The Physics of Everyday Life: Java Applets and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations for Non-science Students

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to address the problem that physics, or more specifically physics courses, are widely held to be difficult, unpleasant, and irrelevant, even though physics provides the foundation of much of modern technology. The objective of this work is to change the curriculum and method of presentation of undergraduate physics courses to make them popular, engaging, and more effective at providing widespread understanding of physics concepts as they apply to the world around us. The approach that is being taken to achieve this goal is to first develop a novel introductory course for non-science students that will build on the unique curriculum put forth in the new textbook "How things work; the physics of everyday life". Interactive Java applets and interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) are being developed that cover the topics in this text, and thereby provide novel presentation formats to go with this novel curriculum. Applets and ILDs are two of the innovations that science education research has shown contribute substantially to student conceptual learning. Through the use of readily available technology these can also be easily and inexpensively implemented in the standard large lecture course format. The physics for nonscientists course is specifically targeted because it has the capability of reaching large numbers of students, but the institutional and disciplinary barriers to introducing such radical changes in it are uniquely low compared to other physics courses. However, demonstrated success in this course is likely to result in similar changes being adopted in the rest of the undergraduate physics curriculum, and the applets and ILDs being developed can be used equally well in a variety of courses. The development of these applets and ILDs heavily utilize the same skills that have made the PI a highly successful experimental physicist, and their effectiveness is being assessed using standard techniques of education research. The Wiley publishing company will vigorously pursue the implementation and distribution of these innovations.