Peter Garik
· Affiliate Faculty (Clinical Associate Professor – SED/Curriculum & Teaching)VerifiedBoston University · Physics
Active 1985–2024
About
Peter Garik is an Affiliate Faculty (Clinical Associate Professor – SED/Curriculum & Teaching) at Boston University. His research primarily focuses on improving science instruction through visualization of abstract scientific models using computer tools. He has contributed to curriculum projects that integrate computer modeling into the classroom, participated in in-service teacher training projects, and co-directed the development of a science museum exhibit incorporating hands-on experiments and multimedia displays. Currently, his research includes methods for teaching quantum concepts in general chemistry using computer simulations, a study of expert versus novice understanding of quantum concepts, and research on engineering instruction. He works closely with faculty members from CAS and SED, as well as those affiliated with the Science and Mathematics Education Center. Dr. Garik holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University, an M.Sc. in Physics from Cornell University, and a B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics from SUNY at Stony Brook.
Research topics
- Mathematics education
- Computer Science
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Mathematics
- Pedagogy
- Astronomy
- Engineering
- Physics
- Quantum mechanics
- Engineering ethics
- Statistics
Selected publications
Why Teachers (Do Not) Integrate History of Science into Physics Courses
Science & Education · 2024-10-21
articleSenior authorEducational Innovations and Emerging Technologies · 2022-01-01
articleOpen accessThe Learning Assistant (LA) model was designed to facilitate the innovative use of active learning in large lecture courses by training and integrating undergraduate near-peer instructors called Learning Assistants (LAs). We analyze the LA model in the context of the course learning activities, their influence on student outcomes, and students’ expectations for the course. We used results from a large-scale survey to model expectations, course activities, and outputs in the form of course satisfaction and final grades, and drew from interviews, classroom observations, and student focus groups to make sense of the model results. Quantitative results revealed a small positive effect of LAs on final grade when only LAs were input into the statistical model. However, when the influence of students’ perceptions of their professor, their teaching fellow (TF), and their own study habits were included, the effect of LAs was mitigated. Qualitative results showed that while undergraduates reported that they felt more comfortable asking LAs questions about course material, many still focused on grades over conceptual understanding. LAs championed small group work more than their teaching partners, but the effectiveness of the LAs to encourage group work was linked to the TF’s approach to teaching. Results suggest that the expectations of the students, teaching staff, and the course activities and assessments can impact the effectiveness of the LA model.
Integrating History of Science in In‑service Physics Teacher Education: Impact on Teachers’ Practice
Science & Education · 2021 · 10 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Mathematics education
- Physics
- Psychology
GLOBE Mission Earth: Student Projects Activating Research and Knowledge
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2020-12-01
articleSupporting Map Literacy for Grades K-12 in a High Need School District
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2020-12-11
articleSenior authorEngaging undergraduate students in project-based science through citizen science: The GLOBE Program
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2020
- Political Science
- Mathematics education
- Engineering ethics
Student Understanding In Signals And Systems: The Role Of Interval Matching In Student Reasoning
2020 · 1 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Computer Science
- Computer Science
- Mathematics education
This study was designed to investigate student understanding in signals and systems, particularly the study of continuous-time linear, time-invariant systems. In this paper, we report on a principal finding of this investigation, namely, the importance of the interval matching reasoning resource in accounting for the faulty reasonings that students invoke in reasoning about central topics in signals and systems. The qualitative method of clinical interviewing was employed for probing into student understanding. Fifty-one undergraduate students majoring in aerospace engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology volunteered to participate in this study. Data was analyzed with the aim of identifying the faulty reasonings that participants invoked in their response to different signals and systems problems, and the cognitive structures of reasoning resources that describe and explain the origin of these faulty reasonings. Results indicate that there is a consistency across student faulty reasonings related to three different signals and systems topics -superposition, convolution, and the Laplace transform. This consistency is ascribed to the systematicity in student invocation of the reasoning resource of the interval matching readout strategy.
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2019-12-01
articleAGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2018-12-01
articleGLOBE Mission EARTH: Fusing GLOBE with NASA Assets to Build Systemic Innovation in STEM Education
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2016-12-01
article
Recent grants
Frequent coauthors
- 55 shared
Eshel Ben‐Jacob
- 35 shared
Bradford G. Orr
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- 34 shared
Dale P. Barkey
University of New Hampshire
- 25 shared
Barbara Stoler Miller
- 9 shared
E. Bochner
Tel Aviv University
- 9 shared
R. Zamir
Tel Aviv University
- 9 shared
N. Broxholm
Tel Aviv University
- 9 shared
Joel Hetrick
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