Joint UMN/Twin Cities + PICUP Regional Workshop 2023
Sustainably Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics Courses
This day-long workshop will include demonstrations and discussions about various aspects of integrating computational activities into physics courses at all levels from introductory to advanced. There will be guided working time wherein participants will explore tested computational exercises, will build an outline for including computational activities into their courses, and discuss integrating computations throughout the curriculum. Participants will be encouraged to become part of a growing community of physics educators dedicated to improving the physics curriculum through including computation as a standard problem solving method.
Date
Saturday November 18, 2023, 8:30am - 4pm | Detailed schedule below.
Who Should Attend
Physics instructors at 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities, as well as high school teachers teaching AP physics or CIS physics courses. Please bring a laptop computer. Register early; the number of openings is limited.
Registration
Registration: $20, includes coffee and lunch. Please bring a laptop computer.
Register here: https://z.umn.edu/regional_computation2023
Maximum number of participants: 40
Registration deadline: Saturday November 11, 2023 or when maximum number of participants has been reached
Location
- University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
- Building / room: Physics and Nanotechnology (PAN) Building, Room 110
- Parking: Church St. Garage, 4th St. Ramp, Washington Ave. Ramp ($13 - $15 daily maximum)
Workshop Schedule
8:30-9 Arrival, Registration, and Coffee
9-9:30 Welcome, Introductions, Review of PICUP site and available resources
9:30-10:15 Session I: Introductory kinematics and dynamics with spreadsheets
10:15-10:45 Work time
10:45-11:00 BREAK
11:00-11:30 Session II: An introduction to vPython / web-vPython
11:30-12:00 Work time
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 Discussion of benefits and challenges of integrating computation
1:00-1:15 Workshop Photo
1:15-2:00 Session III: Approaches to computation in sophomore and upper-level physics courses
2:00-2:10 Discussion of topics of interest for work in small groups after the break
2:10-2:20 BREAK
2:20-3:50 Work in small groups: spreadsheets, vPython, other exercise sets, and exchange of ideas about integrating computation into your courses.
3:50-4:00 Feedback for future meetings and wrap up
Spreadsheets
This series of videos shows how to make use of some basic spreadsheet functionality to build computational models, and includes a review of the simple Euler Method for solving a first order differential equation in the context of solving Newton's 2nd Law. The series culminates with an implementation of a model of a Falling Sphere without air resistance. Any spreadsheet program can be used to follow along, and work through the content in these videos.
Building a Control Panel - Excel/LibreOffice
Building a Control Panel - Google Sheets
Basic Iterative Calculations and Building a Kinematic Problem Solver - Excel/LibreOffice
Basic Iterative Calculations and Building a Kinematic Problem Solver - Google Sheets
Falling Sphere without Air Resistance
VPython
Workshop Coordinators
Questions/Need help?
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact Marie Lopez del Puerto at mlpuerto@stthomas.edu or Shaul Hanany hanany@umn.edu
