A Model for Incorporating Computation Without Changing the Course: An example from middle-division classical mechanics

Abstract

Much of the research done by modern physicists would be impossible without the use of computation. And yet, while computation is a crucial tool of practicing physicists, physics curricula do not generally reflect its importance and utility. To more tightly connect undergraduate preparation with professional practice, we integrated computational instruction into middle-division classical mechanics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Our model for integration works within the constraints of faculty who do not specialize in computation teaching standard physics courses by placing a strong emphasis on {an adaptable curriculum}. Our model includes the construction of computational learning goals, the design of computational activities consistent with those goals, and the assessment of students' computational fluency. We present critiques of our model as we work to develop an effective and sustainable model for computational instruction in the undergraduate curriculum

8 pages, 4 figures, accepted to the American Journal of Physics

References in corpus (3)

• Computation in Classical Mechanics
• Upper-division Student Understanding of Coulomb's Law: Difficulties with Continuous Charge Distributions
• ACER: A Framework on the Use of Mathematics in Upper-division Physics

Cited by in corpus (5)

• On the Prevalence and Nature of Computational Instruction in Undergraduate Physics Programs across the United States
• Developing a project-based computational physics course grounded in expert practice
• Hitting the Ground Running: Computational physics education to prepare students for computational physics research
• Combining high-performance hardware, cloud computing, and deep learning frameworks to accelerate physical simulations: probing the Hopfield network
• Physics Computational Literacy: Programming, modeling and collaboration at the journeyman level