Implementing and assessing computational modeling in introductory mechanics

Students taking introductory physics are rarely exposed to computational modeling. In a one-semester large lecture introductory calculus-based mechanics course at Georgia Tech, students learned to solve physics problems using the VPython programming environment. During the term, 1357 students in this course solved a suite of 14 computational modeling homework questions delivered using an online commercial course management system. Their proficiency with computational modeling was evaluated with a proctored assignment involving a novel central force problem. The majority of students (60.4%) successfully completed the evaluation. Analysis of erroneous student-submitted programs indicated that a small set of student errors explained why most programs failed. We discuss the design and implementation of the computational modeling homework and evaluation, the results from the evaluation, and the implications for computational instruction in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Figure 1

Under the guidance of their TAs, students wrote the VPython program above in the laboratory. This program modeled the motion of a craft (size exaggerated for visualization) orbiting Earth over the course of one “virtual” year. To construct this model, students had to create the objects and assign their positions and sizes (lines 4–6), identify and assign the other given values and relevant initial conditions (lines 8–10, 12–13, and 15–17), calculate the net force acting on the object of interest appropriately (lines 21–23), and update the momentum and position of this object in each time step (lines 25–26).