Using Interactive Online Labs (IOLab) to provide Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE)-style labs at scale.

动手实验课是入门物理体验的关键和独特元素，但实施有效的实验可能既具有挑战性，又成本高昂。一个特别的问题是，在小班教学中效果非常好的方法，很难扩大到招生人数较多的课程。该项目的目标是将一种强大且经过验证的方法引入实验室，即调查科学学习环境(ISLE)，并将其与伊利诺伊大学互动在线实验室(IOLab)开发的廉价无线实验室系统相结合，以实现对任何大型入门物理课程的实验室组成部分的创新新方法。最近对伊利诺伊大学数百名入门物理学学生进行的初步研究表明，从传统的高度结构化的概念实验室转向更非结构化的方法，强调实验设计、意义形成和科学交流，实际上可以提高学生解释数据和科学推理的能力，而不会对概念理解产生负面影响。这些结果特别令人鼓舞，因为试点研究中使用的方法本身就是可扩展的，而IOLab系统价格低廉，易于获得。这个项目的目标是评估将开发的内容和教学方法，以便为伊利诺伊大学每学期学习物理入门的3000名学生提供类似的基于设计的实验。这一努力的一个关键部分将是开发所需的工具和培训，使几乎没有经验的教师和助教能够使用这一新方法。

A hands-on lab class is a key and unique element of the introductory physics experience, yet the implementation of effective labs can be both challenging and expensive. A particular problem is that approaches which work extremely well in small classes can be difficult to scale up to large enrollment courses. The goal of this project is to take a powerful and proven approach to labs, the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE), and to combine it with an inexpensive wireless lab system developed at the University of Illinois, Interactive Online Labs (IOLab), to enable an innovative new approach to the lab component of any large introductory physics class. Recent pilot studies involving several hundred introductory physics students at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that moving away from the traditional highly structured concept-focused lab to a more unstructured approach that emphasizes experimental design, sense-making, and scientific communication, can actually improve a student's ability to interpret data and to reason scientifically, with no negative impact on conceptual understanding. These results are especially encouraging since the approach used in the pilot studies is inherently scalable and the IOLab system is inexpensive and readily available. The goal of this project is to assess the content and pedagogy that will be developed to provide similar design-based labs for all 3000 students taking introductory physics at the University of Illinois each semester. A key part of this effort will be to develop the tools and training needed to make this new approach accessible to instructors and teaching assistants that have little prior experience.