Development of Curricular Tools for Quantitative Estimation in Physics

这个项目使用设备来解决本系和全国物理项目中存在的课程需求。物理入门课程的明确目标之一是为学生将物理应用于他们周围的世界做好准备。学生应该能够深思熟虑地进行粗略的计算，以得出关于观察到的物理的有效结论。教师很少会通过测试学生来验证这项技能。已经采用的这些测试的结果令人失望。因此，这个系正在开发方法，以确保学生在这些评估过程中有更好的技能。如果学生想要学习做出有效的估计，他们需要练习。至关重要的是，他们对自己估计的准确性有快速的反馈。为此，正在使用8个基于计算机的数据采集系统以及适当的探头和建模软件。与结构化的学习活动一起，这种硬件提供了培养学生评估技能所需的即时反馈。简单的建模练习使学生能够发现问题的哪些方面最关键。由于越来越多的物理班级可以进入基于微型计算机的实验室(MBL)，开发的工具和资源很容易被转移到全国各地的学校。

This project uses equipment to address a curricular need that exists in this department and in physics programs nationwide. One of the express goals of introductory physics courses is to prepare students to apply physics to the world around them. Students should be capable of thoughtfully performing back-of-the-envelope calculations to reach valid conclusions about physics as it is observed. Rarely, if ever, do teachers validate this skill by testing students. The outcomes of those tests that have been employed are disappointing. Therefore, this department is developing methods to ensure greater student skill in these estimation processes. If students are going to learn to make valid estimations, they need to practice. It is crucial that they have quick feedback about the accuracy of their estimates. To this end, eight computer-based data acquisition systems are being used along with suitable probes and modeling software. Together with structured learning activities, this hardware provides the immediate feedback that is needed to develop student skills in estimation. Simple modeling exercises enable the students to discover which aspects of the problem are most critical. Because of the growing numbers of physics classes with access to microcomputer based labs (MBL), the tools and resources developed are easily transportable to schools nationwide.