First-year physics students at Cornell now discover answers instead of confirming known ones, thanks to a research-based lab overhaul, according to the Cornell Chronicle.
Backed by new National Science Foundation funding, the Introductory Physics Lab Institute is training college instructors nationwide in this hands-on, experimentation-first model. Organizers expect the approach to reach 45,000 students annually—10% of U.S. physics labs.
Cornell’s Natasha Holmes, a national leader in lab innovation, will lead workshops, gather research, and build a support network to help instructors rethink how physics is taught—especially in labs that have lagged behind other reforms.
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