Collaborative Research: Creating Rubrics and Related Tools to Assess College Students' Learning of Computational Physics

NSF Award Search · 04002526DB NSF STEM Education · $45,000 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by modernizing the teaching of physics at the college level. Specifically, the project will enable college instructors to integrate specialized computational physics methods into their classes, and to rate their students' learning against a standard scale. Teaching computational physics is important because these methods are quickly becoming essential for physicists and other scientists around the world. This work will help colleges and universities keep up with these changes. Rating students against a standard scale will enable individual instructors and departments to determine how effective their teaching efforts are, and to make improvements that further benefit their students. Adding computational methods to college classes will enhance the effectiveness of the U.S. scientific workforce, one of the key goals of NSF and the IUSE program. This Engaged Student Learning: Level II project is the first effort to establish standards (and training materials for using the standards) designed specifically for evaluating students' achievement of seven essential learning goals in computational physics. The goals of this project are to expand and improve the teaching of computational physics at five universities in the midwestern U.S: Indiana University Indianapolis, Bradley University, Purdue University, University of Indianapolis, and University of Wisconsin - Stout. The project team will develop seven student learning objective

Key facts

NSF award ID
2439470
Awardee
Purdue University (IN)
SAM.gov UEI
YRXVL4JYCEF5
PI
David D Nolte
Primary program
04002526DB NSF STEM Education
All programs
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION, Improv Undergrad STEM Ed(IUSE)
Estimated total
$45,000
Funds obligated
$45,000
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
07/01/2025 → 06/30/2028