Modeling has been shown to correct weaknesses of traditional instruction by engaging students in the design of physical models to describe, explain, and predict phenomena.1 Although the modeling method can be used without computers, the use of computers allows students to study problems that are difficult and time consuming, to visualize their results, and to communicate their results with others. This combination of computer modeling with theory and experiment can achieve insight and understanding that cannot be achieved with only one approach. This paper describes the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) modeling and authoring tool and shows how it can be used to teach mechanics concepts with computer modeling.

Modeling Physics with Easy Java Simulations.

This study investigates the effect of computer animation on assessment and the conditions under which animation may improve or hinder assessment of conceptual understanding in physics. An instrument was developed by replacing static pictures and descriptions of motion with computer animations on the Force Concept Inventory, a commonly used pencil and paper test. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The animated and static versions of the test were given to students and the results were statistically analyzed. Think-aloud interviews were also conducted to provide additional insight into the statistical findings. We found that good verbal skills tended to increase performance on the static version but not on the animated version of the test. In general, students had a better understanding of the intent of the question when viewing an animation and gave an answer that was more indicative of their actual understanding, as reflected in separate interviews. In some situations this led students to the correct answer and in others it did not. Overall, we found that animation can improve assessment under some conditions by increasing the validity of the instrument.

Impact of Animation on Assessment of Conceptual Understanding in Physics

A set of in-class reading quizzes and clicker questions leads to improved student learning in a quantum mechanics course.

https://link.aps.org/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020133

Case study evaluating Just-In-Time Teaching and Peer Instruction using clickers in a quantum mechanics course

An earlier investigation found that the performance of advanced students in a quantum mechanics course did not automatically improve from midterm to final exam on identical problems even when they were provided the correct solutions and their own graded exams. Here, we describe a study, which extended over four years, in which upper-level undergraduate students in a quantum physics course were given four identical problems in both the midterm exam and final exam. Approximately half of the students were given explicit incentives to correct their mistakes in the midterm exam. In particular, they could get back up to 50\% of the points lost on each midterm exam problem. The solutions to the midterm exam problems were provided to all students in both groups but those who corrected their mistakes were provided the solution after they submitted their corrections to the instructor. The performance on the same problems on the final exam suggests that students who were given incentives to correct their mistakes significantly outperformed those who were not given an incentive. The incentive to correct the mistakes had greater impact on the final exam performance of students who had not performed well on the midterm exam.

Improving performance in quantum mechanics with explicit incentives to correct mistakes

We describe an interactive computer program that simulates Stern-Gerlach measurements on spin-1/2 and spin-1 particles. The user can design and run experiments involving successive spin measurements, illustrating incompatible observables, interference, and time evolution. The program can be used by students at a variety of levels, from non-science majors in a general interest course to physics majors in an upper-level quantum mechanics course. We give suggested homework exercises using the program at various levels.

A computer-simulated Stern-Gerlach laboratory

Much of the difficulty in learning advanced concepts in quantum mechanics comes from trying to visualize abstract problems. This article addresses the situation with interactive curricular material created as part of the open source physics project. In particular, the authors focus on the measurement and time evolution of two-state superpositions in the context of bound states and spin.

Open Source Physics Curricular Material for Quantum Mechanics

The Open Source Physics (OSP) project is a synergy of curriculum development, computational physics, computer science, and physics education for scientists and students wishing to author interactive computer-based curricular material. This article illustrates how the OSP project combines physical data and XML tags (data and metadata, respectively) with the Launcher authoring tool to give users an easy-to-use and consistent paradigm for creating, modifying, and distributing Java-based curricular material

D. Brown

Papers

Open Source Physics Curricular Material for Quantum Mechanics

An Open-Source XML Framework for Authoring Curricular Material