Learning assistant approaches to teaching computational physics problems in a problem-based learning course

Pawlak, Alanna; Irving, Paul W.; Caballero, Marcos D.

doi:10.1103/physrevphyseducres.16.010139

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…For students to appreciate the role of computation in their discipline and meaningfully engage with computational practices during their program, they should meet the disciplinary relevant practices in authentic disciplinary contexts [3] [5]. In addition, if students only engage with computational practices in special laboratories or homework projects, they may perceive that computational practices are not practices of their disciplinary repertoire, and will not place sufficient value on them [6].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From their study, they created a taxonomy of computational thinking and practices divided into four main categories: Data Practices; Modeling and Simulation Practices; Computational Problem Solving Practices; and, Systems Thinking Practices. This taxonomy has been used to code STEM professional' interviews about how they use computational thinking in their work [3], [4], [5], [6] . While we acknowledge that this taxonomy might not be comprehensive [9], for the purpose of this study it suited our needs as a guide for determining what counts as computational thinking and practices within the College of Science.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Computational practices in introductory science courses

Fracchiolla¹,

Meehan²

2021

2021 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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Nowadays computation is considered to be one of the pillars of modern science. This is reflected in the fact that much scientific research and industry work relies heavily on technology and computation. As university educators we need to equip graduates with the tools to help them succeed in their discipline. The study reported here is part of a larger project which aims to identify computational practices used by faculty from across the College of Science in an R1 Irish university in their disciplines and research, in order to inform the design of a computational science course intended for first-year undergraduate students. This paper reports on findings from one-to-one interviews with fourteen faculty from across six schools in the college. Their understanding of the nature of computational thinking and their views on the role that computation does/can play in the undergraduate science curriculum, and specifically in teaching and learning within their disciplinary program are presented. Concerns and challenges related to the embedding of computation in undergraduate science programs voiced by participants are presented here. Finally, implications of the findings for the design of the first year computational science course are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational practices in introductory science courses

Fracchiolla¹,

Meehan²

2021

2021 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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“…We selected the Weller et al framework because it had these operationalized markers and because our context similarly used group-based learning and MWPs, and covered similar introductory physics content. Our study took place in a course called Electricity and Magnetism Projects and Practices in Physics (EMP-Cubed), which is a second semester, calculus-based, introductory physics classroom at a large R1 university that integrates computation throughout the curriculum, including the in-class activities, online notes, homework, and exams [20][21][22][23][24][25]. The EMP-Cubed course was fundamental as a basis setting for the research that lead to the design of the Weller et al framework.…”

Section: Background and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…About one third of the in class problems are MWP computation problems. During class periods, students work with their groups to add or edit the given code rather than writing a program from scratch [21,22,24,28].…”

Section: Background and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining how problem design relates to computational thinking practices

Bott¹,

Stump²,

Caballero³

et al. 2022

2022 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings

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With the growing ubiquity of computation in STEM fields, understanding how to teach computational thinking (CT) practices has become an active research area in the last two decades, with particular emphasis on developing CT frameworks. In this paper, we apply one of these CT frameworks and compare the results with a task analysis to examine how CT practices relate to specific design features of an in-class problem. We have analyzed video data from two separate groups working on one computational class period, which utilizes a minimally working program to model magnetic field vectors. While still in the initial stages of the study, our preliminary results indicate that what is left out of the minimally working program will impact the CT practices students use, particularly around building computational models. Ultimately, we hope this work will help instructors to design activities that can target & build specific CT practices.2022 PERC Proceedings edited by Frank, Jones, and Ryan; Peer-reviewed, doi.org/10.1119/perc.2022.pr.Bott Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

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“…In the beginning, we must begin to remember concepts and laws. Recently, Pawlak et al (2020) introduced in detail a learning assistant approach to teaching computational physics problems (Pawlak et al, 2020).…”

Section: Physics Is Associated With Human Thoughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Case Study: Reflection of COVID-19 on Teaching Physics for Undergraduate Students

Ewiss¹

2020

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The case study presented in this report provides information on the challenges of teaching physics for undergraduate students. We discuss the physics teaching method before and during the spread of COVID-19. Within the text, we explored the following topics: (1) Education before COVID-19; (2) The study problems in physics; (3) The face to face teaching methods; (4) Why is physics necessary for life? (5) Physics is associated with human thought; (6) Effective physics teaching skills; (7) Evaluation and assignments; (8) Characteristics of physics teaching skills; (9) Teaching physics and digital technology; (10) Challenges of the physics quality teaching during COVID-19.

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Learning assistant approaches to teaching computational physics problems in a problem-based learning course

Cited by 15 publications

References 58 publications

Computational practices in introductory science courses

Computational practices in introductory science courses

Examining how problem design relates to computational thinking practices

Case Study: Reflection of COVID-19 on Teaching Physics for Undergraduate Students

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