P ³ : a practice focused learning environment

Abstract

There has been an increased focus on the integration of practices into physics curricula, with a particular emphasis on integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum of scientists and engineers. In this paper, we present a university-level, introductory physics course for science and engineering majors at Michigan State University (MSU) called P 3 (Projects and Practices in Physics) that is centered around providing introductory physics students with the opportunity to appropriate various science and engineering practices. The P 3 design integrates computation with analytical problem solving and is built upon a curriculum foundation of problem-based learning, the principles of constructive alignment and the theoretical framework of community of practice. The design includes an innovative approach to computational physics instruction, instructional scaffolds, and a unique approach to assessment that enables instructors to guide students in the development of the practices of a physicist. We present the very positive student related outcomes of the design gathered via attitudinal and conceptual inventories and research interviews of students' reflecting on their experiences in the P 3 classroom.

Modeling student pathways in a physics bachelor’s degree program

“…Thus, from this data, it is not possible to provide commentary on how poor teaching and how course transformations or changes to pedagogy might have affected student retention in the physics major. Future work will examine how current course transformations in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at MSU (e.g., [54]) have changed physics major recruitment and retention.…”

Examining Thematic Variation in a Phenomenographical Study on Computational Physics

“…The structure of a P 3 semester is that students typically solve analytic problems in a group setting during one class period and computational problems in the subsequent class period. More details about P 3 are available in Irving et al [6]. For the context of this study, we will be focusing on a suite of 3 problems students engage with over the first 3 weeks of the semester.…”

Scientific Practices in Minimally Working Programs

“…In introductory physics courses, students typically have little to no previous experience coding. Minimally working programs (MWP) have been introduced as one approach to integrating computation into introductory physics courses in a way that does not require previous coding knowledge [3][4][5]. MWP are semi-structured computational activities that are partially completed, requiring students to add to or edit given code rather than writing a program from scratch.…”