Student engagement with modeling in multiweek student-designed lab projects

Modeling, which is the process of constructing, testing, and refining models, is an important skill in experimental physics, and thus a learning goal of many physics laboratory classes. One promising approach to help students develop modeling skills is to incorporate multiweek student-designed projects into lab courses. In order to assess the potential benefits of these projects in enhancing students’ modeling abilities, we analyzed projects from three upper-division lab courses at different institutions.