Slide1: Carl Wieman, Univ. of Colorado and most other subjects I) Data on effectiveness of traditional science teaching. II) A better approach. Specific examples. (based on research, CU tested) (CU physics & chem ed. research, W. Adams, K. Perkins, Kara Gray, Linda Koch, Jack Barbera, Sarah McKagan, N. Finkelstein, Steve Pollock,... $$ NSF, Kavli)


Slide2: Science education more important, different purpose than in the past. Need to make science education effective and relevant for large fraction of population! Survival of world. Wise decisions by citizenry on global (technical) issues. Workforce in High-Tech Economy. Not just for scientists


Slide3: Essence of an "effective education". Think about science like a scientist. Transform how think about science-- “novice” attitudes and problem solving into “expert”.


Slide4: II. Some data on effectiveness of traditional approach to science teaching. lecture, textbook homework problems, exams (most data from physics but applies to other sciences, etc.) 1. Retention of information from lecture. 2. Conceptual understanding. 3. Beliefs about science.


Slide5: 15 minutes later in the lecture Question to Class: The sound you hear from a violin is produced by: mostly by strings, b) mostly by wood in back, c) both equally, d) none of the above. What fraction gave the correct answer? a. 0%, b. 10 %, c. 30%, d. 50%, e. 80% Explain about sound & violin. Show class a violin Tell them that the strings cannot move enough air Point inside violin to show a sound post Tell them strings causes back of violin to move and back is what makes the sound 1. Lecturing and retention


Slide6: responses (%) A B C D E 84% 10% 3% 3% 0% "Sound you hear from a violin is produced …" a. mostly by strings, b. mostly by wood in back, c. both equally, d. none of above. ans. B. (students had been told 15 minutes earlier) later in talk-- how to get >90% after 2 days very typical for nonobvious fact (even with profs and grad students)


Slide7: Redish- interviewed students as came out of lecture. "What was the lecture about?" unable to say anything but vaguest generalities Rebello and Zollman- had 18 students answer six questions, then told them to get answers to these 6 questions from following 14 minute lecture. (Commercial video, highly prepared and polished, "world's most wonderful physics lecturer") Most questions, less than one student was able to get answer to questions from listening to lecture.


Slide8: traditional approach not effective for developing conceptual understanding. Lecturer quality, class size, institution,...doesn't matter! R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98). Force Concept Inventory- conceptual content survey on basic concepts of force and motion 2. Conceptual understanding. How well are physics concepts mastered by students who complete traditional intro physics course?


Slide9: Conceptual understanding (cont). Eric Mazur (Paired problems)


Slide10: Novice Expert Content: isolated pieces of information to be memorized. Handed down by an authority. Unrelated to world. Problem solving: pattern matching to memorized arcane recipes. (boring, useless, "antiscience") nearly all physics courses  more novice ref. Redish et al, CU work--Adams, Perkins, MD, NF, SP, CW 3. Beliefs about science and problem solving (measured)* Content: coherent structure of concepts. Describes nature, established by experiment. Prob. Solving: Systematic concept-based strategies. Widely applicable. *adapted from D. Hammer


Slide11: Science Education Research Conclusions: Hard to know what students actually are (and are not) learning. Most students "learning" rote memorization of facts and problem solving recipes, not understanding. Useful only to pass class. also learning science is uninteresting and irrelevant


Slide12: How to improve this situation? Use tools of science to teach science! Practices and principles based on research and data, not tradition. Effective use of technology. Disseminate and build upon proven methods. like science research, copy what works!


Slide13: I. Use of research on how people learn. explain results shown, guide how to do better a. cognitive load *b. importance of attitudes and beliefs c. developing expert competence II. Effective use of technology *a. student personal response systems *b. interactive simulations A few illustrative specifics * work from Col. sci. ed. research group most applies to all subjects


Slide14: examples-- using research on how people learn a. Cognitive load-- best established, most ignored. Implication for teaching: Teacher can present MUCH more material than students can process. 7 2 items max. short term working memory.


b. Importance of student beliefs about physics (science) and science problem solving: b. Importance of student beliefs about physics (science) and science problem solving Piles of Data! Beliefs  content learning Beliefs  choice of major/retention Teaching practices  students’ beliefs 5000 stds) Score agree (% favorable) or disagree with expert view We developed and tested new beliefs survey. online at CLASS.colorado.edu


Slide16: Beliefs and choice of major/retention "Personal Interest" correlates with choice of major Large gender gap in ‘Personal Interest/relevance’ Men: 62% Women: 41% Want more students, including women and minorities, to go into science? Improve their beliefs ("personal interest")! Possible with teaching??


Slide17: Teaching practices and beliefs 64% 64% 60% 56% 56% Post Pre Overall Beliefs (%favorable) Decline in beliefs all intro phys courses (also in chem.) Even with interactive engagement, good conceptual gains. BUT can avoid decline if explicitly address beliefs. 58% 66% 51% 58% 57% Why is this worth learning? Connection to real world. Why does this make sense?


