First Year Mechanics Taught Through Modelling in V
First Year Mechanics Taught Through Modelling in V
Introduction
This paper describes the implementation and subsequent development of a first year
course in mechanics based around modelling in VPython, the visual extension of the
Python programming language. Developed with the help of development project funding
from the UK Physical Sciences Centre, the aim was to design an alternative form of
instruction which helped overcome the deficiencies in entry-level maths knowledge. It is
Many students now lack widely recognised, for example, that, compared with a generation ago, the entry level
in-depth knowledge of knowledge of physics undergraduates has declined markedly due to changes in the
either differential calculus teaching of both physics and maths in schools. Many students now lack in-depth
knowledge of either differential calculus or Newtonian mechanics. In consequence,
or Newtonian mechanics.
lectures on topics which draw heavily on mathematical principles, such as electricity and
In consequence, lectures magnetism or mechanics, are hard to follow and hard to grasp. Moreover, even if
on topics which draw mathematical knowledge and skills are taught alongside the physics, students are
heavily on mathematical unlikely to be fluent and may find it difficult to transfer this knowledge from the
principles, such as mathematical domain to the physical context. Therefore the aim of this approach is to
electricity and magnetism concentrate on physics concepts themselves through the construction of computer
or mechanics, are hard to models.
follow and hard to grasp.
The methodology is based on the work of both David Hestenes 1, and Ruth Chabay and
Bruce Sherwood2. Hestenes is a strong advocate of the power of modelling to improve
student learning, having previously identified the naive views that physics students often
hold about mechanics, are tested by the FCI, or Force Concept Inventory 3. Chabay and
Sherwood have long advocated a computational physics approach based on VPython.
Thus Hestenes‟ work provides the nature and structure of a model and the importance of
qualitative reasoning and Chabay and Sherwood‟s pioneering efforts in computational
instruction provide the basis for quantitative modelling. This flow of information from the
qualitative to the quantitative appears to be quite general and an important aspect of
computational modelling4.
There is another reason, however, for wanting to combine these two different
approaches to modelling: practicality. This course replaced a conventional 20-lecture,
mathematically based course on classical, mechanics it was expected to feed into later
modules that the students take. It is not possible, therefore, to tear up the curriculum and
start afresh, which precludes adopting Hestenes‟ approach in its entirety. Hestenes 5
advocates the construction, through group discussion, of just a few models related to
motion, but in the present work the physics content is largely fixed. It is desirable,
however, to move away from conventional lectures. Hestenes has shown that FCI scores
correlate with functional understanding of complicated Newtonian concepts and testing
of thousands of students post-learning reveals that traditional, lecture-based learning
In addition to the above, the problem solving aspects of It seems reasonable to attribute this success to the
modelling have been emphasised to a much greater extent. requirement to keep a modelling diary. Chabay and Sherwood
Problem solving is an integral part of modelling, especially report that after ten years of activity in introductory
computational, as it is necessary first to understand a problem computational physics instruction they have not achieved the
and its solution before constructing a computer model. full educational potential of modelling. A close examination of
However, students are neither mature problem solvers nor the work of Kohlmyer13, a PhD student working with Chabay
expert programmers and in response to some of the perceived and Sherwood, reveals a possible reason. Although it was
difficulties support for both of these aspects has been intended that the physics should be emphasised, in fact the
enhanced in 2009/10. First, the formal time spent at the emphasis was placed firmly on the computation through the
computer was increased to twenty hours and, second, the use of problems that were too difficult initially and which had
students were required to keep a diary of their modelling to be altered for subsequent students. In addition, reference to
activities. As part of the formal instruction students are shown, the literature on problem solving tended to concentrate on
by means of a walk-through exercise, how the use of knowledge structures, by which is meant that a problem based
diagrams can aid reasoning and lead to a solution of a around energy is intended to cue the use of potential energy,
problem prior to the generation of a computer model. In a kinetic energy or work. It is fair to say that there is little or no
paper co-authored with Tina Overton (this journal) the author reference to qualitative or spatial reasoning or the use of
has reviewed the literature on problem solving and shown the representations. By contrast, this feature of problem solving
importance of spatial reasoning, especially the use of has been emphasised in the present work and the problems
representations both to understand the problem and to reason are at a level commensurate with the students‟ abilities and
through to a solution. The diary is therefore expected to knowledge. That is not to say that some students did not
contain problem representations, qualitative and quantitative encounter difficulties with programming. As described by
reasoning, and information on encoding the problem in Bishop-Clark7, enormous personal differences in performance
VPython. on computer programming tasks exist, and it is clearly an
ongoing research issue to try to identify the reasons why
The Outcome some students struggle, but the emphasis on qualitative and
The course has now run for two years and the outcomes were spatial reasoning and the production of a diary means that
mainly positive in the first year with further improvements in students can still benefit from solving the problem even if a
the second. There was a small, but significant gain in FCI working computer model is not always an outcome.
scores and many students like programming in VPython and
commented that the course was enjoyable, though some
struggled with VPython in the first year. As described above, a
number of changes designed to address specific issues were
made, including the design of modelling exercises that both
emphasise Newton‟s third law and take advantage of one of
the features of VPython, extended computational support
through additional class hours, and a greater emphasis on the
problem solving aspects of modelling through the use of a
diary. In addition, the VET was used for the 2009 class to
augment the pre- and post-course testing with the FCI, but at
the time of writing a complete analysis of this testing is not
available. However, there are indications within the modelling
diaries that students have made significant gains in their
understanding of vectors. By way of illustration, Figure 2
shows an extract from one of the diaries in which the problem
of a mass sliding down a curved slide is addressed. Note that
mention is made of a unit vector defined by differences in
position (expressed in Python code), and that the diagram is
clearly being used to aid the spatial reasoning about angles.
Conclusion
A course in classical mechanics has been designed in which
material is presented formally, using VPython models to
demonstrate concepts, and students spend time constructing
models in VPython. The reasons for choosing VPython over
other languages have been discussed. The emphasis
throughout has been placed on the physics and modelling
rather than on the computation. The models themselves are
based on Newton‟s third law of motion, the concept which the
FCI indicates is most lacking in these students and it has been
shown how students have been supported in both
computation, through the provision of extra contact time, and
in their modelling through the use of a diary in which students
record their reasoning about the models. Finally, the evidence
from both observation and from the diaries points to significant
spatial reasoning by the students.
References