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Educating in Bulk: The Introductory Physics Course Revisions at Illinois Mats Selen, UIUC Department of Physics. Our Clients Faculty, Students, College of Engineering, U of I Our approach Infrastructure Pedagogy Technology Some Research Results The particle physics approach. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 1www.physics.uiuc.edu
Educating in Bulk:Educating in Bulk:The Introductory Physics Course The Introductory Physics Course
Revisions at IllinoisRevisions at Illinois Mats Selen, UIUC Department of Physics
Our Clients Faculty, Students, College of Engineering, U of I
Our approach Infrastructure Pedagogy Technology
Some Research Results The particle physics approach.
“Physics 100” Helping under-prepared students
Deep thoughts Just Do It
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 2www.physics.uiuc.edu
Our Clients:Our Clients:
Each week:
Lectures (2x75 min)
Discusison (2 hrs)
Lab (2 hrs)
Calculus Based: Total enrollment of about 3500/year Mostly Engineering (& Physics) students
Physics 111 (4 hrs, mechanics)Physics 112 (4 hrs, E&M) Physics 113 (2 hrs, thermo/stat-mech)Physics 114 (2 hrs, waves/quantum)
Each week:
Lectures (2x50 min)
Discusison (2 hrs)
Lab (3 hrs)
Algebra Based: Total enrollment of about 1100/year Mostly pre-med & biology students
Physics 101 (5 hrs, mechanics, heat, fluids, waves)Physics 102 (5 hrs, E&M, Light, Atoms, Relativity)
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 3www.physics.uiuc.edu
How it used to work:How it used to work: Tradition, Tradition, Tradition
Lecturer “owns” the course and is free to “reinvent the flat tire” every semester.
Discussion TAs pretty much on their own. Labs intellectually disconnected from rest of
course.Typically only quantitative problems on exams.
RESULTS: NOBODY IS HAPPY !!Lecturer dislikes it since it’s a monster
teaching assignment.Students dislike it because they see
the lecturer dislikes it and because the organization is often “uneven” at best.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 4www.physics.uiuc.edu
How we do it now:How we do it now: Integrate Integrate all aspects of a course using active learningactive learning methods in a
team teachingteam teaching environment.
Typically 3 faculty share the load for a class:»Lecturer (lectures, ACTs, preflights, exams).»Discussion Director (TA training, quizzes, exams).»Lab Director (TA training, web homework, exams).
Course administration is shared responsibility:»Faculty meet at least once a week with each-other and with their
TA’s to plan the campaign.»Overall co-ordination is very tight (web helps this).»Everybody works on creating exams.
Course material changes adiabatically:»Recycled & tuned from semester to semester.»People don’t need to re-invent the whole stew,
but can focus on the spices!
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 5www.physics.uiuc.edu
Existing (evolving) infrastructure lowers the bar for participation.» This is now seen as a reasonable teaching load.» Most of our new junior faculty start teaching in
these courses (i.e. not a heavy assignment).
Pain & Gain are shared» No burnout & No heroes.» Makes it possible to keep quality high and
material consistent even though instructors are changing.
Advantages of this approach:Advantages of this approach:
42 of ~70 faculty have taught in these courses since 1995 !
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 6www.physics.uiuc.edu
Feedback Feedback (are things better now ?)
THE OLD Spring 95Total Physics TAs = 77# “Excellent” = 15 19 ± 5 %
THE NEW Spring 01Total Physics TAs = 75# “Excellent” = 58 77 ± 6 %
THE OLDStudent Attitudes Towards Physics 102 (fall99)
0
510
15
20
2530
35
enth
usia
stic
posi
tive
neut
ral
nega
tive
awfu
l
No
of
Stu
den
ts
Before Course
After Course
good bad
Student Attitudes Towards Physics 101 (fall99)
0102030405060708090
100
enth
usia
stic
posi
tive
neut
ral
nega
tive
awfu
l
No
of
Stu
den
ts
Before Course
After Course
THE NEW
good bad
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 7www.physics.uiuc.edu
Standard stuff these days
Details of some key components:Details of some key components:
WEB-centric organization
Peer instruction in Discussion & Lab sections
ACTs & Preflights in Lecture
Homework & Interactive Examples
Exams
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 8www.physics.uiuc.edu
AllAll course materials available on-line. Lectures, discussion & lab materials, exams… Makes our job easier (copy spring01 fall01).
