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The SCALE-UP Project:

A Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs

Robert J. Beichner, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

I. Introduction

SCALE‐UP1standsfor“Student‐CenteredActiveLearningEnvironmentforUndergraduate

Programs.”Itdescribesaplacewherestudentteamsaregiveninterestingthingstoinvestigatewhile

theirinstructorroams—askingquestions,sendingoneteamtohelpanother,oraskingwhysomeone

elsegotadifferentanswer.Eveninasciencecourse,thereisusuallynoneedforaseparatelab.Most

ofthe“lectures”areclass‐widediscussions.Thegroupsarecarefullystructuredandgivestudents

manyopportunitiestointeractwitheachotherandtheinstructor.Threeteams(labeledA,B,andC)

sitateachroundtableandhavewhiteboardsnearby.Everygrouphasalaptopforsearchingthe

web.AtNCState,theoriginalsite,classesusuallyhave11tablesofninestudents.Mostofthe50+

schoolsthathaveadoptedtheapproachhavesmallerclasses,whileafewhaveevenlargerones2.

Themajorityofclasstimeisspenton10or15minute“tangibles”and“ponderables.”Essentially

thesearehands‐onactivities,simulations,orinterestingquestionsandproblems.Inscienceclasses

thereareusuallysomelonger,hypothesis‐drivenlabactivitieswherestudentshavetowritedetailed

reports.Occasionallytherewillbelecturing,butthatismostlytoprovidemotivationandaviewof

the“bigpicture,”whichcanbedifficultforstudentstodiscernwhentheyarenotfamiliarwiththe

entirecoursecontent.

Figure1.ThisphotographfromIthacaCollegeshowsthetypicalSCALE‐UPenvironment:roundtablesseatingthreeteams

ofthreestudents,surroundedbyscreens,whiteboardsandhandyequipmentstorage.Thereisateacherstationlocated

somewhereinthemidstoftheaction.(Notethatthesetablesareslightlysmallerthanusual.)PhotocourtesyofMichael

Rogers.

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Socialinteractionsbetweenstudentsandwiththeirteachersappeartobethe“activeingredient”

thatmakestheapproachwork.Asmoreandmoreinstructionishandledvirtuallyviatheweb,taking

advantageoftherelationship‐buildingcapabilityoftherealpeopleinbrickandmortaruniversities

becomesevenmoreimportant.Themostquotedstudy3inallofhighereducationresearchindicates

thatweprobablyhaveitright:“WhatMattersinCollege”aretherelationshipsstudentsbuildwith

eachotherandwiththeirteachers.TheresearchbasethatsupportsthedesignofSCALE‐UPhas

beenculledfrommanysources.Thefundamentalapproachofactive,collaborative,sociallearning

hasbeenreportedinhundredsofstudies4.Studio‐basedlearningisnotnew,butitsapplicationto

scienceclassesisfairlyrecent5.

Physics,chemistry,math,biology,astronomy,engineering,andevenliteraturecourseshaveutilized

thisapproach.Apoliticalscienceclassisindevelopmentatoneadoptingschool.Theteachercould

picksomecurrenteventtofocusthestudents’attention,forexampleagovernmentofficial’s

Congressionaltestimonyonsomecontroversialtopic.The“A”groupateachtablewouldgotothe

webtoseehowCNNcoveredtheevent.The“B”groupswouldreadtheWashingtonPostcoverage,

whilethe“C”groupscouldfindtheFoxNewswebsite.Thentheywouldcompareandseewhat

aspectswerecoveredbyallthreeandwhichthingsweremissinginsome.Theymightthenbesent

onasearchtofindtheleastbiasedpresentation,perhapsbyaninternationalorganizationlikethe

BBC.Whetherthetopiciscurrenteventsorchemistry,thebasicideaisthesame6.Studentteams

workoninterestingtaskswhileteacherscoach.

Somepeoplethinktheroomslookmorelikerestaurantsthanclassrooms.Likeaneating

establishment,thespacesarecarefullydesignedtofacilitateinteractionsbetweenpeople.Theyare

Figure2.ClassroomsatPittandMITillustratethecommonfeaturesofmostSCALE‐UPclassrooms:7'diameterroundtables,

whiteboards,projectionscreens,andonelaptop/team.PhotocourtesyofAdamLeibovich.GraphiccourtesyofJohnBelcher.

