are hands-on, collaborative, and afford a high degree of personal attention. In this article we examine this assumption by considering some women’s responses to Workshop Physics—a calculus-based introductory course sequence in which lectures are abandoned in favor of activity-based collaborative work enhanced by the use of integrated computer tools. Early in the development of the Workshop curriculum an attitude survey revealed that pre-medical junior and senior women were more negative about their experience than either their male counterparts or freshmen and sophomore students. We explored reasons for this phenomenon by interviewing a group of women who had enrolled in Workshop Physics courses.

A unit on oscillations, determinism and chaos for introductory physics students

This article describes a unit on oscillations, determinism and chaos developed for calculus-based introductory physics students as part of the laboratory-centered Workshop Physics curriculum. Students begin by observing the motion of a simple pendulum with a paper clip bob with and without magnets in its vicinity. This observation provides an introduction to the contrasting concepts of Laplacian determinism and chaos. The rest of the unit involves a step-by-step study of a pendulum system that becomes increasingly complex until it is driven into chaotic motion. The time series graphs and phase plots of various configurations of the pendulum are created using a computer data acquisition system with a rotary motion sensor. These experimental results are compared to iterative spreadsheet models developed by students based on the nature of the torques the system experiences. The suitability of the unit for introductory physics students in traditional laboratory settings is discussed.

Exploring the greenhouse effect through physics-oriented activities

We are developing a new activity-based unit on global warming and the environment as part of the Explorations in Physics Curriculum. We describe the current status of this unit, which focuses on helping students understand the greenhouse effect and its relationship to global warming. We outline several problems encountered in testing the unit and share our ideas about how to improve it. These improvements include the introduction of the concept of dynamic equilibrium to help students understand global warming, population growth and other environmental phenomena.

Homework and Test Questions for Introductory Physics Teaching

Scaling and Ratio Reasoning. Kinematics. Force and Dynamics. Momentum and Energy. Electricity. Direct Current Circuits. Electromagnetism. Particle Trajectories in E- and B-Fields. Wave Phenomena. Images with Mirrors and Lenses. Geometrical and Physical Optics. Fluids and Thermal Phenomena. Kinetic Theory. Modern Physics. Mixed Areas of Subject Matter. Naked Eye Astronomy. Learning Objectives. Term Paper Assignments.

Using Research-Based Interactive Video Vignettes to Enhance Out-of-Class Learning in Introductory Physics

Ever since the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system (PLATO1) was introduced over 50 years ago, educators have been adding computer-based materials to their classes. Today many textbooks have complete online versions that include video lectures and other supplements. In the past 25 years the web has fueled an explosion of online homework and course management systems, both as blended learning and online courses. Meanwhile, introductory physics instructors have been implementing new approaches to teaching based on the outcomes of Physics Education Research (PER). A common theme of PER-based instruction has been the use of active-learning strategies designed to help students overcome alternative conceptions that they often bring to the study of physics.2 Unfortunately, while classrooms have become more active, online learning typically relies on passive lecture videos or Kahn-style3 tablet drawings. To bring active learning online, the LivePhoto Physics Group has been developing Interactive...

Workshop physical science: Project-based science education for future teachers, parents, and citizens

This paper gives an interim report of a program designed to improve science education for pre-service elementary school teachers and other non-science majors. Building on the success of Workshop Physics (1), this program blends guided-inquiry techniques with student-directed projects. The curriculum is still being pilot-tested, but preliminary assessment shows that students are quite motivated by the project-based nature of the course. In addition, students appear to show significant improvement in their understanding of the nature of science as is evidenced by the quality of the projects and the questions raised during the project presentations.

Star Wars and gravitational constants

Star Wars takes place in another galaxy in another age and the adventure plays out on “inhabitable” planets unknown to us. Yet, it is curious how all the planets and other astronomical bodies of different sizes and compositions that Star Wars characters visit seem to have the same gravitational field at the surface.