All students do several on-line assignments every week: Homework, Interactive Examples, Quizzes Preflights for lectures, labs & discussion Exam preparation & exam results All grades & progress throughout the
semester»Students know in advance what everything
is worth and the final thresholds for A,B,C,D,F etc
WEB-centric organization
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 9www.physics.uiuc.edu
This is hard for TA’s to get used to: Training !
Details of some key components:Details of some key components:
WEB-centric organization
Peer instruction in Discussion & Lab sections
ACTs & Preflights in Lecture
Homework & Interactive Examples
Exams
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 10www.physics.uiuc.edu
TA to the rescue !A Question
NO LECTURING HERE
Key Idea: Collaborative LearningStudents work in groups of 4 on problems prepared by the
senior staff. TAs act as facilitators, not lecturers.TA preparation very important (extensive training program).
» Orientation, Weekly Meetings, Mentor TAs, ObservationContent of prepared materials very important
Discussion SectionsDiscussion Sections
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 11www.physics.uiuc.edu
Lab SectionsLab Sections
• PREDICT• OBSERVE• EXPLAIN
Engage the students in the learning process and promote mastery of concepts by manipulation of experimental apparatus.
Web-based Prelabs; Lab reports finished within class period.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 12www.physics.uiuc.edu
The most fun you’ll ever have teaching!
Details of some key components:Details of some key components:
WEB-centric organization
Peer instruction in Discussion & Lab sections
ACTs & Preflights in Lecture
Homework & Interactive Examples
Exams
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 13www.physics.uiuc.edu
Pre-Flights !!Pre-Flights !! Students are asked to answer a set of conceptual questions
(on the Web) prior to every lecture (and discussion, and lab).
The main structure is:Students read about material in text.Students answer pre-flight questions on material prior to
lecture. » Physics 101 PF’s due at 6am, lecture starts at 1pm.» Graded on participation, not correctness.
Instructor uses pre-flight responses to guide lecture preparation.
Pre-flights are reviewed during lecture, often presented again as ACTs, and often capped off with a demo.» Use their own words, (both right & wrong)
With careful preparation, the pre-flights can form the “backbone” of the lecture.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 14www.physics.uiuc.edu
What the students see on the web: What I typed in a simple text file:
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 15www.physics.uiuc.edu
The instructors interface to thestudent responses (also on web):
Statistics:
Free response:
“NTUPLE” inspired
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 16www.physics.uiuc.edu
Lecture 6, Lecture 6, Pre-Flight Questions 7&8Pre-Flight Questions 7&8 Two identical boxes, each having a weight W, are tied to the ends of a string hung over a pulley (see picture).
What is the tension T in the string?
1. T=0 2. T=W 3. T=2W
33%
23%
44%
0% 20% 40% 60%
correct
WW
T
This is exactly what Iprepare before and show during the lecture
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 17www.physics.uiuc.edu
Students see their own answersStudents see their own answers
Two identical boxes, each having a weight W, are tied to the ends of a string hung over a pulley (see picture).
What is the tension T in the string?
1. T=0
2. T=W
3. T=2W
Due to Newton's second and third laws, the rope itself is massless, so any force transmitted across it is done so without the diminishing of any magnitude. As each box has an equal weight, the tension T must be zero, as each box's force cancels the other's out.
The string has the tension of two weights.
The force applied to the rope is transmitted to the other side. This example would be just like a person hoisting up a box, pulling on the rope with a force of W. In this case, the tension would just be W.
WW
T
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 18www.physics.uiuc.edu
Students have fun with answers...Students have fun with answers...
Shown is a yummy doughnut. Where would you expect the center of mass of this breakfast of champions to be located? (Explain your reasoning Homer).
