Physics Education Research on Inexpensive Active-Learning Lab Modules

Active learning strategies, including hands on activities and lab work, have proved to be beneficial to student comprehension and success in physics classrooms. Despite this, many high school physics classrooms lack lab equipment necessary to supplement learning, mostly due to budget limitations and the high cost of traditional mechanics lab equipment. This project aims to design three modular, inexpensive, and demonstrative labs to enhance student knowledge in friction, conservation of energy, and torque. These labs, including a worksheet for students to complete, are designed to be easily implementable, take 20-30 minutes to complete, and be cost effective. These labs were tested with high school teachers and students to show that they are easy for teachers to implement in their classrooms and that they are easy to understand and effectively demonstrate their respective learning objectives to students. The implementation of these modular labs in high school classrooms will aid learning by kinesthetically illustrating the topics taught in lectures, leading to better student comprehension and higher success rates in introductory mechanics. Furthermore, high schools that cannot afford traditional lab equipment now have the opportunity to provide mechanics lab work to students.