1. Students learning to think like physicists teaching innovations at the University of British Columbia and the University of Colorado Sarah Gilbert, Senior Advisor CWSEI, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

2. Students learning to think like physicists I. A little background What research tells us about how people learn II. Brief overview of the Science Education Initiatives University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC) University of Colorado, Boulder (CU) III. Examples from Physics courses 1.Critical thinking in introductory lab course (UBC) 2.3 rd year Electricity & Magnetism (CU) 3.4 th year Optics (UBC)

3. cognitive psychology brain research Science classroom studies Major advances past 1-2 decades Consistent picture of How People Learn

4. Research on Learning Components of effective teaching/learning 1.Motivation relevant/useful/interesting to learner sense that can master subject 2.Connect with prior thinking 3.Apply what is known about memory short term limitations achieving long term retention 4.Explicit authentic practice of expert thinking interactive engagement focused on developing expert thinking skills (scientific reasoning, sense-making, ….) 5.Timely & specific feedback From: Professor, TAs, fellow students, homework, tests, …

5. Some assumptions of the traditional lecture approach: If you TELL the students something, they will learn it (and they cannot learn it if you do not tell them) Reality: Telling works when person is prepared to learn –AFTER students have grappled with a problem –Experts who already have relevant background knowledge & sophisticated mental models of the subject (e.g. a practicing physicist listening to a physics talk in their area of expertise) If the students can do the problems (homework, test), they understand the underlying structure and concepts Reality: Many students (even physics majors!) memorize problem solving procedures & apply them without understanding the underlying physics Students derive great benefit from watching the professor go through derivations and problem solutions Reality: they’re writing it down, but most of them aren’t thinking about it

6. Science Education Initiatives (SEI) CU-SEI started at the University of Colorado in 2006 (C. Wieman director, K. Perkins associate director) CWSEI started at the University of British Columbia in 2007 (C. Wieman director, S. Gilbert associate director) Goals: Widespread improvement in science education at UBC & CU by employing research-based teaching practices Develop successful demonstration model(s) to help inform change efforts elsewhere Lessons from history: A few faculty employing research-based teaching practices in a department does not result in widespread change in dept. (spreading a few seeds approach doesn’t work) TRADITION is strong, especially if little incentive to change

7. SEI Underlying Reasoning & Approach Logical unit of change is the Department – it is the cultural unit and the center of the disciplinary expertise Change must be driven by department – Faculty & department as a whole need to decide what students should learn (with appropriate consultation for service courses), adopt or develop good measures of learning, and change instructional approaches. Significant 1-time investment of resources – Concentrated (~0.5-1.75 M$/dept. over 6 years) to fund change activities; maintenance of change should not require extra resources. Science Teaching & Learning Fellows (STLF) – Temporary positions –Content expertise (typically PhD in discipline) + knowledge of learning research & application –Work with faculty to measure student thinking & learning, develop learning goals & activities, … This is where most of the $$ are spent

8. SEI “Trinity” for each course What should students be able to do? Measure learning Implement research-based teaching methods Iterative process; learn a lot about what is challenging for students and adjust teaching approach accordingly

9. Typical new aspects incorporated in courses: Clearly articulated learning goals (not just a list of topics) What the students should be able to do Pre-reading assignments & quizzes Efforts to increase student interest & motivation to learn subject (context, relevance, why useful/interesting, …) Interactive engagement targeted at learning goals Clicker questions and peer discussion – especially in large classes (challenging questions involving scientific reasoning best) In-class group activities – effective even in large (250 student) classes 2-stage exams (individual + group) Homework problems targeted at learning goals Pre-post testing to measure learning, surveys to gauge perceptions about science...

10. UBC: 171 faculty, 169 courses, 139,000 student-cred hrs/yr (>50%) CU: 112 faculty, 71 courses, 53,000 student-cred hrs/yr. (7-75%/dept.)

11. Physics & Astronomy UBC Physics & Astronomy Department www.cwsei.ubc.ca/departments/physics-astro.htm 26 courses impacted & counting 34 faculty changed teaching (56% of total) 19,500 student x credit hours (75% of total in dept.) CU Physics Department www.colorado.edu/sei/departments/physics.htm had already transformed first year courses prior to SEI 8 courses impacted (middle & upper division courses) 20 faculty changed teaching (40% of total) 1,800 student x credit hours (7% of total in dept.)

