| The purpose of this project was to determine whether student projects would help increase student understanding and application of the physics wave concepts. During the marking period spent on waves, students worked on projects as well as on traditional labs. The traditional labs were used only as an introduction to the topic. The projects were used to help assess student learning and comprehension of the topics. The students created and played their own instruments for the sound section of the unit. For the light section of the unit, the students worked in groups to create a laboratory experiment, game or demonstration illustrating a specific concept. Along with traditional homework and tests, evaluation of student learning was based on the laboratory reports the students wrote for their projects, as well as whether or not they were able to create a working instrument, laboratory experiment, game or demonstration. The students were quite receptive to the projects, and attacked them with enthusiasm. The results according to the grades and surveys show the effectiveness of the projects in aiding the students' learning. |
