Shifting Knowledge Forms in the University Physics Curriculum: Academics’ Perceptions

2018 ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Victoria Millar
Keyword(s):  
University Physics ◽  
The University ◽  
Physics Curriculum

Muon decay: an old, yet alive experiment in the university physics curriculum

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 045702 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Riggi ◽  
P La Rocca ◽  
S Riggi
Keyword(s):  
Muon Decay ◽  
University Physics ◽  
The University ◽  
Physics Curriculum

Networked Physics Curriculum: From Static Web to Dynamic Java

1997 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Bothun ◽  
S. D. Kevan ◽  
S. Micklavzina ◽  
D. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Virtual Experiments ◽  
Experimental Apparatus ◽  
Course Material ◽  
The University ◽  
Interactive Exercises ◽  
Physics Curriculum ◽  
Student Inquiry

We describe our efforts at the University of Oregon to use Web-based Instructional Technology (IT) supplemented with interactive Java virtual experiments to change the standard pedagogy associated with large, introductory undergraduate classes in physics and astronomy. We begin by examining some of the problems associated with the standard pedagogy in these classes and how these problems motivated our development of networked courseware. Although we identify and describe five empirical positive outcomes associated with IT, we conclude that the use of HTML-based course material and assignments does not substantially alter the standard pedagogy as this medium alone is not conducive to interactive exercises. To build interactivity into our courseware, we have undertaken a vigorous effort of creating Java-based experiments which are grounded in physical reality and duplicate the kinds of experiments that are done in the physical lab. In so doing, we build experimentation into a curriculum for large lecture-based classes in which the standard pedagogy and resource constraints normally preclude lab sections. The main goal is to create a networked environment where the student can easily retrieve the notes and the demonstrations that were done in class as well as to engage in experiments that are designed to illustrate basic principles. In so doing, we hope to move to a more learner-centered environment which is driven by student inquiry. Five specific Java experiments are described here and each is accompanied by a snapshot of the experimental apparatus and controls. An appendix contains the relevant URLs of the experiments, courseware, and animation described herein.

scholarly journals Exploring the technical pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) of Taiwanese university physics instructors

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syh-Jong Jang ◽  
Yahui Chang
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
University Physics ◽  
University Instructors ◽  
Science Instructors ◽  
The University ◽  
University Science

<p>University science teachers’ technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) is crucial for effective teaching. Although there has been a plethora of studies investigating pre-service and in-service teachers’ TPACK, few studies have examined university instructors’ TPACK and university students’ perceptions of instructors’ TPACK. The main purpose of this study was to examine the TPACK questionnaire differences between university students’ perceptions and instructors’ self-perceptions, and assess differences in university physics instructors’ TPACK according to gender, academic degrees and teaching experience in Taiwan. This study adopted and revised an instrument for measuring university students’ perceptions of science instructors’ TPACK. The sample was randomly selected from the physics instructors of universities in the northern, central, and southern regions of Taiwan. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the dimensions of the instrument. The results revealed that the TPACK questionnaire of university physics instructors’ views were different from the university students’ perceptions. University physics instructors’ results indicated statistical significance in overall TPACK according to teaching experience. The research implications of this study are provided along with suggestions.</p>

scholarly journals New Physics Curriculum

2016 ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Lynn Moran
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
New Physics ◽  
Undergraduate Teaching ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
The University ◽  
Physics Curriculum

Developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students as rapidly as possible is a key requirement in improving learning outcomes at every stage of their degree. The Department of Physics at the University of Liverpool has entirely redeveloped years 1 and 2 of the undergraduate degree with a focus on students becoming independent learners as early as possible. The aims are to better integrate the undergraduate teaching provision and to complete the Institute of Physics core curriculum in years 1 and 2, in order to focus on research led teaching and independent projects in years 3 and 4. This new programme, entitled New Physics, starts in Welcome Week with the Undergraduate Physics Olympics and continues through the Year 1 Project (Mission to Mars) in the first week of semester one. The aim is to set the standard for collaborative achievement and introduce students to the way that physicists think. Innovative problem solving classes incorporating active learning such as peerassessment,group learning and exemplars designed to improve these skills andenhance the quality of learning among its first-year students have been introduced.

Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics — Its Past and the Present

2014 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 46-59
Author(s):  
Amit Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Nuclear Physics ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
World War ◽  
Close Link ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
The University ◽  
Physics Curriculum ◽  
Jawaharlal Nehru ◽  
Immense Potential

"An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man" are perhaps the most appropriate words that can be said about Professor Meghnad Saha and Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP). Prior to the independence of the country Prof. Saha was working very closely with Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash Chandra Bose in framing the national science and planning policy. He was probably the first person in the country to have foreseen the immense potential of nuclear science for the betterment of Indian society. So by 1940, he introduced nuclear physics as part of the university physics curriculum in the University of Calcutta. With supports from Nehru, he received a generous fund from the Dorabji Tata Trust for the procurement and construction of a cyclotron in 1941. After the World War II and followed by the independence of the country in 1947, Prof. Saha realised that nuclear physics had grown to such an extent that to take part in research a separate institution with a close link to the universities was necessary. Thus, the foundation stone of SINP (the then INP, the Institute of Nuclear Physics) was laid down in 1949 and the institute was formally inaugurated on 11 January 1950, by Madame Irene Joliot Curie. Right from its inception, Prof. Saha initiated research in various disciplines of science ranging from astrophysics, plasma physics, physics of materials and biophysics, in the newly born institute and realising the importance of education, he introduced a post-M.Sc. programme, a pre-Ph.D. course, the first of its kind in the country, to bridge the gap between the university curriculum and research. The institute was renamed as SINP after his untimely demise in 1956.

The making of a British theoretical physicist – E. C. Stoner's early career

1994 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Cantor
Keyword(s):  
Early Career ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cavendish Laboratory ◽  
Research Student ◽  
Friday Afternoon ◽  
University Physics ◽  
The Press ◽  
Theoretical Physicist ◽  
Postgraduate Research ◽  
The University

In 1924 Edmund Clifton Stoner (1899–1966), a 24-year-old research student at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, sought a university post in physics. Having previously studied at Cambridge as an undergraduate, Stoner was nearing the end of three years' postgraduate research under Professor Sir Ernest Rutherford's supervision. 1924 was not, however, an auspicious time to seek employment since vacancies in university physics departments were scarce. Rutherford showed a kindly interest in Stoner's career and summoned him to his residence – Newnham Cottage – one Friday afternoon in March. Acknowledging Stoner's diabetes as a major concern, he ‘pointed out that I [Stoner] really wanted a job where I could take things fairly easily… He, of course, is prepared to “back me up” & was really very charming, though not very useful in any definite way.’ Subsequent visits to the Appointments Board proved ‘quite fruitless’. Stoner declined to apply for a post at Armstrong College, Newcastle, and only in mid-July did he hear of two more attractive positions. The first, at Durham University, was advertised in the press. Rutherford, who was ‘Affable – pleased with my work(!)’, advised him to apply. Interviewed together with several other candidates, Stoner was unsuccessful but not greatly disappointed. The other post, at the University of Leeds, was brought to his attention by Rutherford.

Factors affecting student drop out from the university introductory physics course, including the anomaly of the Ontario double cohort

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 839-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Slavin
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Grade Inflation ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Steady Increase ◽  
First Year ◽  
Drop Out Rate ◽  
University Physics ◽  
Physics Course ◽  
The University

The course drop-out rate is the fraction of students per year who drop a course after starting it. This statistic is important both as a measure of the difficulty or relevance of the course compared to others at a university, and as one indication of the success of measures taken to improve teaching. The drop-out rate of students from the first-year university physics course at Trent University increased from about 8% in the 1980s to over 20% in 1999, primarily under the same instructor, with the exception of the Ontario “double-cohort” years 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 when it plummeted to about 9% before rebounding in 2005–2006. A similar decrease in this rate for the double-cohort years has been observed at Brock University and the University of Guelph, and so was probably widespread. It is speculated that the main cause of the decrease for these two years was an improved work ethic of the double-cohort students. Possible causes of the steady increase in the drop-out rate from the 1980s to the present are discussed including high-school courses taken; gender balance; and grade inflation. The last of these combined with a dramatic increase in the percentage of high-school students continuing their education, appears to have resulted in weaker and less motivated students being admitted to university. Results are also given of a survey of recent first-year Trent University physics students for possible reasons for dropping out of the course: students who have not taken the final-year high-school physics course, do not live in residence, or do not work together on their assignments are much more likely to drop the course. PACS No.: 01.40.gb

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