PICUP Fall 2023 Webinar Series: Frame-shifting for student success in physics classroom coding
Presenters:
Hannah Kramer and Scott Bonham
Description:
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 @ 5:00pm PST | 6:00pm MST | 7:00pm CST | 8:00pm EST
Several years ago, Visual Python (VPython) was incorporated into University Physics as part of adopting the Matter & Interactions curriculum. While computational thinking is widely recognized as an important skill for us to help our students develop, this endeavor does not come without challenges. In particular, our students have struggled to translate physics principles into functional code. In an effort to address student difficulties, we have implemented a series of interventions in University Physics I lab and lecture. From our analysis of student work, we have determined that how students frame (or mentally categorize) VPython activities, whether through a 'coding frame,' a 'physics frame,' or both, is a useful tool for better understanding student difficulties. For this workshop, we will share a sample activity that capitalizes on the importance of frame shifting for student success along with data that led us to this conclusion. Participants are encouraged to already have set up a GlowScript.org account to participate in the sample activity.
