Physics 641: Physics Pedagogy
An On-line Course for Teachers of Physics

Week 6 Assignment: Laboratories

For some of these assignments you will be analyzing a laboratory that you have previously taught in your class. If you are not teaching, then choose a lab that you have performed in the Physics Curriculum Enhancement class (PHYS 635 or 636) in a previous summer.

Goals

1. Engage the student in significant experiences with experimental processes.

   Assignment 1:Write a paper not shorter than 350 words (in Word) that describes the best laboratory experience that your students have each year. Discuss how it engages students in the experimental process. Also, after reading the "Goals of Laboratory Experience" listed on page 4 of the Executive Summary of "America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science" discuss which of their goals your lab addresses best and the one it does not address well. Attach a copy of the laboratory to your paper. Upload as HW 10 in Open Portfolio. Assignment due before 5 a.m. on Monday, March 7, 2005.

   For the next few goals, you will analyze a specific laboratory. We have chosen this year the "Harmonic oscillations of a mass on a spring". Below are some links to labs on this subject. We recommend viewing these links in Internet Explorer. Some of the pages are not displaying correctly in Netscape.

   • Duke University (pdf format)
   • Rochester University (html link)
   • Florida State University (html link)

   Assignment 2: Find another good source for the lab on harmonic oscillations of a mass on a spring. Upload the link to this lab as HW11 in Open Portfolio. Assignment due before 5 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2006.

2. Teach experimental and analytical skills to the student. These skills include

   • Measurement of physical quantities with appropriate accuracy.
   • Recognition of factors that could affect reliability of measurements.
   • Manipulation of materials, apparatus, and measuring instruments.

   These skills have been emphasized for decades in classic physics laboratories. The value of this type of lab has been questioned in recent years by physics education research, because many laboratories seem to take a "cookbook" approach to experimentation rather than developing the students' knowledge of the subject. However, many colleges still expect students to gain profieciency in experimental and analytical skills in high school. So, the challenge is to develop labs that continue to develop these skills, while keeping the students focused on physics concepts.

   Assignment 3: Read the harmonic oscillation labs listed above and the additional one that you found and analyze them as follows. Upload your papers into Open Portfolio. Be careful in titling the papers. Assignment due before 5 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2006.

   1. Write a paper not less than 200 words (in Word) on the time spent by the student in these labs. How useful and efficient is the time spent? How could it be improved? Be sure to compare the four versions in your paper. (This is 200 words total, not per lab. Upload as HW12 in Open Portfolio)

   2. Write a paper not less than 200 words (in Word) on the effectiveness of this lab in teaching students' experimental and analytical skills. Be sure to compare all four versions. (This is again 200 words total. Upload as HW13 in Open Portfolio.)

3. Help students master basic concepts.

   Assignment 4: Write a paper of not less than 250 words (in Word) that analyzes the four labs for the effectiveness in teaching physics concepts to students. Be sure to compare all four versions. Upload as HW14 in Open Portfolio. Assignment due before 5 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2006.