Resumen de Interesting Introductory Physics Labs to Engage Students in Experimental Design
Wei Zhao, Lazhen Sun, Zengming Zhang, Zhongqing Wang, XianTao Wei
Introductory physics lab courses have been a staple of the physics curriculum. According to the China Committee of Physics Teaching Steering, the goals of introductory physics labs should be designing experimental investigations, evaluating experimental data, and developing the ability to work in groups.1 The goals of introductory physics laboratories have been published by the American Association of Physics Teachers.2–4 These include designing and evaluating, the art of experimentation, experimental and analytical skills, conceptual learning, understanding the basis of knowledge in physics, and developing collaborative learning skills.5,6 Fulfilling all goals is a worthwhile challenge because such a holistic approach can ensure the complete and efficient development of students’ research skills.7 For example, “the art of experimentation” involves engaging students to design their own experiments; this may be done by choosing the method of measurement, experimental tools, or accuracy of the measurements performed.8,9 However, traditional instruction usually differs from the practice of science. Traditional introductory physics labs often focus on a series of common experiments; the main purpose is to teach students specific technical skills such as measurement, while inquiry-based learning is usually neglected. Students are often asked to perform prescribed experiments following recipe-like instructions to verify and record the results (see Appendix A for examples10). Students in labs rarely design their own experiments, formulate their own questions, and get unexpected results. As a result, the students’ creativity and independent thinking are hindered, and the labs seem to lose their appeal to students over time. A change in the approach of lab instruction should be made to reinforce inquiry-based learning and student engagement.11 The investigative science learning environment, where students design their own experiments, engages students in the practice of science.12,13 Some modes of guiding students’ inquiry rather than having them verify concepts/principles as in traditional lab classes have been described in Refs. 14 and 15. Classroom experiments that serve roles closer to that in the practice of physics have been described.16 The new labs shifted all out-of-lab work into a pre-lab17; the time in the labs is spent doing experiments and producing a preliminary digital report.
In this article, we discuss how experimental design can be integrated into a lab course to make the course a model of inquiry-based learning, in a way that can be implemented in large-enrollment introductory physics lab courses.18 What strategies can be adopted to help instructors teach in this lab environment? Here, the discussion focuses on two chief questions: “What are we doing to engage students in experimental design?” and “How did we make students engage in science practices?” We also discuss the students’ perceptions of their learning.
