Conventional physics laboratory courses generally include an emphasis on increasing students' ability to carry out data analysis according to scientific practice, in particular, those aspects that relate to measurement uncertainty. This study evaluates the efficacy of the conventional approach by analyzing the understanding of measurement of freshmen following the physics major sequence, i.e., top achievers, with regard to data collection, data processing, and data comparison, through pre-and postinstruction tests by using an established instrument. The findings show that the laboratory course improved the performance of the majority of students insofar as the more mechanical aspects of data collection and data processing were concerned. However, only about 20% of the cohort of physics majors exhibited a deeper understanding of measurement uncertainty required for data comparison.
The construction of physics knowledge of necessity entails the combination of a wide range of resources, (e.g. specialized language, graphs, algebra, diagrams, equipment, gesture, etc.). In this study we documented physics students' use of different resources when working with an "invisible" phenomenon;magnetic field. Using a social semiotic framework, we show how appropriate coordination of resources not only enabled students to learn something about the Earth's magnetic field, but also about the use of an abstract mathematical tool;-coordinate systems. Our work leads us to make three suggestions: (1) The potential for learning physics can be maximized by designing tasks that encourage students to use a specific set of resources. (2) Thought should be put into what this particular set of resources should be and how they may be coordinated. (3) Close attention to the different resources that students use can allow physics teachers to gauge the learning occurring in their classrooms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.