We designed and implemented a course-based authentic learning experience (ALE) in which upper-division students design and build instruments to monitor water quality of the American River, which runs by our campus and is important to the local ecology. Students in a lower-division, introductory course then characterize and test the instruments for eventual deployment in the river. The project bridges the upper- and lower-division classes while providing all students with a great example of how physicists can contribute to environmental and societal issues. We will discuss our first implementation of the project and its benefits to students, along with our long-term implementation plans for the ALE.

At the heart of every physics laboratory experience are the science practices. These practices together comprise the nature of science which scientists use to generate knowledge and an understanding of the physical world around us. Students need to gain their own experiences with these practices. Scaffolding the practices is essential for all students to be able to engage in them with fidelity so as to synthesize the complex understandings of the content which is the target of instruction. 

Through the use of “teacher moves,” teachers can structure the laboratory experience such that it allows all students equal access to the practices and provides inclusive and equitable laboratory experiences. Through employing these “teacher moves,” teachers increase access to the science practices; maintain the rigor of the tasks, and provide opportunities for all students to engage in the practices at their own level, even in groups of mixed abilities. 

The colors used in educational diagrams matters. When teaching electromagnetism many introductory textbooks use red for the electric field, blue for the magnetic field, and green for the electric potential. Unfortunately, these color choices can be problematic for students with color vision deficiency (CVD), which is often incorrectly referred to as color blindness. Roughly 8% of caucasian males are affected by red/green CVD with slightly smaller percentages for other male populations, red/green CVD is far less common in women. Given the current demographics of physics students, roughly 6% of all physics majors may have red/green CVD. For these students a common electrostatic diagram, with red electric field lines and green equipotential lines, is unnecessarily confusing, and if drawn on a green chalkboard, nearly invisible. This talk will describe the problem, give demonstrations on how common diagrams may appear to those with CVD, presents a simple remedy to lessen this confusion (use blue for the electric field and red for the electric potential), and resources to help instructors gauge how their teaching materials may be seen by those with CVD.