innovating physics teaching and learning in the bio-area ... · •experimental lab activities,...

Innovating Physics Teaching and Learning in the bio-area degrees

Daniele Buongiorno, Marisa Michelini, Alberto Stefanel Physics Education Research Unit

University of Udine, IT

Piano Lauree Scientifiche IDIFO9

Buongiorno, Michelini, Stefanel ESERA2019, Bologna, August, 26th – 30th

Curricular: setting and contents in physics courses of bio-area

Gaining in operative skills/competences in terms of: Experimental methodologies Identification of physics in real-life problems, specific of bio-area fields Employment methods of physics in solving specific problems

Specific aspects Gaining in methodological/operative competences linked to experimental

activities Modeling and problem-solving competences linked to the use of Physics to

make predictions in different contexts

Difficulties in drafting formal laws from analysis of phenomena

Difficulties in linking experiment and theory

Introduction Open problems & specific aspects


Introduction Open problems & specific aspects

Literature evidences some difficulties due to wrong approaches followed in implementing physics teaching in bio area: • Physics is often taught in the same way in different course of study (wrt its

consolidated structure) • Focus on final results rather than on processes • Physics models are used in non-real environments • Formalization processes are delivered and never experienced by students • Approximations and simplifications are declared but not justified

It emerges the need to face the problems of pointing out strategies capable of produce an active role of students (ICTs, lab activities, problem solving, evaluation and self-evaluation). (Laws, 2004, Redish & Hammer, 2009; Meredith& Redish, 2013; Cummings et al, 2004; Redish et al, 2015)


Research framework: MER Implementation: DBR Pointed-out aspects have been chosen as a research goal starting 5 years ago, when a curricular and a learning outcomes study started wrt innovative settings in introductory physics courses for bio-area students at Udine University (IT). Here we report of research experimentations carried out during the last a.y. (2018/19) on the following topics: FLUIDS Agronomy, Oenology, Natural science and Science of food (avg 300 students per cohort per year) THERMAL PHENOMENA & OPTICAL DIFFRACTION Biotechnology (avg 60 students per year)

Introduction Focused aspects and context

DBR

• Focusing on topics more interesting for the curriculum (i.e. fluids, but also atomic physics)

• Organizing the course as a logical path between the topic (not a collection of separated parts)

• Analyzing problematic contexts typical of the study courses involved in order to draw new angles of attack on topics.

• Building a functional understanding of the physical concepts. • Promoting continuous assessment (intermediate formal written examinations)

and auto/assessment (on-line questionnaires, clicker sessions, questions inserted inside the lectures)

• A problem: how implement active learning and personal engagement, teaching to a considerable numbers of students (200-300 students per cohort).

• Experimental lab activities, demonstration experiments from the desk with real-time graphs, interactive lessons with clickers, e-learning support with materials, forums and questionnaires on the web are differentiated tools to promote active and effective learning of students.


Introduction Focused aspects and context


Research questions: RQ1) How does students’ personal involvement affect formative

success? RQ2) How do students are able to re-use the knowledge on the

focused topics (i.e. fluids) and which level of mastership do they gain?

RQ3) How do students gain competences and autonomy in linking

contents addressed in the class and experimental activities?

Research, methods and RQs


What do we mean by “students personal involvement”? Explicit requests of feedback concerning, for every conceptual step in the curriculum:

Research, methods and RQs

CONTENTS Hierarchy of topics, tuning the curriculum during years, evaluated both in laboratory and in exercises. Some topics, have been promoted to relevant for bio-area students (fluids, spectroscopy, optics, thermal phenomena) while other have been reduced to pre-requisites (mechanics, …)

METHODS Lab activity for appropriation of methodologies typical of physics

APPLICATIVE SKILLS Laboratory and exercises

ANALYSIS Physical content in real academic researches (IR spectroscopy, PET, NMR, …)


Research, methods and RQs Methods

During physics class “Scale-up”: Intellectual challenges

for translating disciplinary contents into experimental activities (50% biotechnology, 20% other degrees). No structured instructions for lab, but only the different methodologies and the available instruments were provided.

“Flipped”: Exercises performed by students first, discussing then the different solution proposals

“IBL” and “ILD”: Regarding the study of particular topics as statics and dynamics of ideal and real fluids.

For data analysis Biotechnology Qualitative methods in analyzing

group experimental reports Qualitative methods in analyzing

results from individual tests on lab work

Agronomy and Science of food Quantitative analysis of

answers/choices in questionnaires of open and multi-choices items + motivations

Qualitative analysis of motivations reasoning/strategies of students; competencies gained/reinforced


The contexts Biotechnology • 30→50 hours: theory 38%, exercises 18%, lab 44% (15 experiments), seminars • 3 CTS → 4 CTS • Enhanced laboratorial activity • Exercises: CAI system and flipped activities: 16 exercises/theme • Monitoring with analysis of formative success:

themes/activity/profiles/research on fluids and spectroscopy themes • Ongoing and final evaluation (lab reports, test on labs, exercises, deepening

report ) Agronomy and Science of food • 6 CTS (equivalent to 1500 h of student-work) – 60 h • 40 h: lectures, ILD + exercises/questions (~8 h per each topic) • 10 h: clicker sessions, exercises, paper pencil questionnaires, problems (~2 h per

each topic) • 10 h: experiments in groups


The contexts

On-line platform Available resources: • Lessons • Exercises • Forum • Messages • Delivery area for assigned tasks


