PHYC 4B - Physics for Scientists and Engineers - Stage 5 - Alfred Cauthen
Data Analysis
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| Data Summary | 65% of Fall 2012 PHYC 4B students answered a question concerning SLOs A) and E) correctly- the same rate as with the previous semester. 75% of Fall 2012 PHYC 4B students answered a question associated with SLO D) correctly which is a very high rate. Spring 2012 students were slightly more successful with about 80% success. These students clearly understand that household electricity is AC. |
| Analysis Summary | Our students continue to have a very good understanding of how to use Gauss’ Law and symmetry arguments to determine the spatial dependence of the electric field for a non-trivial charge distribution. But this data shows that our proposed changes to teaching methods may have had a null result for increasing student ability with these learning objectives. |
| Next Steps Planned | For SLOs A) and E) we will continue make clear and demonstrate the proper application of Gauss’ Law to model spherically symmetric charge distributions as a single point charge with lecture demonstrations, online resources, student worksheet questions where students work in groups, and selected homework problems. We will also spend more time with students on a graphical point of view. We will show students the very visceral graphical dependence of the electric field magnitude on position in the point charge and continuous charge distribution cases and highlight similarities and differences. To increase student success with SLO D) we will connect ‘AC’ to ‘alternating current’ and reduce language barriers to this learning outcome. |
| Learning Outcomes | SLO A) Analyze simple static charge distributions and calculate the resulting electric field and electric potential. SLO D) Analyze AC and DC circuits, which can include power sources, resistors, capacitors, and inductors, in terms of current, potential difference, and power dissipation for each circuit element. SLO E) Recognize symmetric charge distributions and calculate the electric field due to such distributions using symmetry arguments and Gauss’ Law. |
Tentative Future Plans
| Term | Fall 2013 |
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| More Details | No answer |
SLO Details Storage Location
- HARD COPY - In my personal filing system (my office)
- HARD COPY - In a department filing system (department office)
- ELECTRONIC COPY - In my electronic filing system (hard drive or web server)
- ELECTRONIC COPY - On a department web server or shared document system