Conveners
auditorium: Plenary Talk 1
- CeeCee Bishop (Chesapeake Bay Governor's School)
- Joshua Erlich (William & Mary)
auditorium: Parallel 1
- Larry Engelhardt (Francis Marion University (Florence, SC))
- James Freericks (Georgetown University)
auditorium: Parallel 2
- Kent Yagi (University of Virginia)
- Elena Kuchina (Virginia Peninsula Community College)
auditorium: Plenary Talk 2
- Tatsu Takeuchi (Virginia Tech)
- Muge Karagoz
auditorium: Parallel 3
- CeeCee Bishop (Chesapeake Bay Governor's School)
- Jency Sundararajan (University of Virginia)
auditorium: Business Meeting
- Kent Yagi (University of Virginia)
auditorium: Closing Remark
- Kent Yagi (University of Virginia)
auditorium: Opening Remark
- Joshua Erlich (William & Mary)
In this session I will demonstrate how I use "Challenges" like the Mousetrap 500 (Construct a car that travels the furthest distance powered by one pull of a standard mousetrap) to introduce students to Physics Concepts, but also have a good time participating in a "Physics Day" at the end of a grading period.
Suppose you have a beaker of water at 100°C and a second beaker containing an equal amount of water at 0°C. If you bring them into thermal contact and wait, both will reach 50°C. That heat exchange is irreversible. There is another way to bring these samples of water into thermal contact so that they exchange temperatures. The 100°C mass ends up at 0°C, and the 0°C...
We analyze the Muon Experiment problem in Special Relativity using the author's Relativity on Rotated Graph Paper. After briefly introducing our method to visualize tickmarks on a spacetime diagram, we show how to calculate graphically using the counting of ticks and simple algebra. Using a simpler numerical example, we construct the diagram for the muon problem. We interpret the situation in...
A cart on a horizontal track attached to a string which goes over a pulley with a weight hanging on the other end is a well known acceleration problem. But what happens if two carts facing each other are attached to the ends of a string with the weight in the middle? The string is supported by two pulleys on both sides of the weight an equal distance away, and the weight falls into a gap in...
Physics courses appropriately emphasize rigorous problem solving, mathematical reasoning, laboratory skills, and examinations. Universal Design for Learning (UDL), specifically Multiple Means of Action and Expression, encourages providing students with varied ways to demonstrate their learning. In physics, however, instructors may be hesitant to expand the ways students demonstrate mastery...
The lack of proper test taking strategies is a source of much anxiety in teens and lower scores than what reflects true understanding. Especially in technical subjects like Physics. Over nearly a decade in the classroom and multiple sciences I have devised a universal testing strategy that helps unlock long term memory and reduce anxiety. I will walk attendees through how the strategy works...
Every introductory physics teachers knows the frustration of a student saying "just tell me what to plug in!" If we want to move our students towards a deeper conceptual understanding of physics, we have to move beyond giving plug and chug type tasks. In this presentation, I will give you more than 30 types of learning tasks that can be used with any physics content, along with examples and...
Grading open-ended physics work is tedious, time-consuming, and impractical for large courses. With the emergence of large language models (LLMs) and their ongoing improvements in problem-solving capabilities, a question arises: Can AI meaningfully evaluate students’ conceptual explanations in complex domains such as quantum mechanics? This research study examines AI-assisted grading by...
A method for multiple-choice questions is presented that—by focusing on the elimination of wrong choices—considers varying levels of student (mis)understanding, offers partial credit, and allows for simple, automated grading, just like a conventional method
Physics Education Research aims to investigate the teaching and learning of University-level physics through qualitative and quantitative methods. Dr. Christensen’s work extends this work across the boundaries of Mathematics and Physics, investigating what mathematicians and physicists value about mathematics, as well as how math is taught in math classes compared with how physics classes...
In recent years, the growing number of incoming freshmen who struggle with math placement has led to concerns about retention and on-time graduation rates for students in physics and engineering. To address these issues, VCU Physics recently changed the math requirements for our calculus-based “University Physics” sequence. In this talk, I will share early findings on student performance...
Physics is traditionally a junior or senior class, often treated as an elective in public schools, typically requiring algebra two as a corequisite. In Albemarle County, we have begun a new program where all incoming freshmen take physics regardless of mathematical progression. I will be going over the goals and benefits of a physics first program, and how we deal with the challenges that come with it.
Drawing on over a decade of teaching, the question motivating this talk emerged most clearly from my experience with large-enrollment introductory physics courses. During six semesters as a member of an instructional team at Michigan Technological University, these courses collectively served nearly 1,000 students from diverse science and engineering disciplines. The question has become newly...
