Many introductory astronomy courses include concepts related to basic stellar properties. In general, these are concepts that originate from the human perception of starlight. This observational aspect is not easy to incorporate in the classroom. We explore if these concepts could be developed using the built-in data in a planetarium software.…

In fall 2020, the Physics Department was tasked with coming up for a plan for optics, our one credit lab course. Because of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, our institution planned to offer a fully online fall semester, with no students residing on campus. The college announced the plan 5 weeks prior to the start of the semester. This paper will…

Engaging Electrical Engineering (EE) students in a freshman general physics service course is challenging as they see little relationship between the topics and their major. Non-native speakers enrolled in a course taught in English face an additional challenge beyond understanding the basic physics, that is, understanding specialized English.…

This study compares synchronous versus asynchronous online teaching in an introductory calculus-based physics class. Like many schools, our institution transitioned to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. We held optional synchronous online sessions during the original class time, and approximately half of our students were regular…

Describes an approach to incorporate active learning strategies into the first semester of a university-level introductory physics course. Combines cooperative and peer-based methods inside the classroom with project-based learning outside the classroom in an attempt to develop students' transferable skills as well as improving their understanding…