Jill Marshall

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Texas at Austin

Growing interest in interdisciplinary (ID) understanding has led to the recent development of four ID assessments, none of which have previously been comprehensively validated. Sources of evidence for the validity of tests include construct validity, such as the internal structure of the test. ID tests may (and should) test both disciplinary (D) an...

This study developed and validated an assessment that measures interdisciplinary understanding using the topic of carbon cycling, the Interdisciplinary Science Assessment for Carbon Cycling (ISACC). This work was motivated by the need to assess interdisciplinary understanding, defined as the ability to solve problems requiring knowledge and skills...

Charter schools are positioned by proponents as a key component of reform efforts striving to expand school choice. Proponents argue that charter schools have the flexibility to experiment with novel curricular and instructional models outside the constraints of the traditional public education system, and therefore have the potential to transform...

In a technologically driven society, math and science students in the United States are falling further and further behind their international counterparts, resulting in an influx of STEM focused, reformed K‐12 schools, including schools focused on project‐based learning (PBL). This article reports a study of the effectiveness of PBL on high school...

Several major organizations have recommended revisions to mathematics requirements for biology majors. To determine whether these changes would benefit future biologists, we investigated mathematics use in research biology. We surveyed prominent journals in high and low math-use areas for articles referencing the use of quantitative methods. In add...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mathematical needs of biological sciences undergraduate students. Student needs were measured through a needs assessment methodology scheme that included a content analysis of peer-reviewed journals, a nationwide cross-sectional survey, and semi-structured interviews. The research question that guide...

The maker movement has strong connections to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as art and crafts, but the goals of making are not in perfect alignment with any of these disciplines. Within the problem-based paradigm, however, there is room to incorporate making as situated STEM learning, even in formal, standards-base...

Similarities between the characteristics of project-based learning (PBL) and those of engineering practice make curricula incorporating PBL ideal for undergraduate engineering coursework. Given the suitability of PBL for engineering coursework, the present work explores students’ epistemological stances within a PBL environment. Through semi-struct...

This article reports an investigation of preservice teachers' interactions with a computer simulation designed to allow them to explore the nature and practices of science. Participants included 188 preservice, secondary-level, science and mathematics teachers who were enrolled in one of seven consecutive semesters in a professional development cou...

Global carbon cycling describes the movement of carbon through atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere; it lies at the heart of climate change and sustainability. In order to understand the global carbon cycle, students will require interdisciplinary knowledge. While standards documents in science education have long promoted interdiscipl...

The present research paper explores and characterizes the development of students’ epistemic stances after their engagement in a project-based introductory civil engineering course. Project-based learning (PBL) is particularly suitable for engineering courses because students are able to engage with content through ill-defined, open-ended tasks des...

We investigated the effect of modeling and visualization resources on upper-division, undergraduate and graduate students’ performance on an open-ended assessment of their understanding of physical hydrology. The students were enrolled in one of five sections of a physical hydrology course. In two of the sections, students completed homework proble...

This article reports an investigation of preservice teachers' interactions with a computer simulation designed to allow them to explore the nature and practices of science. Participants included 188 preservice, secondary-level, science and mathematics teachers who were enrolled in one of seven consecutive semesters in a professional development cou...

In Texas, and some other states, there is a documented shortage of physics teachers, in terms of both number and qualifications.1 The shortage in Texas is due as much to teachers leaving the field (attrition) as to a lack of teachers entering. There are efforts under way to prepare more and better-qualified physics teachers who will stay in the fie...

Our objective is to devise a mechanism to characterize and assess upper division and graduate student thinking in hydrology. We accomplish this through development and testing of an assessment tool for a physical hydrology class. The instrument was piloted in two sections of a physical hydrology course. Students were asked to respond to two questio...

We report the results of a study focused on identifying and articulating an ‘‘epistemic foundation’’ underlying a pre-collegiate focus on engineering. We do so in the context of UTeachEngineering (UTE), a program supported in part by funding by the National Science Foundation and designed to develop a model approach to address the systematic challe...

