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The DigiPhysLab Project: Digital physics laboratory
work for on-campus and distance learning
Antti Lehtinen and Pekka Pirinen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Pascal Klein and Simon Z. Lahme, University of Göttingen, Germany
Ana Sušac, Bruno Tomrlin and Lucija Rončević, University of Zagreb, Croatia
@AnttiLeht
E-mail: antti.t.lehtinen@jyu.fiwww.jyu.fi/digiphyslab
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden need to move physics teaching to a distance learning mode
–Laboratory work often more difficult to transform online than lectures and recitations
–Difficulties: e.g. students consider their increase in experimental expertise with second-hand data to be lower
than with data they have collected on their own (Klein et al., 2021)
Even without the pandemic there have been major concerns about students’ actual learning during the
laboratories (Holmes et al., 2017)
–Instead of creating active experimental experiences for students, many laboratory tasks involve cookbook-
style experiments and students practicing low-level skills
–Beneficial to focus on experimental skills instead on conceptual understanding (Walsh et al., 2022)
There is a need for experimental skills –focused physics lab tasks suitable for both on-
campus and distance learning (Lahme et al., 2022)
•Open question: What should be considered when designing experimental tasks?
•Theoretical basis for developing new experimental tasks (in the DigiPhysLab-project and otherwise)
•Theoretical framework/tool to characterize existing experimental tasks
•Literature review done by PhD student Simon Lahme (Göttingen) (in progress)
•e.g.: Bakshi et al. (2016); Bradley (2005); Chen et al. (2012); Hoffmann et al. (1998); Kock et al. (2004); Millar
(2009); Séré et al. (1998); Teichmann et al. (2022); Tesch (2003); Thoms et al. (2021); Tiberghien et al. (2001);
Trinh-Ba (2016); Welzel et al. (1998); Zwickl et al. (2013), …
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
2. Learning objectives
–Think of what your
learners should learn.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
➢Linking theory to practice
➢Experimental skills
➢Scientific literacy
➢Motivation, interests
➢Digital skills
➢…
3. Task conception
–Think of an experimental task
for your target group to reach
your learning objectives.
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
2. Learning objectives
–Think of what your
learners should learn.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
➢Linking theory to practice
➢Experimental skills
➢Scientific literacy
➢Motivation, interests
➢Digital skills
➢…
➢Content & context
➢Degree of openness
➢Fostered experimental
activities
➢…
Educational
reconstruction
3. Task conception
–Think of an experimental task
for your target group to reach
your learning objectives.
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
2. Learning objectives
–Think of what your
learners should learn.
4. Design of materials
–Think of the materials you need for the
conduction
of your experimental task.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
➢Structure of the instructions
➢Layout of the documents
➢Supplementary materials
➢…
➢Linking theory to practice
➢Experimental skills
➢Scientific literacy
➢Motivation, interests
➢Digital skills
➢…
➢Content & context
➢Degree of openness
➢Fostered experimental
activities
➢…
Concretization &
processing
Educational
reconstruction
3. Task conception
–Think of an experimental task
for your target group to reach
your learning objectives.
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
2. Learning objectives
–Think of what your
learners should learn.
4. Design of materials
–Think of the materials you need for the
conduction
of your experimental task.
5. Implementation
–Think of the actual use of
your task with your target group
and your designed materials.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
➢Structure of the instructions
➢Layout of the documents
➢Supplementary materials
➢…
➢Interaction between students &
instructors/students
➢Integration in the course
➢Assessment/grading
➢…
➢Linking theory to practice
➢Experimental skills
➢Scientific literacy
➢Motivation, interests
➢Digital skills
➢…
➢Content & context
➢Degree of openness
➢Fostered experimental
activities
➢…Evaluation &
improvement
Concretization &
processing
Utilization
Educational
reconstruction
3. Task conception
–Think of an experimental task
for your target group to reach
your learning objectives.
1. Target group
–Think of who your
learners are.
2. Learning objectives
–Think of what your
learners should learn.
4. Design of materials
–Think of the materials you need for the
conduction
of your experimental task.
5. Implementation
–Think of the actual use of
your task with your target group
and your designed materials.
6. Circumstances
–Think of the circumstances
in your lab.