Slide18: Actively construct new way of thinking. Built on prior thinking Organize and use those facts. or c. Expert competence = fact. knowledge + organizational structure  effective retrieval and application of facts Make them think, guide that thinking! c. Research on developing expert competence Can't just pour facts into passive student.


Slide19: Some technology that can help. ( when used properly) Personal electronic response systems--facilitate active thinking and useful guidance. Relatively cheap. individual # "Jane Doe picked B"


Slide20: responses (%) responses A B C D E 84% 10% 3% 3% 0% "Sound you hear from a violin is produced …" a. mostly by strings, b. mostly by wood in back, c. both equally, d. none of above. ans. B. (students had been told 15 minutes earlier)


Slide21: The KEY to clicker effectiveness use guided by how people learn Questions and follow-up: Focus students on processing ideas, “organize and apply” Communication and feedback (student-instructor, student-student) 3 student consensus groups, listen in on discussions, as well as see histogram. Respond accordingly Reflection (why answer, why not other answers) clickers- technology not automatically helpful Only require students to commit to an answer (accountability + peer anonymity) When used properly transform classroom. Dramatically improved engagement, thinking, discourse, number and distribution of questions.


Slide22: supported by: Kavli Operating Inst., NSF, Univ. of Col., and A. Nobel phet.colorado.edu Interactive simulations Physics Education Technology Project (PhET) Wide range of physics topics and some chem., well tested, free online or download. Run in regular web-browser. Use in lecture, lab, homework. (often better than reality!)


Slide23: Summary: Need new, more effective approach to science ed. Traditional lecture, textbooks, homework, exams often teach against true understanding and interest in science. Solution: Approach teaching as a science Guided by good data/research, use technology. Copy what proven to work. Good Refs.: NAS Press “How people learn” , "How students learn" Redish, “Teaching Physics” (Phys. Ed. Res.) Mayer, “Learning and Instruction” (cog. sci. applied) CLASS belief survey: http://cosmos.colorado.edu/phet/survey/CLASS/ phet simulations: phet.colorado.edu


Slide24: How Students Learn, eds Donovan and Bransford NAS Press 2005 3 well-established principles of effective teaching. 1. Engage prior understandings/thinking. 2. Essential role of both factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks in understanding. 3. Importance of student self monitoring and being mentally active. Tested case studies implementing in variety of subjects (history, math, science etc) various grade levels CEW- large science education research group, Chair--new Board on Science Education National Academy of Sciences Nobel prize in physics = expert in sci. ed.???


Slide25: For effective science teaching need: Know subject Know student thinking Know how students learn subject


Slide26: Carl Wieman Wendy Adams Noah Finkelstein Krista Beck Ron LeMaster Kathy Perkins Sam Reid Mike Dubson Noah Podolefsky Linda Frueh supported by: Kavli Operating Inst., NSF, Univ. of Col., and A. Nobel phet.colorado.edu Interactive simulations Physics Education Technology Project (PhET) Wide range of physics topics and some chem., well tested, free online or download moving man wave on string freq 33, tn max, damping .01 circuit const.


Slide27: research based teaching can achieve much better learning. Carefully decide what students should learn. Make objective measurements of starting point and results. Conclusions and guiding principles based on data. Change practices to improve results. Save and build on past materials and results. Good References: How People Learn; Brain, mind, experience, and School, NAS press Learning and Instruction, Mayer (educ. psych.-cog. sci.) Learning and Understanding, How Students Learn, both NAS press Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite, Redish physics simulations--phet.colorado.edu beliefs survey--CLASS.colorado.edu Summary


Slide28: Mean score on Q1-Q3: CCK = 0.59 , TRAD = 0.48 Statistically different, p<0.001 Time to build and evaluate real circuit Relevant final exam questions 2 months later 2. Research on sim as replacement. premed class: ½ did real DC circuits lab, half CCK sim.


Slide29: CW results- using clickers heavily. Transform classroom. Much higher retention of information ( >90% after 2 days). Much better critical thinking and scientific discussion. More questions (~4 ~15/class), broader distribution. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 great deal fair amount some a little none Usefulness of “lecture” to your learning? Student opinion clickers and consensus groups traditional lecture textbook ~ double attendance


Slide30: Bunch of research on design and effectiveness of sims. (Wendy Adams, Kathy Perkins, Noah F., et al) 1. Substantial improvement on concept questions when used in lecture vs real demos or static images. % right 100 Q1 Q2 real demo sim demo standing wave on string comparisons of sims vs. static images with explanation, also big gains


Slide31: How Students Learn, eds Donovan and Bransford NAS Press 2005 3 fundamental and well-established guiding principles of effective teaching. 1. Engaging prior understandings. 2. The essential role of factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks in understanding. 3. The importance of self monitoring. Tested case studies on implementation in math & science various grade levels


Slide32: But what about content coverage, don't you have to give up a lot? Some-- typically perhaps about 1/3-1/4 of material, but if students are not learning it, what is the point of teaching it? also-- if students just memorizing facts and recipes, do about as well with less time spent on it than usual. Can also have them cover some material without going over it in class.


