We describe a dual-class authentic learning experience (ALE) in which undergraduate upper-division physics students develop low-cost instruments, which are then used by students in a lower-division course to monitor water quality in rivers. The ALE bridges the experiences of lower- and upper-division physics majors by involving students across different stages of their college careers in a collaborative project. Lower-division physics students characterize, calibrate, and troubleshoot the instrument prototypes developed by their upper-division peers, and their work informs instrument modifications in future upper-division physics classes. This paper describes the first iteration of this project along with student perceptions. We find that lower-division students report an increase in their awareness of possible upper-division projects, an increased sense that their coursework has real-world applications, and a heightened understanding of how physicists can play a role in research on environmental issues.
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1 September 2023
September 01 2023
Implementing a course-based authentic learning experience with upper- and lower-division physics classesa)
Special Collection:
Teaching about the environment, sustainability, and climate change
Mikkel Herholdt Jensen;
Mikkel Herholdt Jensen
b)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University
, Sacramento, Sacramento, California 95819
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Eliza J. Morris;
Eliza J. Morris
c)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University
, Sacramento, Sacramento, California 95819
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Am. J. Phys. 91, 696–700 (2023)
Article history
Received:
November 30 2022
Accepted:
March 28 2023
Citation
Mikkel Herholdt Jensen, Eliza J. Morris, M. W. Ray; Implementing a course-based authentic learning experience with upper- and lower-division physics classes. Am. J. Phys. 1 September 2023; 91 (9): 696–700. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0137141
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