Browsing by Subject "physics"
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Item A Bayesian Data Analytics Approach to Buildings’ Thermal Parameter Estimation(Association for Computing Machinery, 2019-06-28) Pathak, Nilavra; Foulds, James; Roy, Nirmalya; Banerjee, Nilanjan; Robucci, RyanModeling buildings’ heat dynamics is a complex process which depends on various factors including weather, building thermal capacity, insulation preservation, and residents’ behavior. Gray-box models offer an explanation of those dynamics, as expressed in a few parameters specific to built environments that can provide compelling insights into the characteristics of building artifacts. In this paper, we present a systematic study of Bayesian approaches to modeling buildings’ parameters, and hence their thermal characteristics. We build a Bayesian state-space model that can adapt and incorporate buildings’ thermal equations and postulate a generalized solution that can easily adapt prior knowledge regarding the parameters. We then show that a faster approximate approach using Variational Inference for parameter estimation can posit similar parameters’ quantification as that of a more time-consuming Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach. We perform extensive evaluations on two datasets to understand the generative process and attest that the Bayesian approach is more interpretable. We further study the effects of prior selection on the model parameters and transfer learning, where we learn parameters from one season and reuse them to fit the model in other seasons. We perform extensive evaluations on controlled and real data traces to enumerate buildings’ parameters within a 95% credible interval.Item DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING IN A HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS SETTING ON THE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE, ACHIEVEMENT, AND PARTICIPATION(THE JOURNAL OF TEACHER ACTION RESEARCH) Gagermeier, Sarah M.The aim of this study was to establish if the Cooperative Learning method of problem-solving had any effect on high school physics students’ achievement, participation in class, or confidence levels. A quasiexperimental research design that utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection was developed and applied to Honors and grade-level Physics classes comprised of upperclassmen in a high school on the eastern shore of the United States. Research data was collected using pre and posttests, surveys, student worksheets, and observations. During this study, both intervention groups received instruction on, and completed, multiple iterations of, the Cooperative Learning problem-solving activity during the two-dimensional force’s unit. Control groups for both ability levels received conventional instruction and were given the same pre and posttests as the intervention groups. The honors intervention group was found to have an increased average post test score when compared to their control group; however, the grade-level group showed a slight decrease in achievement that was likely a result of minimal scaffolding. Both honors and grade-level students demonstrated improvements in participation and confidence as a result of the intervention. According to the data, the cooperative problemsolving activity was beneficial and superior to conventional teaching tactics for Honors students in terms of achievement, confidence, and participation. However, this activity would require further scaffolding and a higher degree of modeling for grade-level classes to be as successful for those students.