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Web-based multimedia learning modules were added as prelectures to our reformed introductory electricity and magnetism course. Each module consisted of approximately 20 min of narrated animation, and students were given credit for completing them before lecture. To compensate for this additional time, lectures were reduced from 75 to 50 min. In addition to a modest increase in exam performance, the changes dramatically improved student attitudes toward the course in general and lectures in particular. [c] 2010 American Association of Physics Teachers. [DOI: 10.1119/1.3369920]

We compared the efficacy of multimedia learning modules with traditional textbooks for the first few topics of a calculus-based introductory electricity and magnetism course. Students were randomly assigned to three groups. One group received the multimedia learning module presentations, and the other two received the presentations via written text. All students were then tested on their learning immediately following the presentations as well as 2 weeks later. The students receiving the multimedia learning modules performed significantly better on both tests than the students experiencing the text-based presentations. [DOI: 10.1119/1.3028204]

A shaker flashlight is made using a hand generator, a light emitting diode, a capacitor, a switch, and a full-wave bridge rectifier. Design of the flashlight involves the understanding of conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy and the storage of electrical energy.

In the electricity and magnetism (E&M) segment of the traditional introductory calculus-based physics course, many new and increasingly abstract concepts, embodied in complex formal relations, are introduced at a rapid pace. As a result, many students find E&M significantly more difficult than classical mechanics. We describe a different intellectual structure for the E&M course that stresses conceptual coherence, connects the abstract field concept to concrete microscopic models of matter, and follows a clear story line, culminating in the classical model of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and matter. This sequence has proven to be effective in teaching the basic concepts of E&M.

Previous research indicates significant improvement in student conceptual understanding of physics topics after instruction with Tutorials in Introductory Physics at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. However, assessment of the effectiveness of tutorials at other institutions is crucial. We conducted such a field test at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado. Students using the tutorials were compared to students using the standard curriculum, students using tutorial pretests only, and students in the honors program. Assessment was based on conceptual questions involving induced current and force. Our results show that students using the tutorials in a modified setting outperformed the control group and rose to the level of performance of the honors students. Our analysis of student reasoning indicates areas where further development of the tutorials is warranted. [DOI: 10.1119/1.2117167]

Byline: Pamela Mulhall (1), Brian McKittrick (1), Richard Gunstone (1) Abstract: Physics continues to be widely regarded by students as difficult and therefore unattractive. Electricity is a particular problem, as it involves extremely complex and highly abstract concepts and is thus totally dependent on models/analogies/metaphors. Research consistently shows very poor student understanding after the teaching of electricity. We consider this research and draw two broad conclusions of central relevance to the teaching of electricity (which are both also argued to be significant contributors to student learning difficulties): there is an absence of any systemic consensus about what models etc. are appropriate for students at different year levels and for different intended learning outcomes there is no consensus about appropriate learning outcomes for electricity at different levels. Author Affiliation: (1) Faculty of Education, Monash University, Canada Article History: Registration Date: 13/10/2004

Over the last decade, there has been an increasing, widespread pedagogical interest in developing various types of integrated curricula for science and engineering programs. Over the last three years, a year-long Integrated Math/Physics course has been developed at Union College. This paper will focus on a model for a one-quarter integrated course organized around a traditional set of electricity and magnetism (E&M) physics topics, integrated with appropriate mathematical topics. Traditional, nonintegrated E&M physics students often straggle with challenging vector calculus ideas which may have been forgotten, not yet encountered, or introduced with different notation in different contexts. Likewise, traditional vector calculus mathematics students are often unable to gain intuitive insight, or fail to grasp the physical significance of many of the vector calculus ideas they are learning. Many of these frustrations are due to the fact that at many schools, the physics and calculus teachers teaching separate courses probably have little or no idea what their fellow educators are actually doing in these courses. Substantial differences in context, notation, and philosophy can cause breakdowns in the transfer of knowledge between mathematics and physics courses. We will discuss the methods, philosophy, and implementation of our course, and then go on to present what we feel were the substantial strengths and insights gained from a thoughtful integration of the two subjects. In addition, some problem areas and recommendations for probable student difficulties will be addressed.

We describe an undergraduate experiment for measuring the electrical conductivity of the earth with a four-electrode Wenner array, at scales approaching tens of meters. When analyzed in the context of a simple two-layer model of the earth, such measurements yield information about what is underground. In our case, this is the depth of the water table and the electrical conductivity of both the upper dry layer and the lower water-saturated layer. We also performed conductivity measurements in a water tank, to test the theory in a known situation. The experiments are discussed in the context of several boundary value problems in electricity and magnetism.

School pupils often experience difficulty in understanding the concepts of voltage, current and energy. One idea which has proved useful in overcoming misconceptions about current is to introduce electric energy as the key concept. This requires supporting concepts of task and task effort but it prevents students working on the assumption that part of the current is consumed when an electric circuit is used. A second idea used to distinguish energy, voltage, and electric current is the analogy of little creatures with backpacks of energy running along the wires.

The teaching of electricity and magnetism need only involve simple materials. A simple kit can demonstrate magnetic force fields, the north and south poles, interaction of magnetic fields through the production of a galvanoscope and the generation of electricity. The kit includes paper clips, 2 barium ferrite magnets, a plastic cup, sellotape, scissors, blutak, an aluminium cake cup, a steel knife, matches, 2 clothes pegs, 2 wooden cubes, a toy compass and 3 metres of plastic insulated bell wire.

