Online versus face-to-face learning in introductory university physics following COVID-19

The use of technology in higher education science classrooms rose significantly in the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. In many universities, academic programs including introductory physics classes were taken online. Some institutions adopted online learning but also maintained face-to-face (F2F) laboratories when COVID-19 restrictions began to ease. Here, the effectiveness of the online learning approach in comparison with F2F learning is explored. The percentage difference in performance for students who took the online introductory physics course, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, versus that of students simultaneously taking the same course F2F is reported. This is done both across different sections taught by different instructors, and for the same course taught online versus F2F by the same professor. Furthermore, a short survey was conducted to assess the student learning experience and opinion about online and F2F learning. The results show equal or better overall performance for online learning with 4.2% higher performance when comparing results across different sections taught by different instructors. A similar 6.1% performance improvement was seen when comparing results across different sections taught by the same instructor. In contrast with the performance outcomes, the survey results indicate that about 72% of students prefer F2F compared to online learning. The findings provide a useful reference as many institutions and programs transition back to more standard F2F or hybrid learning modes. The benefits and drawbacks of each mode are discussed in the specific context of student preferences and challenges faced in online learning during COVID-19.

Students’ understanding of the inverse square law in electrostatics

One problem of learning Electrostatics is that students often learn from their commonsense beliefs about electric force and electric field. This study investigated students’ conceptual understanding of finding electric force, electric field, and electric potential of point charge after learning an introductory physics course. We administered the Electrostatics Conceptual Evaluation Test to four lecture-based classes in high school. The first question was a comparison of the electric force from two-point charges at two different positions and the second question was a comparison of the electric field from a point charge at two different positions. The use of the inverse square law is required to find the electric force and the electric field at various positions. It was found that many students answered incorrectly. They described that the electric force and the electric field decrease whereas the distance increases by neglecting the inverse square law. This finding can be particularly used to suggest high school teachers to develop their effective strategy to support student learning.

Interleaved practice enhances memory and problem-solving ability in undergraduate physics

We investigated whether continuously alternating between topics during practice, or interleaved practice, improves memory and the ability to solve problems in undergraduate physics. Over 8 weeks, students in two lecture sections of a university-level introductory physics course completed thrice-weekly homework assignments, each containing problems that were interleaved (i.e., alternating topics) or conventionally arranged (i.e., one topic practiced at a time). On two surprise criterial tests containing novel and more challenging problems, students recalled more relevant information and more frequently produced correct solutions after having engaged in interleaved practice (with observed median improvements of 50% on test 1 and 125% on test 2). Despite benefiting more from interleaved practice, students tended to rate the technique as more difficult and incorrectly believed that they learned less from it. Thus, in a domain that entails considerable amounts of problem-solving, replacing conventionally arranged with interleaved homework can (despite perceptions to the contrary) foster longer lasting and more generalizable learning.