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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.
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14 MariaOliver‐HoyoandDeeDeeAllen,“EffectsofanActiveEnvironment:TeachingInnovationsat
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15 ScottSchiff,internalreportfoundat
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Evaluation”,(UniversityofMinnesota,Minneapolis,MN,2008),pp.6.
28 CarolL.Colbeck,AlbertoF.Cabrera,andPatrickT.Terenzini,“Learningprofessionalconfidence:
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31 DanielleGoodwin,internalreportfoundat
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32 Standardsforseveraldifferenttypesofprogramsareavailableathttp://www.abet.org.Accessed
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33 R.J.Beichner,“Testingstudentinterpretationofkinematicsgraphs,”AmericanJournalofPhysics
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34 PaulaVetterEngelhardtandRobertJ.Beichner,“Students'understandingofdirectcurrent
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