PHYS

Kinney Shows Simulations to Support Understanding of Sound

Anonymous — Mon, 04 May 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Kinney Shows Simulations to Support Understanding of Sound Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/04/2015 - 00:00

Last fall, students nominated Physics Professor Ed Kinney for an ASSETT Award of Excellence for Outstanding Teacher for Technology in Teaching in Physics 1240 Sound and Music. Students wrote that the PhET simulations and YouTube videos that Kinney showed in class supported their learning of complex Physics concepts. In their nominations for Kinney to receive the award, students wrote that:

[Kinney's] use of online simulations like PhET to encourage understanding or to solidify complex concepts like wave movements of strings with or without fixed ends. Also interesting YouTube videos to clarify how things work such as the inner machiantions of the ear.

Kinney stresses that the real credit should go to the creators of PhET simulations, a �鶹ӰԺ office that has created and shared hundreds of free science and mathematics simulations for K-12 and higher education learners. "The PhET simulations are the backbone of what I use," says Kinney.

What is Physics and Music? Kinney says, "This is an elective class to teach the physics of sound and how that is coordinated with what happens when you make music." In Physics and Music, students learn about sound and sound waves. They learn what happens to the waves as they move through the air from a speaker or musical instrument into your ear and vibrate the parts of the inner ear. Kinney sometimes brings musical instruments to class to show the students the Physics involved in how the instruments make different sounds.

Most of all, Kinney says that simulations are vital to demonstrating these concepts. Kinney says:

If you don’t have some means of visualizing this thing that is happening in space and time all at once. So the simulations are enormously helpful. ... A lot of the resources I use have to do with getting a good understanding of what waves are like and how they work. It’s quite an advanced topic. Even Physics majors don’t get waves until a ways into their education. The mathematics of waves is more advanced.

For example, Kinney asks students to use this PhET simulation to learn about waves.

Kinney says, "I can’t imagine teaching this course without these materials." He says that the simulations show changes and movement of sound through time better than a still image: "There’s not a still picture in a book that you can get across what is happening in real time when sound waves come into your ear. Still pictures don’t convey the understanding," says Kinney.

Additionally, Kinney's students use sound recording software like Audacity so that they can see the changes in frequencies as they make different sounds. Kinney says, "The other thing we used was audio software. It’s free and high quality, which allows students to record sounds and listen to it on their laptops."

Kinney says, "I see teaching as a very much mutual interaction."

Visit Kinney's course webpage

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The Language of Physics

Anonymous — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

The Language of Physics Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/13/2013 - 00:00

Photo by Micah Sittig

“The central finding of physics education research over the past twenty years is something that kindergarten teachers have known forever,” says Dr. Mike Dubson as rain taps against the windows of his office on the tenth floor of the Gamow Physics Tower. “It’s that students don’t learn by listening. They learn by doing.”

Dr. Dubson, a beloved senior instructor who has been teaching at CU since 1995, knows better than most that physics courses challenge students and teachers in unique ways. “In physics, memorization is not learning,” Dubson explains. “Students are pretty surprised by that. Many students come to realize that their entire learning strategy has failed.” Dubson has studied physics education for decades, conducting large, multi-year experiments on the impact of Clickers and peer discussions on learning. Most of these studies have revealed similar results: students learn best when they are interacting and talking with each other.

With a dropout rate of roughly 15%, beginning physics students often struggle to make the transition from memorization to problem solving. Dubson, a Clicker pioneer who started using the technology years before any of his colleagues, believes that this tool can help facilitate discussion among students. “Every five to fifteen minutes, I ask them a question,” he says. “And the students have to talk with the other students in their Clicker group to come up with the answer.” Language, says Duncan, is understanding. Students who can talk through a physics problem with peers (instead of passively listening to a lecture) typically learn the material much faster.

Dubson shares this strategy with his teaching assistants. To prepare teaching assistants for leading recitations, they engage in roleplay scenarios and practice responding to potential questions from students. He trains them to avoid providing direct answers. “Most of the time, a student just wants the teacher to give them an answer,” he says. But that strategy doesn’t help students learn. It just helps students complete their physics homework. With a little guidance, TAs can encourage students to come up with the answers on their own. “That way, the students have to take responsibility and ownership for the answers,” he says. “It’s much more rewarding.”

