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Reasoning across different contexts consistently is a challenge when learning physics. Despite demonstrating correct conceptual understanding and reasoning on one task, students often fail to use the same knowledge and skills on similar tasks. Dual-process theories can explain these inconsistencies, asserting that cognition involves two thinking processes: the heuristic, which is fast and automatic, and the analytic, which is slow and deliberate. Inconsistent responses arise when the heuristic process produces an intuitively appealing (but incorrect) response that the analytic process fails to reject. We hypothesize making the dual nature of human cognition explicit and more visible to the students could help them recognize and evaluate intuitive responses more productively. Results of a study designed to probe the impact of such instruction on student learning in introductory calculus-based mechanics courses are presented here.

AAPT SM 21

The effect of dual process theory instruction on student learning*

evidence based practices

dual process theory

student reasoning

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An instructor may often wonder what their students understand from their lessons or may want to know what students already understand before coming to class. While formative assessments can help, they can also be stressful and time consuming. During the fall and spring semesters from 2018 to 2021 in Physics I and Physics II, students reported their level of understanding of the material before and after each class. This information helped to inform the instructor on how to teach the class as well as how well the class went and what material might need to be reviewed. We graphed the average level of understanding for each class session to compare the students’ understanding before and after class, between semesters, and between years. Each semester is analyzed for trends, and we plan to share the interesting results that were found.

Measuring students’ level of understanding in introductory physics courses

Our open-source textbook, Exploring Physical Phenomena: What Happens When Light from the Sun Shines on the Earth? is now available at https://open.oregonstate.education/physicsforteachers. Each unit begins by identifying student resources for learning, developing central ideas based on evidence from exploring phenomena with everyday equipment and materials, using central ideas to explain intriguing phenomena, developing mathematical representations of the phenomena, using those representations to predict or estimate a quantity of interest, and making connections to educational policies such as the Next Generation Science Standards. All units include examples of student work by prospective elementary and middle school teachers while exploring light and thermal phenomena, considering the influence of light and thermal phenomena on local weather and global climate change, and exploring astronomical phenomena in the context of the Sun/Earth/Moon system. Supplemental materials include instructor guide for each unit, equipment lists for both on-campus and remote instruction, student handouts, and example homework assignments.

Exploring Physical Phenomena: A Physics Course for Prospective Teachers

We report the design and development process undertaken by the authors in putting together historical vignettes that could be used as supplementary materials in teaching Physical Science in Senior High School. The use of historical physics vignettes humanizes science to the students and allows them to develop an understanding of the nature of science. In this paper, we present three examples of the historical vignettes that had been developed: (1) an interactive historical vignette about Galileo and his ast ronomical discoveries; (2) a vignette presented in role-play format that highlights the cont ributions of Oersted, Ampere, Faraday, and Maxwell; and (3) a comics-format vignette contextualized in the Philippines setting, featuring the story of the first female National Scientist of the Philippines. The vignettes featured guide questions that encourage the students to think about their views about the nature of science.

Development of Historical Vignettes in Teaching Physical Science in SHS

Among the many significant challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic, many educators had to face the most significant challenge to convert well-designed in-person instruction methods to online teaching methods. To improve educators' online teaching methods to increase comprehension in classrooms, we collected data from STEM introductory level courses in the form of student feedback surveys, and personal interviews conducted online. We used persona methodology and ethnography to document the diverse learning group in a STEM classroom. Personas are "life-like models, whose characteristics are driven by the various goals and motivations of real or potential users." We used these personas to learn how an individual's learning experience affects their participation, goals, motivations, and expectations during online learning. These personas can support the design of online courses with student- centered approaches that better engage undergraduate students across multiple disciplines.

Personas of Student completing Online Instructions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This AGEP Alliance model provides faculty professional development and career preparation to minority STEM doctoral candidates. To increase the numbers of historically underrepresented faculty in STEM, the target audience is instructors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that are in the dissertation stage of their PhD degree.  The Alliance’s HBCU Instructors Bridge to Academia Program (HI Bridge) consists of research seminars, research advising, faculty mentoring, research presentations, peer collaboration, networking, and alumni follow-up meetings.  These activities are designed to support the candidates in completing their PhDs and prepare them for success in their faculty careers. Our work is also designed to identify factors that influence attrition rates of the target audience. We will be presenting the organizational structure of the Alliance team and the progress that has been made with the first cohort of participants.

