Student Learning in Wave Mechanics Through an Inquiry-Based Approach

Results from Physics Educations Research suggest that when teaching by telling is utilized many students walk away from wave mechanics with misconceptions intact. The purpose behind our experiment was to compare the effectiveness of two different approaches to teaching in discussion sections, focusing specifically on student learning of transverse wave motion. The experiment was conducted in Winter 2011 at GVSU in multiple classes of General Physics II (PHY 221). In the control group, students worked in small groups on a worksheet geared towards application of material covered in lecture. The experimental group instead utilized a tutorial that had students apply the material and then guided them to confront and resolve their own misconceptions. We measured students\u27 performance on pre-assessment and post- assessments that took place before and after the teaching activities mentioned above