Experiments with PER (Physics Education Research)

1. Experiments with PER(Physics Education Research) Chris Meyer christopher.meyer@tdsb.on.ca chris_meyer1@sympatico.ca York Mills C. I.

2. Why Change? • The poor results from my traditional lessons • Question: What is the most valuable thing kids could be doing when brought together to learn physics?

3. PER Background • Physics Education Research has been taking place for 20+ years • Universities noticed poor results from traditional teaching practices • Variety of techniques developed (Redish, Teaching Physics withthe Physics Suite)

4. My Situation • Had experimented with different PER strategies in a piecemeal way • Needed to adapt university-based materials/designs • Didn’t know how to pull off a full course

5. This Presentation • How I structure the class • How the activities run • How I evaluate the students

6. A Day in the Life • Homework Comparison (2 min.) • Opening presentation (10 min.) • Group Work Activity (60 min.) • Daily Reading and Note Taking (30 min.) • Problems (30 min.)

8. Opening Presentations • Present only the essentials for the day’s activity • Highlight an idea from the previous readings • Give an alternate view / explanation based on readings or day’s activity

9. Group Activities • Group structure based upon U of T Labs and U of Minnesota CGPS • Guided inquiry activities (Workshop Physics, Physics Sense-Making) • Physics challenges (CGPS) • Marked for feedback (assessment) • Individual quizzes for marks! (evaluation)

10. Group Structure • U of T undergrad physics labs is piloting a redesigned course • CGPS manual • Our introduction to group work

11. Guided Inquiry • Introduction to and focus on concepts • “Open” inquiry lacks direction, students see different things than we do • Only key calculations • Compare with direct measurements • Based on Workshop Physics (Priscilla Laws, Dickinson College) • Based on Physics Sense-Making (Elby, U of Maryland) • Based on Tutorials in Introductory Physics

12. Workshop Physics • Major focus is interplay between observations and experiments, and the formalism of definitions and math (the process of science) • Students need concrete experience with the phenomena • Focus on smaller quantity of topics to learn thoroughly

14. Physics Sense-Making • Our preconceptions are based on our life experience • Not necessarily wrong • Must learn how to reinterpret them in light of our growing physics understanding

16. Tutorials in Introductory Physics • A series of instructional materials using very basic equipment or thought experiments • Focus on physical concepts and reasoning skills

18. Physics Challenges • Context-rich problems • Must make something happen • Reinforces connection between theory and reality • Making Connections component of the course • Based on Cooperative Group Problem Solving (Heller & Heller, U of Minnesota)

19. Sample Challenges

20. Sample Challenges

21. CGPS Emphasis on: • Planning a solution • Abstraction of context-rich situation to physics idealization • Translation of common speech to physics terminology • I reinforce this with Fermi questions

23. Implementation Challenges • Some students don’t like group work • Some students don’t like to do anything • Some students resist the extra structure for the homework or group work • Students feel lost without lectures

24. Evaluation

25. Success? • Greater student engagement • Increased emphasis on writing • Daily tutoring • Test results similar to past (but no FCI) • Personal satisfaction

26. Resources • The Physics Suite http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/Book/ • Cooperative Group Problem Solving http://groups.physics.umn.edu/physed/Research/CGPS/GreenBook.html • Workshop Physics http://physics.dickinson.edu/~wp_web/wp_homepage.html • Tutorials in Physics Sense-Making http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~elby/CCLI/index.html • U of T Undergrad Labs http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/Practicals/ • Tutorials in Introductory Physics http://www.phys.washington.edu/groups/peg/tut.html