The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate University and High School collaboration through a Service Learning exercise. Pedagogical collaboration between the local Prescott High School and senior level mechanical engineering students from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Arizona had great benefits to both schools and the students.…

In this paper, we present the details of the development of a smartphone spectrometer for education using a 3D printer and characterized the performance by comparison with a paper craft spectrometer. The optical design and the narrow slit used in the build resulted in the formation of accurate images of the slit on the image sensor leading to a…

The purpose of this work was to investigate ways in which everyday computers can be used in schools to fulfil several of the roles of more expensive, specialized laboratory equipment for teaching and learning purposes. The brief adopted was to keep things as straightforward as possible so that any school science department with a few basic tools…

Lessons and homework problems involving a pendulum are often a big part of introductory physics classes and laboratory courses from high school to undergraduate levels. Although laboratory equipment for pendulum experiments is commercially available, it is often expensive and may not be affordable for teachers on fixed budgets, particularly in…

This paper focuses on the cognitive processes that occur while students are exploring motion graphs. In a classroom experiment, we examine how high-school students (aged 17), with backgrounds in calculus and physics, interpret the graphs they create through drawing the path of the movement of their hand with a computer mouse. Based on recent, and…