John Thompson
Associate Professor of Physics and Cooperating Associate Professor of Education
223 Bennett Hall
(207)581-1030)

• 1990 B.S. in Physics (cum laude), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  
• 1992 Sc.M. in Physics, Brown University
• 1998 Ph.D. in Physics, Brown University

Email: John.Thompson@umit.maine.edu

Physics Education Research Laboratory

Research:

Research, including design and assessment of curricular materials:

• " Student understanding of topics in thermal physics at the advanced level. With Donald Mountcastle (Assoc. Prof.) and Brandon Bucy (Ph.D. student), and David Meltzer, Iowa St. U. Funded by NSF (Grant PHY-0406764).
• " Conceptual understanding of sound and longitudinal waves among preservice and inservice K-12 teachers and at the introductory college level. Development of guided-inquiry-based curriculum on sound aimed at elementary teachers. With Roger Feeley (Ph.D. student) and Earl Coombs (M.S. student). Grant proposal pending (NSF). M.S.T. dissertation completed by Katherine Menchen, August 2005.
• " Student understanding of two-dimensional kinematics at the introductory level. Development and assessment of curriculum that emphasizes conceptual understanding and transfer to other contexts. With Bradley Ambrose, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI. No current funding.
• " Understanding of teaching and learning in physics by graduate students and teachers, and the interactions between content and pedagogy in physics teaching. With Michael Wittmann (Asst. Prof.). No current funding.
• " The effectiveness of "Physics First" in 9th grade on conceptual understanding of force and motion. With Michael O'Brien (M.S.T. student).
• " The effectiveness of 1-week inquiry-based workshops on conceptual understanding of force and motion among elementary teachers. With David Nelson (M.S.T. student).
  
  

Research in preliminary stages:

• " Student understanding of mathematics in upper-level physics; with Donald Mountcastle and Michael Wittmann (UMaine), Stephen Kanim, New Mexico St. U. (NMSU), and Dawn Meredith, U. New Hampshire. Grant proposal pending (NSF).
• " Student understanding of magnetic fields, especially those of flexible refrigerator magnets; simple models of these fields; with Stephen Kanim, NMSU.
• " Investigation of student learning in a sophomore laboratory course. With David Clark (Lecturer).
• " Student understanding of physics concepts in other science courses.
• " Understanding of physics and math concepts among Engineering Technology majors - a comparative study.
• I would be interested in taking on students to work on the following projects (some are listed above, some are not):
  • " Student understanding of two-dimensional kinematics (Ph.D., M.S., M.S.T., Undergraduate (UG))
  • " Student understanding of mathematics in upper-level physics (Ph.D., M.S.)
  • " Student understanding of magnetic fields, especially those of flexible refrigerator magnets; simple models of these fields (M.S., M.S.T., UG)
  • " Analysis of "good" and "bad" multiple-choice questions in physics surveys (Ph.D., M.S., M.S.T., UG)
  • " Student understanding of oscillations, simple harmonic motion, periodicity, and periodic behavior at all levels, including the graduate level (Ph.D., M.S.)
  • " The analysis of empirical data through various (meta)cognitive models (Ph.D., M.S., M.S.T.)
  • " The impact of reflective writing assignments in a conceptually oriented physics course for future teachers (M.S.T., M.Ed.)
  • " Student understanding of physics concepts in other science courses (Ph.D., M.S., M.S.T.