ZAP! Adapted: Incorporating design in the introductory electromagnetism lab
Abstract
In the last decade the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology(ABET) significantly reformed the criteria by which engineering programs are accredited. The new criteria are called Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000). Not surprisingly, engineering design constitutes an essential component of these criteria. The Engineering Physics program at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) underwent an ABET general review and site visit in the fall of 2000. In preparation for this review and as part of a campus-wide curriculum reform the Physics Department was challenged to include elements of design in its introductory laboratories. As part of the background research for this reform, several laboratory programs were reviewed including traditional and studio modes as well as a course used by Cal Tech and MIT called "ZAP!" which incorporates design activities well-aligned with the EC2000 criteria but in a nontraditional delivery mode. CSM has adapted several ZAP! experiments to a traditional laboratory format while attempting to preserve significant design experiences. The new laboratory forms an important component of the reformed course which attempts to respect the psychological principles of learner-based education. This talk reviews the reformed introductory electromagnetism course and how the laboratories are integrated into the pedagogy along with design activities. In their new form the laboratories can be readily adopted by physics departments using traditional delivery formats.
- Publication:
-
APS April Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- April 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002APS..APRU12002M