Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: Physics Laboratory Design



At 01:30 PM 10/14/98 -0400, Jerry Hester wrote:
How do you deal with student attitudes regarding physics laboratories?

We at Michigan Tech. have over the past year completely redesigned our
introductory labs. We are going to "discovery" labs as a prerequisite
for the regular physics course.

Interesting. We have redesigned our introductory courses, and we've moved
away from a "discovery" lab model! The labs are integrated with the
"theory" course work - in terms of class time, students may not even know
that what they are doing is lab rather than a "hands-on" exercise for the
theory component. Ours is now a hybrid between Priscilla Laws' "Workshop
Physics" and Jack Wilson's "Studio Physics" adapted for our environment and
equipment inventory.

We use Pasco Scientific data
acquisition systems, experiment equipment, and sensors.

As do we, though not exclusively. There are also experiments which may be
considered "string and sticky tape", and we also use Videopoint in several
labs and class demonstrations.


Students are expected to arrive on time.

How cruel and heartless of you!


Students recieve credit for efforts up to a maximum.

The problems:

A not insignificant portion of students refuse to accept that we are not
taking anything away in grading, but are rather giving credit. They
can't seem to accept that they don't start out with an A, but must earn
it first.

This is yet another symptom of the growing "consumer" model of higher
education, wherein what we do is considered a product they are purchasing
rather than an enterprise in which they must become fully invested.

A large number of students dislike having to stay in lab through the
alotted time. They want to race through the writeup and leave. (We
allow them to leave early but remind them that we will not be able to
give them the maximum credit).

I'd think they'd learn, in particular if those who do stay and do the work
get better grades. So much for economics.


Our students are primarily engineering. When they are done here, they
will go to work at a multitude of engineering companies.

How much of their attitude is a reflection of an engineering faculty which
treats physics as an irrelevant hoop through which the students are
expected to jump rather than as a foundation for real understanding of what
they will do as engineers.


Will they start work at a maximum salary and recieve deductions like
points?

Obviously not. Such perks are reserved for faculty at small liberal arts
colleges! ;)


Will they be allowed to leave work early because they finished a minimum
task?

Some may. There is, believe it or not, a trend in the corporate world to
treat what were once employees as independent contractors (don't have to
pay benefits) and to contract them on a piecework basis.

Sad. I'm getting old.

George Spagna **********************************************
Department of Physics * *
Randolph-Macon College * "God does not play dice *
P.O. Box 5005 * with the Universe. *
Ashland, VA 23005-5505 * It's more like whiffle ball" *
* - Roger Johnson, LANL *
phone: (804) 752-7344 * cited in APS News *
FAX: (804) 752-4724 * *
e-mail: gspagna@rmc.edu **********************************************
http://www.rmc.edu/~gspagna/gspagna.html