Whether you’re a physics major or exploring a different STEM program, hands-on labs make all the difference in grasping new concepts and applying them to the physical world.
The new Physics 1 labs for majors and non-majors alike are proving a hit with Siena faculty and students. Maddy Hagen, M.S., Siena’s physics lab manager, took part in the three-day Lab Design Kick-Off at Cornell University this summer to learn the cutting edge of inquiry-based introductory labs for physics. She not only brought back several experiments that have been successfully implemented, she designed and prototyped some of the equipment being used by Saints in the makerspace.
She explained that the labs are designed to develop agency and decision making, rather than simply take measurements or verify statistics. They are being used by freshmen in their first physics labs, while upperclass students who are a couple years into a physics major are able to use the equipment from the new labs.
“It helps students become better researchers, and to be more independent,” she said. “They have the freedom to develop their skills, and it helps their natural intuition as physicists come out.”
Hagen, John Moustakas, Ph.D., professor of physics and astronomy; George Hassel, Ph.D., teaching professor of physics; and Matt Bellis, Ph.D., professor of physics are all using the new labs. This fall is the first of a two-semester series of Physics 1 classes and labs.
“It’s incredible seeing students so engaged with these new experimental physics labs,” said Moustakas. “There’s just the right amount of controlled chaos, which allows them to think really deeply about how they gather data as carefully as possible and use modern statistical methods and data-science tools to analyze their results.”
Hagen is now part of a six-member Lab Action Committee with faculty from other colleges who meet bi-weekly to share their experiences implementing the new strategies. Her colleagues on the committee teach at SUNY Buffalo State University, Kennesaw State University, Colorado School of the Mines, Sarah Lawrence University and the University of Connecticut.
“The answers that come out of these labs are not Google-able,” Hagen explained. “Everything is about what you do in your lab.”
Protractors used in one of the labs go for $30 a pop, so Hagen used Siena’s physics makerspace and the 3-D printer to create a set for $4.50 each, branded with the Siena Physics logo.
Natalie Morris ’28 said the labs she has conducted so far have been a great way of applying concepts she learns in lecture to the physical world.
“Not only have the labs provided me with a better understanding of physics, but they’ve also encouraged me to think critically and view the physical phenomena that I encounter frequently in everyday life from a new, more scientific perspective,” Morris said.
Health science major Christopher McKeon ’27 said “Physics IA is a new world, but it has been easy to make sense of it with Professor Hagen's lab. The premise of the labs connects with the lectures and is enjoyable, while the intense use of coding creates another challenge to overcome. Professor Hagen definitely makes the three hours go by quickly!”
Hagen said a big part of the success of these labs is buy-in from the department.
“I’m so lucky to have colleagues who understand and appreciate the value of these labs,” she said. “We’ll keep refining them, and hopefully introduce more in the future.”