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f e l l o w s mangala joshua's final report

Project Description

Problem

Physics education research shows that there is a mismatch between what instructors teach ( try to get across to the students ) and what students learn . Research also shows that new knowledge is constructed from existing knowledge and that teachers have to pay attention to the incomplete understandings, the false beliefs, and naïve concepts that the learner brings with them to the classroom. Physics education research has also shown that traditional physics instruction induces only a small change in these naïve beliefs.

Traditional physics instruction (although not intended to) seems to promote memorization of facts rather than a conceptual understanding of the subject. Traditional physics courses lay heavy emphasis on problem solving and students tend to develop a formula —centered problem solving strategy or they see the selection of the correct formula as the key to problem solving .i.e. select the correct equation to plug the given numbers in to get the correct answer.

The past two to three decades has seen many attempts at reforming physics education, especially at the introductory college level. These efforts have emphasized the need for more active participation by students in an inquiry-oriented setting to construct their own knowledge. Many reformed courses have emerged that incorporates insights from physics educational research and they employ some sort of interactive engagement teaching method with success. I had used some of these methods in my classes and had experienced the fact that students learn better when they are actively engaged and discovering things for themselves.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn the modeling method of instruction which claims to correct many weaknesses of the traditional lecture-demonstration method, including the fragmentation of knowledge, student passivity and the persistence of naïve beliefs about the physical world. The main author of this method is Dr. David Hestenes, a physics professor at Arizona State University ( ASU ).The Modeling theory is grounded on the thesis that scientific activity is centered on modeling : the construction , validation and application of conceptual models to understand and organize the physical world.

The focus of my learning project was to learn, and implement the modeling method of instruction.

Objectives of my learning project

• To learn more about the preconceptions students bring with them and learn how to address them.
• Learn the modeling method of instruction.
• Implement the modeling method of instruction, specially learn how to facilitate the classroom discourse.
• Learn if and how this method promotes the transferability of knowledge from one context to another.

Project Implementation, Documentation and Evaluation

• As a first step I attended a four week intensive workshop on the modeling method at Arizona State University ( ASU ) in June 1999. The workshop was conducted by Dr. David Hestenes and one of his graduate students, Dwain Desbien.
• During the Fall of 1999 and the Spring of 2000 I was part of a team that taught the University Physics course for the engineering coalition class at ASU using the modeling method. My role in this classroom was more of a observer than a teacher. It was a great opportunity for me because one of the members of the teaching team was Dwain Desbien and he was experienced in teaching the modeling method. He had also mastered the art of managing the classroom discourse. This was the first time this method of instruction was used in a large class of 50 students and hence the need for more than one teacher.

• I also observed a physics class both in the fall and spring semester at Chandler Gilbert Community College (CGCC) taught by Dwain Desbien using the modeling method. I video taped this class on several occasions and I am in the process of producing an instructional video on the modeling method of instruction to share with my colleagues. I also interviewed about half the students in this class. Results will be discussed in a later section.
• I spent some time searching the literature and reading on various subjects related to education in general and also science education. I also searched for interactive computer software and interactive web activities that I can use (in the framework of the modeling method ) in the class and out of the class to enhance student learning

• I wrote a concept paper entitled physics in action describing a pilot program I am planning for the next academic year to teach the Fundamentals of Physical Science ( course taken by non-science majors ) and the University Physics ( course typically taken by engineering majors ) using the modeling method of instruction. I am in the process of securing funds from outside agencies for this program especially for new computers and equipment.

Documentation

I maintained notes of my findings in the literature, my observations in the classroom, and confirmations and contradictions of my ideas about student learning. As mentioned earlier I video taped the CGCC class on several occasions and I also videotaped the student interviews.

Highlights of my learning:

• I learned that this method concentrates on making the structure and content of physics as explicit as possible by organizing the material around a small number of "basic models " as coherent units of knowledge. Therefore this method is an efficient way of teaching the organization of scientific knowledge and the students gets a unified and coherent view of science. Also the model-centered instruction focuses on conceptual reconstruction of physical reality and thus leads them to a conceptual understanding of the subject.
• Some misconceptions that students bring into an introductory physics class have been researched and documented in the literature. It is possible to ask probing questions to reveal some of these and bring them out in the open to discuss. Students can be confronted with the inconsistency between their beliefs and empirical data. I also learnt how important it was to listen to the conversation in the groups. I learnt much about the misconceptions they have and how deep-rooted they were by listening to their conversations.
• Since models are representation of structure, students need to learn how to use the modeling tools to construct representations. The normal tools are verbal, mathematical, and graphical. Specialized tools include system schema, motion maps, free-body diagrams, energy phi charts, and energy bar charts. The complete description of a model requires multiple representations whereas in traditional classes students mostly use the mathematical representation. Instruction must be designed to systematically develop students skills in using modeling tools for them to see the value of these tools.
• Problem solving in physics is a modeling process thus is a natural extension to how students study phenomena using modeling. Also a single model can solve many problems and you need only a handful of models to solve most of the problems in introductory physics. In this class the students learn to look at the problem and come up with a suitable model ( they can adapt a familiar model to a new situation). Then they create one or more representations and they can extract information from the model. In fact they can infer many things other than the specific answer to the question at hand from the model. They can also check the reasonableness of the answer by referring back to the model.

