• Open Access

Characterizing lab instructors’ self-reported learning goals to inform development of an experimental modeling skills assessment

Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, Laura Ríos, Benjamin Pollard, Jacob T. Stanley, and H. J. Lewandowski
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 14, 020118 – Published 15 November 2018

Abstract

The ability to develop, use, and refine models of experimental systems is a nationally recognized learning outcome for undergraduate physics lab courses. However, no assessments of students’ model-based reasoning exist for upper-division labs. This study is the first step toward development of modeling assessments for optics and electronics labs. We interviewed 35 lab instructors about the ways they incorporate modeling in their courses, and we used their self-reported learning goals and activity designs to identify test contexts and objectives that are likely relevant across many institutional settings. The study design was informed by the Modeling Framework for Experimental Physics, which conceptualizes modeling as consisting of multiple subtasks: making measurements, constructing system models, comparing data to predictions, proposing causes for discrepancies, and enacting revisions to models or apparatus. We found that each modeling subtask was identified by multiple instructors as an important learning outcome for their course. Based on these results, we argue that test objectives should include probing students’ competence with most modeling subtasks, and test items should be designed to elicit students’ justifications for choosing particular modeling pathways. In addition to discussing these and other implications for assessment, we also identify future areas of research related to the role of modeling in optics and electronics labs.

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  • Received 11 December 2017
  • Revised 24 April 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.020118

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

  1. Research Areas
  1. Professional Topics
Physics Education Research

Authors & Affiliations

Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer1,2,*, Laura Ríos1,2, Benjamin Pollard1,2, Jacob T. Stanley1,†, and H. J. Lewandowski1,2

  • 1Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
  • 2JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA

  • *dimitri.dounasfrazer@colorado.edu
  • Present address: BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.

See Also

Using think-aloud interviews to characterize model-based reasoning in electronics for a laboratory course assessment

Laura Ríos, Benjamin Pollard, Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, and H. J. Lewandowski
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010140 (2019)

Article Text

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Vol. 14, Iss. 2 — July - December 2018

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