12. III. Examples from Physics courses 1.Critical thinking in introductory lab course (UBC) 2.3 rd year E&M (CU) 3.4 th year Optics (UBC)

13. 1.Critical thinking in introductory lab course Noticed lack of critical thinking: students typically think of science being done in a linear “Scientific Method”: Conclusions are often just a statement of results If data doesn’t agree with scientific model, blame “human error” and/or inflate the error bars Never iterate HypothesisConduct experimentAnalyze ResultsConclude

14. Quantitative critical thinking in introductory lab course Natasha Holmes & Doug Bonn, UBC Physics & Astronomy Dept. Make a comparison Act on comparison Reflect on comparison Between datasets or between data & model Agree or not? Can measurements be improved? Should model be improved? Implement plan to improve quality of data

15. Example: Measuring the period of a pendulum Students’ designT at 10° (s)T at 20° (s) Trial 1: Measure single period 10 times 1.84 ± 0.081.81 ± 0.08 Instructions: Measure the period of the pendulum at 10 and 20 degrees and compare, then improve the measurements Trial 1: Measure single period 10 times 1.84 ± 0.081.81 ± 0.08 Trial 2: Measure 10 periods 6 times 1.823 ± 0.0081.850 ± 0.008

16. 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 Week 2 Proposed only Proposed & Changed Week 16 Week 17 Fraction of Students Control Exp. First Year lab Students Changing Experimental Methods to Improve Data Quality Control Exp. Second Year lab ControlExp. Prompted to improve data Not prompted

17. 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 Week 17 Fraction of Students Students Evaluating Issues with the Scientific Model Control Exp. Identified Identified & Interpreted Week 17: LR circuit Extra internal resistance affecting time constant – resistance plot Not prompted to evaluate whether the physical model needed improvement, but they did. Holmes, Wieman, & Bonn, Teaching Critical Thinking, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., V. 112(36), pp. 11199-11204 (2015)

18. Example 2: Third year Electricity & Magnetism (CU) Dept. Faculty voted to transform upper division courses under SEI Working group of ~10 faculty formed; developed learning goals 1 Prof, Steve Pollock, & Science Teaching Fellow Stephanie Chasteen developed course materials & taught Also developed the Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics Assessment (CUE)

19. Learning Goals Examples General: Students should be able to ‒ sketch the physical parameters of a problem ‒ choose and apply the problem- solving technique that is appropriate for that problem ‒ articulate expectations for the solution and justify reasonableness of a solution (by checking the symmetry of the solution, looking at limiting or special cases, …) Specific: Students should be able to ‒ sketch the E field inside and outside a dielectric sphere placed in an electric field ‒ choose when to use Biot-Savart Law vs. Ampere’s Law to calculate B fields, and complete the calculation ‒ predict whether a particular magnetization will result in a bound surface and/or volume current

20. In-class Activities Lecture + ~4 clicker questions with peer discussion Students vote individually and then discuss & vote again Follow-up by instructor

21. Homework Aligned with Learning Goals Consider a field (a)Sketch it. (b)Calculate the divergence and curl of this E-field. Test your answers by using the divergence theorem and Stoke’s theorem. (c)Is there a delta function at the origin like there was for a point charge, or not? (d)What are the units of c? (e)What charge distribution would you need to produce an E field like this? Describe it in words as well as formulas. Is it physically realizable?

22. Measures of Learning Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics Assessment (CUE) Example problem: DO NOT SOLVE the problem, we just want to know: (1) The general strategy (half credit) (2) Why you chose that method (half credit) Q3. Find E or V at the point P, where P is off-axis, at a distance 50a from the cube.

23. CUE Results Standard Lecture-Based Courses (9 courses) vs Physics Education Research- Based Courses (9 courses) at CU and elsewhere (# students = 515)

24. Measures of Learning Traditional Exam Questions PER-C STND-A PER-D Q1 Q2 Q3 Chasteen, Pollock, Pepper, Perkins, Transforming the junior level: Outcomes from instruction and research in E&M, Phys Rev ST – Phys Ed Res, V. 8(2), 020107-1-18 (2012) Course materials: http://www.colorado.edu/physics/EducationIssues/Electrostatics/

25. Example 3: Fourth year Optics David Jones & Kirk Madison, UBC David Jones taught course 3x using traditional lecture format DJ converted course to 100% activities in 2010 Kirk Madison taught in 2013 using Jones’ transformed materials, with slight modifications

26. No Lecture! Complete targeted reading Formulate/review activities Actions Preparation StudentsInstructors Introduction (2-3 min) Listen/ask questions on reading Introduce goals of the day Activity (10-15 min) Group work on activities Circulate in class, answer questions & assess students Feedback (5-10 min) Listen/ask questions, provide solutions & reasoning when called on Facilitate class discussion, provide feedback to class

27. Pre-class Reading Read Chapter 2 Purpose: Prepare students for in-class activities; move learning of less complex material out of classroom Can get >80% of students to do pre-reading if: Online or quick in-class quizzes for marks (tangible carrot) Must be targeted and specific: students have a finite time DO NOT repeat material in class! Spend class time on more challenging material, with Prof giving guidance & feedback Heiner et al, Am. J. Phys. 82, 989 (2014) Read Chapter 2.3 pp 49-50, Chapter 2.4 pp 50-55. Make sure you understand the relationship between Eqn. 2.3 and 2.4. If you are having troubling under- standing Eqn. 2.7, that is okay but make sure you understand everything before it.

