Discovery-Based Labs for Calculus-Based Introductory Physics

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There is evidence that most students do not greatly increase their understanding of physical concepts through the traditional verification/recipe laboratories found in most introductory physics courses. Thorton, Sokoloff, and Laws have created a series of discovery-based, microcomputer-based laboratories that have shown to increase conceptual understanding of students greatly: Tools for Scientific Thinking (TST), RealTime Physics (RTP), and Workshop Physics (WP). While these materials present a significant improvement over the traditional laboratories, none fits the needs of the university exactly. WP is calculus based, but requires changes that can not be implemented (i.e., abandoning lecture altogether and working with students in a laboratory setting with a high teacher-to-student ratio). TST and RTP allow the laboratory to change independently of the lecture, but are not calculus based, and are written for a wide audience (high school through college). This project modifies the existing curricular materials in TST and RTP to make them more appropriate for this introductory calculus-based course for engineers and scientists. The project adds calculus applications, increases the level of difficulty slightly, adds kinesthetic experiences and computer simulations, adds exercises that help students synthesize information and create logical arguments, and reorganizes the laboratory to provide better coordination with lectures. These changes are made without changing the basic philosophy of the curricular materials: students must construct their own understanding by making predictions, by testing predictions, and by focusing on concepts instead of equations.