Using Mobile Apps to Enhance Students' Learning and Scientific Reasoning Skills in General Education Physics Courses

使用移动应用程序增强学生在通识教育物理课程中的学习和科学推理能力

• 批准号: 2315792
• 负责人: Joseph Pechkis
• 金额: $ 39.99万
• 依托单位: Chico State Enterprises
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2315792&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Using; Mobile; Apps; Enhance; Students

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving teaching and learning in introductory physics courses for non-STEM majors. The nation's economic prosperity depends more and more on cultivating a well-educated, diverse STEM workforce and a scientifically literate public. Yet less than 20% of bachelor's degrees are awarded in STEM fields. Non-STEM majors often take general education (GE) courses aimed at increasing the appreciation of STEM rather than teaching specific STEM knowledge and skills. These courses often leave out the inquiry-based approaches and experimental investigations that are important for developing STEM knowledge and skills. However, with recent advances in common technologies, it is possible to couple mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) with findings from education research about how students learn best, to provide both rich content and inquiry-based learning experiences for non-STEM majors. This project will pursue one example of that integration. Namely, the investigators will use mobile technology and research-based educational strategies to teach the physics of waves and quantum physics in a GE course on the Physics of Music, which uses the concepts found in music to teach quantum physics. Familiarity with the physics of waves and quantum physics is useful to students who pursue a variety of career paths.New, emerging technologies based on the principles of quantum physics are currently being developed and have the potential to revolutionize computing, information science, data security, high-speed communications, and navigation. It is important for students to develop a basic understanding of these principles. Mobile devices with multiple built-in sensors have the potential to deliver low-cost, high-quality educational content that allows users not only to learn about the world around them but also to interact with it. New educational approaches in physics, such as the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach, increase students' learning by having students discover physical principles the way a physicist does -- through hands-on, interactive experiences. The investigators will research and develop an interactive mobile application that integrates data acquisition tools, an e-text, e-learning modules, and the ISLE approach in a GE course to teach quantum physics through a topic of general interest, the physics of music. Both the physics of music and quantum physics are the physics of waves. Thus, students will learn the most important subject in modern physics through the underlying principles of music. The investigators aim to determine whether this method increases students' learning, critical thinking, scientific reasoning skills, and scientific literacy. This research has the potential to extend new learning tools beyond a traditional physics classroom setting, enabling high-quality physics education for larger audiences. The project will result in a new mobile app that contains an e-text and e-learning modules that can be implemented in a variety of educational settings. The NSF IUSE: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目旨在通过改善非 STEM 专业物理入门课程的教学来服务国家利益。国家的经济繁荣越来越依赖于培养受过良好教育、多元化的 STEM 劳动力和具有科学素养的公众。然而，只有不到 20% 的学士学位是在 STEM 领域授予的。非 STEM 专业的学生通常会学习通识教育 (GE) 课程，旨在提高对 STEM 的认识，而不是教授特定的 STEM 知识和技能。这些课程常常遗漏了基于探究的方法和实验研究，而这些对于发展 STEM 知识和技能非常重要。然而，随着通用技术的最新进展，可以将移动设备（智能手机和平板电脑）与有关学生如何最好地学习的教育研究结果结合起来，为非 STEM 专业的学生提供丰富的内容和基于探究的学习体验。该项目将寻求这种整合的一个例子。也就是说，研究人员将使用移动技术和基于研究的教育策略，在 GE 音乐物理课程中教授波物理和量子物理，该课程使用音乐中的概念来教授量子物理。熟悉波物理和量子物理对于追求多种职业道路的学生很有用。目前正在开发基于量子物理原理的新兴技术，它们有可能彻底改变计算、信息科学、数据安全、高速通信和导航。对于学生来说，对这些原则有基本的理解非常重要。具有多个内置传感器的移动设备有潜力提供低成本、高质量的教育内容，使用户不仅可以了解周围的世界，还可以与之互动。新的物理学教育方法，例如研究性科学学习环境（ISLE）方法，通过让学生像物理学家一样通过动手、互动体验来发现物理原理，从而提高学生的学习能力。研究人员将研究和开发一种交互式移动应用程序，该应用程序将数据采集工具、电子文本、电子学习模块和 GE 课程中的 ISLE 方法集成在一起，通过普遍感兴趣的主题（音乐物理学）教授量子物理学。音乐物理学和量子物理学都是波物理学。因此，学生将通过音乐的基本原理学习现代物理学中最重要的学科。研究人员的目的是确定这种方法是否可以提高学生的学习、批判性思维、科学推理能力和科学素养。这项研究有可能将新的学习工具扩展到传统的物理课堂环境之外，为更多的受众提供高质量的物理教育。该项目将推出一款新的移动应用程序，其中包含可以在各种教育环境中实施的电子文本和电子学习模块。 NSF IUSE：EDU 计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生 STEM 教育的有效性。通过其参与的学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。