Although much of Dubson’s research has focused on the pedagogical challenges of large lecture classes, as a teacher he often interacts with individual students in the Physics Help Room. The Help Room is a place where undergraduates can go for one-on-one tutoring on challenging problems. Here too, the key to solving problems is conversation. “Its always best when the student and I aren’t in a hurry,” he says. “We look at the problem one step at a time, until the student can explain it in words.” Dubson provides hints (along with gentle encouragement) to let students know when they are headed in the right direction. Step by step, the student works through the problem and finds the answer on their own, surprised by their capabilies. Students often leave the sessions with new-found confidence.

Dubson’s most recent project involves comparing the functionality of online courses called MOOCS and traditional classes. But he isn’t optimistic. A strong belief in the importance of face-to-face discussion makes Dubson skeptical of online learning. “It’s almost impossible to foster moderated discussion groups for 1,000 students from all over the world,” he says. Despite his misgivings, he and other researchers are looking for ways to encourage peer conversations online.

Dr. Dubson was recently awarded an ASSETT Outstanding Teaching with Tech Award for his interactive approach in the classroom. Dubson says that students “learn by doing,” but if his studies are correct, students also “learn by talking.” Language is central to comprehension, especially in the classroom setting where physics students don’t actually have the resources to directly test the velocity of a rocket hurtling through the atmosphere. Whether through engagement in virtual chat groups or participation in traditional discussions, Dubson believes that students should work through problems verbally. It may be possible to foster these exchanges online, and it may not be. But it's clear that teachers in all disciplines need to encourage conversation.

Article by: Ashley E Williams

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PhET: Teaching Science with Computer Simulations by Ashley Williams

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

PhET: Teaching Science with Computer Simulations by Ashley Williams Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/27/2012 - 00:00

What would you learn if you could turn off the atmosphere? What problems might you solve if you could increase the force of gravity or had the ability to manipulate individual electrons in a circuit? Demonstrations and experiments have long been an important tool in science education, yet real-world limitations often make it impossible for students to see invisible interactions or understand the influence of massive forces. But by using PhET, an interactive simulation platform developed at CU �鶹ӰԺ, students can alter powerful forces and see the unseen.

In 2002, Nobel Laureate Dr. Carl Wieman founded PhET as a way to help students learn through independent exploration. Funded in part by Dr. Wieman’s Nobel award, a team of scientists and designers from CU �鶹ӰԺ have created a wide range of interactive computer simulations that students and teachers can download for free. The acronym “PhET” initially stood for “Physics Education Technology,” but the project has expanded to offer simulations on a range of science topics including biology, chemistry, and mathematics. As of August 2012, over 100 simulations have been created, tested, and released to the public.

The software is organized by grade level:

Elementary school students can learn why balloons stick to sweaters by simulating friction and observing positive and negative charges.
Students in middle school begin to understand color vision by mixing light, creating rainbows and observing individual photons.
High school students and university undergraduates are introduced to cutting edge research on lasers and optical quantum control.

Although the concepts vary, the visual and interactive experience remains consistent throughout grade levels. Almost all elements in a simulation are simple, colorful, and movable. The “Fluid Pressure and Flow” demonstration allows students to modify fluid density, gravitational pull, atmospheric pressure, and the shape of a pipe through which water is flowing, to see how it changes speed. Students can often switch between different screen views and information boxes can be turned on and off. Some simulations, like the ever-popular “Electric Field Hockey” contain game-like elements.

Because these games have the potential to be distracting, PhET researchers conduct extensive testing on new projects. Each simulation is analyzed carefully to make certain that students are learning the intended concepts and can easily interact with the software. Researchers observe which features are helpful and which are distracting, eliminating superfluous elements and adding new details that aid learning.

After the research is complete and simulations are released to the public, this material is used by teachers in a variety of ways. Although many students interact with PhET material independently, teachers also integrate the software into their lectures. When using PhET demonstrations in the science classroom, it has been observed that “students often ask many more, and deeper questions.”[i] According to the PhET lecture guide, “Once students realize the ease with which the simulation’s controls can be changed by the instructor, it is common for student ideas to direct investigation of a sim through a series of ‘what-if’ questions.”[ii] It seems that students pay more attention when they have the opportunity to interact with the material directly. This is very difficult to accomplish in an auditorium lecture, but PhET allows for these interactions to happen even in large classes.

