Abstract
Physics lab instruction is evolving in response to changing technology, a desire to better prepare students for diverse careers, and renewed focus from physics education researchers. To prepare researchers to evaluate progress in instructional labs in the future, this study set out to understand the current state of instructional physics labs in North America. Using information collected from instructors intending to use two research-based lab assessments, we evaluate the reach, organization, goals, and pedagogies from over 200 unique instructional lab courses at over 100 institutions. We find significant diversity in all aspects evaluated, with some trends in course pedagogy based on course goals and level. Namely, courses that aim to reinforce concepts, develop lab skills, or do both incorporate varied levels of agency and modeling in their instruction, with differences in first year and beyond-first year courses. We hope these analyses will be useful for instructors to situate their own courses in the national landscape and for researchers to evaluate changes in lab instruction in the future.
- Received 10 September 2020
- Accepted 30 November 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.020162
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