written by Melissa Eblen-Zayas and Ryan C. Terrien

At Carleton College, a self-directed group project is the capstone of the "Contemporary Experimental Physics" course. Instructors in this course do not prescribe topics or experimental implementation, and a wide array of projects results. We report here on trends and lessons learned after five classes with this project (44 experiments). We compile project outcomes as measured by evaluations and student and instructor reflections. We consider how these outcomes are affected by topic source (instructor-suggested or independent), sub-field of physics, and the relative emphasis on hardware design or analytical complexity. Combined with individual case studies and topic examples, these data will serve as a valuable reference for future implementation of open-ended experimental projects in similar courses.

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Last Modified January 17, 2019

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