Kanim and Thompson on magnetic field viewing cards

S. Kanim, J.R. Thompson
Magnetic Field Viewing Cards
The Physics Teacher, 43:6, 355–359 (2005)

Murphy MST: Effects of mathematics instruction

Michael A. Murphy,
Measuring the Effects of Mathematics Instruction in a Physics Classroom with Mathematics and Physics Diagnostics
Unpublished M.S.T. thesis, University of Maine, 2005

A common problem in college level physics instruction is the promotion of the appropriate application and understanding of mathematics to help understand physical problems. It has been shown in a number of studies that students in introductory physics classes in both college and high school have difficulty using mathematics. It has also been shown that fluency in mathematics is an important factor of conceptual learning in physics. This thesis describes one approach to helping students apply their mathematical understanding in a physics classroom. The setting of the research is PHY 1 1 1, an introductory college level algebra based course using research based curricula. I provided students with 10 minutes of mathematics instruction at the start of each week's laboratory meeting with the intention of measuring how such a minor shift in instructional methods might affect their abilities to use mathematics and learn physics. My research study is designed to provide students with opportunities to access their mathematical training in the physics classroom in such a way that the logical skills from mathematics courses are activated in the physics classroom as well. I model student reasoning in the classroom, specifically how students approach a situation by referring to resources, framing and the transfer of knowledge as well as the readout of appropriate coordination classes. I model students receiving instructional treatment as developing an automatic activation of mathematics based knowledge resources in conjunction with and as a result of the activation of physics based knowledge resources. I measured the success of the intervention using a simple mathematics assessment given to all students in the study both at the beginning and the end of the course. I used the results of these assessments to show that the students receiving the intervention improved their ability to perform some mathematical tasks in a physics classroom. I used several metrics to identify the effects of the treatment on physics learning. I find that students receiving the intervention improved their ability to learn concepts in physics over the students in the control group. The effect was a delayed effect which is consistent with the cognitive model used. The increase in conceptual learning in physics is consistent with the literature.

Recommended Citation

Murphy, Michael A., "Measuring the Effects of Mathematics Instruction in a Physics Classroom with Mathematics and Physics Diagnostics" (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1324.

http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/1324

Redish and Wittmann on PER

E.F.Redish, and M.C. Wittmann,
Twenty Questions for PER
Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, 2004, edited by J. Marx, S. Franklin, and P. Heron, AIP Conference Proceedings (2005)

Owen, Norton, Maash, and Wittmann on an Earth Science course for teachers

J.C.Owen, S.A.Norton, K. Maash, and M.C. Wittmann
Design, Implementation, and Assessment of an Earth Systems Science Course for Secondary Teachers
Journal of Geoscience Education, 52:4 (2004)

Menchen and Thompson on sound propagation and resonance

K. VP. Menchen and J.R. Thompson
Pre-service teacher understanding of propagation and resonance in sound phenomena
2003 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, in S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) AIP Conference Proceedings 720, 65-68 (2004)

Morgan, Wittmann, and Thompson on quantum tunneling

J.T. Morgan, M.C. Wittmann, and J.R. Thompson
Student Understanding of Tunneling in Quantum Mechanics: Examining Survey Results
2003 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, in S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) AIP Conference Proceedings 720, 97-100 (2004).

Wittmann and Morgan on quantum tunneling

M.C. Wittmann, J.T. Morgan
Understanding Data Analysis from Multiple Viewpoints: An Example from Quantum Tunneling
2003 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, in S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) AIP Conference Proceedings 720, 3-6 (2004).

Sayre, Wittmann, and Thompson on nearly novel situations

E.C. Sayre, M.C. Wittmann, and J.R. Thompson
Resource Selection in Nearly-Novel Situations
2003 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, in S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) AIP Conference Proceedings 720, 101-104 (2004).

Wittmann, Redish, and Steinberg on sound and curriculum development

M.C. Wittmann, E.F. Redish, and R.N. Steinberg
Understanding and Addressing Student Reasoning about Sound
International Journal of Science Education 25:8, 991-1013 (2003)

Wittmann on sets of resources in tunneling

M.C. Wittmann
Understanding Coordinated Sets of Resources: An Example from Quantum Tunneling
Unpublished. Written for the Proceedings of the Fermi School in Physics Education Research, Varenna, Italy, 2003 July. (white paper, web posting only)

Scherr and Wittmann on the challenge of listening

R.E. Scherr and M.C. Wittmann
The challenge of listening: The effect of research agenda on data collection and interpretation
2002 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings, S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) (2003)

Wittmann on limitations of standardized tests

M.C. Wittmann
Limitations in predicting student performance on standardized tests
In S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings 2002.(2003)

Wittmann and Scherr on epistemology affecting methodology

M.C. Wittmann and R.E. Scherr
Student epistemological stance constraining researcher access to student thinking: An example from an interview on charge flow
In S. Franklin, K. Cummings, J. Marx (Eds.) Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings 2002.(2003)

Wittmann on RealTime Physics dissemination

M.C. Wittmann
On the dissemination of a proven curriculum: RealTime Physics and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
White paper web publication of FIPSE external evaluator report for the RTP/ILD dissemination project

Wittmann, Steinberg, Redish on quantum and conductivity

M.C. Wittmann, R.N. Steinberg, and E.F. Redish
Investigating Student Understanding of Quantum Mechanics: Spontaneous Models of Conductivity
American Journal of Physics, 70:3, 218-226 (2002)