Abstract.In this paper, according to the current situation of the college physics experiment teaching, the authors put forward the gradient-based training system for the college physics experiment as well as the ideas of implementing all stages of the system, and then carry out an analysis on the advantages of such a teaching system.
Key words: College Physics Experiment; Gradient-based Experiment Training System; Simulation Instruments
1.Introduction
Experiment teaching is one of the most important parts of the practical ability training in the higher learning schools.
As the first experiment training course that is offered by higher Chinese schools to direct at the students in science, the experiment courses of college physics exert an irreplaceable inspiration role. In the experiment classes of college physics, the students preliminarily formed their own experimental skills methodology system.
However, in a traditional sense, the experiment teaching of college physics has the problems such as the fixed teaching models, the rigid teaching methods, the outdated laboratory equipments, the backward experimental methods, the imperfect experimental systems and the unscientific evaluation methods. Such a teaching model has the ability to exert a great number of the restrictions on the creative thinking of the students to a great extent.
Therefore, with the purposes of making a reform on the undesirable current situation of the experiment teaching and making an enhancement to the experiment teaching in higher learn schools, it is highly necessary to improve the current teaching models and establish a new experiment teaching system, which is directed at a clear purpose and also attaches higher importance to the self-learning as well as the training of the innovative ability.
2.Establishment of Progressive Gradient-based Experiment Training System
The gradient-based experiment training system, which is characterized by the stage teaching, is progressive and follows the prescribed order step by step in time, and is from the easy to the difficult and complicated in content.
The process from the fundamental experiment to the comprehensive and designable experiment is an effective experiment teaching method system, which makes the advantages of the multiple teaching methods integrated; the implementation of the experiment teaching method system can be divided into the stages in the following.
2.1.Preparation Stage
Before the experiment course is put into class, it is necessary to reserve about two weeks, allowing the students to get an understanding of the instruments and select the courses online in accordance with their needs.
In the establishment of the physics laboratories, it is necessary for higher learning schools to specially build up the reserved laboratories and provide all kinds of the commonly-used basic measurement tools, instruments as well as their instruction books, allowing the students that have the needs to be familiar with the instruments in advance.
In this stage, the self-learning of the students is placed in the leading position of the teaching process. In the mean time, with the purpose of reducing the operating pressure of the physics laboratories, it is necessary to research and develop the experiment simulation instruments and release the information in the campus websites.
Then, part of the students in physics of higher learning schools can directly take full utilization of the simulation instruments to get a real understanding of the application of the real physics experiment instruments or get an understanding of the simulation instruments online as well as the control matters in the laboratories.
2.2.Online Course-selection Booking Stage
In accordance with the knowledge background and training orientation of the different physics professions in higher learning schools, the different experiment teaching contents and methods are established; the selective experiment projects of all kinds of professions as well as the number of all kinds of the selective experiment courses are under the unified management of the experiment management personnel through the online course-selection system.
The contents of the experiment items can be divided into the fundamental experiments, comprehensive experiments, and the designable experiments.
At the same time, the important fundamental experiment items such as oscilloscopes (OSC) and spectrometers are set to be selective, and the other experiment items are for the students to select. After these are set completely, it is highly necessary to open up the online course-selection system all over the school.
Besides, it is necessary to open the laboratories to all students in a whole day and allow the students to attend the classes based on time interval.
Then, the students in physics of higher learning schools can enter the laboratories based on the booking time, and the teachers of the courses are responsible for checking the number of the students and making a good record of attendance of students.
2.3.Online Lesson-preparation Stage
After the students receive the schedules for the experiment courses, they can make a preparation for the lessons before class in accordance with the orders. The well-improved online lesson-preparation system is a resources pool that contains rich contents.
This online lesson-preparation system also includes the usage introductions to the fundamental instruments of all experiment items, the demonstration of the simulation equipments, the experimental principles, the theoretical background, the experimental procedures, the application examples, the data processing methods and examples, etc.
The application of the multimedia resources can provide the students with the convenient learning platforms and reduce the shortcomings of the experiment superior theories and teaching time as well as the pressure of students to get an understanding of the difficult points.
In addition, this stage gives full consideration to the training of the self-learning ability of the students at the same time.
2.4.Class Stage
As for the students who have completed the online booking stage, the teachers can raise questions to make an investigation on the students" knowledge of the experiments.
Before class, it is highly necessary for the teachers in physics experiments of higher learning schools to make a preparation on some questions that have a very close relationship with the physics experiments at the same time.
For example, what methods and tools can be used for the length measurement? What is the difference in accuracy? Why is necessary to make use of the different measuring tools to measure the different lengths? These can be mainly oriented at the open-ended questions.
After the observation on the lesson-preparation is completed, it is highly necessary for the teachers in physics experiments of higher learning schools to carry out a simple explanation to the contents of experiment.
With the purpose of avoiding the tediously-long and laggard description and making the contents simplified, order and suggestive, the teachers can raise the questions for the students to think in the experiment process.
As for the difficult problems that are raised by the students at classroom, the teachers should not take the place of them to resolve immediately, but should prompt the students how to carry out an analysis on the causes of the problems and seek the appropriate solutions.
Such a heuristic teaching method can allow the students to generate a habit of thinking independently and learn how to analyze and solve problems, thus greatly reducing the dependence of the students on their teachers.
2.5.School Assignment Evaluation and Questions-answering Stage
The scores of experiment report are evaluated comprehensively from class attendance, lesson preparation, operation, data processing and whether there is glittering aspects.
