A well-known issue for undergraduate students who are majoring or specializing in physics is that the necessary mathematics in the physics courses is required sooner than it is delivered in accompanying mathematics courses. A consequence of this disjoint is that students have to learn the required mathematics, mostly independently, while simultaneously trying to grasp the new physics concepts. Historically, evaluation results show that the students do not properly learn/understand the physics concepts or mathematical concepts, but rather approach passing the class by memorizing what needs to be done to solve problems and not develop any critical thinking of the new concepts.

An initiative between UTM’s Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (RGASC) and the department of Chemical and Physical Sciences (CPS) has resulted in a series of supplementary mathematics and physics support sessions to help correct this issue. Specialists from each department identify the required mathematical concepts in the physics courses that have not been taught in mathematics courses and develop a series of supplementary sessions that are in line with the course material as it is being taught in lecture. Within a week, two sessions are administered: one on new mathematical concepts, and the other applies the new mathematical concepts to the physics course. The idea behind this structure is to support the student’s knowledge base better as they attend lecture and understand new physical principles.

The largest gap between the physics and mathematics curricula is in second year. Preliminary results (feedback from the instructor and results from evaluations) from these sessions in second-year physics courses show that students who regularly attended the support sessions demonstrated a consistently better understanding of both the course material and the required mathematics. Currently, the attendance of these sessions is voluntary. Given the positive outcomes of the pilot in second year, the next steps will be to grow attendance numbers and continue to evaluate efficacy through diagnostic assessments. Ultimately, these support sessions may be able to alleviate the mathematical pressure and to allow both the students and instructors to focus more on the physics curriculum.

Bio:

Marc De Benedetti is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto Mississauga, studying atmospheric physics with a main focus in applied geophysical fluid dynamics and visualization techniques. In addition to his physics research, he also have an interest and passion for teaching. Having taught at both the high school and university level, he has first-hand insight into the difference of student expectations between the two levels of education, which motivates him to help correct student learning issues in his own teaching.