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definitelynoisyplaces,withlivelyconversationsgoingonnearlyallthetime.Forlargerclasses,a

teachingassistantprovidesadditionalhelp.Theinstructortypicallywearsawirelessmicrophoneto

makeiteasiertogaineveryone’sattentionforclasswidediscussions.Oftenstudentsworkingonan

activitywillskiptheirbreakinthemiddleofatwo‐hourclasssotheycancontinue“pondering”an

intriguingquestion.Adecadeofresearchindicatessignificantimprovementsinlearning.

II. Evidence of Efficacy

Rigorousevaluationsoflearninghavebeenconducted,eitherinparallelwithcurriculum

developmentandclassroomdesignwork,orasafollow‐uptosuchefforts.Manyadoptershave

givenconceptuallearningassessments(usingnationally‐recognizedinstrumentsina

pretest/posttestprotocol),andcollectedportfoliosofstudentwork.Severalschoolshaveconducted

studentinterviewsandcollectedinformationfromfocusgroups,supplementinghundredsofhours

ofclassroomvideoandaudiorecordingsmadeatNCStateduringtheearlydevelopmentphases.

Moredetailsoftheresearchbehindtheroomdesignaswellasoutcomesofstudiesofeducational

impactareavailable7.

Concept learning

Thereisampleevidence7frommultipleadoptingsitesthatstudentsinSCALE‐UPclassesgaina

betterconceptualunderstandingthantheirpeersintraditionallecture‐basedclasses.AsFigure3

showsforthefirstandsecondsemestersofintroductoryphysics,studentsperformedbetterona

varietyofconceptualsurveys.ThepatternapparentinFig.3(b),wherestudentsinthetopthirdof

theirclassmadethemostprogresstowardperfectscoresontheassessmenttests,isanimportant

counter‐argumenttothosewhocomplainthat“reformcoursesonlybenefittheweakerstudentsand

weareignoringthestarsoftomorrow.”Clearlythatisnotthecase.

Otherschoolshavehadsimilarresults.AtFloridaState,normalizedgainsontheFCIfromthefirst

(Spring2008)andsecond(Summer2008)implementationsofGeneralPhysicswereapproximately

50%8,farsurpassingthetypicallyseen23%fortraditionalcourses9.FloridaInternationalUniversity

notes10,“Thesecourseshavebeenextremelysuccessful,intermsofstudentlearningoutcomes,

facultyassessments,andrecruiting.TheaveragestudentperformanceontheForceConcept

Inventory(FCI)inthemodeling‐based[studiophysics]coursesisroughlyafactorof2.5betterthan

inourtraditionalcourses.”AtPennState‐Erie,over550studentshaveenrolledinSCALE‐UPphysics,

asofthesummerof2008.ScoresontheFCIpost‐testhaveincreasedfromanaveragescoreof46%

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correctbeforeSCALE‐UPto74%correctsinceSCALE‐UPbegan11.TheUniversityofPittsburgh

reports12whattheycall“striking”gainsonatest13ofelectricityandmagnetismconcepts.Positive

impactsaremanifestedinotherareasaswell.Chemistryfacultyhavepublished14findingsof

learninggains.Aninternalreport15ontheEngineeringStaticscourseatClemsonreports,“Oneofthe

commonconcernsexpressedbymycolleaguesisthatImustnotbecoveringasmuchmaterialsince

Iamusingclasstimetocompleteactivities.MyresponseisthatIcoverthesameamountofmaterial

asotherinstructors.”NCStatenotes7thesamesituationinPhysics.Biologylearningisbeingstudied

attheUniversityofMinnesota,FloridaGulfCoastUniversity,andtheUniversityofColorado.