CORRECT
You're not getting my answer unless i get sprinkles.....suckers ! unfortunately, i think the center of mass of this perfectly symmetrical donut would be the center of the donut which does not seem to exist; so, i'll just say homer ate it.
I think it would be in a the middle of the dough in a circular pattern. Kind of like the onion in an onion ring. UMMMMM..... Onion rings!!!!
INCORRECT
Homer: "mmmm.....donut...(slobbering)...center of mass in tummy...." Flanders: "why no diddly-o there Homer. The center of mass would be in the center of the hole." Homer: "Doh!"
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 19www.physics.uiuc.edu
Details of some key components:Details of some key components:
WEB-centric organization
Peer instruction in Discussion & Lab sections
ACTs & Preflights in Lecture
Homework & Interactive Examples
Exams
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 20www.physics.uiuc.edu
Interactive Examples (Socratic Interactive Examples (Socratic Dialogue)Dialogue)
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 21www.physics.uiuc.edu
Details of some key components:Details of some key components:
WEB-centric organization
Peer instruction in Discussion & Lab sections
ACTs & Preflights in Lecture
Homework & Interactive Examples
Exams
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 22www.physics.uiuc.edu
Students are happier…Students are happier…but are they learning more ??but are they learning more ??
Physics Education Research
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 23www.physics.uiuc.edu
For Example:Do BEFORE vs AFTER study to see
if student learning was impacted by the introduction of Interactive Examples (IEs):
Choose Homework B “on-line quiz” performance as metric of learning
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 24www.physics.uiuc.edu
““Homework B”Homework B”ExampleExample
Given C1, C3, and C4
Three Qualitative
» Compare Q1 and Q4
» Compare Q1 and Q3
» How does energy change if dielectric added to C2?
Two Quantitative
» Given Q1 and E, what is C2?
» Given Q1 and E, what is V3?
64%
74%
68%
56%
54%
• Four different versions given each week
• Total of 269 different questions!!
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 25www.physics.uiuc.edu
Homework B AnalysisHomework B AnalysisThe Homework B questions have a wide variation in difficulty
Homework B Question Difficulty
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Score
# Q
ues
tio
ns
Computing the total Homework B average (pre-IE), we see: Fall Avg = 63.2 0.2 Spring Avg = 67.8 0.3
We take this difference as a measure of the difference in populations, on-sequence vs off-sequence.
Until we understand how to correct for this difference, we will compare only Spring to Spring and Fall to Fall.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 26www.physics.uiuc.edu
Homework B: Pre IEsHomework B: Pre IEs
Compare performance on Homework B questions (269 total!) in Physics 112 between Spring99 and Spring00 (pre IEs)
Looks pretty similar.. We try to quantify..
Physics 112 Sp99, Sp00
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Question
<Sp0
0>
- <
Sp9
9>
Question #
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 27www.physics.uiuc.edu
Distribution of DifferencesDistribution of Differences
Create model from the following input: Question Difficulty Distribution Student Performance Distribution
Run “simulation” of two identical semesters and plot distribution:
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
# Q
uest
ions Sp99 – Sp00
Model Works
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
# Q
uest
ions Sp99 – Sp00Histogram the points on the previous
plot to get a distribution of the normalized differences:
(<sp99>-<sp00>)/
Distribution centered at 0 (mean = 0.09), with width 1.17
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 28www.physics.uiuc.edu
Compare Performance Compare Performance Post IE – Pre IEPost IE – Pre IE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
112 Sp02 – Sp00
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
112 Fa02 – Fa00
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
111 Fa02 – Fa01
CONCLUSION: Systematic Improvement
in all semesters ofboth courses!
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 29www.physics.uiuc.edu
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 ovf
Physics 112Sp02 + Fa02
More Observations:
On avg, HWB score has improved by 1.6
A total of 47 questions have improvements > 3 !Look in a little more detail at these 47 questions (18% of total) Were improvements made in qualitative or quantitative questions?