Slide33: Student perspective on talk. How does this match my experience? Questions for your teachers: Why should I learn this? Why are you teaching like this? ("Wieman told me to ask.")


Slide34: Beliefs and choice of major/retention Personal Interest correlates with choice of major possibly, the most important factor


Slide35: (FCI test) Ref. R. Haake 14 classes traditional lecture 48 classes (various approaches to get students actively thinking more) Fraction of unknown basic concepts learned traditional lectures and homework just don’t work for conceptual understanding. Lecturer quality, class size, institution, ... doesn't matter!) 1 semester intro. physics


Beliefs and learning: Beliefs and learning Calc-based Phys I, Sp03: 416 students Content Learning: FMCE  normalized learning gain Pre Post


Slide37: If lectures are so bad, why are you giving us a lecture? Lectures are not inherently bad. It is an issue of what happens in the lecture. passive listening vs “cognitively engaged” Does this make sense? How is this related to my experience. Could I use this? How? Requires suitable match to audience background and preparation. Also, lecture and slides incorporate many features based on cognitive research.


Slide38: Ways in which we use: types of questions. Build class around clicker questions. 1. Start of class-- 3 question quizzes on reading. 2. Quick surveys on backgrounds, course issues, … 3. Students predict results for all demonstrations. 4. Check understanding of material covered. 5. Reveal prevailing misconception to confront/get attention leading into coverage of material. 8-10 substantial questions in 75 minute class assigned seats and groups, consensus answers


Slide39: line--1010 (fall ‘01): lots of demos, colored cards feedback, no groups (text a bit lower than lect.) column--1020 (spr ’03): used clickers, assigned seats and groups 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 great deal fair amount some a little none Usefulness of “lecture” to your learning? Does it work? 2. Student assessment. colored cards clickers


Slide40: III. Combining research based innovations The context: 1020 Intro algebra-based physics for nonscientists. 2nd term of 1010-1020 sequence. 1010 has 200 students, 1020 has 55 students (full 1010 grade spectrum except Fs) (enrollments have increased x 2-3 over 4 years) The challenge: Traditionally unpopular, Challenge to teach. 2 x 1.25 hour lectures, no recitations. The advantages: Largely overlooked by rest of dept. No constraints on curriculum or methods. Innovations (and success) based on general principles. Likely not class specific. Hard to do, easy to copy.


Slide41: Examples of research-based teaching that works. Few topics, explore in depth. Collaborative problem solving/scientific discourse. long hard homework requiring explanation of process and reasoning, not just simple answer. “selling” students on collaboration Explicit focus on novice/expert attitudes and creative problem solving. Start with tie to real world, make reasoning explicit focus. Ask students questions in class, elicit multiple solution approaches: e. g. 1) compare with lab results, 2) use equations, 3) compare with real world observation, 4) application of basic concept, 5) reason from previous class discussions. Not trying to pour knowledge into passive student. Student actively engaged in constructing new way of thinking and solving problems. Discuss how all work, advantages of combining multiple approaches and viewpoints.


Slide42: Testing the approach-transforming CU classes. The context: 1010/1020 Intro algebra-based physics for nonscientists. The challenge: Traditionally unpopular, 2 x 1.25 hour lectures, no recitations. The results: Time on homework and enrollment both up. Better expert-novice physics attitude results. Conceptual exam questions-- improve C  A Big increase in questions and comments (~ 20/class) Scientific reasoning and problem solving, enormous change! Innovations (and success) based on general principles. Likely not class specific. Recently seeing comparable results with 2nd intro course.


Slide43: ---------------------- -------------------------- ----------------------- + + + + + + + + + + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + lightning rods +++++++++++++++ + - - Lightning rods a. attract lightning to tip, prevent from hitting rest of building. b. prevent lightning from occurring. c. make it strike somewhere else. d. don’t actually do anything, are superstition. + + first asked-- 8% correct. Discuss reasoning, relate to concepts. Two days later, asked again. >90 % correct!! Lesson built around clicker question.


Slide44: 1. Classroom atmosphere- BIG CHANGE in 1020 (35-40 students) ~ 20 questions and comments/75 min class from 1/3 of students. Visitors thought were physics majors. 2. Homework- work longer, do better. 3. Enrollments and attendance up. 4. Exam performance-- ~ 1 sigma increase = 2 letter grades on conceptual understanding/transfer questions. 5. Student assessments of value toward learning. 6. Problem solving session environment. 7. CLASS student attitude survey, even or +. Measures of success.