The contexts – Biotechnology Written tests: exercises and lab work

Exercises Research-validated set of exercises borrowed from the international research literature (FCI, EMCS, ECCE, …). https://www.physport.org/assessments/ Each exercise focused on a single aspect (no articulated exercises) Multiple-choice to test the appropriation of the contents on

conceptual plan Short open problems where to point out and chose the

physical content/s to use in order to solve the problem, discussing their role

Graphical analysis from which obtain quantities and/or laws through data elaboration


The contexts – Biotechnology Written tests: exercises and lab work

Calibrated questions on the goals of the activity and the wanted competences according to a ISLE rubric (Etkina & Van Heuvelen, 2007): students had to use the knowledge to plan and analyze the experiments (no “observation phase”). Indirectly obtain a physical quantity with relative uncertainties, integrating

this methodological skill with ability to foresee the result of a phenomenon (buoyancy)

Perform a calibration and obtain the transfer function of a measuring instruments starting from a series of measurements (dynamometer, thermal probes)

Chose which and how to use phenomenological laws to point out specific material properties (heat conduction)

Obtain phenomenological laws, discussing the physical role of the emerged parameters (optical diffraction)


Lab work The contexts – Biotechnology

Optical diffraction

Thermal phenomena

To/from the equivalent circuit of a cell film or of the atmosphere

to the electric circuit treated as systems

From/To the blood circulation system

From/To the video measurement of water flow in a river

Creating links between different topics


The contexts – Agr. & Science of food


Data & results

RQs are answered according to the analysis of: • 10 group reports on thermal conduction (Biotechnology) • 8 group reports on optical diffraction (Biotechnology) • 54 answers to laboratory items on thermal conduction and

optical diffraction (Biotechnology) • Answers to 8 items on fluids (Agronomy & Science of food)


Data & results Thermal conduction (Biotechnology, 10 reports) Optical diffraction (Biotechnology, 8 reports)

Students mainly report theoretical background instead of starting from the phenomenon.

A minority of students relies on the measures first, searching for an interpretation. Students describe the employed procedures as a set of subsequent steps. Few reports make use only of the final formula to obtain the parameter (heat conduction). The phenomenological laws of optical diffraction are critically analyzed only in few reports.


Data & results Lab items on thermal conduction and diffraction (Biotechnology)

The physical principle of the measure is described by the majority of the sample (32/54) mainly using heat as the conceptual referent. Mathematical description is used only by a fraction of them (10/32). Referring to the data set, difficulties emerged in obtaining the final formula starting from initial assumptions: the majority of students use it directly to obtain the involved parameter, without obtaining it (43/54).


Data & results Lab items on thermal conduction and diffraction (Biotechnology)

Parameter involved are pointed out correctly by the majority of the sample (47/54), but only a small fraction (3/47) recognize their role in the phenomenological law. The phenomenological laws are widely reported (43/54) but only few students analyze them in the light of the involved parameter (4/54). Students mainly focus on the final formulae, the ones useful to perform calculations in order to obtain final results. The need to strengthen the focus on the involved processes rather than on the results to be obtained emerges.

Outcomes from data - Competencies gained/reinforced: Q1 – Q2 dimensional analysis; proportional reasoning Q2 –Q3 Quantitative evaluation of Phys. Quantity; the concept of pressure; distinction between pressure and force Q3 - Stevin law/Pascal Principle; Point at equal levelequal Pressure

Item

Exp

ect

ed

an

swe

r

Oth

er

answ

ers

NA

Q1 % (N=475)

44 40 16

Q2 %

(N=475)

68 30 3

Q3 %

(N=358)

58 36 6


Outcomes from data - Competencies gained/reinforced: Q4 – Q5: parameters affecting the flow of a fluid (modeling competencies almost at basic level); role of geometrical parameters; role of physical properties of fluids Q4 - continuity equation & Bernoulli equation, chain of causal correlation (S decreasesv increases P decreases; AaVa=AbVb Pb=Pa+1/2 Va2);quantitative avaluation of a phys. quantity Q5 – Role of parameters (h of fluid; v velocity of the fluid) affecting a quantity (sections of the pipeline); extracting information from a formula

Item

Exp

ect

ed

an

swe

r

Oth

er

answ

ers

NA

Q4 % (N=686)

57 32 10

Q5 %

(N=371)

70 29 1


Item

Exp

ect

ed

an

swe

r

Oth

er

answ

ers

NA

Q6 %

(N=303) 67 25 8

Q7 %

(N=412)

62 30 8

Q8 %

(N=412) 70 21 9

Outcomes from data - Competencies gained/reinforced: Q6-8 – Extract information from a graph (Q6 – correlate h and v; Q8 correlate behavior and process) Q6 – Q7 proportional reasoning (Q6 - At ½ of the depth, v is ½; There is a linear correlation between h and v; Q7 -P decrease, decreasing the section) Q7 – Modeling (According to Bernoulli theorem), causal reasoning (PA>PB because the flow exerts a pressure bigger in A than in B; The left arm push on the right one)



Data & results Role of laboratory Turned out to be very useful to the extent that methodologies and data are analyzed critically. It increased introducing ICT-based experiments (light diffraction phenomena, absorption spectra and conduction of heat with real-time graphs. Experiments have been chosen in a 3-years long process in order to represent an interpretative challenge for students that do not have to follow a ready-made procedure but have to interpret and analyze data in order to produce a final report focusing on the specific formative elements. CAI system and exercises During the last academic year, a CAI system was designed and offered to students on an on-line platform. Written problems are taken from the international literature to have a standard as a reference. Proposed exercises allow students to work independently showing an high level of commitment. For the future is desirable to set out a system of credits using the possibilities given from the CAI system. Problem solving activities and CAI system can turn out to be a good ensemble to manage exercises during tutoring activities and/or at home.

innovating physics teaching and learning in the bio-area ... · •experimental lab activities,...

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