Best Practices on a Budget: Revamping Undergraduate Laboratory Sections to Stimulate Empirically-Based Learning and Foster Modern Research Skills

来自政府和行业的许多报告呼吁高校培养更多、更有能力的STEM毕业生。这个项目在物理学的背景下解决了这一需求。研究人员将开发一种教学方法介绍物理实验室（IPL）部分，鼓励学生不仅要像科学家一样思考，还要获得STEM相关的技术技能。特别是，研究人员将开发新的实验练习，其格式不会为学生提供分步指导。这种方法将培养真正的科学思维以及学生之间的高质量互动。开源硬件和3D打印机等新技术将成为实验室不可或缺的一部分。在两个学期的IPL序列中，学生将获得将概念知识和技术技能转化为科学实验设计和实施的亲密体验。学生在入门课程（如IPL）的经验在STEM专业的招聘和保留中发挥着重要作用。在这方面，该项目旨在消除学生在入门实验室中往往经历的一些苦差事，并将其转化为促进创造力和提供成就感的令人兴奋的学习环境。该项目的方法是以经过验证的教学技术为模型，例如同伴指导和积极参与，特别是将建立在调查性科学学习环境（ISLE）项目的基础上。许多学院和大学无法以最佳实施这些技术的方式操作同一入门讲座课程的多个部分。由于实验室部分通常被限制在一个相对较小的尺寸，以确保适当的学生与教师的互动，研究人员选择在实验室设置实施有效的教学技术。这一办法将具有成本效益（“预算最佳做法”）。这些实验室将基于开源软件/硬件，以便其他希望采用这种方法的机构能够以合理的成本这样做。研究人员还将采用一些新的评估方法来衡量重新设计的实验室对学生的影响。例如，因为他们将联合收割机学生从代数为基础的和微积分为基础的入门物理课程在一个单一的IPL课程，他们将能够研究学生配对工作的相互作用，并确定是否智力配对学生是一个有益的方法。此外，他们还将调查内置的成长机会是否是科学教育的有益特征。

Numerous reports from government and industry have called for colleges and universities to produce more -- and more capable -- STEM graduates. This project addresses this need in the context of physics. The investigators will develop a method of teaching introductory physics laboratory (IPL) sections that encourages students not only to think like scientists but also to acquire STEM-relevant technical skills. In particular, the investigators will develop new lab exercises in a format that does not provide students with step-by-step guidance. This approach will foster authentic scientific thinking as well as quality interactions among the students. New technologies such as open-source hardware and 3D printers will be an integral part of the labs. During a two-semester IPL sequence, students will gain intimate experience translating conceptual knowledge and technical skills into the design and implementation of scientific experiments. A student's experience in introductory courses (such as IPLs) plays an important role in the recruitment and retention of STEM majors. In this regard, the project aims to remove some of the drudgery that students tend to experience in introductory labs and to transform them into exciting learning environments that promote creativity and provide a sense of accomplishment.The project's approach is modeled on proven pedagogical techniques, such as peer instruction and active engagement, and it will build on the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) project, in particular. Many colleges and universities cannot afford to operate multiple sections of the same introductory lecture course in a manner that best implements these techniques. Because laboratory sections are usually capped at a relatively small size to ensure appropriate student-instructor interaction, the investigators have chosen to implement the effective pedagogical techniques in the lab setting. This approach will be cost-effective ("Best Practices on a Budget"). The labs will be based on open-source software/hardware so that other institutions that wish to adopt the approach can do so at reasonable cost. The investigators will also employ some novel assessment methods to gauge the effects of the redesigned labs on students. For example, because they will combine students from algebra-based and calculus-based introductory physics courses in a single IPL course, they will be able to study student pair-work interactions and determine whether intellectually pairing students is a beneficial methodology. Additionally, they will investigate whether built-in growth opportunities are a beneficial feature in science education.