• Transfer of knowledge from one context to another is affected by the degree to which students have a conceptual understanding rather than memorizing facts. In most physics classes students can solve a problem just like the one that the teacher did or the one worked out in the textbook but when confronted with a different problem they are at a loss as to how to proceed. When the facts are organized under general principles, as in the case of modeling, where the material is organized around a small number of basic models, students get a unified view of the subject. This helps the transfer process. For example one model can solve many problems. Yet transfer does not come easy to students and it takes time. They can be helped by solving a particular case and provide them with additional similar cases so that they can abstract general principles that can lead to transfer. After completing a certain problem you can lead the students to think how the solution would change if part of the problem was changed. When they are trying a new problem asking a question such as " how can you use what you learned earlier in this problem" could be helpful.
• I realized that for this method of instruction to be successful the teacher must be able to skillfully manage the classroom discourse. These are some of my observations and findings in this area.

1. The first step to a successful discourse is to create an openness and respect for everyone’s views so every student is encouraged to participate and give his/her opinion. ( This was obvious from the students interviews which I will discuss in a later section).
2. Educational research shows that students and teacher do not attach the same meaning to technical words like acceleration or force , which are also used in day to day conversations. This was mainly dealt with in the large discussion groups. The students were discouraged to use a technical word until the group had discussed and come to a common understanding as to what it meant.
3. When the students are working in their small groups, the teacher goes around listens to the discussion, and asks them probing questions either to bring out their misconceptions or to lead them along the desired path. When appropriate, the teacher would seed new ideas and the students would expand on them and build on them. When they come to the large group they would bring these with them which made the discussion very rich.
4. In the beginning when presenting their white boards or expressing their opinions, the students would tend to look back at the teacher as if seeking approval. They had to be encouraged to look at the group and discuss with their peers. The teacher would interrupt the discussion only to lead the discussion in the desired path. Many times I was impatient to correct them but it was important that they discussed and come to a complete understanding as possible by themselves . If you correct them too soon, they don’t see a need to continue the discussion.
5. The immediate feedback from peers and teacher helps students to clarify, confirm, or modify their ideas.

Assessment and evaluation

• Formative assessment was an ongoing process in this class. Students learn to assess their own work from the feedback given by peers and the teacher in the classroom and by comments on homework assignments , projects etc. Opportunity was given to revise their work, individually and in groups taking into consideration the feedback given. I felt this was very important because students were encouraged to reflect on what they did and try to improve the quality of their work in fact the quality of their thinking. I feel if this can be done in a systematic fashion we can help students to become metacognitive about their learning. Students were also given the opportunity to asses their peer’s work and learn to give constructive feedback.

• As a summative assessment, students were given the Force Concept Inventory (FCI ) and the Conceptual survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM ) as pre and post tests. The questions in the FCI were designed to elicit preconceptions about the subject. The post test can probe whether their preconceptions persists. The FCI was given in the fall semester to three classes at the same level that used the modeling method of instruction i.e. engineering coalition class at ASU which I was involved in, honors physics class at ASU , and a CGCC class. It was also given to a same level class at ASU taught in the traditional method ( lecture and lab)The results are shown in Fig 1. The first graph shows the percentage score for pre and post test results. The second graph shows the gain which is defined as

Gain = (% post - % pre)/ ( 100 - % pre )

• I interviewed the students of the CGCC class to assess the impact of this method of instruction on their learning. The complete interviews are on videos. Here are some of the comments in the following areas.

"In our groups you don’t feel bad to say I came up with this idea although it is far

fetched"

As I look back on the past year, I feel that the MIL fellowship was a great learning experience for me . It was a luxury to have the time to think and reflect on what I was learning. Getting together with the other fellows from time to time was very important. Although the five of us came from different disciplines we all had a common goal: to help our students to think critically and gain a good understanding of the subject. The MIL staff has helped me in many ways in trying to achieve my goals I set forth for this project.

During this past year the emphasis has changed from my teaching to student learning. I have become very interested in how student learn and would like to do more research in this area . I would also like to learn more about the preconceptions and beliefs that students bring into the classroom and how these affect their learning.

Although I have learnt and implemented the modeling method of instruction this past year I know that I have much to learn in using this method of instruction. I have to keep teaching to learn more about this method , especially how to facilitate the classroom discourse.

As I reflect back on my years of teaching I can see how my ideas of assessment has changed or broadened. In the beginning assessment was in the form of tests given for the purpose of giving them a grade for the course Even then I realized that it was not a very good method. I knew some students who got B’ s who had a better understanding of the subject than some who got A ‘s. Then I began to think of the answers I get back from the students on home work , and exams as a feedback so that I can work on improving what I was doing , to enhance their learning. That is when I started giving them a quiz every week so that I get feedback from them as to what they know and do not know instead of waiting four weeks to find out ( when I give the first exam). The form of the questions have also changed over the years. Questions probe their understanding rather than their ability to memorize facts. This past year assessment has a whole new meaning for me. I am able to asses their learning almost everyday by listening to their conversations , presentations and arguments. I can change what I plan to do tomorrow taking into account what I observe in the class today. Another important aspect of assessment is how students can learn to assess themselves to improve their own learning. This will make them more responsible for their own learning.

f e l l o w s mangala joshua's final report