Workshops - Saturday
W1 - IOLab – a multi-sensor device for K1-College
Morten Lundsgaard, Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
(Workshop to be held in Faraday Hall Room 129 - Time: 12:00pm)
The IOLab is a wireless data acquisition system of similar size and weight as a graphing calculator, and thus highly portable. It contains more than twenty sensors or inputs, including a 3D accelerometer, a 3D magnetometer, a 3D gyroscope, wheels which record position, velocity, and acceleration, a force probe, and both analog and digital inputs. Data can be analyzed in the IOLab software itself, or can be exported to a comma separated value file for later analysis.
In the workshop, the participants will first complete some the open-ended labs that we are currently introducing in the introductory physics courses at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Next, participants can explore the many features of the iOLab at various stations including a two-wire ECG-measurement! Participants will get access to an online course that contains prelab and lab ideas for both high school and college.
To make the IOLab experience more authentic, participants should bring their own computer, pc or mac, to the workshop.
For more information on the iOLab, see http://www.iolab.science.
W2 - Explicit Problem-Solving Instruction for Physics
Tom Foster, Department of Physics, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
(Workshop to be held in LaTourette 227 - Time: 12:00pm)
Description
Physics problem-solving is more than getting the right answer into a box on the computer. However, it is the answer which is graded by homework systems such as Mastering Physics and WebAssign. While some problems in these systems are broken down into steps chosen by the problem author, rarely is the entire problem solving process considered. PER has established that for students to comprehend physics conceptually and analytically from doing problems, solutions to those problems require conceptual representations, starting from fundamental principles, generating meaningful mathematical models, and evaluating the answer. None of this is graded by Mastering Physics and WebAssign and therefore is not reinforced by instruction or valued by the students. This fill-in-a-box skill the students practice is also lends itself easily to cheating. We have developed a problem-solving tool, PathPlan Mechanics, that helps students practice building problem-solving skills. In this workshop we will introduce you to PathPlan, the cognitive-science theories that support PathPlan’s architecture, and some of our successes (and humorous failures) in the classroom. Most important, we will let you “play” with PathPlan on your iOS or Android tablet (we will bring a few extra tablets). Experience problem-solving the way your students should.
Who should attend
Any HS, TYC, 4year college, or university physics instructor who want to help their students become better problem-solvers.
