Effective teaching is more than just "knowing your stuff." The
greatest content in the world's best lecture can be obscured by poor pedagogy.
Certainly good communication, both written and oral, is important.
Recently, however, an impressive arsenal of teaching techniques and
methods have been tested in physics and engineering classrooms. The
best are backed up by an ever-increasing understanding of the ways we learn.
I am dedicated to improving my teaching by incorporating those techniques
that fit my teaching style, educational priorities, and, of course, my students'
needs.
Introductory Physics Courses These larger class sizes
and fundamental concepts can require some creativity. Some of the
techniques and materials I use come from these sources:
One of the areas targeted for improvement is the Electricity and Magnetism Laboratory (Physics II Lab). We provide an excellent set of experiments, but I'm not sure students have the best experience possible. The first phase was revision of the lab manual. The work has begun with the help of Greg Hassold, who created several of the experiments. In the spring of 2004, the revision was published by Kendall-Hunt in a cohesive package for both Physics I and Physics II laboratories. Assessment of the new manual brought out student opinions in an informal survey. Results were generally positive or neutral.
Simulations In addition to the focused work on the Physics
II Lab, I am beginning to incorporate (and, if needed, develop my own) simulations
to increase intuition across the physics curriculum. From understanding
Newtonian Mechanics more fully (non-textbook cases like effects air resistance)
to observing the radiation pattern from a baffled piston change with frequency
in acoustics, I believe students can get more out of the mathematics
by developing deeper intuition via computational tools.
Online Homework Systems One of the greatest impediments to
success for our introductory physics students seems to be in the area of
homework. Because large sections are assigned limited faculty resources,
homework typically was not graded. Problems were assigned, and detailed
solutions were available in the library for study. Often, only diligent
and thorough students made effective use of this resource. Other students
failed to see the value or could not afford to set a high priority on working
through these problems and struggling to understand the details.
In the Winter term of 2004, I ran a trial of Mastering Physics with my section
of Physics 224, Electricity and Magnetism. While the conditions weren't
ideal for complete acceptance among students (only worth 5% of total grade,
somewhat steep learning curve to use the system, and exposure only in Physics
224 not Physics 114), the experience was convincing. A detailed report of the trial is available in the form
of a memo distributed to Applied Physics faculty.
Daily Quizzes Another challenge for students in introductory
physics classes is to keep current and up-to-date with the progress of the
lecture. To make the reading more relevant to very pragmatic students,
I've attached a portion of the total grade to daily reading quizzes given
in class. Ideally inspired by the Just-In-Time Teaching method, these
quizzes give me a chance to gauge student readiness for the lecture right
at the beginning of class. If students don't do well on the quiz, I
know I need to discuss the basics of the day's topic. But if the quiz
is generally easy, I know the class has a command of the basics and I can
proceed to more involved material. It also gives the students a check
on how well they are capturing important information from the reading. A
poster presentation on my adaptation and implementation of this technique
gives more details.
In the fall of 2003 I attended a national conference on introductory calculus-based
physics (sponsored by the American Association
of Physics Teachers; my travel was supported by CETL). One of
the striking themes of the conference was that educational research has
very strong roots in the physics community, and a new "breed" of textbooks
is starting to emerge. These new texts reflect new understanding of
how students learn physics. Some of these include:
Six Ideas that Shaped
Physics, Tom Moore
Matter and Interactions,
Ruth Chabay and Bruce Sherwood
Understanding Physics,
published by Wiley & Sons, revised from Fundamentals of Physics, Halliday,
Resnick, & Walker
Physics
for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach, Randall Knight
Through the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2004, the Applied Physics faculty discussed the adoption of a new textbook for our introductory physics sequence. The short list of candidates included the last two on the list above, as well as more traditional texts. The decision to adopt Physics by Randall Knight was influenced by several factors. We wanted a book that was available in split volumes, one used for Physics 114 and one for 224. We appreciated the foundations of this text in recent physics education research, incorporating helpful features for the students and instructors. The text is readable, perhaps a bit wordy, but takes pains to explain the concepts behind the number-crunching. Finally, the resources included with the book reinforce student learning: Mastering Physics provides online homework and tutorial help, ActivPhysics brings in simulations to build physical intuition and understanding, and there is even a 24/7 tutor center for students to call or email/chat.
PBL incorporates reality-driven case studies as the starting point for investigation and inquiry. As I've started to implement this in Acoustics I (Physics 382), I have put together a resource page describing the approach.
The next revision of the Introductory Physics Lab Manual is slated for 2006. This may be a fairly comprehensive project involving many, if not all Applied Physics faculty. Several of the key directions for this project include:
- Many all-new experiments for both Physics 115 and Physics 225
- For the Newtonian Mechanics Lab, a strong tie-in with the CRASH
Lab will bring in elements of vehicle testing, possibly including test
runs of the decel sled
- Updated computer equipment for both labs
If you have suggestions or comments for improving the Introductory Physics
Labs, please contact
me.
Through a CETL travel grant, I was able to attend the 4th Annual Lilly-North Conference on College
Teaching, held in Traverse City in September of 2004. The theme
was Creating Community for Teaching and Learning. Several of the sessions
I attended directly influenced my teaching: from the essential idea put forth
by neuroanatomical researcher Luz Mangurian that learning actually causes
physical changes in the brain, to practical techniques like Concept Mapping
- a graphical way to flesh out and organize topical content. The rubric
that I use as a scoring guide in labs also improved through information in
a session at this conference.