MinnesotaBiologyprofessorRobinWrighthasbeensosuccessfulwithherclassesthatshe

believes16theSCALE‐UPapproachwouldworkwithupto250studentsatatime.ElizabethWolfe

completedherUniversityofVictoriaMSthesis17doingastudyoflearninginaSCALE‐UPcomputer

databasesystemscourseandreportsthatthe“evaluationsurpassedexpectationsbothwithregard

tocoursedeliveryandstudentperceptionofteamwork.”TheNCStatestudy7alsoexaminedteacher

effectsattwoschoolsandfoundthatstudentsofteachersinSCALE‐UPsettingshadgreater

conceptuallearninggainsthanstudentsofthosesameteachersinlecturesettings.MIThascarried

outseveralstudiesandreportsimproved18conceptuallearningandsignificantlybetterlong‐term

retention19ofthosegains.

Figure3:(a)SCALE‐UPstudentsdemonstratedbetterimprovementinconceptualunderstandingthanLecture/Labclasses

byachievinghighernormalizedgainsfortheMechanicssemesterpre/postforceandmotionconcepttestsatCoastal

CarolinaUniversity(CCU),NorthCarolinaStateUniversity(NCSU),UniversityofCentralFlorida(UCF),UniversityofNew

Hampshire(UNH),andRochesterInstituteofTechnology(RIT).FCIistheForceConceptInventorydevelopedby

Hestenes,et al.20FMCEistheForceandMotionConceptualEvaluationdevelopedbyThorntonandSokoloff.21TheFCI

nationalaverageisfromHake’s6,000studentstudycomparingInteractiveEngagementclasseswithtraditional

Lecture/Laboratoryclasses.9 (b)B,M.andTstandforBottom,Middle,andTopthirdsoftheclass,asmeasuredby

conceptualpretestscores.Studentsinthetopthirdoftheirclasseshadthehighestnormalizedgains,possiblybecausethey

wereteachingtheirpeers.CSEMistheConceptualSurveyofElectricity&MagnetismdevelopedbyMaloney,et. al.22ECCE

istheElectricCircuitConceptualEvaluation23developedbyThorntonandSokoloff.TheMITE&Mtestwasdevelopedat

MITfortheirSCALE‐UPimplementation.18

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Skill Development

SincenearlyallSCALE‐UPcoursesacrossthecountryhavebeenintheSTEM(Science,Technology,

Engineering,andMath)fields,mostschoolshavebeenveryinterestedintheimpactoftheapproach

onmeasurementandproblemsolvingskills,aswellascommunicationandteamsmanship.These

havebeenevaluatedatseveralplaces.WorkatNCStateshowedthatSCALE‐UPstudents’lab

measurementskillsimproved24andtheyachievedonelettergradebetterontestswrittenby

lecturersthandidthelecturers’ownstudents7.

Streitmatter25reportedthatfemalestudentsprefer,andachievebetterin,classroomswhere

learningactivitiesarestructuredascooperativeendeavorsratherthanwithinacompetitive

structure.ItisinterestingtonotetheprogressofwomenstudentsatPennState‐Erie,wherethey

“haveSATmathscoresandmathematicsplacementtestscoresthatarewellbelowthoseoftheir

malecounterparts(p<.001andp<.05respectively).Atthetimeofthefirsttestofthesemester,

femalesstillhavesignificantlydifferentscores,withanaverageof62%versusthemalemeanof

74%(p<.001).Bythesecondexamthough,thefemalescatchuptothemales,andmaintainthis

equalityofachievementthroughthefinalexamination(p>.05).Thefinalcoursegradesofmalesand

femalesinSCALE‐UParenotsignificantlydifferent(p>.05),despitethefactthatwomenstartthe

coursewithlowerscoresontestsofprerequisiteskills26.”

Affective outcomes

Atschoolswheretheyhaveachoice,studentsalmostalwayspreferSCALE‐UPbasedclasses

comparedtolecturecourses.AlthoughattitudesofSCALE‐UPstudentsaresometimesstudied

directly14,18,theyaremoreoftenrevealedindirectly;forexample,studentsuniversallyselectthe

SCALE‐UPversionfortheirsecondsemestercourse,theyreporttheirfriendsdirecttheminto

SCALE‐UPclasses,SCALE‐UPsectionsfillbeforelecturesections,etc.NCStatehasafive‐year

averageattendancerateofmorethan90%,eventhoughattendanceisnotrequiredforSCALE‐UP

classes7.Attheveryleast,thisimpliesthatstudentsvalueclasstime.Atbestitmayalsoindicatethey

enjoylearninginthistypeofsetting.Minnesota’sevaluation27oftheirpilotclassroomsnotes,“The

instructorswhowereinterviewedenjoyedteachingintheroomssomuchthattheironlyconcern

wasafearofnotbeingabletocontinuetoteachinthesenewlearningspaces.Similarly,morethan

85percentofstudentsoverwhelminglyrecommendedtheActiveLearningClassroomsforother

classes.”

