Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?

In this article, we examine whether an inquiry-based, hands-on physics lab can be delivered effectively as a distance lab. In science and engineering, hands-on distance labs are rare and open-ended project labs in physics have not been reported in the literature. Our introductory physics lab at a la...

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Autores principales:	Firas Moosvi, Stefan Reinsberg, Georg Rieger
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2019
Materias:	distance education higher education online learning introductory physics smartphone physics hands-on experiments Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/646ed18b433f4d488fcfd4a28aae1d7d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:646ed18b433f4d488fcfd4a28aae1d7d2021-12-02T16:59:50ZCan a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?10.19173/irrodl.v20i1.37821492-3831https://doaj.org/article/646ed18b433f4d488fcfd4a28aae1d7d2019-02-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3782https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831In this article, we examine whether an inquiry-based, hands-on physics lab can be delivered effectively as a distance lab. In science and engineering, hands-on distance labs are rare and open-ended project labs in physics have not been reported in the literature. Our introductory physics lab at a large Canadian research university features hands-on experiments that can be performed at home with common materials and online support, as well as a capstone project that serves as the main assessment of the lab. After transitioning the lab from face-to-face instruction to a distance format, we compared the capstone project scores of the two lab formats by conducting an analysis of variance, which showed no significant differences in the overall scores. However, our study revealed two areas that need improvements in instruction, namely data analysis and formulating a clear goal or research question. Focus group interviews showed that students in the distance lab did not perceive the capstone project as authentic science and that they would have preferred a campus lab format. Overall our results suggest that the distance project lab discussed here might be an acceptable substitute for a campus lab and might also be suitable for other distance courses in science. Firas MoosviStefan ReinsbergGeorg RiegerAthabasca University Pressarticledistance educationhigher educationonline learningintroductory physicssmartphone physicshands-on experimentsSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 20, Iss 1 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	distance education higher education online learning introductory physics smartphone physics hands-on experiments Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	distance education higher education online learning introductory physics smartphone physics hands-on experiments Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Firas Moosvi Stefan Reinsberg Georg Rieger Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
description	In this article, we examine whether an inquiry-based, hands-on physics lab can be delivered effectively as a distance lab. In science and engineering, hands-on distance labs are rare and open-ended project labs in physics have not been reported in the literature. Our introductory physics lab at a large Canadian research university features hands-on experiments that can be performed at home with common materials and online support, as well as a capstone project that serves as the main assessment of the lab. After transitioning the lab from face-to-face instruction to a distance format, we compared the capstone project scores of the two lab formats by conducting an analysis of variance, which showed no significant differences in the overall scores. However, our study revealed two areas that need improvements in instruction, namely data analysis and formulating a clear goal or research question. Focus group interviews showed that students in the distance lab did not perceive the capstone project as authentic science and that they would have preferred a campus lab format. Overall our results suggest that the distance project lab discussed here might be an acceptable substitute for a campus lab and might also be suitable for other distance courses in science.
format	article
author	Firas Moosvi Stefan Reinsberg Georg Rieger
author_facet	Firas Moosvi Stefan Reinsberg Georg Rieger
author_sort	Firas Moosvi
title	Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
title_short	Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
title_full	Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
title_fullStr	Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
title_full_unstemmed	Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?
title_sort	can a hands-on physics project lab be delivered effectively as a distance lab?
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/646ed18b433f4d488fcfd4a28aae1d7d
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Can a Hands-On Physics Project Lab be Delivered Effectively as a Distance Lab?

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