Supporting Sustainable Active Learning Challenges and Opportunities Dennis DeTurck, University of Pennsylvania Symposium on the Use and Assessment of Active Learning in Mathematics August 2016

AAU Framework for STEM Education Reform

Penn’s AAU/STEM Initiative Improves introductory courses in mathematics, chemistry,  physics, and bioengineering through teaching practices that foster active learning.     Support faculty in developing Structured Active In-class Learning (SAIL) Evaluate the impact of that teaching Disseminate SAIL practices across campus Develop appropriate classroom spaces Provide support for video creation. A Faculty Board helps departments understand how students apply materials   from introductory courses as they take courses in other departments, and provides information sharing and coordination between departments.  

Elements of a SAIL course: SAIL promotes active learning during class time, taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by face-to-face meetings, providing environments where: Students interact with instructors and peers during the learning process Students discuss and receive feedback on their understanding in real time Highly structured activities ensure engagement and provide support and direction for students Elements of a SAIL course: Students participate in authentic practices in class, such as analyzing data, solving problems and applying concepts Out of class assignments, such as readings and videos, are designed to prepare students for the in-class learning.

FACULTY MOTIVATION TO EXPERIMENT FACULTY COUNCIL on ACCESS and ACHIEVEMENT Review of data on persistence in science How many who took General Chemistry graduated with a science major? Nationally ~ 25% At Penn ~75%, but less than 60% among URMs Review of data on achievement in science and other gateway courses URM students earn grades ~0.3 lower than their counterparts with similar testing data

MATH SAIL FEATURES Experiments with several different active-learning approaches Some examples: directed viewing of video modules, directed reading of textbook (or course-pack materials) Emphasis on “meta-curriculum” (focus on concepts and ideas rather than exclusively on performing computations) Consultation with partner departments and schools, e.g., development of new “Math 104E” for engineers and Math 110 for Wharton students

s A focus on persistence in STEM fields – nationally about 25% of students who start out in science actually graduate with a STEM bachelor’s degree. At Penn, using CHEM 101 as the marker for interest in science, that number is 75% -- quite impressive. However women and students from minorities underrepresented in science persists at significantly lower rates – around 60% for women and 50% for minority students. Led to work with CTL on development of SAIL – grant from AAU, proposal out to HHMI – using video lectures (such as Ghrist MOOC material) to change nature of classroom experience – I took these photos at a calculus LECTURE a couple of weeks ago.

FACULTY REACHED Chemistry 1(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) Physics 4 (6) 5 (6) 4 (9)   2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 (planned) Chemistry 1(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) Physics 4 (6) 5 (6) 4 (9) Mathematics ~ 2 (6) 3 (9) 3 (8) 3 (5) Bioengineering 1 (1) Earth/Env Sci 1 (2) 2 (3) Biology Non-STEM 7 (10) 9 (12)

STEM SAIL courses include: Intro and Organic Chemistry *Introduction to Calculus *Non-major Physics I and II *Calculus I *Intro Physics I and II Calculus I for business students Oceanography * = multiple sections each semester

Three examples of Penn’s Collaborative Classrooms: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, ARCH, and David Rittenhouse Laboratory

Reconfiguring space is not without its challenges

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT RESULTS Performance data: Difference between SAIL and non-SAIL performance on common final exam eclipsed by section differences. Comparison with diagnostic test scores does not provide significant SAIL vs non-SAIL results. Survey data: SAIL students more likely to agree that “the structure of the course supports my learning.”  Persistence data: % Students in SAIL sections that enrolled in an upper level course % Students in non- SAIL sections that enrolled in an upper level course p (Pearson’s Chi-square) Math 103 2014C 63.2% 40.8% 0.002 2015C 43.8% 48.7% 0.319 Math 104 44.1% 30.2% 0.004 31.0% 20.8% 0.11 Thanks to: E. Elliott, CTL and R. Maynard, GSE