CORE 2014 POSITION PAPER
ASTRONOMY & PHYSICS CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
The Astronomy & Physics Curriculum Committee is in favor of keeping all Physics and Astronomy courses as 4 credit hours, with the lab being an integral part of the course, as it is right now. We are not in favor of changing our courses to the 3+1 credit hour arrangement that is being suggested.
The importance of lab experiences in learning scientific concepts cannot be overstated. We will only use the following quote from Richard Feynman:
The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific ‘truth.’ But what is the source of knowledge? Where do the laws that are to be tested come from?
Experiment itself helps to produce these laws, in the sense that it gives us hints. But also needed is imagination to create from these hints the great generalizations – to guess at the wonderful, simple, but very strange patterns beneath them all, and then to experiment to check again whether we made the right guess.
The American Association of Physics Teachers lists the following goals for Introductory Physics Labs which all DCCCD courses aim to achieve:
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The Art of Experimentation – to engage students in significant experiences with experimental processes.
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Experimental and Analytical Skills – to help students develop skills and tools for data gathering and data analysis.
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Conceptual Learning – The lab helps students to master basic concepts and principles. When they experiment, they “own” the numbers, making the relationships more meaningful.
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Understanding the basis of knowledge – The lab helps students understand the role of direct observation and to distinguish between inferences based on theory and the outcomes of experiments.
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Developing Collaborative Learning Skills – The lab is an opportunity to work with peers, and develop attitudes that will be vital to success in many lifelong endeavors.
We understand that labs may remain tied to the lecture class with some concurrent lab requirement even in the 3+1 arrangement. But if the registrations for lecture and lab are separated, we are concerned about the impact of having different students in the lecture and lab classes. With our current scheme, especially for an information-application intense course like Physics, instructors often use lab time for problem-solving which is very effective. Students interact with each other and with the instructor better when they are sitting around a lab table compared to facing the instructor in a classroom. The current scheme allows for seamless lecture-lab transitions which will be lost in the 3+1 arrangement.
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The current 4 credit hour arrangement also allows the instructor more flexibility to use the 6 contact hours for the lecture-lab, as effectively as possible. Sometimes the lab experiment follows the lecture topic. But if the concepts lend themselves to inquiry-discovery methods, instructors let the students discover the concept for themselves during an experiment and then spend lecture time to formalize theories and equations. We feel it is imperative to give instructors the flexibility to use the 6 contact hours as they see fit.
Currently the lab grade is built into the overall grade. Since learning is so much more meaningful and effective in labs, does it not make sense to allow the course grade to reflect what the student has learned in labs also?
Core 2014 includes teamwork as one of the core competencies. All physics and astronomy experiments are performed in groups. The lab is a ready-made environment ideally suited for students to practice collaboration and teamwork.
Another core 2014 competency is empirical and quantitative skills. All physics and astronomy labs involve some type of data gathering and numerical analysis. To make science courses worth 3 credit hours and remove labs from the Core is unthinkable. It will lead to a loss of credibility and transferability of our science courses.
As instructors we struggle with the time constraints of a 16-week semester. Future engineers need a strong foundation in classical physics, but the concepts are complicated and build on each other.
However most of our astronomy students are non-science majors. Although the needs and expectations of both groups are different, the lab is an ideal environment for both groups, to use enrichment materials like videos and simulations to reinforce the material learned. Lab time is also used for discussions on current events to keep students updated on advancements in technology and new discoveries.
For astronomy courses, viewing the sky is an important part of the course. Since it is a non-majors course, students enroll because they are interested in using telescopes, seeing constellations etc.
Removing or separating the lab component would be a major disservice to the joy our students feel when they learn to read the sky. It is real lifelong skill with excellent opportunities for advancing social and intercultural knowledge.
The following points summarize our rationale for keeping the lab as an integral part of all physics and astronomy courses by making them 4 credit hours rather than 3+1.
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When students see the same instructor in lecture and lab, there is a seamless lecture-lab transition
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Timely hands-on experiences enhance classroom learning and make concepts more meaningful
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The lab is a more interactive teaching and learning environment
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Cooperative learning allows students to interact with each other and learn from each other during labs
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Instructors get better acquainted with students during labs
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Lab activities engage the student’s minds so they acquire skill and confidence
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Students have an ownership of the ideas and numbers when they do the labs
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Use of technology is more effective and easier in the lab room
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Lab time is used for problem solving, reviews, exams etc. It is a good use of the students time
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The combined lecture-lab arrangement worth 4-credit hours that currently exists gives the instructors a lot of flexibility and allows the contact time to be used to best advantage.
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Last but not the least, if student learning and student success is paramount, the 4-credit hour lab science course is a better product both in ease of access and academic rigor.
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