Education Background
Ph.D. - 2004 Clarkson University
M.S. - 1998 Clarkson University
B.S. - 1997 Clarkson University
Courses Taught
- PH131
- PH132
- Physics Team Design Lab
Research Interests
Research Interests
Professor Ramsdell's research interests are in the area of Physics Education Research, Laboratory Curriculum Development and Design. Our research has focused on the implementation and assessment of the Physics Team Design Program for the calculus-based introductory Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism courses. This Program utilizes an inquiry-based approach to team problem solving and developing mathematical modeling skills. FCI and CSEM assessment reveals that participating students out perform a comparison group of nonparticipating students by a factor of 1.5 – 1.6 using a traditional percent gain calculation.
Publications
- Wick, D.P., and Ramsdell, M.W., University Outreach in Stem Education through Roller Coaster Science and Engineering Camp; Proceedings of the annual FIE (Frontiers in Education) (2011)
- Wick, D.P., and Ramsdell, M.W., Predictive Assessment of Student Performance for Early Strategic Guidance; Proceedings of the annual FIE (Frontiers in Education) (2011)
- Wick, D.P., and Ramsdell, M.W., Experimenting with Electric Trains, The Physics Teacher (Accepted, January 2006).
- Ramsdell, M. W. and Wick, D.P., Predicting Turning Points for Toy Cars, The Physics Teacher, Vol. 43, October 2005, pp.442 – 444.
- Wick, D. P. and Ramsdell, M. W., Modeling the motion of a toy train powered with a time-dependent applied voltage: Educational implementation and analysis, American Journal of Physics, July 2004, 72(7), pp. 863 – 874.
- Wick, D. P. and Ramsdell, M. W., Modeling the motion of a toy car traveling on an arbitrarily shaped track, American Journal of Physics July 2002, 70(7), pp. 670 – 679.2003.