➢Year & field of studies
➢Interests
➢Prior knowledge and skills
➢…
➢Structure of the instructions
➢Layout of the documents
➢Supplementary materials
➢…
➢Interaction between students &
instructors/students
➢Integration in the course
➢Assessment/grading
➢…
➢Linking theory to practice
➢Experimental skills
➢Scientific literacy
➢Motivation, interests
➢Digital skills
➢…
➢Content & context
➢Degree of openness
➢Fostered experimental
activities
➢…Evaluation &
improvement
Concretization &
processing
Utilization
➢Availability of equipment
➢Time requirements
➢Pandemic circumstances
➢…
To be
considered
during
To be
considered
during
Lahme et al., forthcoming
Educational
reconstruction
•Topic: Mechanics, vibrations, discrete Fourier transforms, digital signal processing
•Target group: Physics and physics teacher training students. Suitable for students familiar with complex
numbers and with some experience of laboratory work. Programming skills are not necessary.
Required equipment: Smartphone accelerometer, computer with internet access to edit and run the
python notebook
Learning objectives: Digital signal processing, data collection and analysis
Students use their smartphones and the PhyPhox app to measure the vibration (accleration) of e.g.
–The spin-dry rotation frequency of their washing machine
–The frequency of vibration inside a car due to the running engine
–One’s heart rate
–Vibration of a PC on a rack
A Python notebook guides the students through the experiment
Swinging PC rack
PC HDD hard drive
PC fan
sHz
We pilot every task before publishing
–Small-scale pilots: Interviews and observations
–Medium-scale pilots (> 10 participants): Questionnaire and observations
Questionnaire development:
–There was no readymade instrument for evaluate for single experimental tasks
–Most existing approaches either evaluate laboratory courses in its entirety or focus on the students’
development of specific competencies
Our questionnaire is based on e.g. self-assessed experimental skill development, epistemic emotions (Pekrun et
al., 2018), engagement (interest, skill & challenge) (Schneider et al., 2016), self-assessed use of digital technology
in the task…
We have created
–A framework to characterize physics experimental tasks
–(Soon) 15 experimental skills –focused physics lab tasks suitable for both on-campus and distance learning
–An evaluation scheme to evaluate single experimental tasks
Future avenues
–Assessment of labs (?)
www.jyu.fi/digiphyslab
We have created
–A framework to characterize physics experimental tasks
–(Soon) 15 experimental skills –focused physics lab tasks suitable for both on-campus and distance learning
–An evaluation scheme to evaluate single experimental tasks
Future avenues
–Labs and assessment (?)
www.jyu.fi/digiphyslab
THANK YOU! / KIITOS!
Holmes, N. G., Olsen, J., Thomas, J. L., & Wieman, C. E. (2017). Value added or misattributed? A multi-institution study on the
educational benefit of labs for reinforcing physics content. Physical Review Physics Education Research,13(1), 010129.
Klein, P., Ivanjek, L., Dahlkemper, M. N., Jeličić, K., Geyer, M. A., Küchemann, S., & Susac, A. (2021). Studying physics during
the COVID-19 pandemic: Student assessments of learning achievement, perceived effectiveness of online recitations, and
online laboratories. Physical review physics education research,17(1), 010117.
Lahme, S. Z., Klein, P., Lehtinen, A., Müller, A., Pirinen, P., Susac, A., Tomrlin, B. (2022). DigiPhysLab: Digital Physics Laboratory
Work for Distance Learning. PhyDid B –Didaktik der Physik –Beiträge zur DPG-Frühjahrstagung virtuell 2022, 383-390.
https://ojs.dpg-physik.de/index.php/phydid-b/article/view/1250/1503.
Pekrun, R., Muis, K. R., Frenzel, A. C., and Götz, T. (2018). Emotions at School. England, UK: Routledge
Schneider, B., Krajcik, J., Lavonen, J., Salmela‐Aro, K., Broda, M., Spicer, J., ... & Viljaranta, J. (2016). Investigating optimal
learning moments in US and Finnish science classes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,53(3), 400-421.
Walsh, C., Lewandowski, H. J., & Holmes, N. G. (2022). Skills-focused lab instruction improves critical thinking skills and
experimentation views for all students. Physical Review Physics Education Research,18(1), 010128.