Large Introductory Physics Course Research Articles

Improving Effectiveness of Teaching Large Introductory Physics Courses with Modern Information Technology

Abstract We facilitated active involvement in learning of all students addressing also their individual backgrounds by carrying out diagnostic tests, offering a variety of web based resources and class activities. Elements of the flipped class and multimedia means were introduced by providing video recording of lectures and getting feedback through question-answer sessions and by administering mini quizzes. The significant cultural, educational and ethnical diversity of the class required also to address individual qualities and preferences of the students by providing a wide range of educational materials. In the future, it is important to develop quantitative statistical characteristics which can serve as metrics for the efficiency of different course components. The roles of different course components were analyzed, in particular the final grade and the completion success of homework assignments and answers on clicker questions were correlated. The emphasis was placed on comprehension of the basic mathematics concepts needed for the course that was assessed at the beginning, and the problem solving skills were tested at the intermediate exams.

Measuring the impact of an instructional laboratory on the learning of introductory physics

We have analyzed the impact of taking an associated lab course on the final exam scores in two large introductory physics courses. Performance between students who did and did not take the lab course was compared using final exam questions from the associated courses that related to concepts from the lab courses. The population of students who took the lab in each case was somewhat different from those who did not enroll in the lab course in terms of background and major. Those differences were taken into account by normalizing their performance on the lab-related questions with scores on the exam questions that did not involve material covered in the lab. The average benefit on lab-related questions for students who took the lab, in both courses, was within 0.6% of the score of students who did not, with an uncertainty of less than 2%. This result raises questions as to the effectiveness of labs at supporting mastery of physics content.

Interactions between teaching assistants and students boost engagement in physics labs

Through in-class observations of teaching assistants (TAs) and students in the lab sections of a large introductory physics course, we study which TA behaviors can be used to predict student engagement and, in turn, how this engagement relates to learning. For the TAs, we record data to determine how they adhere to and deliver the lesson plan and how they interact with students during the lab. For the students, we use observations to record the level of student engagement and pre- and post-tests of lab skills to measure learning. We find that the frequency of TA-student interactions, especially those initiated by the TAs, is a positive and significant predictor of student engagement. Interestingly, the length of interactions is not significantly correlated with student engagement. In addition, we find that student engagement was a better predictor of post-test performance than pre-test scores. These results shed light on the manner in which students learn how to conduct inquiry and suggest that, by proactively engaging students, TAs may have a positive effect on student engagement, and therefore learning, in the lab.

Attitudes about science and conceptual physics learning in university introductory physics courses

This paper examines the results of the repeated administration of the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) in a large introductory physics course at a midsize, metropolitan Canadian university. We compare the results to those obtained previously in comparable courses at the University of British Columbia (Canada) and the University of Colorado (U.S.). Atypically, students in this study exhibited a positive shift in their attitudes about science over the semester. The change in students' attitudes across the term appears to be moderated by their educational background---specifically, whether they had taken grade 12 physics or not. The correlation between students' attitudes and their conceptual knowledge also appears to be influenced by students' educational background. The results have pedagogical implications for instructors of introductory college and university physics and potentially for other science courses.

Comparison of student performance using web- and paper- based homework in large enrollment introductory physics courses

The effects of web-based homework and paper-and-pencil homework on student achievement were compared by conducting conceptual tests, exams, and homework assignments. The study was performed on two groups (287 students in total) during three semesters at a public university in the middle region of the US. Of the two identical sections of an introductory calculus-based course, students in one section received paper-and-pencil homework, while the students in the other section received web-based homework. When the results obtained from the study were evaluated statistically, it was found that there was not any significant difference in conceptual test and exam scores between the two groups throughout the three semesters. However, the homework performance scores for the web-based homework group were higher than the performance scores of the paper-and-pencil homework group. Key words: Higher education, paper-and-pencil homework, physics education, web-based homework.

Comparison of the effectiveness of collaborative groups and peer instruction in a large introductory physics course for science majors

We report on an experiment comparing examinations of concepts using slightly modified peer instruction (MPI) interventions with a conceptual conflict strategy based on collaborative groups (CG). Four interventions were utilized in two sections of an introductory physics course for science students. Both instructors and strategies were alternated in the two classes so that instructor dependence could be factored out and so that each class could serve as both an experimental and a control group. The gain on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) used as a pre- and post-test is essentially the same in both classes. The instructors were experienced in use of MPI, but this was the first time that these instructors had used a collaborative group activity in their classes and only used it for the two interventions in each class described in this paper. CG appears to be more effective as a teaching method than PI. It also should be noted that the effectiveness of both teaching methods seems to be instructor independent as long as the instructors followed the same protocol.

The effect of interactive lecture experiments on student academic achievement and attitudes towards physics

This paper examines the effects of computer-based Interactive Lecture Experiments (ILEs) in a large introductory physics course on student academic achievement and attitudes towards physics. ILEs build on interactive lecture demonstrations by requiring students to analyze data during and after lecture demonstrations. Academic achievement was measured using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and final examinations' grades; and student attitudes were measured using a Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS). FCI results showed a general positive shift (about average for an interactive course) but could not detect improvements in student understanding of specific topics addressed by ILEs. However, open-ended questions on the final exam showed differences between sections on topics that were addressed by ILEs. Attitude survey results showed a negative shift in student attitudes over the semester, which is a typical result for an introductory physics course. This finding suggests that ILE pedagogy alone is insufficient to significantly improve student attitudes toward science. The study also revealed possible improvements to implementing ILEs such as working in groups, ongoing feedback for students, and linking assessment to pedagogical practices.