Our objective is to characterize and assess upper division and graduate student thinking in hydrology. We accomplish this through development and testing of an assessment tool for a physical hydrology class. Students were asked to respond to two questions that probed understanding and one question that assessed their ability to apply their knowledg...

The Physics Teacher 50(6), 328 (2012) DOI: http://doi.org/10.1119/1.4745681

The Physics Teacher 50(2), 69 (2012) DOI: http://doi.org/10.1119/1.3677275

Scitation is the online home of leading journals and conference proceedings from AIP Publishing and AIP Member Societies

As co-authors of a recent publication in Physical Review Special Topics- Physics Education Research,1 we have received inquiries about the publication process.2 We will describe the process of creating an article based on team work, in our case the work of the Texas Physics Assessment Team. Many physics teachers have opportunities to participate in...

We present results of an investigation of preservice secondary mathematics and science teachers’ conceptions of project-based instruction (PBI) and their enactments of PBI in apprentice (student) teaching. We evaluated their thinking and implementations within a composite framework based on the work of education researchers. We analyzed survey resp...

In the early 1990s Ruth Howes, a nuclear physicist on the faculty at Ball State University, and Caroline Herzenberg, a nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, were asked to write a chapter on the Manhattan Project for a volume on women working on weapons development for the military.1 Realizing that they knew very little about the women w...

High school science teachers seeking to enhance student enthusiasm for science and to enrich their curricula with ``real world'' examples might be interested in drawing on nanoscience, which is currently a major branch of study in biology, chemistry, and physics---key high school curriculum areas---and is also a subject much reported upon by the ne...

In the book Their Day in the Sun, Ruth Howes and Caroline Herzenberg documented more than 1000 women who worked on the Manhattan Project, preserving their legacy for generations to come. At the 2009 Chicago meeting, the AAPT Committee on Women in Physics celebrated the accomplishments of these women and the men who worked beside them. Howes present...

This work set out to investigate the state of qualitative understanding of magnetism at various stages of expertise, and what approaches to problem-solving are used across the spectrum of expertise. We studied three groups: 10 novices, 10 experts-in-training, and 11 experts. Data collection involved structured interviews during which participants s...

We report the results of an analysis of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) designed to determine whether the TAKS is a valid indicator of whether students know and can do physics at the level necessary for success in future coursework, STEM careers, and life in a technological society. We categorized science items from the 2003 and...

The larger the classroom, the more likely is it that communications consist of a one-way flow from the instructor to students. Classroom Response Systems (CRSs) are frequently hailed as technologies capable of improving communications by opening the space for dialogic engagement; yet, a causal relationship is not documented in the literature. The d...

We present results of an investigation of university students’ development of mathematical models of motion in a physical science course for preservice teachers and graduate students in science and mathematics education. Although some students were familiar with the standard concepts of position, velocity, and acceleration from physics classes, mos...

We present results of an investigation of university students' development of mathematical models of motion in a physical science course for preservice teachers and graduate students in science and mathematics education. Although some students were familiar with the standard concepts of position, velocity, and acceleration from physics classes, mos...

In the last several decades the image of the leaky pipeline has become commonplace as a metaphor for the loss of women and minorities to the physics enterprise at every stage, from high school to the most advanced positions in academia. At the 2007 Winter AAPT meeting in Seattle, however, the AAPT Committee on Women in Physics sponsored a session h...

I report results of a study of representations of electric circuits and interpretation of circuit diagrams by students in a class for pre-service teachers and graduate students in science education. Students' representations of circuits prior to instruction on the conventions of circuit diagrams were collected and catalogued according to representa...

Although the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills include an understanding of the nature of science as an essential goal of every high school science course, few students report opportunities to explore essential characteristics of science in their previous classes. A simulated-world environment (Erickson, 2005) allows students to function as worki...

This paper focuses on the construction, development, and use of mathematical models by prospective science and mathematics teachers enrolled in a university physics course. By studying their involvement in an inquiry-based, experimental approach to learning kinematics, we address a fundamental question about the meaning and role of abstraction in m...