Qualitative/Conceptual: 35 questions Quantitative: 12 questions Improvement occurs uniformly in both areas
» fraction of all HWB questions that are quantitative = 25% Very encouraging, but much more work is needed to understand this.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 30www.physics.uiuc.edu
Is Easy to Forget that Physics is HardIs Easy to Forget that Physics is Hard
Can we help under-prepared students to “get it” ?Can we help under-prepared students to “get it” ?And its even worse if you are not well
prepared !
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 31www.physics.uiuc.edu
Physics 100:Physics 100:”Thinking About Physics” ”Thinking About Physics” (1 credit
hour)
Despite the University of Illinois’ C of E very high admission standards, nearly 20% of accepted students are inadequately prepared to pass our introductory mechanics course Physics 111(i.e. they earn a D or F).
The failure rate is even higher for minority groups.» As high as 68% for African Americans !!
(About six times higher than the average)
Many students do not realize that they are poorly prepared.
We need to identify inadequately prepared students and help them gear up for Physics 111 and beyond.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 32www.physics.uiuc.edu
Typical Physics 100 enrollment ~ 100Getting students is a challenge…next slide.
Course FormatOnline “Asynchronous Lectures” (interactive slides with sound)Online Homework (heavy use of Interactive Examples)Two hour discussion/tutorial once per week (expert instructors)Material covered is first 30% of Physics 111Follow-up prep classes in || with Physics 111 & 112
Fall(n) Spring(n+1) Fall(n+1)
Mainstream Physics 111 Physics 112
Under-prepared Physics 100 Physics 111 + 1hr prep Physics 112 + 1hr prep
Physics 100 does not start until ~ 3 weeks into the fall semester.Gives students time to evaluate their situationMany decide to take Physics 100 after doing poorly on the
first Physics 111 mid-term exam.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 33www.physics.uiuc.edu
Identify students at the beginning of the semester using an online Self Evaluation quiz in “Engineering-100”.Students receiving a score below a certain cutoff are
“invited” to take Physics 100 (1 credit-hour).Fewer than half of identified students choose to
participate initially. (This should be a placement exam!)
Self Evaluation Score
Ph
ysic
s 11
1 G
rad
e
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 34www.physics.uiuc.edu
Is Physics 100 helping students ?Is Physics 100 helping students ?Q:Q: Can we reduce the failure rate of under-prepared students taking Physics 111/112/113/114 ?
A:A: Probably YES (research by Gladding & Shoaf)
All students
Average physics 100 students
Average physics 111 students
Self Evaluation Score
Ph
ysic
s 11
1 G
rad
e
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 35www.physics.uiuc.edu
It seems like we might be helping, however there is a is a big caveat: Physics 100 students are self selected !
Are we getting only those students that were going to do well anyway ?
We need more data to study this.» A real placement test
would be very helpful !
Is Physics 100 helping students…Is Physics 100 helping students…
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 36www.physics.uiuc.edu
Summing UpSumming Up We have revised all of our “big” intro classes
(both calculus and algebra based).So far so good.Feedback very positive.
» Students like it, the faculty likes it, the University likes it.Maintaining momentum will be the challenge for the future
Our Physics Education Research Group is growingThis is becoming a real PhD research program
» Graduate students are very interestedWe have lots of data and many analysis ideas (like CLEO)!
Other projectsNew Inquiry based physics course for elementary-ed students
» K-5 teachers need more science.» I’m very excited about this…ask me later.
Cornell (Mar/10/03): Pg 37www.physics.uiuc.edu
Strong departmental support is needed to pull this off:Vision, leadership, money (faculty release time).
Developing a sustainable infrastructure is the first part of the battle.We are eager to give away any/all of the materials & tools
we have developed, and (of course) hope to get new ideas back.
Getting faculty to “buy in” is the second necessary ingredient.Not everyone likes this approach.
Concluding ThoughtsConcluding Thoughts
At UIUC, most people have bought in to the “new” way.42 of ~70 faculty
have taught in these courses since 1995 !
“I can do it better all by myself”