Implementing a Studio Format in MediumSized Physics Classes

Implementing a Studio Format in Medium-Sized Physics Classes P. W. Young University of Wisconsin-Platteville Sponsored by NSF-DUE CCLI #0633583

Studio Class designed to encourage interactive engagement between instructor and students and amongst students Students sit and work in groups of 3 or 4 Laboratory activities are integrated into the instruction rather than separate Studio Physics Workshop (~25 students) Studio (~50 students) SCALE-UP (~100 students)

Studio Classrooms at UWP Three identical studio classrooms (32’ x 60’) 14 stations, 4 students per station = 56 per class Instructor station with computer & document camera in front corner Demonstration table with video projection Dual projection Whiteboards around room (>80’) 2 sinks in back corners Some storage in back of room All 3 classrooms are connected to a storeroom

Student Station Lab Table (3’ x 6’) Oriented length-wise with respect to front Two post mounts per table Storage slot for low-friction tracks, posts, and meter sticks under table Storage Cabinet (1½’ x 3’) Data PC acquisition, carts, etc.

Instruction in Studio Physics Lecture Group Work Concepts Problems Computer Simulations Peer Instruction Hands-on learning activities Labs Note: Two instructors are present during major laboratory activities

Studio Instruction at UWP The studio classrooms are designed to support all the methods of instruction listed in the previous slide. All introductory physics classes are taught in the studio classrooms, but instructors are not required to adopt any particular style of instruction

Assessment of Studio Instruction in Calculus-based Physics I Pre- and post- Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has been administered for 3 years 3 semesters in classes taught in traditional classroom with separate labs but with some interactive engagement 1 semester in studio classrooms with separate labs 2 semesters in studio classrooms with lab FCI administered on-line via Desire to Learn course management platform Voluntary participation but with some reward Reward equivalent to 1 or 2 points on an exam or a homework assignment Reward independent of performance Participation levels vary with instructors, sometimes very poor, other times quite good

Assessment of Studio Instruction in Calculus-based Physics I In order to assess the effectiveness of studio instruction, I established a 10 -point Studio Index to reflect the degree of studio instruction taking place in a particular class, as opposed to lecture. 0 – 5 based on % of class time spent in active learning 0 – 1 for group problem solving in class 0 – 1 for group discussions of concepts 0 – 1 for integration of lab into the class 0 – 1 for use of hands-on learning activities 0 – 1 for full class discussions/sharing

Assessment of Studio Instruction in Calculus-based Physics I I assigned a studio index to each class based on an interview with the instructor. I then looked at how the normalized gains and the post-FCI scores compared to the studio indices.

Assessment of Studio Instruction in Calculus-based Physics I FCI Post-Test Score versus Studio Index 30 28 26 Post Score 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Studio Index 7 8 9 10

Assessment of Studio Instruction in Calculus-based Physics I FCI Normalized Gain versus Studio Index 60% 50% Gain 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 0 2 4 6 Studio Index 8 10

Conclusions Interactive Engagement in a physics class is a lot of work I’m not sure whether the Studio Index is a proper measure of the interactive engagement taking place in a class Still too little data to draw any conclusions about the effectiveness of the studio classes Large turnover in instructors Not enough classes with Studio Index > 5