Developing Simulations for Introductory Physics with Feedback from Learning Assistants

模拟在物理入门教学中非常重要。它们展示了太小而看不到的东西，发生得太快而看不到的东西，或者涵盖了日常生活中看不到的概念。使用模拟是将这些想法变成现实的一种方式，允许学生调查和可视化物理概念。这个项目将为入门力学开发四个新的模拟，并研究它们对学生学习的有效性。要解决的一些问题是，模拟在多大程度上帮助学生学习，以及模拟的特征是什么，可以导致更有效的学习。已经有相当多的现有模拟研究，但大多数研究都不是在移动设备上进行的(在移动设备上，学生拥有设备成为可能的一个主要因素，这个项目将使之成为可能)。这些模拟很可能立即被物理界广泛使用，因为几乎没有高质量的Java脚本/HTML5模拟。这些模拟将在Compadre上公开提供。第二个研究问题集中在学习助手(LAS)：学习助手(LAS)在模拟的设计、测试和教学实施中可以扮演什么角色？LAS是受过训练的本科生，他们回到他们所学的课程，帮助提供互动教学法，帮助学生学习。在这个项目中，LAS将应用他们的专业知识来提供关于改进模拟的反馈。这是该项目的一个新方面，可能会导致LAS在其他课程开发中的新使用。其他数据收集方法包括A/B测试、有声思考访谈和对学生在课堂上使用模拟的视频分析，该项目将通过这些方法调查改善学生学习的条件。

Simulations are of great importance in teaching introductory physics. They illustrate things that are too small to see, happen too fast to see, or cover concepts that are not visible in everyday life. The use of simulations is one way to bring these ideas to life, allowing students to investigate and visualize physics concepts. This project will develop four new simulations for introductory mechanics and research their effectiveness for student learning. Some questions to be addressed will be to what extent do simulations help students learn and what are the features of a simulation that lead to more effective learning. There is already considerable existing simulation research, but most of this research was not done on mobile devices (where student ownership of the device becomes a major factor which this project will make possible). These simulations are likely to be immediately put into wide use by the physics community as there are few high quality javascript/HTML5 simulations. The simulations will be publicly available on ComPADRE. A second research question focuses upon Learning Assistants (LAs): What role can Learning Assistants (LAs) play in the design, testing, and pedagogical implementation of simulations? LAs are trained undergraduates who return to a course they took to help deliver interactive pedagogy and help students learn. In this project, LAs will apply their expertise to provide feedback about improving the simulations. This is a novel aspect of the project, possibly leading to new use of LAs elsewhere in curriculum development. Other data-gathering methods include A/B testing, think-aloud interviews, and video analysis of students using the simulations during class, through which the project will investigate conditions that improve student learning.