AGEP Alliance Model for Underrepresented STEM Doctoral Candidates at HBCUs

The term 'Representations' refers to sketches, diagrams, pictures, graphs, tables, and mathematical equations are representations we commonly use in undergraduate physics courses and STEM more broadly. Even though expert instructors are familiar with these representations, the studies show that novice students are often struggling to understand and use these representations. Studies on the use of social semiotics in physics classrooms suggest that the instructors explain representations at a basic level and then, more in-depth, all physics representations. We collect student-generated problem-solving videos (Pencasts) from calculus- based physics courses at UGA. In this study, we analyze we look for patterns of students internalizing and combining representations to solve physics problems. In this poster, we present our initial findings. We find that students commonly use tables and visual representations with individualization to maximize learned skills and incorporate their understanding in the class. We expect to extend our work to other STEM branches.

Students' Problem-Solving Processes Associated with Representations in Pencasts.

During the mid-part of the spring 2021 semester, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the conversion of well-designed in-person instruction methods to online teaching methods. During the Fall 2020 semester, Introductory Physics students at the University of Georgia were asked about their experiences with their online instructions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an idea to use this feedback to improve further instruction in the following semesters. We gathered our research by collecting student feedback surveys from students in SCALE-UP classrooms where group-based learning is prevalent. The survey included multiple choice and open response questions about camera and privacy, preferred methods of group activities, and their tendency to participate. Data was collected across multiple STEM disciplines. Students found the instruction to be presented more clearly when attending in-person, and many requested the use of more real-life examples during class time.

Student Feedback: Transition to Online Instructions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

How does one run a virtual physics camp for middle school girls during the COVID pandemic ? I will present my experience in organizing and executing the Virtual Physics Wonder Girls Summer Camp in 2021. The theme of this year's free, week-long physics camp revolves around renewable energies and quantum physics. On its ninth year, the camp provides immersion experiences to cohorts of middle school girls selected from a pool of high-performing students in the Philadelphia-New Jersey area. Campers come from diverse communities and are introduced to renewable energy and the basics of solar cells, and experience project-building by building and testing solar cars, and solar boats, and do hands-on optics experiments. Campers received a free kit of materials for projects and experiments. Campers interact with physics majors who serve as crew, women physicists and engineers, experience virtual tours of plants and manufacturing facilities, and give capstone presentations.

A Virtual Physics Camp for Middle School Girls during COVID

Anxiety is the top mental health concern among undergraduates and thought to be particularly high among science students. However, there is little known about how online science courses affect anxiety. In this study, we surveyed over 2100 undergraduates about their anxiety in large-enrollment online science courses. We used open-coding and logistic regression to analyze the data. Students reported that technology issues (69.8%), proctored exams (68.0%), and difficulty getting to know peers (67.2%) increased their anxiety online. Accessing content at a later time (79.0%), attending class from where students want (74.4%), and not having to be on camera (73.5%) decreased their anxiety. Students suggested that instructors could decrease anxiety in online courses by increasing test-taking flexibility (25.0%) and having an organized course (14.7%). This study provides insight into how instructors can create more inclusive online learning environments for students with anxiety.

The impact of online college science courses on student anxiety

The parallel plate capacitors are used in many applications. The calculation of voltage of the two triboelectric plates is very important to calculate the maximum potential difference that can be obtained in triboelectric nano generators. Due to fringing of electric field lines the potential difference between the two plates varies in a nonlinear manner with separation distance and plate size. The nature of the field variation and hence the average potential difference as a function of plate size is simulated and the separation for maximum potential difference is calculated. To have a better insight, the energy calculation is also performed. This enables us to calculate the voltage generated by nano generators and hence the maximum obtainable power.

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Measuring students’ level of understanding in introductory physics courses

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Making dual nature of human reasoning more explicit during instruction*