The lesson-preparation results are decided by the observation on the lesson-preparation; the operation results can be evaluated comprehensively in accordance with the students" experiment operation time, operation ability, difficulties-overcoming ability as well as the ability to combine the theories and carry out an analysis.
Data processing takes up a large proportion in the experiment report; when the students have laid a certain experimental data processing foundation, the teachers can encourage the students to make full use of software applications.
For example, Origin and Matlab can be applied to help process data; the software downloading and application introductions can be provided for the students online. In the experiment report, it is highly necessary for the teachers to carry out an analysis and conclusion on the experiment and then put forward the suggestions.
In the school-assignment evaluation and even the whole experiment course offering stage, it is highly necessary for the teachers in the physics experiments of higher learning schools to take full advantage of the online exchange platform to answer questions.
For example, Email and BBS as well as the group sending software can be used to establish communication with the students and also resolve the difficult problems that the students encounter in completing the school-assignments. All experiment reports are necessary to be collected within 5 days after the completion of the experiment.
Then, it is necessary to avoid the long process of correcting the assignments. In such a way, the students will gain a more profound impression from the experiment, and therefore can get a better understanding of the experiment.
2.6.Examination Stage
Examination is the final evaluation on the learnt knowledge and experiment ability of the students. It is firmly believed by the author that it is necessary for the total scores to be comprehensively evaluated in 50% usual performance and 50% examination results; the types of the questions in examination have no limitations as well.
However, it is necessary to include the observation on the experiment operations, the error theory, the data processing and the methods of resolving the difficulties.
As for the experiment courses that are provided in the second semester, it is highly necessary to introduce the simple designable contents.
In the reform on the physics experiment courses examination system of our school, it can be found that the enthusiasm of the students in learning tends to decline generally without the establishment of an examination system or within the semesters that attach little importance to examination.
However, the students majoring at physics in higher learning schools attach higher importance to the learning in the semesters that lay a stress on examination.
Therefore, it can be seen that examination plays a positive role in the promotion of the enthusiasm of the students in learning.
2.7.Experiment Enhancement Stage
This experiment enhancement stage is established for the senior students, the students in physics and the students who feel interested in experiment and have a strong ability in experiment.
Therefore, this experiment enhancement stage is set up with the form of the selective experiments. The teachers in physics experiment can provide the students with a great number of questions as well as the experimental equipments, and allow the students to put forward the experiment plans themselves to combine or purchase the experiment equipments, make a design on the experiment contents and data processing methods and tables, draw up a conclusion on the experiments, and propose the suggestions on the improvement, etc.
Then, the students can complete the experiment individually or by groups and submit the essays in the end of semester as the basis for the scores.
As for the students who are generous in thoughts, have a strong practical ability and are good at innovation, the teachers can recommend them to take part in the provincial and municipal experimental design competitions.
Experiment competition is also one of most effective means to make an enhancement to the experiment ability of the students. The development of the experiment competitions can promote increasingly more students to step into the laboratories, and play an active role in the promotion of their practical ability as well as the difficulties-resolving ability.
3.Advantages of the Gradient-based Experiment Training System
The gradient-based experiment training system makes an enhancement to the traditional experimental contents and teaching methods, give full expression to the principle of simplification, and attaches higher importance to the self-learning. In this process, the guidance and assistance of the teachers are put in an auxiliary position.
The gradient-based experiment training system sets up the different experimental projects at the different stages with the purpose of completing the different teaching tasks. In this system, the experiment is designed and researched progressively from the shallower to the deeper, from the fundamental level to the comprehensive level, and from the comprehensive to the higher level, and is implemented in both time and content.
In addition, the gradient-based training system for the physics experiments of higher learning schools is conductive to making an enhancement to the comprehensive ability and innovation ability of the students in higher learning schools.
In the teaching, the gradient-based experiment training system introduces the modern teaching methods and makes full use of the multimedia, network platforms and simulation experiments to help the students in physics to learn, increase the amount of information, improve the teaching efficiency, and resolve the asynchronous problem of experiment and theoretical teaching as well as the difficulties that part of experiments are ahead of the theoretical teaching.
Moreover, the teaching methods are flexible and diverse; the teaching process is lively and intuitive. Therefore, the gradient-based experiment training system can make an improvement to the interest of the students in learning, and expand their thinking as well.
Also, questions or small test results can be used as the preparation scores. This method can greatly reduce the length of the preparation reports, alleviate the school-assignment burdens on the students, and promote the students to think on their own initiative, and help the students to get a real understanding of the experiment of college physics.
The application of software to process data can avoid the tedious manual calculation and data processing and allow the students to own increasingly more time to take part in the experiment training and learn the knowledge in the experiments of college physics.
In the mean time, the performance evaluation system is more scientific, and promotes the students majoring at physics in higher learning schools to attach higher importance to the experiments of college physics in futures.
4.References
[1]Xuesong Leng, Weiliang Xun, Chong Xu, et al. Construct New System of Physical Experimental Teaching System [J]. Physical Experiment of College, 2006, 19 (2): 88-90.
[2]Jucun Peng, Xiaoxing Peng. The Systematic Consideration about Experimental Course Construction and Teaching Reform in Physics [J]. Journal of Xiaogan University, 2005, 25 (3): 122-125.
[3]Hongmei Han. Training Students" Innovative Thinking Ability and Teaching of College Physical Experiment [J]. Journal of Chongqing Institute of Technology, 2006, 20 (8): 175-177.