Physics 131 is the first semester of introductory algebra-based physics. The students who take this course are predominately life-science majors with a significant contribution of students from the UMass Building and Construction Technology program.

While Physics 131 has always been at the leading edge of implementing research-based teaching at UMass, beginning in the Fall 2015 semester, a concerted effort was made to convert all sections of this course away from a lecture-based course into a TBL course based upon the literature. By the Spring 2016 semester, a strong foundation for the course had emerged which is providing the foundation for future development.

 

Meet The Team:

Brokk Toggerson:

Developer of most materials and leading data analysis efforts. Also developer of Teaching Methods in P131

Teaches 3 sections per semester

Heath Hatch:

Pioneer in physics TBL at UMass. Typically teaches one to two sections of P131 each semester.

Paul Bourgeois:

Director of Physics Teaching Laboratories
and P131 instructor for Fall 2016. Interested in enhancing and further integrating the laboratory experience within the TBL environment.

Chasya Church:

Undergraduate research assistant working on understanding student performance and improving the interface between students and preparatory materials