Since 1988 the Interactive NASA Space Physics Ionospheric Radio Experiment, or INSPIRE,1 has given students the opportunity to build research-quality VLF2 radio receivers and make observations of both natural and stimulated radio waves in the atmosphere. Any high school science class is eligible to join the INSPIRE volunteer observing network and c...

We report a study of three prospective secondary science teachers' development of theories-in-action as they worked together in a group to explore collisions using both physical manipulatives and a computer simulation (Interactive Physics). Analysis of their investigations using an existing theoretical framework indicates that, as the group moved f...

As the frequency with which Classroom Response Systems (CRSs) are used is increasing, it becomes more and more important to define the affordances and limitations of these tools. Currently existing literature is largely either anecdotal or focuses on comparing CRS and non-CRS environments that are unequal in other aspects as well. In addition, the...

The National Science Education Standards call for students to participate in authentic scientific investigation [National Science Education Standards, National Academies Press, Washington, DC 1996]. Opportunities are rare, however, for students to experience the full spectrum of space science investigation: developing and assembling equipment, plan...

Mathematical puzzles have long been employed by parents and teachers to augment the standard mathematics curriculum. This paper reports on a study of urban elementary students engaged in the solution of mathematical puzzles. The work confirms that, given the opportunity, these students will construct their own, logically consistent, interpretations...

Available from http://www.aps.org/meet/TSF03/baps/abs/S200004.html

The study reported here was designed to substantiate the findings of previous research on the use of inquiry-based laboratory activities in introductory college physics courses. The authors sought to determine whether limited use of inquiry activities as a supplement to a traditional lecture and demonstration curriculum would improve student achiev...

While current participation rates for women hover at the 5% level of working PhD physicists in the US, there have been times in history when the participation rates were much higher in some sub-disciplines. Nuclear physics is a case in point, particularly in the first half of this century. At the 1933 Solvay conference, three of the forty attendees...

Scitation is the online home of leading journals and conference proceedings from AIP Publishing and AIP Member Societies

The study reported here was designed to substantiate the findings of previous research on the use of inquiry-based laboratory activities in introductory college physics courses. The authors sought to determine whether limited use of inquiry activities as a supplement to a traditional lecture and demonstration curriculum would improve student achiev...

Student attitudes toward science and scientists were measured with a survey distributed to introductory physics students in a combined class consisting of elementary education majors and general education students. For the control group of students, only the biographical material in the textbook (which was not required reading) was available to stu...

We use continuum (white light) and filtered (427.8 nm) images from the Atmospheric Emissions Photometric Imaging (AEPI) experiment on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) 1 shuttle mission to investigate the shape and evolution of artificial auroral patches generated by the Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SE...

The Space Experiments with Particle Accelarators (SEPAC), which flew on the ATLAS 1 mission, used new techniques to study natural phenomena in the Earth's upper atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere by introducing energetic perturbations into the system from a high power electron beam with known characteristics. Properties of auroras were studie...

A test of the Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV) theory was made with neutral xenon releases from the Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators hollow cathode plasma contactor onboard the Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis during the ATLAS-1 mission. The gas velocity perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic field was essentially the orbital velocity (7.5 km/...

Artificial electron beams from the Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC) on the ATLAS 1 Spacelab payload were used to stimulate auroral emissions at southern auroral latitudes. The emitted electron beams were monoenergetic at 6.25 keV and were fired in one-second pulses every fifteen seconds with currents of 1.21 A. Optical measureme...

Analyzing powers (Ay) and spin-rotation-depolarization parameters (DSS, DSL, DLS, DLL, DNN) were determined for 500 MeV p+2H and p + 12C inclusive quasielastic scattering at 10°, 15°, and 20° laboratory scattering angles. The p+2H data are consistent with the isospin-average of the proton-proton and proton-neutron scattering observables; the p+12C...

