Emergency remote and hybrid instructional approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges to science teachers, including how to incorporate authentic, hands-on, and collaborative learning experiences via Zoom™ instruction. Through a school-university partnership, a first-year middle school science teacher, an assistant professor,…

Students are better able to understand Newton's first law when they build from their own personal experiences of bicycling, skateboarding, or riding in a car. Most have experienced a tumble when their skateboard or bicycle comes to an abrupt stop. Alternately in a car, your body continues moving when the brakes are applied and you feel the force…

This paper introduces a reflective methodology of the body as a resource for reflective practice based on an analysis of my personal response and experience of autobiographical narrative. It offers an approach in which the movements and markings of the body serve as important sites for collecting additional evidence of the daily practices that…

An introduction to digital stochastic simulations for modeling a variety of physical and chemical processes is presented. Despite the importance of stochastic simulations in chemistry, the prevalence of turn-key software solutions can impose a layer of abstraction between the user and the underlying approach obscuring the methodology being…

Paul Hewitt's "Figuring Physics" in the Feb. 2016 issue asked whether it would take a larger velocity change to stop a satellite in a circular orbit or to cause it to escape. An extension of this problem asks: What "minimum" velocity change is required to crash a satellite into the planet, and how does that compare with the…

We look at the problem of the minimum speed of projectiles in a constant gravitational field. In the absence of resistance, the problem may be studied in the frame of a high school curriculum. One needs only Newton's laws and a minimum amount of analytic geometry to compute the orbit, which turns out to be parabolic. Furthermore, in case the…

This research aims to reveal the misconceptions of prospective primary school teachers on the fundamental physics concepts such as force, frictional force, work, conservation of energy, mechanical energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, energy stored in springs on the topic of "Force and Motion" and to assess the misconceptions based…

Many studies have examined the structure and properties of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI); however, far less research has investigated the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). This study applied Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) to a sample of N = 4528 FMCE post-test responses. Exploratory factor analysis showed that 5, 9,…

A single laboratory exercise in introductory physics that includes a bit of calculus, a little programming, some breadboard wiring, and making mathematical connections between motion, net force, and power provides a nice STEM experience for students. If you can add in a biomechanics component you hopefully have something that overall can be an…

Studies of scientific practice demonstrate that the development of scientific models is an enactive and emergent process (e.g., Pickering 1995; Chandrasekharan and Nersessian 2017). Scientists make meaning through processes such as perspective taking, finding patterns, and following intuitions. In this paper, we focus on how a group of fourth…

Many introductory physics courses begin with the teaching of motion and kinematics. This naturally leads to the use of constant acceleration equations to solve various problems involving common motions (free fall being a notable example). Students can sometimes get the impression that these equations are the only thing they need to remember in…

Physics instructors recognize the value of kinesthetic experience in learning fundamental physics concepts. We describe a kinesthetic experiment appropriate for both college and high school physics students. The experiment helps students achieve an intuitive understanding of Newton's second law in a way they find quite enjoyable. It was devised by…

This work reports a rudimentary approach to teach and measure the kinetic friction coefficient using a smartphone that can effectively be employed for teaching purposes. More specifically, the kinetic friction coefficient, which is rather difficult to teach and measure, between various surfaces was determined by two different approaches using the…

This paper responds to the frequently occurring phenomena of 'sad affects' experienced by student teachers as they confront the logic of 'proper mathematics' with young children of differently abled bodies. The notion of 'proper' entails a normalizing fixity of 'what counts' as mathematics for certain children and fails to recognize mathematics as…

This paper presents the creation of an educational resource using the camera of a mobile phone and video analysis software. The movie recorded is part of a daily context: an airplane's take-off. This work shows a way to introduce information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital educational resources (DER) as tools to teach and…