Spectrometry in the research environment for non-physicists

Fizikalni praktikum je predmet, ki sloni na laboratorijskem delu, in se izvaja na Oddelku za fiziko Fakultete za matematiko in fiziko Univerze v Ljubljani (OF FMF) za vse dodiplomske študente Fizike UNI na OF FMF, prve letnike dodiplomskega študija Kemijsko inženirstvo UNI na Fakulteti za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo (FKKT) ter druge letnike Praktične matematike VS na Oddelku za matematiko FMF. Študenti pri predmetu z delom v laboratoriju pridobivajo praktične laboratorijske spretnosti ter sposobnosti merjenja in obdelave podatkov. Obstoječe laboratorijske vaje so zasnovane v obliki tradicionalnih laboratorijskih vaj, pri katerih študenti sledijo podrobnim procesnim (angl. “cook-book”) navodilom. Rezultati raziskav kažejo, da ta oblika laboratorijskih vaj ni primerna za pridobivanje potrebnih znanstvenih spretnosti, zato šole in univerze po celem svetu prenavljajo svoje laboratorijske vaje. Na FMF se je takšna prenova začela v letu 2017 pri Fizikalnem praktikumu za ne-fizike na pobudo raziskovalcev na izobraževalnem oddelku za fiziko. Doslej je bila prenovljena ena vaja. Skozi raziskavo v okviru magistrskega dela sem se osredotočala na prenovo naslednje laboratorijske vaje, pri čemer sem sledila novejšim smernicam snovanja laboratorijskih vaj. Nova vaja je zasnovana na principu laboratorijskih vaj ISLE (angl. Investigation Science Learning Environment), pri katerih študenti poiščejo svoj pristop za reševanje danega problema. V fazi snovanja laboratorijske vaje sem zasnovala še odprt eksperimentalni problem za predmet Projektno delo. Projektno delo je izbirni predmet za nižje letnike študentov fizike in matematike, pri katerem študenti v skupinah raziskujejo odprt problem. S pomočjo teoretičnega ozadja in izkušenj s Projektnega dela sem zasnovala novo laboratorijsko vajo na temo spektroskopije, ki se imenuje Barvna slika. Aktivnosti študentov sem med opravljanjem tako stare kot nove laboratorijske vaje analizirala preko avdio in video posnetkov. Analiza je pokazala, da so študenti pri prenovljeni vaji 20 % časa namenili osmišljanju, medtem ko so pri tradicionalni laboratorijski vaji temu namenili 3 % časa. Pri prenovljeni vaji so študenti v primerjavi s tradicionalno vajo porabili manj časa za z vajo nepovezane aktivnosti. Dodatno sem analizirala vpliv ogrodja za pisanje poročila na skupno uspešnost vaje ter uspešnost pri pisanju poročila. Pri tem sem analizirala čas, ki so ga porabili za pisanje, količino interakcij z asistentom v povezavi s poročilom ter končni izdelek. Primerjala sem tri različne možnosti: ena skupina je dobila poleg standardnih navodil z vsemi opornimi točkami tudi enostavno ogrodje za pisanje poročil, druga ni dobila nobenih pripomočkov za pisanje, tretja pa je dobila ob navodilih še rubrike za samoevalvacijo. Analiza je pokazala, da sta zadnji dve možnosti primernejši, pri čemer pri delu z rubrikami pričakujemo skozi čas še dodaten napredek. Prenovljena vaja študentom omogoča višjo stopnjo pridobivanja znanstvenih kompetenc, saj študenti dosegajo višjo stopnjo osmišljanja in motivacije.Physics Laboratory is a laboratory course, taking place at the Physics Department at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (OF FMF), University of Ljubljana, for undergraduate students of Physics at OF FMF, first year students of Chemical Engineering at FKKT, and second year students of Practical mathematics at the Mathematics Department at FMF. Students in this course work in laboratories to obtain practical laboratory skills as well as skills in measuring and analyzing data. Current laboratory exercises are by design traditional laboratory exercises, in which students follow the so–called “cook–book” instructions. As many researches show traditional laboratory instruction is not suitable for obtaining the necessary scientific competencies, schools and universities across the globe are starting to transform laboratory work towards more active laboratory designs. At FMF such redesigns started in 2017 with the Physics Laboratories for non–physicists. Until now, one laboratory unit has been redesigned. I focused on redesigning one additional laboratory unit, following newer trends in laboratory work designs. The new design is based on ISLE (Investigation Science Learning Environment) laboratories, where students design their own experiments to tackle the given problem. In the designing phase I also designed an open–ended experimental problem for a Project Laboratory, an elective course for first– and second year Physics and Mathematics students, where they work in groups to find a solution to the given problem. Using both theoretical and practical data I gathered on the topic, I designed a new laboratory unit on the topic of spectroscopy, called Colour Image. I analysed both the traditional and the redesigned laboratory unit though audio and video data analysis. The analysis showed that in the redesigned laboratory unit, students devoted about 20 % of their research time to “sense–making”, while in traditional setting that amount was closer to 3 %. Less time was spent on “non–related activities” with the redesigned laboratory unit than it was with the traditional instruction. I also researched how much scaffolding is needed for the best version of laboratory reports. I analysed time used for writing, amount of interaction with the lab supervisor on writing the report, and the final result. I compared three different options, all having the same base instructions. First group was given scarce scaffold, second no scaffold, and third one no scaffold and self–assessment rubrics. Research shows that the last two are optimal for report writing, with rubrics showing more potential of improvement through time. The new laboratory unit therefore enables students to better obtain scientific skills through more sense-making and higher degree of motivation