A set of informal experiments done with a safe and inexpensive kit of tools, household materials, and electronic components, meant for freshmen students of introductory electricity and magnetism is described. The students work for a term with electric and magnetic fields and their sources, starting with simple dc circuits and finishing with table-top microwaves. All apparatus is built, calibrated and used, not in on-campus supervised labs, but as a part of regular week by week homework, done usually in partnership. Experiment descriptions and quantitative results are reported in notebook form. A few years of actual teaching experience, both at MIT and at Cal Tech, are reviewed.

An electrical experiment for beginning students about electrical circuits, resistors and related areas of technology, is described. The experiment requires a stiff cardboard, a Magic tape, a few #1 pencils, drafting vellum, a ruler, drawing compass and an ohmmeter.

Eleventh grade physics students visualize the concepts of electric fields, electrical potential difference, equipotential lines and their physical means in a equipotential lab. Students are able to see electrostatic landscapes and manipulate them. This lab utilizes Excel and Chart Wizard software.

This article examines the secondary school students' knowledge about electricity. The effects of student's current thinking on their ability to learn are presented. .

The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) was developed to assess students' knowledge about topics in electricity and magnetism. The survey is a 32-question, multiple-choice test that can be used as both a pretest and posttest. During four years of testing and refinement, the survey has been given in one form or another to more than 5000 introductory physics students at 30 different institutions. Typical pretest results are that students in calculus-based courses get 31% of the questions correct and student's in algebra/trigonometry-based courses average 25% correct. Posttest correct results only rise to 47% and 44%, respectively. From analysis of student responses, a number of student difficulties in electricity and magnetism are indicated.

'Franklin's Bells' is a popular lecture demonstration in electricity but seems to have been overlooked as a quantitative undergraduate lab experiment. In our version, a charged ball oscillates back and forth between the plates of a capacitor. This paper has two purposes: one is to discuss some of the wide variety of experiments and calculations which this system affords, the other is to present an analysis of a particular situation in which the ball excites resonant modes of the plates. This excitation gives rise to unexpected steps in the graph of shuttle frequency versus the potential difference between the plates. The apparatus required to show the demonstration is available in most physics departments. Similarly, a quantitative experiment for an introductory undergraduate lab does not require any unusual equipment, nor particularly high voltages. (In our experiment, the highest voltage used was 600 V; this can probably be reduced by scaling down the apparatus.) The physical situation may be analyzed at many different levels, suitable for students in the freshman to senior years, and ranging from a qualitative understanding of the demonstration to computer calculations of chaotic dynamics. The apparatus may be a simple one appropriate to the introductory level, or, at an 'Advanced Lab' level, a sophisticated one, with computer-controlled measurements and analysis of various parameters. It is surprising that such a rich system has been neglected in the traditional curriculum. [C] 2001 American Association of Physics Teachers. [DOI: 10.1119/1.1313519]

An apparatus using air flow as analogous to electric current flow helps students understand the concepts of electricity better. The apparatus helps first-year students derive the relationships among voltage, current, and resistance. They can easily determine how changing one variable and keeping the other constant will influence the third. The apparatus is useful in explaining other concepts, such as the lack of air flow through the manometer and the movement of electric charge from high potential to low potential.

Static electricity may be demonstrated using some simple and inexpensive materials that are readily available. Three demonstrations are presented, with a list of materials and instructions for their construction. One shows how a flashlight bulb may be lit using electrostatic charge, another how such charge may be stored in everyday items for long periods. The third demonstration entails making a lightning ball similar to the ones sold for $100, using a Tesla coil or Van de Graff generator and an ordinary light bulb.

Techniques for the prediction, measurement, and improvement of student performance were examined in an introductory physics course required for engineering majors. The contributions of this study include (1) the application of a statistical technique for predicting performance, (2) a computer program for training basic problem-solving skills, and (3) evidence for the value of training with complex homework problems. The prediction of performance was calculated using the method of discriminant analysis and data from the student's academic record. Specifically, this method predicted the chance of a satisfactory grade or a risk of failure using the student's grade point average (GPA) at entry to the course and grades in certain preceding technical courses. The technique was successful in predicting outcome of the course for over 70% of the students and provided a baseline of anticipated performance against which the results of an intervention could be measured. Improvement of performance resulted from two intervention techniques that modified the students' out-of-class assignments. The first intervention was Precision Teaching; a modification of homework exercises designed to improve basic skills in problem solving. Evaluation of this intervention indicated that class performance improved substantially; the number of students failing the course dropped to about one-half of that predicted by the discriminant analysis technique and overall class performance improved by almost one letter grade. The second intervention was based on the use of complex, multi-step homework problems designed to discourage 'matching' of problems to operational formulae in the text. Evaluation of this intervention indicated that student performance on specific parts of the curriculum improved by 10%-20%. Both of these techniques resulted in significant improvement in performance largely on the final examinations.

Projectile motion is a very common topic in high school and introductory college physics courses. It allows students to see many fundamental physical concepts working together in a two-dimensional problem, among them vectors, velocity, acceleration, and force, but usually they are not mentioned the rest of the year. Nice problems completely analogous to the projectile problems involving objects thrown in gravitational fields can be discussed in electricity units. Students can make connections to understand the physics instead of memorizing equations and solutions.