INVESTIGATIVE SCIENCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (ISLE) Eugenia Etkina Alan Van Heuvelen Rutgers University Moscow, Idaho, April 1st,

What is Learning? Brain research

What is Learning? Brain research Learning is a physical process that happens through activation and extension of neural networks

What is Learning? Brain research Learning is physical process that happens through activation and extension of neural networks Cognitive research

What is Learning? Learning is a social process that happens when learners working together activate and build on existing resources Cognitive research

How do we apply this? Brain research Learning and teaching of physics Learning is physical process that happens through activation and extension of neural networks Learning is a social process that happens when learners working together activate and build on existing resources Cognitive research

We are good at applying this in PER to …. Brain research Learning and teaching of physics Learning is physical process that happens through activation and extension of neural networks Learning is a social process that happens when learners working together activate and build on existing resources Cognitive research Final product

But not to everything… Brain research Learning and teaching of physics Learning is physical process that happens through activation and extension of neural networks Learning is a social process that happens when learners working together activate and build on existing resources Cognitive research Final productProcess

Why is the process important? Goals of courses: Preparation for future learning and success in the workplace… Workplace research indicates that it is the process of science that is important for success.

So, what should we do? Engineer learning environments where students can learn together by actively constructing their own ideas similar to the ways physicists do

What do physicists do to make new knowledge? Represent ideas in different ways Collect and analyze data Find and express patterns Explain patterns Come up with ways to test explanations Conduct testing experiments and compare the outcomes to predictions Revise explanations in light of new data Evaluate Communicate

Can we use content as the opportunity to teach the process? The main idea is that the process is not an add-on but a part of learning the content

Example Please take 15 min to examine the first three experiments in a lab in which students construct some important physics concepts and focus on three questions: (a)what is the goal of student work and what ideas are they expected to construct? (b)what is the process that they follow? (c)compare this process to what you would normally do in your course and identify similar elements and different elements.

Observational experiments Explanation, mechanism, hypothesis, relation Revision different Testing experiments

+ Observational experiments Explanation, mechanism, hypothesis, relation Application Revision Assumptions More different assessment Testing experiments Yes

Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) Etkina and Van Heuvelen, Observational experiments Explanation, mechanism, hypothesis, relation Application Revision Assumptions More different assessment Testing experiments Yes MR* See pages 2-3 of the handout

What is ISLE? Curriculum? Not so much…. Though we have lots of resources.. It is way of thinking about teaching and learning physics, a philosophy of teaching physics. Three points are important: (1)what students do to come up with A (process); (2) how they think about A (multiple representations) +

What is ISLE? In intrinsic part of ISLE is Experimental design (observational, testing, application experiments and POSE YOUR OWN QUESTION labs) (ISLE labs is a topic for a different workshop, if you wish to learn more about them, PhysRev ST PER is where we published 4 papers about those innovative labs.)

Where is ISLE used? Rutgers University Florida International University Oregon State University Lane College CUNY QCC California State Chico 50 NJ high schools South Africa, Mexico, Slovenia..

For example, I do not have a lab or the lab is not integrated…

Starting a cycle in a large room meeting Open page 4 of your handout. Section Qualitative Concept Building and Testing Observe the experiment and read activity 18.1 Observe the experiment and read activities 18.2 and 18.4 (a)what is the goal of student work and what ideas are they expected to construct? (b)what is the process that they follow? (c)compare this process to the process in the lab. What are the similarities? What are the differences?

Continued… Read activities (a)what is the goal of student work and what ideas are they expected to construct? (b)what is the process that they follow?

Continued… Examine activity in section 2 Conceptual Reasoning What is its purpose? What do you think it is preparing the students for?

Continued… Examine activity in section 2 Quantitative concept building and testing What is its purpose? Examine Activity in Quantitative Reasoning What is its purpose?

Summary Repeated process Use of tools Focus on success

Resources to implement ISLE The Physics Active Learning Guide Van Heuvelen & Etkina, 2006, Pearson (ISLE labs + formative assessment rubrics) Please send me an with any questions:

Summer AAPT workshop Learning physics by practicing science

What if I want to start tomorrow? 1.Think of what idea you want your students to construct. 2.Think of what they might already know on what you can build. 3.Think of what they can do (observe) so that the idea emerges as one of the explanations (use existing experiments but reframe them!). 4.Think of what other ideas they can generate when they observe the experiments. 5.Think of how you could test their ideas and have equipment available (use existing experiments). 6.Try!

Thank you!