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Building on a Base: tools, practices, and implications from
physics education research (PER)
S.J. PollockN.D. FinkelsteinPhysics Department
Thanks for support from: Pew/Carnegie CASTL,NSF CCLINSF STEM-TPAPS: PhysTEC
Overview
• Physics Education Research (PER)
Rapid growth, subfield of physics• A Physicist’s History: Research on student concepts (Arons, McDermott, ...)
Concept Inventories (Halloun, Hestenes , Hake, ...)
Curriculum (Washington, Maryland, Mazur, many...) Theoretical Frames (Redish, diSessa, many...)
Theoretical frames
Student concepts and engagement
Curricular reforms
Data
Classroom practice
Building on a base
structurePieces Coherence
By Authority Independent(experiment)
learning
COGNITION AND INSTRUCTION (physics), David Hammer
Novice Expert
Formulas & “plug ‘n chug”
Concepts & Problem Solving
content
think about science like a scientist
What’s our goal?
APS
In recent years, physics education research has emerged as a topic of
research within physics departments. ... The APS applauds and supports
the acceptance in physics departments of research in physics
education.
-The American Physical Society
Statement 99.2 Research in Physics Education (May 1999)
Professional recognition
• Journals (AJP, and Physical Review)
• NSF funding
• >50 institutions with PER groups
Data on student conceptions
Interviews/open questions
(e.g. Arons, McDermott, ...)
• Prior knowledge
• Basis for surveys and curriculum reform
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
A possible “tilting” development
• Force Concept Inventory (Hestenes, Wells, Swackhamer, Physics Teacher 20, (92) 141, Halloun and Hestenes)
• Multiple choice survey, (pre/post)
• Experts (especially skeptics!) =>
necessary (not sufficient) indicator of conceptual understanding.
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98).
<g> = post-pre 100-pre
traditional lecture
FCI I CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Trad’l Model of EducationInstruction via
transmissionIndividual Content (E/M)transmissionist
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98).
<g> = post-pre 100-pre
red = trad, blue = interactive engagement
FCI II
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
PER Theoretic Background
Instruction
via transmissionIndividual Content (E/M)transmissionist
Individual
Prior knowledge
Content (E/M)Construction
constructivistbasic constructivist
J. Piaget - Swiss psychologist (1896-1980)Students: are active in the educational process
construct understanding based on prior knowledgelearn through individual development
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Value of FCI
• Based on research
• Refocus on concepts
• Quantitative basis for comparing curricula
• Wake up call
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98).
<g> = post-pre 100-pre
Fa03/Sp04Fa98
red = trad, blue = interactive engagement
FCI at CU
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Next steps
Conceptual survey development www.flaguide.org
Attitudes/student epistemology
Research on student understanding -> guide to curricular reforms -> incorporate cognitive theories
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Attitudes and Beliefs
VASS, MPEX, CLASS, ... (e.g. Saul, Redish, PER@C,...)
Assessing the “hidden curriculum”
Examples:Examples: ““I study physics to learn knowledge that will be I study physics to learn knowledge that will be useful in life.”useful in life.”““TTo learn physics, I only need to memorize solutions to sample problems”
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
CLASS pre/post
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Unfavorable
Favorable
Overall Pre
Indep. Pre
Coher. Pre
Conc. Pre
R. App. Pre
R. Care. Pre
Math Pre
Effort Pre
Skept. Pre
Overall Post
Indep. Post
Coher. Post
Conc. Post
R. App. Post
R. Care Post
Math Post
Effort Post
Skept. Post
W. Adams 2003, replicating Redish, Steinberg, Saul AJP 66 p. 212 (‘98)
(Typical) attitude shifts
CLASS pre/post
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Unfavorable
Favorable
Overall Pre
Indep. Pre
Coher. Pre
Conc. Pre
R. App. Pre
R. Care. Pre
Math Pre
Effort Pre
Skept. Pre
Overall Post
Indep. Post
Coher. Post
Conc. Post
R. App. Post
R. Care Post
Math Post
Effort Post
Skept. Post
Concepts
Reality
W. Adams 2003, replicating Redish, Steinberg, Saul AJP 66 p. 212 (‘98)
(Typical) attitude shifts
Shift (%) (“reformed” class)
-6
-8
-12
-11
-10
-7
-17
+5(All ±2%)
CLASS categories
• Real world connect...
• Personal interest........
• Sensemaking/effort...
• Conceptual................
• Math understanding...
• Problem Solving........
• Confidence................
• Nature of science.......
Engineers: -12
Phys Male: +1Phys Female: -16
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
But it’s possible to do better
Conceptual Understanding
35
45
55
65
75
g<=.25 0.25<g<=0.5 0.5<g<=0.75 0.75<g<=0.9 0.9<g<=1
Learning GainsLow learning gain <---------> high learning gain
Blue= preRed= post
Data from instructor attending (somewhat) to “hidden curriculum”)
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Expectations/Beliefs matter
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0-40 (N=24) 40-60 (N=74) 60-80(N=189)
80-100(N=44)
Pre-Overall Favorable Score
g<=0.3 0.3<g<=0.8 g>0.8
low <--------------------------------------> high
pre CLASS (overall)
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Curriculum reformConcepTests (Mazur) (easy to implement) Tutorials (McDermott) (modest infrastructure)
Workshop physics (Laws) (resource intensive)
And many more - can’t do justice! Interactive Lect Demos (Thornton, Sokoloff) Problem solving (Van Heuvelen, Heller,...)
Based on empirical researchNext generation: cognitive theory as well.
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Topic U. Wash.
no tutorial
U. Wash.
with tutorial
CU
with tutorial
Newton’s law & tension 25% 50% 55%
Newton & constraints 45% 70% 45%/75%
Force diagrams 30% 90% 95%
Newton’s III law 15% 70% 70%
Combine Newton’s laws 35% 80% 80%
ReproducibilityPrimary/secondary implementation of “Tutorials”
Rounding all results to nearest 5%
UW data from McDermott, Shaffer, Somers, Am. J. Phys. 62(1), 46-55 (94)
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Summary
• State of PER: beyond “reflective teaching”
• Data driven
• Published/publishable results
• Reproducible across institutions
• Changing culture of departments (?!)
CLASS
CURRIC
STUDENT
DATA
THEORY
Discussion!
• Starting ideas...– What sorts of practices occur in engineering /
based on what sort of research/theoretical framing?– What assessment tools are there?– How well codified is the discipline / goals of
instruction?
The end
See: www.flaguide.orgper.colorado.eduwww2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/Book/
FCI scoresPhys 1110 Fa '03
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0 7 13 20 27 33 40 47 53 60 67 73 80 87 93 100
Score (%)
# of students
FCI Pre
FCI Post
CU reformed course Fa 03
Traditional vs. Interactive Engagement(From Hake, see earlier ref, AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98)
%gain vs %pretest