Data from the Dynamics Explorer 1 High Altitude Plasma Instrument (HAPI) and magnetometer are used to investigate the sources of field-aligned currents in the nightside auroral zone. It is found that the formula developed by S. Knight predicts the field-aligned current density fairly accurately in regions where a significant potential drop can be i...

Space missions to the outer planets of the solar system require advanced mass-spectroscopic measurements that cover an unprecedented range of particle phase space. We present here a discussion of satellite-borne mass-spectrometer design considerations and put forward a design for an isochronous time-of-flight mass spectrometer based on poloidal ion...

Injections from an electron beam that was part of the PICPAB (phenomena induced by charged particle beams) experiment were observed by the SEPAC (space experiments with particle accelerators) plasma diagnostic package. In particular, extremely-low-frequency (ELF) oscillations from 150 to 200 Hz were seen in the SEPAC Langmuir probe current. The str...

Plasmas found in the solar wind and the magnetospheres of the Earth and other planets represent formidable experimental challenges in the area of ion mass spectroscopy. Spectrometers must cope with low density (< 1 ion/cm3) high temperature plasmas (kT > 10 keV) that are highly anisotropic and heterogeneous. Ions may include singly and multiply cha...

Data from the DE-1 altitude plasma instrument and magnetometer were used to investigate the Birkeland current patterns in the premidnight auroral region and the charge carriers, as well as their relationships with the hot-plasma populations. As expected, upward currents were found to predominate throughout the body of the boundary plasma sheet (BPS...

The authors have constructed and successfully tested a 360° FOV plasma mass spectrograph based on the TOF principle.

Future planetary missions require that comprehensive three-dimensional measurements of electrons and mass-resolved ions be made from three-axis stabilized spacecraft. In order to make these measurements without requiring expensive and resource intensive platforms to scan space mechanically, we are developing various systems that are designed to sca...

The polarization-transfer observables DNN, DSS, DLL, DLS, and DSL have been measured at 800 MeV for polarized proton inelastic scattering from 1H, 2H, and 12C with energy losses up to about 400 MeV. The scattering angles in the laboratory were 5°, 11°, and 20°. No large differences between the observables for the three targets were seen. The data f...

Data from the Dynamics Explorer 1 high altitude plasma instrument (HAPI) and magnetometer (MAG-A) are used to examine particle acceleration and Birkeland current phenomena in the mid-altitude (10,000--20,000 km) nightside auroral region between 2000 and 2200 hours MLT. Field-aligned current densities as derived from the two instruments are compared...

An unusual signature of return current and spacecraft charging potential was observed during the Spacelab 1 mission launched on November 28, 1983. The phenomenon occurred during neutral gas releases from the SEPAC (Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators) magnetoplasma-dynamic arcjet (MPD) concurrent with firings of the PICPAB (Phenomena Induc...

We describe a new type of electrostatic charged particle analyzer based on toroidal geometry. The analyzer features a 360°×10° (polar×azimuthal) field of view and a focal length in the polar direction significantly longer than that of similar devices based on spherical geometry. Extended focal length is a requirement for matching the electrostatic...

Differential cross sections for proton-plus-proton elastic scattering at 497.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5 MeV are reported for the center-of-momentum angular range 6\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$\le${}${$\theta${}}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.\mathrm{$\le${}}97}$\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. Statistical and relative point-to-point error...

We report here on experimental results from a new toroidal ion optical system that has the potential to improve significantly the angular acceptance and sensitivity of previous satellite-borne ion mass spectrometers while retaining the focusing properties required for good mass resolution. Laboratory results with single and tandem toroids show full...

A toroidal electrostatic analyzer of a design suitable for space plasma instrumentation has been constructed and tested. Experimental results are compared with second‐order ion optical theory and are in good agreement. Verifying the ion optics of the toroid was simplified by use of a position‐sensing microchannel‐plate detector mounted on a positio...