Retentionratesareasortof“grandtotal”ofeducationaloutcomes,nottheleastofwhichisstudent

motivation.Forexample,theDFWrate(drop,fail,withdraw)forstudio‐basedmodelingclassesat

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FloridaInternationalUniversityis“1/4ththeDFWrateintraditionalclasses.Facultyevaluations

andstudentfeedbackhavebeenoverwhelminglypositive,andthecoursesaredrawingroughlyfour

timestheroomcapacityinrequeststoentertheclass.Wealsofind10‐20%ofthestudentspursue

physicsminorsandmajorsaftertakingthecourse,eitheraddingasecondmajor/minororswitching

majors10.”NCStatefoundsimilarresultsfromdata7comparingpass/failratesfornearly16,000

traditionalandSCALE‐UPstudentstakingphysics.Failurerates,especiallyforwomenand

minorities,arereducedbyafactoroffourorfive,asseeninFigure4.Thisisconsistentwith

Colbeck’sfindings28thatwomen’sconfidenceincreaseswhenclearexpectationsarepresentedand

men’sconfidenceincreaseswithincreasedfacultyinteraction.Shealsofoundhighcorrelation

betweencollaborativelearningandstudentconfidenceforbothgenders.Bandura’stheory29ofsocial

cognitionimpliesthatthisincreasedconfidencewillleadtoimprovedperformanceandmore

resilienceinachallengingenvironment.

AtClemson,“beginninginFall2006,allfreshmanCalculusIcoursesweretaughtusingtheSCALE‐UP

model,inordertoaddresshighDFWrates.Historically,theDFWpercentagewas44%,andhadseen

asharpincreasepriortoFall2006inmostfreshmancalculusclasses.ThecurrentDFWrateforall

thesecourses,whichincludesnearly800freshmen,hasdroppedtoapproximately22%inthat

program,whichisencouragingourfacultytoadopttheSCALE‐UPapproachpermanentlyaspartof

ouracademicculture.30”

Figure4:FailureratecomparisonforNCSUPhysicsI&IIclasses.Here,failingmeansreceivingagradelowerthanC–in

themechanicscourseorlessthanaD–intheE&Mcourse,thegradesneededtoreceivecreditfortakingthecourse.No

HispanicSCALE‐UPstudentsfailedduringthefiveyearsofdatacollectionfrom16,000+students,sothatbarishaszero

length.Errorbarsrepresentstandarderrorofthemean,andaremostlytoosmalltobeseen.

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Hispanic

AsianAm

NativeAm

AfricanAm

White

Female

Male

Overall

Traditional

SCALE‐UP

Failure Rate 

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Adirectwaytomeasurestudentattitudesaboutacourseistosimplyaskthem.Twovisitorstothe

NCStateprojectinterviewedafocusgroupofstudentswhohadcompletedalecturecoursefortheir

firstsemesterofphysicsandaSCALE‐UPsectionforthesecondphysicsclass.Intheirreport,they

noted,

They[thestudents] felt they were learning the material at a deeper conceptual level in Scale­Up as compared to 

the  lecture  format,  and  that  there  was  much  less  rote  memorization  on  their  part.    They  felt  that  the 

contributing  factors  to  this  positive  outcome  were  the  hands­on  nature  of  the  classroom  experience,  the 

collaborative work format ("I learn much better from my peers than from my Professors"), and the availability 

of faculty and TA's for interaction during class... 

