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对物理概念和主题的学习，这些概念和主题对热力学和电子学(包括电路)的本科生物理和工程课程至关重要。接受调查的人群包括攻读物理和工程课程的入门后学生，这些课程涉及类似的主题。研究内容包括：(1)系统分析这些平行课程的内容和各学科之间的内容重叠；(2)在相关教学前后，深入调查学生对各学科的理解情况。这项工作广泛利用了物理教育研究(PER)和工程教育研究(EER)中现有的概念性问题，并正在根据项目正在进行的研究结果开发新的问题；以及(3)利用研究结果来指导现有教学材料的修改和测试，以及开发跨学科使用的新材料。其目的是汇编非常适合跨学科使用的基于研究和研究验证的材料。智力价值：这个项目扩展了对工程和物理教育的两个核心主题的概念理解的跨学科研究，关于这两个主题的文献在PER中越来越多。此外，该项目扩展和加强了学生在入门水平以外对物理概念和思想的深入探索，建立在PER和EER的现有研究基础上，从而加强了这两个教育研究领域之间的联系。每个学科强调的教学策略、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结果与教学的特定学科性质之间的关系。这一发现对所有从事热力学和电子学教育的学科都有价值。更广泛的影响：该项目是跨学科的，有可能广泛改善物理和工程学的教与学。仔细记录所采用的教学方法的差异，以及衡量的学习结果的差异，可以作为这两个学科的教师、教科书作者、课程制定者、教育研究人员和理事机构的宝贵资源。这项工作旨在交叉培养特定学科和特定机构的努力，以改善学生的学习并加强学位课程。这些努力还可能有助于为本科生发展更连贯的教育体验。这项工作产生的修改后的教学材料不需要大规模采用全新的课程或教学方法。它们可以灵活地整合到两个学科的课程中，从而支持循序渐进的课程改革，并通过采用经研究验证的材料将改进教学的障碍降至最低。最后，这项在学科之间进行的研究还可以加强两个教育研究社区，并增加此类研究对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.