Reflections on the University of British Columbia Faculty Certificate Program

The paper presents a personal reflection on the Faculty Certificate Program (FCP) in Higher Education at the University of British Columbia and its impact on one of the program participants – a university instructor of large introductory physics courses. FCP provided the instructor with much needed support in her quest to redefine and revisit a large first year physics course via developing a scholarly approach to teaching, breaking the interdepartmental and inter-faculty barriers and eventually becoming a part of a larger Scholarship of Teaching and Learning community.

Evaluating multiple-choice exams in large introductory physics courses

subset of students were ranked independently based on their multiple-choice score, graded explanations, and student interviews. The ranking of these students based on their multiple-choice score was found to be consistent with the ranking assigned by physics instructors based on the students’ written explanations r 0.94 at the 95% confidence level and oral interviews r = 0.94 �0.09 .

Use of analogy in learning physics: The role of representations

Previous studies have demonstrated that analogies can promote student learning in physics and can be productively taught to students to support their learning, under certain conditions. We build on these studies to explore the use of analogy by students in a large introductory college physics course. In the first large-scale study of its kind, we demonstrate that different analogies can lead to varied student reasoning. When different analogies were used to teach electromagnetic (EM) waves, we found that students explicitly mapped characteristics either of waves on strings or sound waves to EM waves, depending upon which analogy students were taught. We extend these results by investigating how students use analogies. Our findings suggest that representational format plays a key role in the use of analogy.

The Surprising Impact of Seat Location on Student Performance

Every physics instructor knows that the most engaged and successful students tend to sit at the front of the class and the weakest students tend to sit at the back. However, it is normally assumed that this is merely an indication of the respective seat location preferences of weaker and stronger students. Here we present evidence suggesting that in fact this may be mixing up the cause and effect. It may be that the seat selection itself contributes to whether the student does well or poorly, rather than the other way around. While a number of studies have looked at the effect of seat location on students, the results are often inconclusive, and few, if any, have studied the effects in college classrooms with randomly assigned seats.1 In this paper, we report on our observations of a large introductory physics course in which we randomly assigned students to particular seat locations at the beginning of the semester. Seat location during the first half of the semester had a noticeable impact on student success in the course, particularly in the top and bottom parts of the grade distribution. Students sitting in the back of the room for the first half of the term were nearly six times as likely to receive an F as students who started in the front of the room. A corresponding but less dramatic reversal was evident in the fractions of students receiving As. These effects were in spite of many unusual efforts to engage students at the back of the class and a front-to-back reversal of seat location halfway through the term. These results suggest there may be inherent detrimental effects of large physics lecture halls that need to be further explored.

Tips for Using a Peer Response System in a Large Introductory Physics Class

Teaching a large introductory physics course can be a challenge for a young physics instructor, and making a large physics lecture interactive may seem almost impossible. The most difficult part about the large class is that due to its size there is very little real-time interaction between the students and the lecturer. The instructor often does not know how well the students understand the lecture or how actively they are involved in it. The lack of real-time communication might make it very difficult and misleading for both the students and the instructor. Fortunately, recently we witnessed the proliferation of technological tools that can help the instructor get instantaneous feedback during the lecture. One of these tools is the peer response system (PRS).1

Encouraging and analyzing student questions in a large physics course: Meaningful patterns for instructors

AbstractIn a large introductory physics course, structured weekly journals (weekly reports) regularly encouraged students to ask questions about the material. The resulting questions were collected for one quarter and coded based on difficulty and topic. Students also took several conceptual tests during the quarter. The reports contained more questions than typically observed in a college classroom, but the number of questions asked was not correlated to any measure of conceptual performance. Relationships among different types of questions and performance on these tests were explored. Deeper‐level questions that focus on concepts, coherence of knowledge, and limitations were related to the variance in student conceptual achievement. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 776–791, 2003

Exploration center for large introductory physics courses

We have designed a Physics Exploration Center (PEC) to supplement traditional lecture-oriented teaching in large introductory physics courses. The central objective of PEC is to provide students with an opportunity for hands-on, lecture demonstration-based homework problems. It is a cost-effective supplement to lectures since PEC equipment can be borrowed from existing lecture demonstration equipment.

Interactive worksheets in large introductory physics courses

This paper analyzes in-class worksheets as an active-learning technique in a large introductory physics class. Instructor and student evaluations of the worksheets are discussed, and suggestions for teachers interested in writing their own worksheets are made.

PSST! — Want to buy my lecture notes?

A few years ago, when the Internet was really taking off and Case Western Reserve University was in the vanguard of efforts to electronically link everyone on campus, an idea came to me. I teach the large introductory physics courses having around 200 students in a lecture and I have been handing out daily homework assignment sheets to all the students in the classes. This involved a great deal of tedious photocopying and the carrying of vast quantities of paper to class each day. My thought was, why not put all this stuff on the Web so that students could access it whenever and wherever they wanted? A colleague warned me against this. “If you do that,” I was told, “students will have no reason to come to your lectures.“

Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 1: Group versus individual problem solving

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of cooperative group learning on the problem solving performance of college students in a large introductory physics course. An explicit problem solving strategy was taught in the course, and students practiced using the strategy to solve problems in mixed-ability cooperative groups. A technique was developed to evaluate students’ problem solving performance and determine the difficulty of context-rich problems. It was found that better problem solutions emerged through collaboration than were achieved by individuals working alone. The instructional approach improved the problem solving performance of students at all ability levels.