Other outcomes

Severalschoolshavelookedatstudentperformanceinlatercourses.AtNCState,therehasbeenno

change7intheoverallDFWrateforengineeringstaticscourses,eventhoughtheSCALE‐UPphysics

failurerateisapproximately1/3whatitwaswithtraditionalclasses.Infact,studentsdefinedas“at

risk”(basedonSATmathscores<500)failstaticscourses17%ofthetimeiftheytookaSCALE‐UP

physicscourse,but31%ofthetimeiftheirbackgroundincludedonlylecture‐basedphysicscourses.

Studentsseemtorecognizethevalueofwhattheyarelearning.WhenPennState‐Erieconducted31

anopinionsurveyofformerstudents,theyfoundthattheproblem‐solving,communication,and

teamworkskillslearnedinSCALE‐UPclasseswerebeingutilizedinothercourses.Acomputer&

softwareengineeringstudentnoted,“Teamworkandgroupproblem‐solving…areveryimportant

skillsforengineersandotherfieldsrequiringgroupcollaboration.”Amechanicalengineering

studentstated,“SCALE‐UPphysicshelpedmetolearnthatexploringconceptsonmyown,outsideof

alecture,helpsmetorememberthembetter.”

Faculty,too,areseeingthatchangingtheirfocusfromteachingtolearningisimportant.Asnotedby

PeterDourmashkin,whoteachesphysicsatMIT,“Traditionally,inlargelectures,youdowhatis

possibletodoinfrontof500people,notbecauseit’swhatyoushoulddo.Nowwe’reaskingthe

question:Whatdowereallywantourstudentstolearnaboutelectricityandmagnetism?”

III. Assessment methods

Whenstartingonajourney,itisalwaysgoodtoknowwhereyouwanttogo.Similarly,whentaking

onthewholesaleredesignofcollege‐levelinstruction,itisimportanttohaveclearlydelineated

objectives.Obviouslythesewilldependonthetypeofcoursebeingreformed.

BeforethepilotclassroomatNCStatewasbuilt,theprojectteamsatdownandoutlinedtheirlarge‐

scaleobjectivesforthetwo‐semesterintroductoryphysicssequence,withtheaimoftyingthem

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tightlytotheaccreditationcriteriaestablishedrecentlybyABET32,theAccreditationBoardfor

EngineeringandTechnology.TheseobjectivesarereproducedinTable1.Itisimportanttorealize

thateachoftheseoverarchingobjectiveshadnumeroussub‐objectivesthatwerebehavioralin

nature.Inotherwords,theyexplicitlydescribedsomethingthestudentshouldbeabletodo.For

Table1:OverallobjectivesforNCSUSCALE‐UPPhysicsandtheirrelationshiptotheABETcriteria,whichareindicatedby

(3a),(3b),etc.inthemiddlecolumn.Pre‐postconcepttestsweretheFCI20,FMCE21,TUG‐K33,CSEM22,BEMA13,and

DIRECT34.MPEXstandsforMarylandPhysicsExpectationSurvey35.

example,thefirstobjectivelookedforunderstandingofphysics.Thiscouldbedemonstratedbya

studentwhocould:

A.describeandexplainphysicsconceptsincludingknowingwhereandwhentheyapply

B.applyphysicsconceptswhensolvingproblemsandexaminingphysicalphenomena

C.applyconceptsinnewcontexts(transfer)

D.translatebetweenmultiple‐representationsofthesameconcept(forexample:between

words,equations,graphs,anddiagrams)

E.combineconceptswhenanalyzingasituation

F.evaluateexplanationsofphysicalphenomena

Eachofthesesub‐objectivesthenhadevenfinergrainedobjectivesthatexplicitlyinvokedthe

physicscontent.Thismadeiteasiertoutilizeportfoliosofstudentworktoassesswhetherthe

objectivehadbeenmet.

TheReformedTeacherObservationProtocol(RTOP)hasalsobeenusedtoevaluateSCALE‐UP

classrooms.AsMacIssacandFalconerstate36,“TheRTOPinstrumentisdesignedtoconstructively

critiquedetailsofclassroompracticesincludingcooperativelearning,interactiveengagement,and

NCSU SCALE­UP Objectives for 

Calculus­based Intro Physics 

ABET 2000 Criterion 3: Program Outcome 

Requirements Assessment Method 

SCALE‐UPstudentsshould:Engineeringprogramsmustdemonstratetheir

studentshave:

developagoodfunctional

understandingofphysics.

