Reformed Instruction and Experience: Is there a Link? Tara Bartiromo, Suzanne Brahmia, Hector Lopez and Eugenia Etkina July 28, 2009 AAPT Summer Meeting Ann Arbor, Michigan

Physics Union Mathematics: The Essential Elements

Investigative Science Learning Environment, college physics Etkina and Van Heuvelen (2001; 2007) + yes no My observations (data) Revision Multiple explanations, mechanisms or relations between physical quantities Assumptions More + Applications Testing experiments: Does outcome match prediction based on explanation/relation? check different

The Teachers Implementing PUM  Middle school and high school teachers  A total of 30 teachers from 10 school districts: 20 new PUM teachers and 10 experienced PUM teachers  All teachers participated in a 2-day summer training held at Rutgers.  The experienced PUM teachers helped develop the materials and have taught the curriculum for 2 years: in ’07/‘08 and ’08/’09. Curriculum: Pilot tested ‘07/’08  Revised summer ‘08  Field tested by exp and new PUM teachers ‘08/’09

Research Questions 1.How do years of experience using a reformed curriculum relate to reformed teaching practices? 2.Is there a relationship between participation in the development of the curriculum and reformed teaching practices? 3.Do teachers implement the same lesson differently? What does it look like? In order to answer these questions, we observed teachers implementing the curriculum and recorded field notes and RTOP scores D. Sawada, M. D. Piburn, E. Judson, J. Turley, K. Falconer, R. Benford, and I. Bloom, School Science and Mathematics, 102, (2002).

Experience with PUM and Reformed Teaching Practices  10 observations of exp. PUM teachers 1 st year implementation - Mean: 59.7  29 observations of exp. PUM teachers 2 nd year implementation - Mean: 79.2 Difference in RTOP scores is statistically significant.

Participation in the Development and Reformed Teaching Practices  32 observations of new PUM teachers - Mean: 57.3  10 observations of exp. PUM teachers 1 st yr implementation - Mean: 59.7 Difference in mean RTOP scores for 1 st year NOT significant.

A Sample Case: The Teachers TeacherGrade/Subj ect Years of Experienc e Experience with PUM Physics Background TinaHigh school physics 4 yearsNew to PUMAverage physics background + methods courses Harry9 th grade physical science 4 yearsNew to PUMStrong physics background + methods courses Alex8 th grade science 5 yearsHelped develop PUM Physics background through methods courses

A Sample Case: The Lesson

A Sample Case: Did they Implement it Differently? Total RTOP Scores: Tina:58 Harry:49 Alex:78.5 All considered at least partially reformed in instruction. Alex is significantly more reformed in his teaching practices.

A Sample Case: What did the Lesson Look Like? Communication interactions and student/teacher interactions showed biggest differences. Alex and Tina focused on student ideas and allowed for student-student interactions.

 How do years of experience relate with the curriculum relate to reformed teaching practices?  Teachers are more reformed in their second year of using the curriculum.  Is there a relationship between participation in the development of the curriculum and reformed teaching?  No, only participation in the development in conjunction with experience implementing PUM do we see a relationship.  Do teachers implement the same lesson differently?  Yes, two of the teachers taught lessons that were very student- centered and the third lesson was much more teacher centered. However, all three teachers taught partially reformed lessons. It is possible to adapt the lessons to different teaching styles. Conclusion

For More Information:    References: - D. Sawada, M. D. Piburn, E. Judson, J. Turley, K. Falconer, R. Benford, and I. Bloom, School Science and Mathematics, 102, (2002). - D. MacIsaac, and K. Falconer, The Physics Teacher, 40, (2002). - E. Etkina, and A. Van Heuvelen, in Research-Based Reform of University Physics (2007), Vol. 1, WWW Document, ( ment/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4988&DocID=239). ment/ServeFile.cfm?ID=4988&DocID=239 - Etkina, E., Van Heuvelen, A., (2006, 2001), Investigative Science Learning Environment