Using Mobile Apps to Enhance Students' Learning and Scientific Reasoning Skills in General Education Physics Courses

About This Grant

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving teaching and learning in introductory physics courses for non-STEM majors. The nation's economic prosperity depends more and more on cultivating a well-educated, diverse STEM workforce and a scientifically literate public. Yet less than 20% of bachelor's degrees are awarded in STEM fields. Non-STEM majors often take general education (GE) courses aimed at increasing the appreciation of STEM rather than teaching specific STEM knowledge and skills. These courses often leave out the inquiry-based approaches and experimental investigations that are important for developing STEM knowledge and skills. However, with recent advances in common technologies, it is possible to couple mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) with findings from education research about how students learn best, to provide both rich content and inquiry-based learning experiences for non-STEM majors. This project will pursue one example of that integration. Namely, the investigators will use mobile technology and research-based educational strategies to teach the physics of waves and quantum physics in a GE course on the Physics of Music, which uses the concepts found in music to teach quantum physics. Familiarity with the physics of waves and quantum physics is useful to students who pursue a variety of career paths. New, emerging technologies based on the principles of quantum physics are currently being developed and have the potential to revolutionize computing, information science, data security, high-speed communications, and navigation. It is important for students to develop a basic understanding of these principles. Mobile devices with multiple built-in sensors have the potential to deliver low-cost, high-quality educational content that allows users not only to learn about the world around them but also to interact with it. New educational approaches in physics, such as the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach, increase students' learning by having students discover physical principles the way a physicist does -- through hands-on, interactive experiences. The investigators will research and develop an interactive mobile application that integrates data acquisition tools, an e-text, e-learning modules, and the ISLE approach in a GE course to teach quantum physics through a topic of general interest, the physics of music. Both the physics of music and quantum physics are the physics of waves. Thus, students will learn the most important subject in modern physics through the underlying principles of music. The investigators aim to determine whether this method increases students' learning, critical thinking, scientific reasoning skills, and scientific literacy. This research has the potential to extend new learning tools beyond a traditional physics classroom setting, enabling high-quality physics education for larger audiences. The project will result in a new mobile app that contains an e-text and e-learning modules that can be implemented in a variety of educational settings. The NSF IUSE: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.