(3a)anabilitytoapplyknowledgeofmathematics,

science,andengineering

Pre/Postconcepttestsonforces,

graphs,electromagnetism,circuits

begindevelopingexpert‐like

problem solvingskills.

(3e)anabilitytoidentify,formulate,andsolve

engineeringproblems

Studentportfolios;interviews;test

comparisonstocontrolgroups

developlaboratoryskills.(3b)anabilitytodesignandconductexperiments,as

wellastoanalyzeandinterpretdataPracticaltesting;studentportfolios

developtechnologyskills..(3k)anabilitytousethetechniques,skills,and

moderntoolsnecessaryforengineeringpractice

In‐classobservationsviafieldnotes;

practicaltesting;studentportfolios

improvetheircommunication,

interpersonal,andquestioning

skills.

(3d)anabilitytofunctiononmulti‐disciplinaryteams

(3g)anabilitytocommunicateeffectively

In‐classobservationsviafieldnotes,

audio,andvideorecording;interviews;

focusgroups

developattitudesthatarefavorable

forlearningphysics.

(3h)thebroadeducationnecessarytounderstandthe

impactofengineeringsolutionsinaglobaland

societalcontext

(3i)arecognitionoftheneedfor,andanabilityto

engageinlife‐longlearning

MarylandPhysicsExpectations(MPEX)

survey;interviews;in‐class

observationsviafieldnotes

haveapositive learning 

experience.NotintheABETcriteria

Courseevaluations;interviews;focus

groups

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certaintypesofPER[PhysicsEducationResearch]activities,aswellasfindingscollectivelyknown

aspedagogicalcontentknowledge.”Ithasbeenusedinmorethan400scienceandmathematics

classroomsandfoundtocorrelatestronglywithstudentlearninggains(r=0.70‐0.95).Traditional

universitylecturescoresare20(outof100)whileamedium‐sizedlectureusingPeerInstruction37

withanelectronicstudentresponsesystemscoresfrom65‐75.Saul38usedtheprotocolontwo

lectureclassesandoneSCALE‐UPclassattheUniversityofCentralFloridaandfoundthelecture

classesscored35whiletheSCALE‐UPclassreceivedascoreof80.

AtNCState,wehiredanexternalevaluatortocompareourtraditionallecture‐basedandSCALE‐UP

classes.Aboutalectureclasstaughtbyaveteranprofessorshewrites,

Students  did  ask  questions  in  this  class;  however, most  questions were  about  details  of  course  procedures  or 

questions requesting factual information related to physics.  While this instructor attempted to make the large 

lecture section more interactive, the students did not exhibit behaviors that signaled positive intellectual regard 

for the activity.  

However,afterobservingoneoftheSCALE‐UPclasses,theexternalevaluatorreported,

…students asked over eight [emphasisinoriginal] questions during the period and all of these questions were 

substantive questions, questions at one of the higher cognitive levels.  In addition, students offered explanations 

about physical phenomena during discussions without being called upon to do so.    It  is worth remarking that 

SCALE­UP students began talking to one another about physics even before class began. 

IV. Open questions

Oneeffectwehavenoticedbuthavenothadanopportunitytoexploreistherapidincorporationof

membersofunderrepresentedgroupsintostudentteams.Althoughothers39havefoundinputfrom

minoritiesandwomentobedevaluedingroupsettings,thathasnotbeenthecaseinSCALE‐UP

classes.Wewouldliketoknowmoreaboutthedetailsofinteractionstakingplacewithingroups.

Thiswasexaminedduringtheearlypilotphase,butnot(atleastatNCState)sincetheclasseshave

grownto99students.

Othersarebeginningtostudy40whatinfluencesadoptionofreformsandhowtobestapproach

reluctantfaculty.MIThasreportedonpositiveandnegativestudentreactions18toimplementation

ofTEAL,theiradaptationofSCALE‐UP.PundakandRozner41studiedthefactorsthatinfluenced

SCALE‐UPadoptionatacollegeinIsrael.Thisisapromisingandinterestingareathatshouldbe

pursued.

