The design, development, and assessment of advanced modeling based projects in introductory physics

The results of Physics Education Research (PER) have provided much insight into developing more effective learning environments in introductory physics courses. In this dissertation we discuss the design, development, and implementation of two advanced Modeling Based Projects (MBP) that have evolved through research-based criteria. The projects serve as an alternative to the traditional laboratory portion of the introductory calculus-based courses taught at Clarkson University for undergraduate science and engineering majors. Each project has gone through several research-redevelopment cycles, through which the experimental apparatuses and pedagogical approaches have been improved. Details of each projects' pedagogical structure and implementation are presented and discussed within the context of recommendations established through PER. We present a detailed assessment of their effectiveness in terms of students' conceptual learning via the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI) and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), course performance via exam scores, and attitudes via the Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX). The results show that students who participate in MBP at Clarkson University achieve significant gains over students taught elsewhere with a traditional approach and similar gains to those achieved by others using well tested, research motivated curricula reforms. An internal evaluation was performed to compare students participating in MBP with a control group of statistically comparable students who attended traditional laboratories. The results reveal that students who participated in MBP obtain statistically significant gains over similar students taught with the traditional approach for both courses within the introductory sequence.