Proficiency Based Physics Brooke Schmidt and Eric Hawker Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

Goal: Transform a standard physics class into a class that is proficiency based. This is a change in assessment philosophy from… Traditional class : Grades are an average of a student’s performance on assignments at pre-determined times. to Proficiency based class: Grades are a measure of what the student understands, independent of when they understand it.

Why do this? Focus on learning. Meet the needs of students of many different educational backgrounds from throughout the state. Increase engagement by meeting the student at their level. Increase ownership in learning by giving choice.

Student Inquiries in Physics (SI Physics) – Sophomore level course (1 st year students at IMSA) – One semester Focus of study: Beginning Classical Mechanics – Newton's laws of motion – Conservation laws of momentum and energy – Generally just in one dimension of motion

Flexible Pacing Students may spend more time working on a concept they are having trouble with or move on when they have mastered the topic. Minimum due dates are given for each unit. Each class begins with a whole class lesson. During work time, students work on labs, problem sets, take unit assessments (tests) and retakes while the teacher provides individual and small group instruction.

Important Resources Moodle or some other online course management system. Quest ( online problem sets. Turnitin.com – for much easier online grading. ExamView – used to create exams from the exam question banks. Online tutorials and other resources – The Physics Classroom ( – And others

Proficiency Based Grading Specific Learning Objectives for each unit are identified and grouped into Measurement Topics Student performance is assessed at three different levels for each Measurement Topic (A, B, C…) Students may take multiple tests (max 3) to improve their level of understanding and score. Each test is unique with different questions for each objective group. There is a focus on conceptual understanding in addition to solving computational problems.

UnitMeasurement Topics MomentumImpulse and Momentum Conservation of Momentum Newton's LawsFree Body Diagrams Newton’s 1 st and 2 nd laws Newton’s 3 rd law KinematicsGraphing motion Equations of motion GravitationUniversal Gravitation Weight vs. Mass Free FallFree fall motion, conceptual Free fall motion, mathematical Experimental DesignExperimental design Circular MotionCircular motion, conceptual Circular motion, mathematical EnergyWork and energy Conservation of energy The MoonPhases of the moon

Learning Objectives Momentum and Impulse: 1.Understand the differences between scalar and 1-D vector (i.e. magnitude and direction) quantities. 2. Define momentum and impulse, including knowing units for each. 3. Calculate the change in a quantity (final value – initial value). 4. Be able to solve problems and explain scenarios conceptually using the impulse-momentum theorem. 5. Be able to solve problems and explain scenarios conceptually using the law of conservation of momentum. 6. Use data collection tools including motion sensors and force probes and analyze the data collected by these tools to solve for an unknown quantity.

Student Survey Results Question: Do the curriculum changes help me to better understand the material? Fall 2010Spring 2011Fall 2011 Strongly Disagree/ Disagree22%12% Neither Agree nor Disagree16%10% Agree/Strongly Agree62%78%

Final Exam Data Spring 2010 Spring 2011 Fall 2011

Force Concept Inventory Results Pretest average ≈ 30% Post test average ≈ 55% Gain of 25% Comparable to other high school physics programs. Ref: FCI, published in the Physics Teacher, March 1992.

MOSART Pre and Post testing show expected improvement in student understanding of physics. Ref: Both faculty and students have made numerous comments which have guided our changes that we have made over the last three semesters. Other Data