Whilestudyingwhatinfluencesadoption,itwouldalsobefascinatingtotrackhowimplementations

varygenerationbygeneration.Forexample,duringtheearlyphasesoftheproject,NCState

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researcherscarefullyexaminedvarioustableshapes,eventuallysettlingonroundtablestobest

facilitatediscussions.(Infact,fourdifferentdiameterswereclassroomtested.)Severaladopters

havetriedothertablegeometries.AlabamahasXandT‐shapedtables.NewHampshirehaslollipop‐

shapedtables,butisnowchangingtorounds.Tokyohas“beanshaped”tables.Itisinterestingto

notethatTokyolearnedaboutSCALE‐UPfromtheTEALprojectatMIT.GeorgiaSouthern,an

institutionthatlearnedaboutSCALE‐UPfromAlabama,hasrectangulartables.Itwouldbeusefulto

seewhythesechangesweremadeandexaminetheirimpactonthelearningenvironment.

Figure5:XandT‐shapedtablesattheUniversityofAlabama,“Lollipop”tablesattheUniversityofNewHampshire,and

“Bean”tablesattheUniversityofTokyo.PhotoscourtesyofStanJones,DawnMerideth,andToshioMochizuki.

V. Next steps

IcontinuetotraveltocollegesaroundthecountrytodescribetheSCALE‐UPlearningenvironment

andhelpotherswhoareconsideringadoptingtheapproach.Recentlymanyinternationaltripshave

beenmade,includingvisitstoschoolsinAustralia,Canada,Chile,China,Italy,Mexico,Portugal,and

Switzerland.TheSCALE‐UPwebsitehasbeenupdatedsotheimplementingsitescansharetheir

classroomdesigns,instructionalmaterials,anddocumenttheresearchtheyhavedoneonthe

effectivenessoftheirreforms.Nowweneedtobegincollaboratingoneducationalresearchprojects.

Itwouldbeusefultoseehowimplementationstrategies,classroomdesigns,courseoperation,and

effectivenessoftheseadoptionsvariesbysizeandtypeofinstitution,aswellasexaminevariation

duetocontentorstudentdemographicdifferences.

Acknowledgements

IwouldberemissifIdidnotthankthehundredsofpeoplewhohavebeeninvolvedofdeveloping,

adopting,andadaptingSCALE‐UPforclassroomsaroundtheworld.Inparticular,Iappreciatethe

supportofmyNCStatecolleaguesPhillipStiles,JerryWhitten,DanSolomon,Jo‐AnnCohen,Chris

Gould,MichaelPaesler,RichFelder,JohnRisley,MariaOliver‐Hoyo,PeterEvans,andEveretteAllen.

JeffSaulgatheredmuchoftheearlydataoninstructionalimpactandcarefullyensureditsquality.

DavidAbbott,RhettAllen,ScottBonham,MelissaDancy,DuaneDeardorff,andJeanneMorsealso

helpedwithdatacollectionfromtheinitialefforts.Forthisreport,severaladoptersprovidedresults

atamoment’snoticeorhadpreviouslypublishedresultswhichtheygenerouslyshared,including

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JohnBelcher,JudyDori,AdamLeibovich,MichaelRogers,DanielleGoodwin,andAimeeWhiteside.

ExternalfundingwasprovidedbyFIPSE(PB116B71905,P116B000659)andNSF(DUE‐9752313,

DUE‐0127050,andDUE‐9981107).Ofcourse,noneofthiswouldhavebeenpossiblewithoutthe

cooperationofallthestudentstakingSCALE‐UPclasses,especiallywhilewewere“workingthebugs

out.”Thankstooneandall.

References

1 Thenamewasoriginally“Student‐CenteredActivitiesforLargeEnrollmentUniversityPhysics.”

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teachmanydifferentcontentareastoclassesofallsizes.

