Re: [Phys-l] Algebra based/calculus based laboratory

[Peter Schoch <pschoch@nac.net>]

> The questions were 2:
>
> ABSTRACT: Jacob Blickenstaff of the Phys-L list asked (paraphrasing):
> "Can the same introductory laboratory activities be used in labs for
> both calculus-based course for physics majors and the algebra-based
> course for non-majors?"
>
> Jacob Clark Blickenstaff (2010) in his Phys-L post "Algebra
> based/calculus based laboratory" asked (paraphrasing):
>
> "Do any other institutions use the same laboratory activities in both
> the algebra based (or non-majors) and calculus based (or majors)
> introductory course.  Some colleagues need convincing that along with
> revising the 8 year old manual, creating two sets of activities will
> be worth the time and effort."
------------------------
I teach Physics at Sussex County Community College, and have done so  
for more than 15 years now.  For most of that time, I was the ONLY  
physics instructor there!  Early on I developed a set of labs that  
worked for both sets of classes, not having the funds to buy more than  
a very small amount of equipment each year.  What I DID do was develop  
different expectations of the ANALYSIS that each level did.  For most  
of the 15 years I've been using this, it has worked well, and been  
very effective.

Just recently we have expanded so much that it has become necessary to  
hire an evening Adjunct.  I then had to 'publish' my labs through a  
3rd party so that the students in all classes would get the same lab  
experience.  The Adjunct loves the labs, is having as much fun doing  
them and the analysis as the students are, and is pleasantly surprised  
how well they dovetail with the material, thus reinforcing the overall  
content -- which they should since I wrote them to do that and have  
had 15 years to refine the darned things!

So, my short answer to the above questions is -- Yes, you can use the  
same labs at two distinct levels, but I'd say that the data analysis  
and equation derivations must have two distinct levels of expectation.

Peter Schoch