Physics Professor Puts Student Learning Under the Microscope
August 12, 2004 :: No. 21
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Michael Loverude |
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Michael E. Loverude, assistant professor
of physics at California State University, Fullerton, soon will
be trying to get into college students’ heads — to find
out if they understand what they are taught about science.
Loverude has received $46,194 in first-year funding
from the National Science Foundation to study student learning in
introductory physics labs — courses taken by students in several
science degree programs. The three-year project will provide data
on what concepts students have trouble understanding for the purpose
of charting new paths to comprehension.
“We will be performing assessments of student
learning through interviews and tests,” says Loverude. “We
will see if existing materials need to be adapted or if new materials
need to be created, in order to deal with special topics and subjects
that students consistently have difficulty in understanding.”
Partners in the study with Loverude are physics colleagues
on the faculties of Arizona and New Mexico state universities who
also received NSF funding for the project. They also have collaborators
at Chicago State University, Seattle Pacific University and Grand
Valley State University in Michigan.
Loverude joined Cal State Fullerton in 1999 after
completing his doctorate at the University of Washington. The Long
Beach resident currently teaches courses on “Physics for the
Non-Science Major,” “Physical Science for Future Elementary
Teachers” and “Fundamental Physics.” His articles
about student understanding have been published in the American
Journal of Physics and the Proceedings of the Physics Education
Research Conference.
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