About
16
Publications
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Introduction
My research interests include: how physics students combine cognitive resources, how students view and approach physics, how to improve the teaching of introductory physics using active learning techniques, and many other areas!
Current institution
Additional affiliations
August 2014 - June 2020
August 2014 - August 2015
August 2008 - May 2013
Education
August 2007 - April 2011
August 2007 - April 2013
August 2003 - May 2007
Publications
Publications (16)
Kinaesthetic learning activities (KLAs) can be a valuable pedagogical tool for physics instructors. They have been shown to increase engagement, encourage participation and improve learning outcomes. This paper details several KLAs developed at Rutgers University for inclusion in an instructional unit about semiconductors, p–n junctions and solar c...
We use the framework of cognitive resources to investigate how students construct understanding of a complex physics topic, namely, a photovoltaic cell. By observing students as they learn about how a solar cell functions, we identified over 60 distinct resources that learners may activate while thinking about photovoltaic cells. We classify these...
As students learn physics, they are often required to reason about the behavior of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena, and to synthesize prior knowledge from several different areas of physics to construct understanding of new ideas. This can be a tremendously difficult cognitive task for novice students, especially when the unfamiliar phenomena...
Female African Americans comprise an underrepresented group in physics-focused careers. Between 2002 and 2012 African-American women comprised approximately 1% of graduating physics majors in the United States. It appears that at some point in their educational careers, many female African-American students stop considering the field of physics as...
In an effort to improve retention and persistence in the physics major, we implemented a curriculum change at our institution in which we enroll in our calculus-based Physics I course the first-year physics majors who placed into the pre-calculus level. Prior to the intervention, 12.5% of non-calculus-ready students were retained within the major....
A learner’s perception of what a career in physics is like has a major impact on their decision to pursue physics professionally. This decision can also be influenced by a high school student’s awareness of issues concerning diversity within the physics community. We surveyed current high school physics students and investigated their perception of...
As students learn physics, they are often required to reason about the behavior of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena, and to synthesize prior knowledge from several different areas of physics to construct understanding of new ideas. This can be a tremendously difficult cognitive task for novice students, especially when the unfamiliar phenomena...
Describing a summer enrichment program we used to help recruit future physics teachers
The field of Physics Education Research (PER) seeks to investigate how students learn physics and how instructors can help students learn more effectively. The process by which learners create understanding about a complex physics concept is an active area of research. My study explores this process, using solar cells as the context. To understand...
We use the framework of conceptual and epistemological resources to
investigate how students construct understanding of solar cells - a
complex modern physics topic that requires mastery of multiple concepts.
We interviewed experts and novices about their understanding of the
physics of solar cells, and examined their responses for evidence of
reso...
Dan Schwartz and colleagues have developed invention instruction as a
means to prepare students for future learning. Invention tasks present
students with open-ended situations in which they must invent a
procedure or quantity in order to make meaningful comparisons. Through
creative thinking and struggle, students become primed to make sense of
th...
The vector analyzing powers, Ay(,), of the ^11B(p,p)^11B reaction were measured as a function of angle and energy as part of a program to study the reaction ^11B(p,alpha)2alpha. The experiment was performed at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory at Duke University, where polarized proton beams between 100 nA and 600 nA with energies (Ep) o...
The vector analyzing powers of the ^11B(p,alpha)^8Beg.s. reaction were measured as a function of energy and angle as part of a program to study the ^11B(p,alpha)2alpha reaction at low energies. Polarized proton beams were produced by the ABPIS source and accelerated through the FN tandem at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The target w...
