A project-based approach to Conceptual Physics

Conceptual Physics at Wentworth Institute of Technology presents a survey of physics topics to an audience of interior and industrial design majors. The goal of the course is to improve the ability of students to evaluate form and function by enhancing their understanding of general scientific principles. In the past, student engagement has suffered as students struggled to relate class topics to the design fields. To better complement the practical and applied nature of these disciplines, I have recently redesigned this course to focus on class projects and case studies rather than traditional problem solving and calculations. In this talk, I will outline the new structure of the course and detail the effect of the changes on student comprehension, retention, and engagement.