New technology like the Arduino microcontroller platform presents an opportunity to transform Beyond the First Year (BFY) physics labs to better prepare physics students for work in research labs and beyond. The flexibility, low cost, and power of these devices provide an attractive way for students to learn to use and master research-grade instrumentation. Therefore, we introduced new technology, including Arduino Due microcontroller boards, to a second-year honors physics lab in order to provide improved learning experiences for students. This transformation was implemented in three lab modules and focused on diminishing the black box nature of the traditional labs while encouraging students to engage in troubleshooting. The importance of troubleshooting was made evident to students by the instructor emphasizing it as an inevitable and central part of experimentation. This lab transformation also required that students perform work that was “above and beyond” the scope of the assigned experimental work for part of the course credit. While the technological aspects of the transformation were received well by a majority of students, our observations during the initial implementation suggested a need for some modifications to instructional practices in order to improve the learning and experiences for all students. In particular, we find that many students can benefit from additional scaffolding in order to complete above and beyond work. Similarly, we find that students in general, and under-represented students such as women, in particular, may need thoughtful intervention from the instructor, e.g., in order to avoid becoming isolated when the lab work is designed for pair work. Otherwise, some students may be left to work alone with a disproportionate work-load if students choose their own partners. With these lessons taken into account, recent student experiences in the transformed lab were notably improved.

中文翻译：

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改造二年级荣誉物理实验室的经验教训

像 Arduino 微控制器平台这样的新技术提供了一个机会，可以改变大一 (BFY) 物理实验室，以更好地为物理学生在研究实验室及以后的工作做好准备。这些设备的灵活性、低成本和强大功能为学生学习使用和掌握研究级仪器提供了一种有吸引力的方式。因此，我们向二年级荣誉物理实验室引入了新技术，包括 Arduino Due 微控制器板，以便为学生提供更好的学习体验。这种转变在三个实验室模块中实施，重点是减少传统实验室的黑盒性质，同时鼓励学生参与故障排除。教师强调故障排除是实验中不可避免的核心部分，这向学生表明了故障排除的重要性。这种实验室改造还要求学生完成“超出”部分课程学分指定实验工作范围的工作。虽然大多数学生都接受了转型的技术方面，但我们在初始实施过程中的观察表明，需要对教学实践进行一些修改，以改善所有学生的学习和体验。特别是，我们发现许多学生可以从额外的脚手架中受益，以完成超出工作范围的工作。同样，我们发现一般学生，尤其是女性等代表性不足的学生，可能需要教师深思熟虑的干预，例如，当实验室工作设计为结对工作时，为了避免孤立。否则，如果学生选择自己的合作伙伴，一些学生可能会因不成比例的工作量而独自工作。考虑到这些课程，最近学生在改造实验室中的体验得到了显着改善。