Practical example

Transformation in physics practicals: Optimum support for data analysis and discussion!

Teachers

Anke Sander

Last update

University(s)

Ilmenau University of Technology

Subject group(s)

Mathematics, natural sciences

Target group(s)

Bachelor's degree

Format | Mode

Internship

Blended learning

Contact person

Practicals are important elements of natural science and engineering degree programmes. By adapting the procedures in the basic practical course in physics at the TU Ilmenau, we have ensured that attendance time is utilised more efficiently. By providing additional, experiment-specific teaching materials in advance and a list of specific questions for more focussed preparation at home, there is more time during the actual practical course to discuss the measurement results with the supervisor and to draw on their support in the evaluation.

The challenge of teaching

The typical procedure in the practical physics course is for students to record their measurements on site for a fixed period of time and then analyse them at home. They are therefore without direct support from their experiment supervisor when it comes to a central learning objective: analysing data and critically evaluating their results.

Goals of your practical example

The main aim was to shift the focus of the work placement in order to make more varied use of the time spent in the classroom. In line with the „flipped classroom“ concept, preparation at home became more extensive with better support from:
- the provision of additional, experiment-specific teaching materials (short videos of the experiment, animations for setting up complicated circuits, etc.)
- specific questions in the experiment instructions for more targeted preparation for the experiment
- Concrete research tasks for (reference) values or formulae that will be important for later evaluation.
In addition, the practical experiments have been redesigned so that the actual measurement task can be completed in less time, leaving enough time to analyse the data on site and discuss it with the supervisor. Depending on the specific experiment, this may mean that fewer test specimens are measured or fewer measuring points are recorded in measurement series.

Prerequisites for implementation

Procedure

Material for the practical example

Poster on the project with sample control questions and device names

Helpful links and sources

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