United States

We report on the development of a Likert-style assessment instrument designed to analyze pedagogical content knowledge of learning assistants (LAs) in the context of questioning (PCK-Q). After a rigorous process of analyzing and coding classroom videos and writing, testing and validating a free-response (FR) written assessment instrument, we focused on developing a Likert-style version of the instrument. The Likert-style version assesses an LAs ability to evaluate other LA’s PCK-Q and has the advantage of machine scoring. We are still in the process of validating the Likert-style questions. Both instruments, FR or Likert-style, could be used as a pre- and a post-test at the beginning and end of the semester to assess LA’s PCK-Q or parts of either instrument (individual questions) could be used to help with weekly lab (LA training) preparation. We report on the development of the Likert-style instrument. Funded by NSF IUSE grant 1838339.

AAPT WM 22

Development of a Likert-style assessment to assess learning assistants PCK-Q

learning assistants

pedagogical content knowledge

assessment

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Who are the high school students applying to college engineering programs? In this talk, we will share some preliminary findings from interviews with aspiring engineers. How do they view themselves? What is important to them? How do they manage their schoolwork? How do they make decisions, and who influences them? We will share some of the first data collected in a two-year longitudinal study of student transitions from high school to college engineering programs with long-term goals of identifying ways that high schools and colleges can better support engineering students. For now, we are starting to get to know the students and look forward to sharing a snapshot of their lives with you.

Case Studies: High School Seniors Applying to College Engineering Programs

I will present a course introducing quantum mechanics to college students from both STEM and humanities fields. The course is based on material in "Understanding Quantum Raffles" (Janas, Cuffaro and Janssen 2021). With the help of techniques in Bananaworld: Quantum Mechanics for Primates (Bub 2016), students analyze correlations allowed classically and quantum-mechanically in an EPR-Bell-type setup due to Mermin. Noting that the quantum correlations can be parametrized by the cosines of the angles between the detectors in this setup, the students are then led to the Born rule for probabilities in quantum mechanics. The idea is to introduce the basic formalism of quantum mechanics as an extension of ordinary probability theory. In line with modern information-theoretic interpretations of quantum mechanics, this basic formalism is presented as a new operating system on which many different applications can be written, ranging from spectroscopy to quantum computing.

Putting Probabilities First in Teaching Quantum Mechanics

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Curve-fitting with Model Testing using Chi-Square Minimization in Excel

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Investigating Entropy and Disorder with Hands-On Models

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Fostering Design and Communication Skills by Building a Scientific Apparatus

Students explore Kinematics using a Pasco smart cart on an inclined track. They discover that their calculations and measurements don’t agree but can be brought into agreement by adding a small constant to the average acceleration. A later lab uses the smart cart on a level track to analyze Newton’s 1 law. Again they see that the speed is not constant but is slowing. A third lab looks at the physics of a cart in equilibrium on an inclined plane for different angles. Tension and normal force are measured and compared to calculated values. After performing these labs, the students are asked to design a lab to test Newton’s 2 law including the instruments used, the procedure and analysis. This exercise broadens the student’s physical intuition and exercises their understanding of the experimental method of having a model, predicting results and comparing to measurements to validate the model.

A Student Designed Lab to Test Newton’s 2nd Law

Women and Minorities in the Physical Sciences (WaMPS) is a graduate student organization housed in the department of physics and astronomy at Michigan State University. WaMPS is a student-led organization encouraging women and minorities to pursue the physical sciences and supporting those who are already members of the physical science community. WaMPS outreach and public engagement includes school visits, public presentations, podcasting, and collaborations with community partners and members in other academic fields. By volunteering and participating in public engagement activities, students can build connections with peers and faculty, connect their formal learning to the real world, feel more connected to their field, and have opportunities to share their own experiences with others. In this talk, we focus on the experiences of graduate students who have participated and contributed in the WaMPS public engagement activities and the intersections with their career goals and aspirations.

Supporting graduate students through opportunities in physics public engagement activities

Xavier University of Louisiana, in collaboration with the Institute of Earth Science Research and Education (IESRE) run the ECoSTEM project. This project aims to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education by introducing a computational, community-oriented component into STEM programs at Xavier University. Specifically, undergraduate students develop microcontroller-based systems for collecting airborne particulate data. They work with public school teachers (and their students) and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) officers to deploy the sensors at locations around New Orleans and to analyze the resulting data. Airborne particulates are often the pollutant of greatest concern in minority and other underserved communities. This project provide undergraduates at Xavier and the local teachers (and their students) with learning experiences that are relevant to them and their communities. ECoSTEM uses a tiered mentoring system in which the project team members mentor undergraduates, who in turn work with public school teachers and their students.

Environmental Computing and Community Engagement in STEM education: Sustainable Relationships

With the introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS State Lead, 2013), physics and engineering are taking on a more prominent role in K-12 science instruction. To help teachers bring physics and engineering into their classrooms we partnered with a local hands-on science museum to create a series of activities that combine classroom learning with a fieldtrip experience to the museum. These activities aim to meet the NGSS physics standards in a way that is both fun and accessible for students of all grade levels. One such activity involves students building a structure designed to hover in a wind column at the museum. In this study we examine how 3 grade students predict the forces acting in the wind column will affect the motion of their structure using both written words and pictorial models.

Floating and Falling: 3rd-grader’s Depictions of Forces in Wind Columns

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Case Studies: High School Seniors Applying to College Engineering Programs

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