Mel Sabella

Mel S. Sabella

Contact Information

Phone: (773) 995-2172

Email: msabella@csu.edu

Funding agency: Phsy TEC, National Science Foundation

Course Credit: Yes

Funding for Students: Yes

Dr. Sabella has two main projects he is currently working on, both of which are funded by the NSF.  The first project, titled "Creating Innovative Physics Learning Environments in the Urban Classroom " is led by CSU and involves implementing new instructional materials in the introductory physics classes and assessing whether these materials are effective in promoting student understanding. Students involved with this research will analyze student responses to physics questions given in a number of settings to identify common difficulties and identify different modes of reasoning.  In this project, students will have opportunities to review their physics knowledge, learn different excel and digital video capture techniques, construct online homework problems, and work on developing and revising instructional materials.  The second project is a collaborative project led by the Ohio State University titled "Creating Research-Based Single Concept Question Sequences for In-Class Polling Systems."  The project involves creating question sequences that will be used in the lecture portion of the introductory physics classes.  Student will utilize "clickers" to respond to these questions, therefore providing an instructor with immediate feedback regarding where the class is in their understanding of different topics. The clickers provide an anonymous way for students to get more involved in the physics lecture.  Students will assist in assessing the effectiveness of the clickers in promoting understanding and will develop questions sequences that will be used in CSU classes.

Both these projects can lead to academic year projects with different types of involvement.  For more information about these projects, please talk to Dr. Sabella either by phone or email.

Student Qualifications: Students participating in this research should have passed physics 2110 and 2220 with a grade of B or above.  Exceptions to this requirement are possible.

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