2 MITandMinnesotahaveroomsfor117students.Virginiaisplanningaroomfor162.Minnesota

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10 LairdKramer,EricBrewe,andGeorgeO'Brien,“ImprovingPhysicsEducationthroughaDiverse

ResearchandLearningCommunityatFloridaInternationalUniversity”,inAPS Forum on 

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11 DanielleGoodwin,internalreportfoundat

http://scaleup.ncsu.edu/groups/adopters/wiki/03ed0/Penn_State_Behrend.html.Accessed

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12 Reportedathttp://scaleup.ncsu.edu/groups/adopters/wiki/15c1e/Pittsburgh.html.Accessed

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13 LinDing,RuthChabay,BruceSherwood,andRobertBeichner,“Evaluatinganelectricityand

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14 MariaOliver‐HoyoandDeeDeeAllen,“EffectsofanActiveEnvironment:TeachingInnovationsat

aResearchIInstitution,”JournalofChemicalEducation81(3),441‐448(2004).

15 ScottSchiff,internalreportfoundat

http://www.clemson.edu/ese/research/SCALEUP/scaleCiE.pdf.AccessedSeptermber25,2008.

16 Personalcommunication,September18.2008.

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undergraduatedatabasesystemscourse,”UniversityofVictoria,2008.

18 YehuditJudyDoriandJohnBelcher,“HowDoesTechnology‐EnabledActiveLearningAffect

UndergraduateStudents’UnderstandingofElectromagnetismConcepts?,”Journalofthe

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19 YehuditJudyDori,ErinHult,LoriBreslow,andJohnW.Belcher,“Howmuchhavetheyretained?

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22 DavidP.Maloney,ThomasL.O'Kuma,CurtisJ.Hieggelke,andAlanVanHeuvelen,“Surveying

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(S1),S12‐23(2001).

23 TheECCEandotherassessmentinstrumentsareavailableattheWorkshopPhysicswebsite,

http://physics.dickinson.edu/%7Ewp_web/wp_resources/wp_assessment.html.

24 DavidScottAbbott,“Assessingstudentunderstandingofmeasurementanduncertainty,”PhD,

NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,2003;DuaneDeardorff,“IntroductoryPhysicsStudents'

TreatmentofMeasurementUncertainty,”PhD,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,2001.

25 JaniceStreitmatter,Toward Gender Equity in the Classroom: Everyday Teachers’ Beliefs and 

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26 DanielleGoodwin,internalreportfoundat

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Oberg,JeremyTodd,J.D.Walker,andAimeeWhiteside,“ActiveLearningClassroomsPilot

Evaluation”,(UniversityofMinnesota,Minneapolis,MN,2008),pp.6.

28 CarolL.Colbeck,AlbertoF.Cabrera,andPatrickT.Terenzini,“Learningprofessionalconfidence:

Linkingteachingpractices,students'self‐perceptions,andgender,”ReviewofHigherEducation

2,173‐191(2001).

29 ArthurBandura,Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.(PrenticeHall,

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SCALE‐UPApproachinStatics,Dynamics,andMultivariableCalculus”,inASEE Annual Conference 

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31 DanielleGoodwin,internalreportfoundat

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September9,2008.

32 Standardsforseveraldifferenttypesofprogramsareavailableathttp://www.abet.org.Accessed

Sept.10,2008.

33 R.J.Beichner,“Testingstudentinterpretationofkinematicsgraphs,”AmericanJournalofPhysics

62(8),750‐762(1994).

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34 PaulaVetterEngelhardtandRobertJ.Beichner,“Students'understandingofdirectcurrent

resistiveelectricalcircuits,”AmericanJournalofPhysics72(1),98‐115(2004).

35 EdwardF.Redish,JeffreyM.Saul,andRichardN.Steinberg,“Studentexpectationsin

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36 DanielMacIssacandKathleenFalconer,“ReformingphysicsteachingviaRTOP,”PhysicsTeacher

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37 EricMazur,Peer Instruction: A User's Manual.(Prentice‐Hall,UpperSaddleRiver,NJ,1997).

38 Privatecommunication

39 LindaL.Carli,“Genderandsocialinfluence,”JournalofSocialIssues57(4),725‐741(2001).

40 CharlesHendersonandMelissaH.Dancy,“Barrierstotheuseofresearch‐basedinstructional

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41 DavidPundakandShmaryahuRozner,“Empoweringengineeringcollegestafftoadoptactive

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