To improve the introductory laboratories, the Physics Department is introducing microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) instruments into the laboratory curriculum. The equipment consists of eight microcomputers along with sensors and software that can be utilized in all of the physics department's undergraduate laboratories. The sensors are interfaced to the microcomputers to measure physical quantities such as position, velocity, acceleration, force, temperature, sound and light. As measurements are taken, data obtained by the sensors are displayed in digital and graphical form that can be later manipulated and analyzed giving students unprecedented power to explore, measure, and learn from the physical world. MBL instruments have been shown to make the understanding of physical phenomena more accessible to the naive science learner, and they expand the investigations that more advanced students can undertake. The purchase and implementation of MBL instruments will significantly benefit students because recent research in educational and cognitive science verify the importance for students to have solid empirical and heavily phenomenological experiences in developing their science skills and learning concepts. The University is matching the award with an equal amount of funds.
