spring-2016

2016 Spring Meeting - Cranbrook, Bloomfield Hills, MI  April 9, 2016

Full Program PDF

Keynote Address

Counter-intuitive results from collisions involving rotationMichael C. Faleski, Delta College

In introductory classes, perfectly inelastic collisions of objects are the most straight-forward for students to solve.  There are many examples in textbooks and also in the end-of-chapter problems.  It seems that it becomes an easy problem for which students can memorize the necessary equation to achieve the desired result.  Things become more problematic when the collision occurs for an object and a stick when rotation becomes involved.  In this talk, we look at some potentially surprising results that arise when carefully considering these kinds of collision.  

Creating a Mental Model of a Radian

James DeHaan, De La Salle Collegiate High School

What is a radian?  Many people answer this question by relying on a formula or an irrational number.  In order to have a deep understanding of rotational motion students need to develop a reliable mental model of a radian.  Inquiry labs will be discussed that will help develop and deepen students' understanding of a radian.

The Natural Human Electricity and Its Use to Operate Touchscreens

Wathiq Abdul-Razzaq, West Virginia University

Many students are unaware of the fact that the natural electricity of the human body is sufficient to operate devices with touch screens such as smart phones.  If the screen is touched by a finger, the body’s capacitance is connected to the sensor's circuit, causing a reaction and an operation.  We developed a lab experiment to educate the student about the natural human electricity and its use to operate equipment.  This is particularly important for the life-science students who want to see a bond between physics and their area of study.

Experimenting with Impacts

Michael C. LoPresto, Henry Ford College

A description of the procedure for and results of a simple experiment on the formation of impact craters designed for the laboratory portions of lower mathematical-level general education science courses such as conceptual physics or descriptive astronomy. The experiment provides necessary experience with data collection and analysis as well as practice with quantitative skills such as measurement and calculation in a manner that does not exceed the mathematical scope of the courses while, due to its hands-on nature and interesting topic, remaining engaging.

Cheap Sensors allow for Real Questions

Steve Dickie, Divine Child High School

I will share a student project made possible by the growth of the Maker Movement. Today there are a number of cheap, accessible sensors available that make it possible for students to investigate questions that would have once been impossible in a high school classroom.

Flipping a Class Without Flipping Out

Alan Grafe, University of Michigan - Flint

This presentation recounts the experience of transitioning UM-Flint's Classical Mechanics course to a flipped mode of presentation. Hardware, software, logistical, and curricular issues will be explored.

How Standards Based Grading Improved Student Achievement

Joanna DeMars, Grosse Ile High School

Standards Based Grading seems to be a hot topic in education right now. This talk will describe the transition from traditional grading to standards-based and show how one teacher's students' achievement on teacher-created summative assessments and on national standardized assessments improved. This presentation will also show how the process of standards-based grading changes as the classroom environment changes.

Building a Culture for Learning Physics

Bryan Battaglia, Utica Academy for International Studies

Amazing demo? Fantastic Lab? That's cool, but unless your students have the proper mindset you may not achieve maximum learning. I will share ways that I have used to help students trust themselves and each other in order to allow them to reach the sweet spot in learning.

Why do we Teach Physics like it’s 1899?Vance J. Nannini, Divine Child High School

Go through any introductory physics text (or curriculum) and we'd be hard-pressed to see much difference between the examples we use to teach the principles of physics now than in 1899.  There may be a few "modern" examples thrown in, but for many of us teaching introductory physics involves the various movements of balls and blocks - not of much use in getting young adults excited about physics.  Mastering the foundations is important, but there are multiple situations from actual events that not only integrate many fundamental physics concepts, but also tie what students learn to the world around them.  Once such example is the gravitational assist - or gravitational slingshot - where a smaller body uses the gravity from a planetary body to gain velocity.  Voyager 1 and 2, and the New Horizon's probe both used gravitational assist to accomplish their missions.  Significantly, gravitational assist was also featured on the movie "The Martian" which has peaked many students' interests in space travel and physics.  A study of gravitational assist integrates linear momentum, kinetic energy, and other fundamental physics principles in a situation where we can better capture student interest and demonstrate that physics isn't just about that darn ball's final velocity when it rolled down the inclined plane.

EHW and Reflections in Physics Curriculum

Taoufik Nadji, Interlochen Arts Academy

The presenter shares his experience with EHWs as assessment tools in his college Physics courses. In addition, the use of reflections in his curriculum is explained and samples of students' work are shared with the attendees.

Circular Motion – Lo-tech to Hi-tech

Frank Norton and Dan Lorts, Cranbrook

The presenters will demonstrate a series of observations designed to take students from the concrete to mathematical formalism.  Using a 1.2 m diameter self-constructed turntable, motion and force concepts related to circular motion will be initially examined qualitatively using simple (lo-tech) measuring devices.  Once students become familiar with the basic concepts, electronic sensors will be used to examine the quantitative aspects of circular motion.  Discussion will culminate with a hi-tech demonstration of Vernier’s Centripetal Force Apparatus.

A progress report of physics lab curriculum change at Lawrence Technological University

Changgong Zhou, Lawrence Technological University

Starting in the Fall 2015 semester, Lawrence Technological University adopts a new pedagogy for introductory physics labs. The pedagogy is centered on the research finding that Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique improves student engagement and knowledge retention. A new lab curriculum is created based on the new pedagogy. This presentation will report the creation and implementation of the curriculum, students' and instructors' feedback, as well as improvements planned in the future.

Integrating laboratory activities into an upper-division laser physics course

Christopher M. Nakamura, Saginaw Valley State University

Physics requires an understanding of both theoretical and experimental techniques, and professionally, physicists must understand the interplay between these two aspects of the discipline.  In the curriculum, however laboratory work and theory work are often separated in different courses, making the establishment of relevant connections more difficult.  Special topics electives may give an opportunity to bring the two aspects together.  In Fall of 2015 I taught an elective: Introduction to Lasers and Optoelectronics.  The course has traditionally been a lecture-based theory course, however lasers and optoelectronics are an inherently experimental field.  Therefore, I took the opportunity to implement a series of brief laboratory exercises designed to highlight experimental demonstrations of the theory, or applications of the theory.  In this talk I will provide a brief overview of the lab exercises, the design intent, and discuss my experiences, both positive and negative, while working to implement the activities.  Ultimately I found the approach to be useful, but with strong limitations.  Opportunities for similar implementations beyond lasers and optoelectronics will be discussed, as will key caveats. This work is supported in part by a Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Professor

A Case Study: Novel Group Interactions through Introductory Computational Physics

Michael J. Obsniuk, Michigan State University

With the advent of high-level programming languages capable of quickly rendering three-dimensional simulations, the inclusion of computers as a learning tool in the classroom has become more prevalent.  Although work has begun to study the patterns seen in implementing and assessing computation in introductory physics, more insight is needed to understand the observed effects of blending computation with physics in a group setting.  In a newly adopted format of introductory calculus-based mechanics, called Projects and Practices in Physics, groups of students work on short modeling projects -- which make use of a novel inquiry-based approach -- to develop their understanding of both physics content and practice.  Preliminary analyses of observational data of groups engaging with computation, coupled with synchronized computer screencast, has revealed a unique group interaction afforded by the practices specific to computational physics -- problem debugging.

Abstracts for Contributed Posters