28. Lecture Notes Converted to Activities Often added bonus activity to keep advanced students engaged

29. Final Exam Scores nearly identical (isomorphic) problems taught by lecture, 1 st instructor, 3rd time teaching course practice & feedback, 1 st instructor practice & feedback 2 nd instructor 1 standard deviation improvement Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Jones, Madison, Wieman, Transforming a fourth year modern optics course using a deliberate practice framework, Phys Rev ST – Phys Ed Res, V. 11(2), 020108-1-16 (2015) Course materials: http://cwsei.ubc.ca/departments/physics-astro_course-resources.htm

30. Reflections on the SEI Improved conceptual understanding & scientific reasoning does not necessarily lead to higher performance on conventional quantitative problems Doesn’t hurt it More likely to show improvement in upper division courses We thought the most compelling factor would be evidence of improved learning, but … Student engagement was more important for most faculty, and research-based teaching methods greatly increase student engagement Change takes time – there were a few faculty who enthusiastically dove into changes, but most needed time to get used to the idea and get comfortable with new approach Science Teaching & Learning Fellows (STLF) – Very important! Helped faculty get up to speed on new techniques and rationale; better implementation & fewer problems – everyone happier

31. Lots of resources available at: www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources Instructor guidance Clicker guidance & resources Videos Tools (teaching practices inventory, Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), … Course transformation resources …. www.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_researchwww.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_research - SEI papers & presentations www.cwsei.ubc.ca/departmentswww.cwsei.ubc.ca/departments - details on what happened in UBC departments

32. Extra slides below

33. Discussion Question How can this be done elsewhere without lots of extra resources? Some ideas: 1.Incentives similar to those driving science research 2.Metrics for effective teaching Use of research-based methods Validated pre-post tests of learning 3.Strategic approaches (e.g., team teaching) 4.Use materials produced by others (e.g. SEI materials: sei.ubc.ca) 5.Consultant(s) within dept. (faculty member or STLF with content and pedagogy expertise) 6.Professional societies conduct workshops on effective teaching (e.g. American Association of Physics Teachers/ American Physical Society New Faculty Workshops)

34. “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.” – Machiavelli

35. Measures of Learning Colorado Upper-Division Electrostatics Assessment (CUE) DO NOT SOLVE the problem, we just want to know: (1) The general strategy (half credit) (2) Why you chose that method (half credit) Q3. Find E or V at the point P, where P is off-axis, at a distance 50a from the cube. Q13. A solid conducting cylinder in a uniform external electric field. (a) Sketch the induced charge, . (b) Sketch the electric field everywhere.

36. On average learn <30% of concepts did not already know. Lecturer quality, class size, institution,...doesn't matter! Similar data for conceptual learning in other courses. R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, 64-74 (‘98). Force Concept Inventory – basic concepts of force & motion 1 st semester physics Fraction of unknown basic concepts learned Average learned/course 16 traditional Lecture courses Measuring conceptual mastery – Physics example Pre-post test – what % learned? (100’s of courses) improved methods

37. Louis Deslauriers (STLF) and Ellen Schelew (grad student) Comparison of effect of teaching methods: nearly identical sections (  270 students each), intro phys, same material & time __________I___________ Experienced highly rated instructor traditional lecture &  2 clicker Qs week 1-11 electro-magnetic waves regular instructor intently prepared lecture electro-magnetic waves Louis and Ellen (inexperienced) research based teaching same preparation same attendance same engagement same midterm 1 & 2 grades _________II_________ Experienced highly rated instructor traditional lecture &  2 clicker Qs Week 12 - comparison – mutually agreed upon learning goals Common test on EM waves (mutually agreed upon) Mini-transformation in Intro Physics course

38. Results Published in Science, May 2011 Results inspired department to start a full transformation of course and another intro physics course Published in Science, May 2011 Results inspired department to start a full transformation of course and another intro physics course 41 ± 1% 74 ± 1% (Random guessing gives score of 23%)

39. Life Sciences STLFs: Jared Taylor & Malin Hansen; Dept. Director: George Spiegelman 1 st year Cell Biology Clicker questions & peer discussion, Invention activities, structured problem solving activities, In-class writing assignments, … Coming up with plausible mechanisms for biological process student never encountered before: control struc. Invention Invention problems (tutorial) (in lecture) Published in CBE-Life Sciences Education Jared Taylor, Karen Smith, Adrian van Stolk, & George Spiegelman Selected for inclusion in the 2010 Highlights issue Published in CBE-Life Sciences Education Jared Taylor, Karen Smith, Adrian van Stolk, & George Spiegelman Selected for inclusion in the 2010 Highlights issue

40. cwsei.ubc.ca/departments/earth-ocean_courses.htm Materials archived when transformation complete: sei.ubc.ca

41. cwsei.ubc.ca/departments/earth-ocean_courses.htm