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Recitation Tasks Revamped? Students' Perceptions of Smartphone-Based Experimental and Programming Tasks in Introductory Mechanics

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Title: Recitation Tasks Revamped? Students' Perceptions of Smartphone-Based Experimental and Programming Tasks in Introductory Mechanics
Language: English
Authors: Simon Zacharias Lahme (ORCID 0000-0002-7251-8832), Dominik Dorsel (ORCID 0009-0007-0472-9615), Heidrun Heinke (ORCID 0009-0009-9509-0080), Pascal Klein (ORCID 0000-0003-3023-1478), Andreas Müller (ORCID 0000-0001-8556-2333), Christoph Stampfer (ORCID 0000-0002-4958-7362), Sebastian Staacks (ORCID 0000-0003-1613-3994)
Source: Physical Review Physics Education Research. 2025 21(2).
Availability: American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: https://journals.aps.org/prper/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Mechanics (Physics), Student Attitudes, Handheld Devices, Telecommunications, Science Instruction, Science Experiments, College Science, Undergraduate Students, Instructional Effectiveness, Technology Uses in Education, Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: Germany
DOI: 10.1103/bwpv-z3xh
ISSN: 2469-9896
Abstract: This exploratory field study investigates the integration of innovative forms of recitation tasks in a first-year introductory mechanics course, focusing on smartphone-based experimental tasks alongside programming and standard recitation tasks. Smartphones, combined with external sensor modules, serve as a gateway enabling students to conduct various low-cost and authentic physics experiments with first-hand data collection outside traditional lab settings. These tasks aim to enhance students' agency in independent physics experimentation and enrich homework assignments by dissolving boundaries between lectures, recitation sessions, and traditional labs, and thereby linking theoretical and experimental aspects of undergraduate physics education. To explore this potential, we implemented and evaluated a sample set of nine smartphone-based experimental tasks and, for comparison, three programming tasks as weekly exercises in a first-year physics course at RWTH Aachen University. We investigated students' perceptions of learning with these new tasks through 12 short surveys involving up to 188 participants, focusing on factors such as goal clarity, difficulty, or feasibility at home. In two additional surveys with 108 and 78 participants, students assessed affective responses to the smartphone-based experimental tasks relative to the programming and standard recitation tasks. Our findings indicate that the smartphone-based experimental tasks were generally well suited to the students and tended to outperform the programming tasks in terms of perceptions of learning with the tasks and affective responses. Overall, students responded positively to the new experimental tasks, with perceptions comparable to, or only partly below, those of long-established standard recitation tasks. These results suggest that smartphone-based experimental tasks can be successfully integrated into teaching and contribute to refining traditional recitation tasks. Students' differentiated perceptions of the three task types investigated offer valuable insights into how students perceived technology-enhanced recitation tasks in terms of feasibility, engagement, and instructional value. This provides a meaningful basis for instructors and researchers aiming to design more effective and student-centered learning environments in undergraduate physics education.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1479811
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Recitation Tasks Revamped? Students' Perceptions of Smartphone-Based Experimental and Programming Tasks in Introductory Mechanics
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Simon+Zacharias+Lahme%22">Simon Zacharias Lahme</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7251-8832">0000-0002-7251-8832</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dominik+Dorsel%22">Dominik Dorsel</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0472-9615">0009-0007-0472-9615</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Heidrun+Heinke%22">Heidrun Heinke</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9509-0080">0009-0009-9509-0080</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pascal+Klein%22">Pascal Klein</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3023-1478">0000-0003-3023-1478</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Andreas+Müller%22">Andreas Müller</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8556-2333">0000-0001-8556-2333</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Christoph+Stampfer%22">Christoph Stampfer</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4958-7362">0000-0002-4958-7362</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sebastian+Staacks%22">Sebastian Staacks</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1613-3994">0000-0003-1613-3994</externalLink>)
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  Data: American Physical Society. One Physics Ellipse 4th Floor, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Tel: 301-209-3200; Fax: 301-209-0865; e-mail: assocpub@aps.org; Web site: https://journals.aps.org/prper/
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  Data: 27
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  Data: 10.1103/bwpv-z3xh
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  Data: 2469-9896
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  Data: This exploratory field study investigates the integration of innovative forms of recitation tasks in a first-year introductory mechanics course, focusing on smartphone-based experimental tasks alongside programming and standard recitation tasks. Smartphones, combined with external sensor modules, serve as a gateway enabling students to conduct various low-cost and authentic physics experiments with first-hand data collection outside traditional lab settings. These tasks aim to enhance students' agency in independent physics experimentation and enrich homework assignments by dissolving boundaries between lectures, recitation sessions, and traditional labs, and thereby linking theoretical and experimental aspects of undergraduate physics education. To explore this potential, we implemented and evaluated a sample set of nine smartphone-based experimental tasks and, for comparison, three programming tasks as weekly exercises in a first-year physics course at RWTH Aachen University. We investigated students' perceptions of learning with these new tasks through 12 short surveys involving up to 188 participants, focusing on factors such as goal clarity, difficulty, or feasibility at home. In two additional surveys with 108 and 78 participants, students assessed affective responses to the smartphone-based experimental tasks relative to the programming and standard recitation tasks. Our findings indicate that the smartphone-based experimental tasks were generally well suited to the students and tended to outperform the programming tasks in terms of perceptions of learning with the tasks and affective responses. Overall, students responded positively to the new experimental tasks, with perceptions comparable to, or only partly below, those of long-established standard recitation tasks. These results suggest that smartphone-based experimental tasks can be successfully integrated into teaching and contribute to refining traditional recitation tasks. Students' differentiated perceptions of the three task types investigated offer valuable insights into how students perceived technology-enhanced recitation tasks in terms of feasibility, engagement, and instructional value. This provides a meaningful basis for instructors and researchers aiming to design more effective and student-centered learning environments in undergraduate physics education.
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