PhD scholarship in Engineering Students’ Construction of Conceptual Understanding in Introductory Physics – DTU Energy

Do you want to contribute to the development of high-quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teaching at university level with a focus on conceptual understanding? Do you want to engage in a career within university pedagogy and didactics of engineering education? Are you passionate about how to teach introductory physics using experiments to build the students’ conceptual understanding? 

With this PhD project, DTU is initiating a strategic initiative, which is a collaboration between teachers of the introductory physics course at DTU Energy and DTU Physics, and the related introductory mathematics course at DTU Compute, and the teaching and learning experts at DTU Learning Lab.  

This project will investigate new experimenting forms of teaching and learning activities according to the theory of didactic situations in teaching, e.g. open experiments supporting the students’ construction of conceptual understanding, all centered around DTU’s introductory physics course in the students’ first year experience, at DTU the so-called polytechnical foundation. The aim and purpose are to enhance student learning via their construction of conceptual understanding and grounding and retention of learning outcomes ensuring a positive spillover effect on the building of their engineering mindset. The strategic objective is to develop even better education to train engineers for an uncertain future with new jobs, using technologies not yet invented, to solve problems we do not yet see as problems.

Responsibilities and qualifications
During the past 10 years, DTU’s physics educators have developed experiments for students to work actively themselves, and we have experimented with various new teaching methods to support active learning. You will apply systematic approaches to investigate and document which elements of the experimenting teaching are crucial for the students to achieve deeper learning and a better conceptual understanding. 

The objective of this PhD project is to research how students learn and do – or do not – construct a profound conceptual understanding of central terms and concepts of physics via active learning, for instance, open experiments, during their first one and a half year of studies at DTU. The focus will be on learning classical mechanics.

You will apply observation of and interviews with students, tests of conceptual understandings via diagnostic multiple-choice tests and in-depth interviews. You will compare student learning in different learning environments applying a quasi-experimental design to compare passive versus active learning environments and outcomes. The students participating in the study will be a part of the students in the DTU courses 10060 (in Danish) and 10063 (in English) in physics, along with the courses 01001 and 01004 in mathematics as part of the polytechnical foundation.

As part of the PhD project, a 3-6 month stay at an international collaboration university (e.g. in Europe, USA, or Australia) is expected with the purpose of performing field studies and data analysis with one of the leading groups in the field.

Qualified applicants must have:

• A BSc in physics followed by a master’s degree in educational science, philosophy, physics, engineering, or similar. 
• Pedagogical training, preferably within high school or university teaching.
• Basic knowledge of learning, student motivation, and didactics would be beneficial.
• Experience with realizing experimental setups would be beneficial.
• Knowledge of the Danish High School curriculum will be preferable.
• Ability to work independently and plan and carry out complicated tasks. 
• Good communication skills in English, both written and spoken. 

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree.

Approval and Enrolment 
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederat