For a project that has been finished (or at least defined to be over).
This NSF project is completing a model-based curriculum on Energy and the Human Body at the middle school level and investigating ways of teaching complex visual models in science.
Finding principles of instruction for developing students' visualizable models in science
This NSF-funded project seeks principles of instruction for developing students' visualizable models in science, including design principles for curriculum development, technological tools, and new pedagogical principles.
Developing and field testing a research-based curriculum for high school physics
Exploring technology for next-generation classroom response systems
Effective pedagogy --- identifying students' initial understanding and misconceptions, engaging their minds in the activity of learning, continually monitoring their individual progress, and adjusting
Online support for students doing electronic homework
At a large state university such as UMass, resources are necessarily limited, and students in a course with 200 or more classmates often think they cannot possibly get the assistance they need to answ
Developing and researching the impact of an alternative format for multiple-choice assessment
Standard multiple-choice assessments, for which there are 4 incorrect and exactly one correct choice, are efficient to implement but imprecise and difficult to interpret.
Computer-based assessment tools for probing physics students' conceptual knowledge structures
Traditional problem-based exams are not reliable tools for diagnosing students' knowledge and guiding pedagogical intervention; new tools grounded in cognitive science and educational research are nee
A simple but rich mechanical system for teaching about the physics of jumping
(This is a companion website to the article
Springbok: The physics of jumping, published in
The Physics Teacher.)
Springbok is our name for a simple mechanical system for teaching about the physics of jumping. A springbok consists of a large mass and a small mass connected by a spring; when compressed and then released, it jumps up into the air.
Researching the Role of Qualitative Analysis
RRA was a research project on the combined impact of qualitative analysis and reasoning activities and formative assessment on the attitudes, conceptual understanding, skills, and problem-solving prof
Software and activities for teaching probability via simulations
Prob Sim was a Macintosh (Classic) program from the 1990s with accompanying instructional activities designed for teaching probability via simulations in grades 6-13.
