Designing hybrid physics labs: combining simulation and experiment for teaching computational thinking in first-year engineering

• Published in: 2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Fennell, Hayden W., Lyon, Joseph A., Magana, Alejandra J., Rebello, Sanjay, Rebello, Carina M., Peidrahita, Yuri B.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-10-2019
• Subjects: Atmospheric modeling; Computational modeling; computational thinking; Context modeling; design-based research; Education; engineering education; Physics; physics education; Programming; Software
• ISSN: 2377-634X
• DOI: 10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028390

This Innovative Practice Full Paper details a design-based research approach for implementing computational learning activities in a first-year engineering physics course. This study contributes to the growing body of research on computation in engineering education by introducing computational concepts and activities during a physics laboratory class. Drawing from Experiential Learning Theory and using an adapted version of the Use-Modify-Create framework for teaching computational thinking, a series of lab activities was designed that combined physical lab experiments with computational modeling using custom-built VPython simulations. Data was collected from the labs in the form of (1) responses to lab activity worksheets, (2) code modified and/or generated by the students during lab activities, (3) in-code comments provided by the students during the activities. A qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze students' learning benefits and any challenges faced during the activities. While results show a number of learning benefits, an observed homogeneity of student responses to the questions on the lab handouts point to a set of potential limitations within the activities themselves that warranted further examination. Insight gained from this analysis process is presented as a set of four design principles that will inform future implementations of the hybrid course design.