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É merson Cruz and Gerd Kortemeyer Michigan State University

The Effect of Formative Assessment in Brazilian University Physics Courses Omaha, August 1 st , 2011. É merson Cruz and Gerd Kortemeyer Michigan State University. Émerson Cruz. Study carried out by my graduate student Émerson Cruz Cannot be here today In Brazil collecting data.

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É merson Cruz and Gerd Kortemeyer Michigan State University

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  1. The Effect ofFormative Assessment inBrazilian University Physics CoursesOmaha,August 1st, 2011 Émerson Cruz and Gerd Kortemeyer Michigan State University

  2. Émerson Cruz • Study carried out by my graduate student Émerson Cruz • Cannotbe heretoday • In Brazilcollectingdata

  3. Formative Assessment • Most post-secondary physics courses in Brazil offer no meaningful formative assessment • no feedback from assigned homework • traditional “transmission mode” lectures • Implementing • online homework with immediate feedback • clickers • Studying • faculty and student acceptance • effect on grade distribution

  4. Collaboration Partners

  5. Implementation Hurdles • Our educational study quickly turned into a case study of implementation hurdles • Public institutions: • grading structure based solely on exams • no possibility to give points for homework or clickers • exams very traditional and highly computational • no regular computer access for large percentage of students • no infrastructure to sell clickers and register them to individual students • had to distribute one classroom set to several sections at the beginning of lectures • no correlation data between clickers and grades • no reward structure for correctly answering questions • Private institution: • Smaller statistics • Highly non-traditional student population (professionals)

  6. Collaboration Partners No hard data yetAnecdotes Results fromthesetwo institutions

  7. USP • University of São Paulo • one of the three public universities funded by the State of São Paulo. • one of the largest institutions of higher education in Latin America • approximately 75,000 enrolled students

  8. Unianhanguera • Unianhanguera • one of the biggest private universities in Brazil • more than 50 campuses spread out in seven Brazilian states • largely non-traditional student population (professionals)

  9. Usage • USP • Two sections of physics for engineers course • other sections traditional with different instructors • additional comparison: same instructor in previous years • Online homework (LON-CAPA) • only 54 of the 157 accounts used • no grading incentive • 76 of the 157 students said they used online homework • working in groups • access problems • Clickers • given out at beginning of lectures • no data collected on correctness, participation, etc. • Unianhanguera • Two-month course • Online homework • one section with and one without online homework (same instructor) • grading incentive: bonus points • all 55 students worked on online homework • No clickers

  10. Survey Results • Gave a survey in both settings on usage habits and perceived helpfulness

  11. First Action when Encountering New Problem

  12. First Action when Encountering New Problem • USA and Brazil: • Male students tend to immediately try out a solution before reading up on the topic or seeking help • “Real men don’t read manuals or ask directions” • Brazil: • Students do not communicate with lecture personnel • Brazil, private institution: • Students rarely read up on topic • Seek more help from peers

  13. Additional Time-on-Task versus Perceived Helpfulness • USA and Brazil: • Online homework mostly perceived as helpful • Brazil: • Students report less time-on-task • Perception that online should be more time-efficient? • Sense of security due to more clearly defined expectations leading to less studying time?

  14. Clickers • Found broad student acceptance in survey at USP • Instructor reports that lectures became more lively and interactive • But: no hard data

  15. Effect on Grades • USA: • particularly helpful for students who are about to fail the course • Brazil: • no significant difference • USP: both with parallel sections (different instructors) and with sections taught previously (same instructor) • Unianhanguera: with parallel section (same instructor)

  16. Why no effect? • Discrepancy: • Students perceived online homework and clickers as helpful • Novelty? • No significant difference in grades • Unable to reproduce USA results • Why? • Systemic change needed • value-system of a course is communicated by what is graded and on exams • Many logistical hurdles in implementation • including lack of student internet access • Only just beginning!

  17. Acknowledgements • Thanks to Prof. Hélio Dias at USP • Thanks to i>Clicker for loaning us a classroom set of clickers • korte@lite.msu.edu • efcruz@msu.edu

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