New experiments, lab content coming to physics

Have you ever finished a physics lab only to feel like you had no idea what you were doing? Have you ever felt like you just didn't understand the point of your experiments?

Feelings like these will soon be a thing of the past if Cecile Fradin and Duncan O'Dell have anything to do with it.

Thanks to an Imperial Oil Departmental Learning Innovation Grant, over the next three years Fradin and O'Dell will be working on ways to modify the lab component of Physics 1BB3 so that students better understand the importance of the skills they are learning.

New experiments, new lab content and topics that match student interest are just some of the changes Fradin and O'Dell are working on as a result of the grant.

“Inquiry-based lab techniques force students to be active in their learning,” says Fradin. “They cannot sit back and shut down for the duration of the lab. They have to remain involved. This has been shown time and again to promote better learning.”

“We hope that by involving the students at every level of their laboratory experiment, from the formulation of the question they wish to investigate to the interpretation of their data, we will really give them a taste of what science can and should be about,” says O'Dell. “This will lead to a better experience and greater enjoyment in the lab.”

Though Fradin and O'Dell recognize the potential in their project, they are also aware of the shift in mindset needed to make it successful.

“Inquiry-based teaching is great, but initially requires a change of attitude for both the students and the instructors, including the teaching assistants that help run the labs,” says Fradin. “So we know we will have to do a lot of training and put a lot of effort into this initially.”