Marina Milner-Bolotin^a, Rina Zazkis^b

Mathematical knowledge for teaching of prospective physics teachers: a case of a decimal sound level scale

Contact Author: Marina Milner-Bolotin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

^aDepartment of Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada

^bFaculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada, V5A 1S6, Canada

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study aims to investigate the mathematical knowledge for teaching of prospective physics teachers (PPTs) in the context of complex mathematical concepts – a logarithmic function and a logarithmic scale. These concepts were chosen as they are usually overlooked and yet they are at the core of many physical quantities, such as the pH scale (acid-base scale) in chemistry, Richter scale for measuring earthquake strength in Earth science, disease spread in medicine (e.g., SARS-CoV-2 spread), and sound level in physics. In this study, we focused on the subject of sound waves, specifically the topics of sound level and sound intensity, as these are fundamental concepts of science and the latter relies on the logarithmic scale. These concepts are included in the secondary physics curricula in many countries. As such, our aim was to investigate how PPTs interpret sound levels and sound intensity for their future teaching.

Srividya D Kota ^a, Jacinta Den Besten^b, Manjula D Sharma ^a

Bungee jumping: using modelling and technology to improve student engagement in STEM

Contact author: Srividya Durga Kota (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

^a School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, 2066, Australia

^b School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Uncertainty analysis is a crucial component of experimental work. However, the teaching of uncertainties is challenging because it incorporates technical details about measurements, instruments, and statistical analysis, often adversely impacting student engagement (Buffler, Lubben & Ibrahim, 2009). This study, while occurring in undergraduate physics, is applicable to all STEM subjects. The experiment, Bunjee Jumping, was designed with a conceptual framework integrating technology and modelling to specifically ‘engage’ students cognitively, behaviourally, and emotionally (Sinatra, Heddy & Lombardi, 2015) with uncertainty analysis.

The aim of this study was to explore how first year undergraduate physics students engaged with the new experiment.