Learning Gains, Student Attitudes, and impacts on LA’s in Phys 1110 (Sp ‘03) S. Pollock With NSF/STEM-TP support

Class structure/reforms Conceptual emphasis: clickers in lecture Tutorials: based on U Wash materials, with use of LA’S (Average attendance: 85%) (Modest) explicit attention to “the hidden curriculum”: thinking about thinking reality link coherence “Propaganda”: the value of collaboration, discussion.

Role/training of LA’s LA/TA training: Mon 5-6:30 every week Roles: cover 3 (50 min) tutorials/wk Partner with TA, but no recitation grading 1-2 help room hours/week Help grade 1-2 midterms (long answer q’s)

Data Collection FCI pre/post tutorial pre/post [clicker and exam] Detailed grade information Regular student online surveys SALG survey In class anonymous surveys VASS/CLASS pre/post (Wendy Adams) Danielle Harlow’s observations LA/TA self reflections Students LA’s

Force Concept Inventory (FCI) Phys 1110 Fa ‘03 R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, (‘98).

Force Concept Inventory (FCI) Phys 1110 Fa ‘03 R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, (‘98).

FCI gains N=394 (of 562) Average =.62 Median =.67

Phys 1110 Fa ‘03 pre-post Average pretest: 53% (N=507) Average posttest: 81% (N=445) 352 had post ≥ 70%

CLASS results

Correlation of course grade (not including tutorial hw) to tut hw Skip more corr’s.

Correlate clicker with grade Average class attendance: 80%

Correlate class attend with grade

Correlation of fci gain to tut hw

Attitude about tutorial Online midterm. N=464 (of 562) PosNeg Tut. useful5721 Like tut.2144 Groups useful728 Like groups5914 Anonymous question end of semester N= Online question end of semester, N= % “Neg all along” 8.7%“more neg in the end” 15.8% “positive all along” 54.2% “more pos in the end” 11 SALG end of sem, N=250 10

Learning value of class activities

Learning value of resources

Value of individ support

Perceived gains Skip gains

Feelings... End of semester anonymous survey

Learning gains on tutorial topics (prelim!) Topic Pre (%) Post (click) gPost (exam/ final) g 1d accel (a at top ) (accel constant) / d accel Direction (circ/ curve) Magnitude

Learning gains on tutorial topics-ii Topic Pre (%) Post (click) gPost (exam/ final) g Newton Free body diag. Hard, rel motion N-III / / Relative motion* (speed up in diff frames) * This topic was not covered in lecture or reading.

Learning gains on tutorial topics-iii Topic Pre (%) Post (click) gPost (exam/ final) g Newton II extended body9-2033* Conserve p Collision/cons One object very massive (74 silent).7.9 (.7) * This is consistent, actually higher, than UW has measured. They've since modified this tutorial.

Gender differences Women (25%): self reported hours/week 5.5 Men (75%): self reported hours/week 4.6

Other effects TA/LA: None on grade, or FCI gain Possible (slight) impact on attitude about tutorials. Room: None on grade, or FCI gain Possible (slight) impact on attitude about tutorials. (appears to be independent of TA) LA comments

Some (high) correlations.91: my predicted grade after 2nd midterm with final grade.75: long answer exam q’s with multiple choice exam q’s.67: CAPA homework with tutorial hw.46: self-reported calculus grade with course grade.59: course grade with tutorial attendance.40: their prediction of 1st exam score with 1st exam score

Research questions Impacts of modified instruction Clickers/peer instruction Tutorials Other: Thinkwell (video text) Use of LA’s Help Room… on: (Measurable) learning gains Affect/attitudes of students Pedagogical content knowledge of LA’s

LA comments: LA 1) "The tutorial setup was a great experience... I will be taking everything I've learned in this class with me for my future career as a teacher” LA 2) "After teaching for a semester, I am very committed to teaching again at some point in my life. I am enrolling in the School of Ed, and I plan on teaching after graduating... I had never learned physics in any way resembling the tutorials, but now I will definitely try to model parts of my classrooms around cooperative learning".

more LA comments LA 3) "As a result [of being an LA] my views on a career in teaching have changed. I have decided to become a high school physics teacher... I have learned so much about physics, teaching, learning, education, and collaborative learning from being [an LA]" LA 4) "This experience of teaching tutorials has shown me different styles of learning, and allowed me to begin the process of understanding and helping all types of students. But the most valuable thing I have gained was the heads up to the fact that a good teacher will only come with time, and practice does make perfect".

Still to come: Relation of CLASS data to learning gains (and tutorial attitude?) More detailed pre/post results on variety of topics Comparison of pre/post with UW students (?) LA development: impacts on them (Danielle) Early predictors of success/failure (Pat) What else? (There’s a lot of micro-data here!!)