{"id":32863,"date":"2025-09-12T12:53:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/?p=32863"},"modified":"2025-09-12T12:53:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:53:54","slug":"redesigning-physics-labs-for-21st-century-learners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/12\/redesigning-physics-labs-for-21st-century-learners","title":{"rendered":"Redesigning physics labs for 21st-century learners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Step into any Discovery Hall physics classroom at the University of Washington Bothell, and you\u2019ll instantly sense: This isn\u2019t your parents\u2019 science class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPhysics is taught differently across the country now,\u201d said Dr. Rachel Scherr, associate professor in the <a href=\"\/stem\/\">School of STEM<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s more interactive, more engaged and with specific teaching strategies for a wide range of students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, said the long-time physics education researcher, the lab component has lagged as nationwide most physics labs merely assign students to confirm what they\u2019ve read in their textbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, with a $1 million National Science Foundation grant, Scherr is setting out to redesign physics labs for the modern era. \u201cIt\u2019s a dream project,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set up for experimentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of proving things they\u2019ve already learned in class, Scherr envisions labs in which students will answer open-ended questions to which they don\u2019t know the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what makes it science,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a physics lab instructor might ask students to pick an object \u2014 a basketball, a baseball or a ping pong ball \u2014 and then answer: Is air resistance significant for this object? To find out, students must conduct authentic physics experiments. As they throw the balls up and down, they would measure to determine whether air resistance is affecting the motion of the object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not an answer you can look up in a textbook,\u201d said Scherr. \u201cIt depends on your equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Work on the lab redesign project gets underway this month when Scherr meets with her grant co-recipients from Cornell University and the Alder Science Education Association. Together, they will begin planning the Introductory Physics Lab Institute, which will bring together community and resources to create more effective, experimentation-focused labs across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>We\u2019re building and supporting an expansive community of passionate lab instructors.<\/p><cite>Dr. Rachel Scherr, associate professor, School of STEM<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Better physics labs and resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>足彩app哪个是正规的 professional development component is crucial, noted Scherr: \u201cWe\u2019re building and supporting an expansive community of passionate lab instructors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fall 2026, she and her colleagues will lead a dozen instructors through a three-day lab design kickoff \u2014 a highly collaborative, interactive workshop to help participants revamp their teaching methods. 足彩app哪个是正规的 first annual event will take place on the Cornell University campus, with the location alternating between UW Bothell and Cornell in subsequent years. Noted Scheer:It\u2019s very difficult to do this kind of lab remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cParticipants will not only be faculty,\u201d she said, pointing out that staff design and implement physics labs at some universities. \u201cIn the Institute, staff and faculty will work together as equal, collaborative partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After participating in the kickoff, lab instructors will then form collaborative teams and participate in 12 weeks of individualized coaching, supported by hand-picked mentors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All the materials the teams develop will be shared in a \u201cgorgeous online resource that they can use to access each other\u2019s stuff and comment on it,\u201d said Scherr. And as the online portal develops, non-attendees will eventually benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New era for physics education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lab instructors have been calling for this kind of education and support for years, said Scherr, as they are well aware of what the research shows \u2014 that physics labs focused on developing experimentation skills improve students\u2019 critical thinking skills and experimentation views compared to labs that simply reinforce lecture concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scherr anticipates that the Introductory Physics Lab Institute will impact 10% of the introductory physics students in the country, or some 45,000 students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis brings us into a different era,\u201d she said. \u201cNot just the theory part of class but also the experimental part of class is being made more scientific and effective for the learners.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Rachel Scherr receives $1 million National Science Foundation grant to boost students\u2019 critical thinking and experimentation skills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":32864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"school":[421],"class_list":["post-32863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","school-school-of-stem"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - 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