Development of a global landscape of undergraduate physics laboratory courses

TL;DR

This paper presents the creation of a survey to classify and compare undergraduate physics laboratory courses worldwide, aiming to facilitate research comparisons and improve course design.

Contribution

It introduces a survey tool and initial data analysis that map the global landscape of physics lab courses, highlighting commonalities and differences.

Findings

Students often use pre-constructed apparatuses

Instructors aim for students to learn technical skills

Courses vary in goals and activities

Abstract

Physics Education Research (PER) is a global endeavour, with a wealth of work performed at a variety of institutions worldwide. However, results from research into undergraduate physics laboratory courses is often difficult to compare due to the broad variations in courses. We have created a survey to help classify these courses to compare and contrast them, which will be useful in two key endeavours: comparisons between PER studies and providing useful data for individual instructors hoping to improve their courses, thus providing information relevant to both researchers and instructors. While we are still in the process of collecting sufficient data to create a full taxonomy of laboratory courses, we present here details of the survey creation itself, as well as a first look at the data collected, which includes a broad landscape of lab courses in 41 countries. We used both quantitative and qualitative methods in analyzing the data collected. Some of these results include similarities between courses, such as students often using pre-constructed apparatuses and that instructors hope for students to learn technical skills. We also find differences in courses, such as in the number and types of goals of the course, as well as the activities students participate in.