Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity

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written by Homeyra R. Sadaghiani and Lei Bao

In a study conducted in modern physics courses, our investigation shows that inappropriate and an excessive number of demonstrations can lead to ineffective results. We carefully observed and recorded the activities done in all lectures in two modern physics classes throughout a quarter and analyzed students' responses to the end of the quarter questionnaires. We found a significant number of students did not recall many of the in-class demonstrations and were confused about the results of different demonstrations they had seen in lectures. In this paper, we will explore the possible reasons for this outcome and discuss implications for instructors who use demonstrations in lectures.

Physics Education Research Conference 2003
Part of the PER Conference series
Madison, WI: August 6-7, 2003
Volume 720, Pages 169-172

download 152kb .pdf
Published: September 9, 2004

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Learning Theory Education Practices - Active Learning = Interactive Lecture Demonstration - Instructional Material Design = Demonstration - Pedagogy	- Lower Undergraduate - High School - Upper Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Instructor Guide/Manual - Reference Material = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1807281
Access Rights:: Available by subscription
Restriction:: © 2003 American Institute of Physics
Additional information is available.
DOI:: 10.1063/1.1807281
PACSs:: 01.50.My; 01.40.Di
Keywords:: PERC 2003, classical mechanics, educational courses, electromagnetism, student experiments
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created July 14, 2005 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: April 11, 2024 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 9, 2004
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=2857">Sadaghiani, Homeyra, and Lei Bao. "Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2003, Madison, WI, August 6-7, 2003.</a>

AIP Format

H. Sadaghiani and L. Bao, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2003, Madison, WI, 2003, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407).

AJP/PRST-PER

H. Sadaghiani and L. Bao, Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2003, Madison, WI, 2003, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407>.

APA Format

Sadaghiani, H., & Bao, L. (2003, August 6-7). Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2003, Madison, WI. Retrieved May 3, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407

Chicago Format

Sadaghiani, Homeyra, and Lei Bao. "Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2003, Madison, WI, August 6-7, 2003. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407 (accessed 3 May 2025).

MLA Format

Sadaghiani, Homeyra, and Lei Bao. "Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity." Physics Education Research Conference 2003. Madison, WI: 2003. 169-172 Vol. 720 of PER Conference. 3 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Homeyra Sadaghiani and Lei Bao", Title = {Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2003}, Pages = {169-172}, Address = {Madison, WI}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {720}, Month = {August 6-7}, Year = {2003} }

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%A Homeyra Sadaghiani %A Lei Bao %T Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity %S PER Conference %V 720 %D August 6-7 2003 %P 169-172 %C Madison, WI %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2003 %O August 6-7 %O text/html

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%0 Conference Proceedings %A Sadaghiani, Homeyra %A Bao, Lei %D August 6-7 2003 %T Lecture Demonstrations in Modern Physics: Quality vs. Quantity %B Physics Education Research Conference 2003 %C Madison, WI %V 720 %P 169-172 %S PER Conference %8 August 6-7 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=2857&DocID=3407

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