PhET software is now being used by teachers and students around the world. The newest tested simulations include explorations of molecule polarity and bending light. Because of its popularity abroad, PhET has added a function that allows the simulations to be easily translated into dozens of different languages. As more students and teachers gain access to this material, Dr. Weiman’s dream of encouraging scientific exploration at all levels of education is coming true. “It’s the best science education software that money can buy,” says Dr. Mike Dubson, science expert and software engineer at PhET, “except you can’t buy it because it’s free.”

[i] http://phet.colorado.edu/publications/classroom-use/PhETUseInLecture.pdf

[ii] http://phet.colorado.edu/publications/classroom-use/PhETUseInLecture.pdf

Article written by Ashley E. Williams, ASSETT research assistant

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Learning �鶹ӰԺ Teaching Physics: A Podcast Series by Dr. Stephanie Chasteen

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Learning �鶹ӰԺ Teaching Physics: A Podcast Series by Dr. Stephanie Chasteen Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/15/2012 - 00:00

A planet traverses the face of the sun. Particles collide. The energies that make up the natural world are contemplated and measured. Physics can be a captivating subject, yet introductory course instructors often struggle with finding ways to help their students comprehend sophisticated concepts. University professors face an additional challenge. Because academic scientists often have backgrounds in research rather than pedagogy, they are armed with vast amounts of knowledge, but have limited experience with distilling that information and presenting it clearly.

For nearly a decade, CU �鶹ӰԺ physicist Dr. Stephanie Chasteen (a.k.a. sciencegeekgirl) has been working to improve physics education on the college and high school level. As a research associate at The Physics Education Research Group and The Science Education Initiative at CU �鶹ӰԺ, she has devoted her career to developing resources and strategies that science teachers can use to help students understand difficult concepts. Chasteen has given talks and workshops throughout the country and she uses podcasts and blogs to reach a wider public. Her most recent project is a podcast series called: Learning about Teaching Physics, co-hosted by Chasteen and �鶹ӰԺ High School physics teacher Michael Fuchs. In her words, this series is “a sort of Discover Magazine about teaching for science teachers”.

The first podcast in the series, “Seeing Isn’t Believing”, challenges old teaching strategies. Dr. Chasteen and Michael Fuchs interview academics Eric Mazur and Catherine Couch about their recent study into the effectiveness of in-class demonstrations published in The American Journal of Physics. Demonstrations have long been considered a constructive and engaging component of K-12 and college-level science instruction, yet Mazur and Couch found that demonstrations alone do not help students to learn a concept. However when instructors asked the students to predict the outcome of the demonstration before it was presented, they found measurable improvements in student learning.

How can these findings be explained? Eric Mazur and Catherine Couch believe that asking for predictions creates cognitive dissonance, which is a powerful learning tool. Research like this, says Chasteen, can be a valuable resource for any STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) instructor. Teachers can help students alter their mental models and retain information by requiring that they predict an outcome before a demonstration. A minor change in a lesson plan can produce impressive results.

Dr. Chasteen hopes that Learning �鶹ӰԺ Teaching Physics will encourage science teachers to integrate serious academic research into their everyday classroom instruction. The podcast series is “intended to be a short, accessible, and well-produced way to learn more about findings from education research, on your own time” she explains. In her small office at the top of the CU Duane physics tower, Chasteen excitedly rattles off a list of future podcast ideas. She has been awarded funding to complete four podcasts. If she receives positive responses from listeners, she hopes to expand the program.

Effective communication, it seems, is at the core of Chasteen’s work. As a blogger, radio and podcast host and public lecturer, she is constantly searching for better ways to transmit information that will help instructors to be competent communicators in the classroom. Learning �鶹ӰԺ Teaching Physics is aimed at presenting dense research in a format that is user-friendly. Giving teachers easy access to this information is crucial. Like any education researcher, Chasteen’s ultimate hope is that teachers will use these research findings to nurture and encourage future scientists.

Learning �鶹ӰԺ Teaching Physics is supported by a grant from the American Association of Physics Teachers (Physics Education Research Topical Group) and supported by the University of Colorado's Science Education Initiative, the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Colorado and sciencegeekgirl enterprises.

You can listen to podcasts at http://perusersguide.org/podcasts

Article written by Ashley E. Williams, ASSETT Research Assistant

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