500 MeV p→+p elastic and quasielastic, and p→+n quasielastic, analyzing powers (Ay) and spin-rotation-depolarization parameters (DSS, DSL, DLS, DLL, DNN) were determined for center-of-momentum angular ranges 6.8°–55.4° (elastic) and 22.4°–55.4° (quasielastic); liquid hydrogen and deuterium targets were used. The p→+p elastic and quasielastic result...

The spin-rotation parameter Q(theta) was measured for 800 MeV p→+16O, Ca40, and Pb208 elastic scattering for 2°≤thetalab≤21°. Microscopic ‘‘relativistic’’ (Dirac equation dynamics) and ‘‘nonrelativistic’’ (Schrödinger equation dynamics) optical model predictions are compared with the data. Slight preference for the relativistic impulse approximatio...

Using a liquid deuterium target, 800 MeV quasielastic parrow+p and parrow+n spin-rotation and -depolarization parameters (D/sub S/S,D/sub S/L,D/sub L/S,D/sub L/L,D/sub N/N ) were determined over the center-of-momentum angular range 14.3°--69.2°. The parrow+p results are in good agreement with existing elastic results and predictions from phase sh...

800 MeV elastic $\stackrel{$\rightarrow${}}{\mathrm{p}}+\mathrm{p}$ spin-depolarization and -rotation parameters ${D}_{\mathrm{NN}}$, ${D}_{\mathrm{SS}}$, ${D}_{\mathrm{LL}}$, ${D}_{\mathrm{SL}}$, and ${D}_{\mathrm{LS}}$ have been measured for the center-of-momentum angular range 4.8\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}-23.8\ifmmode^\circ\else\textde...

Cross sections and analyzing powers have been measured at 800 MeV for inclusive (p, p′) reactions on 1H and 12C in the 300 MeV excitation region. The data for 1H and 12C are qualitatively similar, but differ in detail. A Born approximation model reproduces the cross sections for p + p scattering, but fails to fit the Ay data. Further, while a plane...

Using liquid hydrogen and liquid deuterium targets respectively, forward angle (ten degrees to sixty degrees in the center of Mass) free proton-proton and quasielastic proton-proton and proton-neutron triple scattering data at 500 MeV have been obtained using the high resolution spectrometer at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. The data are in...

Using a liquid deuterium target, 800 MeV quasielastic p+n and p+p analyzing powers were measured over the center-of-momentum angular range 14°⁻⁻⁷⁵sup 0/. Elastic p+p analyzing powers were measured over the center-of-momentum angular range 10°⁻⁻⁴⁷sup 0/ using a liquid hydrogen target, and elastic p+p differential cross sections wer...

In 2007 the National Mathematics and Science Initiative, with a grant from Exxon-Mobil, launched two major programs to improve science and mathematics education in the US: an Advanced Placement initiative and replication of the UTeach program. Twelve colleges and universities, from Florida to California, have been selected to receive grants of up t...

In this session, an update on the ongoing revision of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)for Physics will be discussed. The discussion will be led by TEKS revision committee members Hugh Henderson, Jill Marshall, and Jeff Funkhouser. We will also briefly discuss the TEKS revision process for grades K-5 and grades 6-8.

In this session, the recently approved College Readiness Standards for Physics and the ongoing revision of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills will be compared and discussed by TEKS Revision Committee members Hugh Henderson, Jill Marshall, Dan Marble, and Jeff Funkhouser.

The University of Washington's Physics by Inquiry (McDermott et al., 1996) is unique among research-based curricula in the depth and detail in which it allows students to develop their understanding of topics in basic (entry-level) physics and reflect on that understanding as it develops. In the words of one ``third-generation'' Physics by Inquiry...

The Texas Physics Assessment Team (TPAT) examined the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) to determine whether it is a valid indicator of physics preparation for future course work and employment, and of the knowledge and skills needed to act as an informed citizen in a technological society. We categorized science items from the 2003 a...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of audience response systems on the secondary classroom. High school students (n=61) participated in one of three groups: (1) a control group, which heard traditional lectures with verbal questions only, (2) a clicker group, which had questions displayed and used clickers to answer, and (3) a que...