Esther Desiree Gutiérrez M.

This study reports a short classroom intervention designed to make students’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) visible while promoting critical verification in introductory mechanics. The activity was implemented in a first-year, calculus-based physics course for engineering students with two parallel sections ( n = 42 and n = 33 ). Using a crossover structure across the work–energy and impulse–momentum units, students completed the activity under AI-supported and non-AI classroom configurations. An additional AI-supported implementation was carried out in rotational dynamics. Each one-hour session included conceptual pre-task and post-task items, an isomorphic problem-solving activity, and a structured verification section. For the conceptual component, no immediate changes were detected in the work–energy and impulse–momentum units. For the problem-solving component, the analysis compared students’ initial attempt with the final revised solution submitted after verification. This final solution is interpreted as the quality of the product produced within the activity, rather than as an independent post-test of problem-solving ability. In both crossover units, final revised solution accuracy was higher in the AI-supported configuration than in the non-AI configuration, with the largest initial-to-final changes appearing in more demanding multi-step items. Written critical comments were common in AI-supported sessions, although they are interpreted as evidence of documented engagement with verification rather than as a direct measure of evaluative judgment. The intervention offers a practical way to incorporate AI into ordinary assessment while shifting attention from answer retrieval to reasoning, checking, and evaluation.

Sequential switching is a dynamical mechanism in which different units transiently dominate in a reproducible order without convergence to a single permanent winner. Such behavior is often linked to saddle-type structures and is commonly generated through directed or explicitly asymmetric interactions. Here, we investigate whether recurrent sequential dominance can arise in a minimal discrete-time network with symmetric coupling. We study a three-unit network of non-chaotic Rulkov maps coupled through symmetric state-difference interactions. Although the coupling does not impose a preferred activation order, small intrinsic offsets in the excitability parameters break the degeneracy among the units and select reproducible switching sequences. We identify regimes displaying this behavior using simple criteria based on amplitude, exclusivity, recurrence, and order consistency. The dynamics are illustrated through representative trajectories and supported by local stability analysis near dominance configurations, which is consistent with saddle-type organization. Perturbation tests further show that sequential switching can reappear after transient forcing or persist under selected sustained drives. These results provide a concise dynamical characterization of sequential switching in a minimal symmetrically coupled non-chaotic Rulkov network.

The dynamic response of rocking rigid blocks subjected to sinusoidal base excitation exhibits rich nonlinear behavior, with strong sensitivity to initial conditions and external parameters that often leads to chaotic dynamics. Classical analyses have identified bands of forcing frequencies that appear favorable for sustained rocking, whereas others are considered unfavorable due to overturn. This work revisits this assumption by explicitly controlling the initial phase of a second finite-duration sinusoidal pulse. Using an autonomous embedding that enforces phase scheduling and systematic sweeps over the full range ϕ∈[0,2π), we show that many frequencies previously deemed unfavorable can sustain bounded oscillations when phase alignment is chosen appropriately. Phase acts not only as a controllable initial condition but also through the implicit time-dependence of the excitation, reshaping the immediate torque balance right after activation. We quantify these effects via long-term response maps in the (tr,ϕ) plane (reaction time tr) and a complementary dimensionless momentum-impulse metric, revealing windows of stability within the “saw-like” diagrams reported when phase is uncontrolled. The results suggest phase-based control as a simple and effective strategy for mitigating overturn in rocking blocks, refine our understanding of chaotic transitions, and motivate amplitude-phase–frequency codesign for robust stabilization.

En una institución educativa privada de Cuenca, Ecuador, se implementó una estrategia didáctica basada en mini maquetas para la enseñanza de la ley de Ohm y los circuitos eléctricos a estudiantes del Programa del Diploma del Bachillerato Internacional (IB). Esta estrategia buscó superar las limitaciones de los métodos tradicionales centrados en la teoría, facilitando la comprensión de conceptos abstractos mediante experiencias prácticas y contextualizadas. El estudio, de diseño cuasiexperimental, evaluó el rendimiento académico y la motivación estudiantil mediante pruebas pre y postest, y entrevistas a docentes. Los resultados evidenciaron una mejora significativa en el grupo experimental, con una ganancia promedio de 6,09 puntos (60,9 %) frente a 3,58 puntos (35,8 %) en el grupo de control. Además, en el plano cualitativo, los estudiantes manifestaron mayor motivación e interés al trabajar con las maquetas, en contraste con las clases expositivas. Estos hallazgos no solo fortalecen la comprensión de la ley de Ohm y el funcionamiento de los circuitos eléctricos, sino que también confirman la eficacia de recursos manipulativos de bajo costo como herramientas pedagógicas que promueven aprendizajes significativos y contextualizados.

Project- or problem-based learning (PBL) is a methodology that makes students take an active role in their knowledge construction, improving the learning proces

The physical principles of electromagnetism are hard for students to understand, even though they explain our surrounding world, including technology. Active learning methodologies play an important role in students’ learning processes of such concepts. Using project-based learning, with the appropriate project, students can be engaged in any science subject. This paper studies the impact of two striking real-life projects utilizing concepts related to different learning course objectives on students’ problem-solving skills through theoretical calculations of the projects before building the prototype.

In this work, we will describe a Peer Project Learning assignment focused on the STEM project-based learning activities where students build a custom board game with a series of constraints that guide them to learn (and later teach) about the main concepts of an electromagnetism physics course for undergraduate students.

The emergence of non equilibrium topological phases in low dimensional systems offers an interesting route for material properties engineering. We analyze the dynamical modulation of two coupled one-dimensional chains, described by the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. We find that the interplay of driving interactions and interchain coupling leads to the emergence of non-equilibrium edge states with nontrivial topological properties. Using an effective Hamiltonian approach, we quantify the emergent topological phases via the winding number and show that oscillations in the mean pseudospin polarization arise as a consequence of the periodic modulation. The patterns of these pseudospin oscillations are different for the static trivial and topological phases offering a dynamical means to distinguish both physical configurations. The system also exhibits non integer values of the winding number, which have been recently reported experimentally in connection to spin textures.