Research on learning and teaching at the physics-engineering interface: Thermodynamics and electronics

这个项目的目标是调查学生学习的物理概念和主题是至关重要的本科物理和工程课程在热力学和电子（包括电路）。 接受调查的人群包括在物理和工程课程中学习类似主题的入门后学生。该研究是：（1）系统地分析这些平行课程的内容和跨学科的内容重叠;（2）在相关教学之前和之后，对学生对跨学科的理解进行深入调查。 这项工作广泛借鉴了物理教育研究（PER）和工程教育研究（EER）现有的概念问题，并正在开发新的问题，这些问题是由该项目正在进行的研究结果所告知的;（3）利用研究结果来指导现有教学材料的修改和测试，以及跨学科使用的新材料的开发。 目的是汇编基于研究和研究验证的材料，非常适合跨学科使用。智力优势：该项目扩展了对工程和物理教育两个主题的概念理解的跨学科研究，并且在PER中有越来越多的文献。此外，该项目扩展并增强了学生对物理概念和思想学习的深入探索，超越了入门水平，建立在PER和EER的现有研究基础上，从而加强了两个教育研究领域之间的联系。每个学科所强调的教学策略、教学顺序和学习工具在许多方面都是特定于学科的;然而，基本内容是相似的。因此，通过比较工作，该项目正在研究学习成果与具体学科教学性质之间的关系。 研究结果对从事热力学和电子学教育的所有学科都有价值。更广泛的影响：该项目是跨学科的，有可能广泛地改善物理学和工程学的教学。 仔细记录所采用的教学方法的差异，并测量学习成果的差异，可以作为教师，教科书作者，课程开发人员，教育研究人员和两个学科的管理机构的宝贵资源。这项工作有助于交叉施肥学科和机构的具体努力，以提高学生的学习和加强学位课程。这些努力也可能有助于为本科生提供更连贯的教育体验。这项工作所产生的经修改的教学材料并不要求全盘采用全新的课程或教学法。它们可以灵活地整合到这两个学科的课程中，从而支持渐进的课程转型，并通过采用经研究验证的材料来最大限度地减少教学改进的障碍。最后，在学科之间的接口，这项研究也可以加强教育研究界和增加这种研究对STEM教学的整体影响。

The goal of this project is to investigate student learning of physics concepts and topics that are critical to undergraduate physics and engineering programs in thermodynamics and electronics (including electric circuits). The populations under investigation include post-introductory students enrolled in both physics and engineering courses covering similar topics. The research is: (1) systematically analyzing both the content in these parallel courses and content overlap across disciplines; (2) conducting in-depth investigations of student understanding across the disciplines, both before and after relevant instruction. The work draws extensively upon existing conceptual questions from both physics education research (PER) and engineering education research (EER) and is developing new questions informed by the project's ongoing findings; and (3) drawing upon research results to guide the modification and testing of existing instructional materials as well as the development of new materials for use across disciplines. The aim is to compile research-based and research-validated materials well suited for cross-disciplinary use. Intellectual Merit : This project expands the interdisciplinary research on conceptual understanding of two topics central to engineering and physics education and for which there is a growing body of literature in PER. Furthermore, this project extends and enhances the in-depth exploration of the learning of physics concepts and ideas by students beyond the introductory level, building upon existing research bases in PER and EER and thereby enhancing the connections between the two education research fields. The teaching strategies, instructional sequences, and learning tools emphasized in each discipline are in many ways discipline-specific; however, the basic content is similar. Thus, through the comparative work, the project is studying the relationship between learning outcomes and the discipline-specific nature of instruction. The findings can be valuable for all disciplines engaged in thermodynamics and electronics education. Broader Impacts: The project is interdisciplinary and has the potential to improve the teaching and learning of both physics and engineering broadly. The careful documentation of differences in the instructional approaches employed, and measured differences in learning outcomes, can serve as a valuable resource for instructors, textbook authors, curriculum developers, education researchers, and governing bodies in both disciplines. This work serves to cross-fertilize discipline-specific and institution-specific efforts to improve student learning and strengthen degree programs. These efforts may also contribute to the development of a more coherent educational experience for undergraduates. The modified instructional materials arising from this work do not require the wholesale adoption of entirely new curricula or pedagogies. They may be flexibly integrated into courses in both disciplines, thereby supporting incremental course transformations and minimizing the barriers to instructional improvements through the adoption of research-validated materials. Finally, this research at the interface between disciplines may also strengthen both education research communities and increase the overall impact of such research on STEM instruction.