Research on Interactive Engagement Methods in Physics Education
Suzanne Amador Kane, Haverford College Interactive Engagement
methods allow students to participate in class activities that
teach and provide formative assessment A variety of IE methods have
been developed based on education research How do we evaluate
whether various Interactive Engagement methods work?
Slide 2
Eric Mazurs Harvard experience Eric Mazur proposes that the
most important aspect of teaching is knowing what students know
(before & during lecture) He has found in studies done over 10
years that asking students questions during lectures & before
demonstrations and labs significantly improves learning by several
measures The questions allow students to participate in lecture
& allow everyone to see whether a concept has been understood
http://mazur-www.harvard.edu/
Slide 3
Mazurs ConcepTest idea: Mazur created simple interactive
questions to pose to students in lecture. Students forms pairs and
discuss the questions during class Answers are gathered &
assessed Instructor can allow more discussion, move on or explain
more. 3 to 5 questions are used each class
http://mazur-www.harvard.edu/
Slide 4
Mazurs group followed IE methods for 10 years in a variety of
institutions How do you assess results? Most groups use one of two
standardized tests These tests measure conceptual understanding
However, each brings cultural context and possible interpretational
issues
Slide 5
More Interactive Engagement Chemistrys POGIL project MITs TEAL
(Technology Enabled Active Learning) Studio Physics Tutorials in
Physics (U. Washington) Studio Physics (RPI) U. Maryland Physics
North Carolina State U.s SCALE-UP MIT TEAL
Slide 6
Ideas from education research that can be probed using IE
methods Testing preconceptions Addressing particular issues found
most perplexing and difficult to learn Asking pre- and
post-discussion questions to motivate students Seeing whether a
class is ready to move on Allowing students to see how others are
doing
Slide 7
However, IE by itself can be ineffective In an AJP article, Yeo
et al. discovered that interactive multimedia can be ineffectual
teaching tools for physics. In their study, students used a popular
computer animation package to explore physical phenomena. They were
supposed to explore the experiments and discover unexpected
effects.
Slide 8
However, most of the time, the students were not reflecting on
what they saw:
Slide 9
Students tended to quickly perform the multimedia exercises,
without appreciating what their point was. Having an instructor
merely talk with them improved their experience greatly.
Slide 10
The Matrix Effect Jonnie Pober (HC Physics 07) points out that
computer simulations have another defect Students know that
computers can be programmed to show whatever effect is desired.
This may mean that multimedia exercises are regarded with suspicion
(a la The Matrix).
Slide 11
IE Methods can be highly effective in enhancing traditional
methods: Catherine Crouch (now at Swat!) et al. learned that
traditional classroom demonstrations often do not change students
understanding of a physical phenomenon, even when they see an
experiment before their eyes that challenges their preconceptions
In their study in AJP, Crouch et al. showed that student
understanding of physical concepts was influenced significantly by
having students: A) first predict the result of a demonstration,
then B) witness the demonstration, then C) answer a follow-up
question and explain the resolution of any contradiction between
parts A and C.
Slide 12
Watch out for subtleties in how you assess Laura McCullough, U.
Wisconsin Stout has explored gender bias in the Force Concept
Inventory test, constructed in the late 1990s The people portrayed
in the test questions are almost all white males, and the test
questions have what she deemed a male- oriented bias (sports,
weapons, etc. based questions) What happens if the quesitons are
made gender-neutral or biased in the reversed (stereotypical)
direction?
