Updating physics laboratory instruction through implementation of an inquiry-based (IB) format is a popular approach to modern physics education. Increasingly physics education research (PER) is being utilized to improve the overall quality of physics instruction. As growing numbers of instructors switch from traditional to IB methods, it is crucial that the impact on students be examined. In 2013, George Mason University (GMU) began offering their second semester calculus-based Physics 261 laboratories in both IB as well as traditional format. To gauge students' perceptions of these two distinct styles, a 17-question self-assessment consisting mainly of Likert questions (scale of 1-6) was created and administered to students near the end of the Spring 2015 Semester. In addition, students completed the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA) at the beginning and again at the end of the semester. Self-assessment question responses were grouped into two categories, generally positive and generally negative, and pre-and post-scores for the BEMA were analyzed using the average normalized gain factor. Overall, the IB students had more positive (self-assessment) responses. Although IB students had higher gain factors, BEMA scores for both classes were generally low and standard deviations (STDEV) were high.Potential benefits and drawbacks of the IB format were discussed along with results, analysis, and the need for continued research.
We propose to present a collection of posters united by a single theme: the use of interactive teaching across STEM disciplines. The posters will be presented by Mason faculty and graduate students participating in the NSF-funded SIMPLE Project. The focus of the project is developing faculty communities of practice that promote evidence-based interactive teaching across STEM. As part of this project, participants have been trying new interactive teaching strategies in their classrooms and documenting the process in the form of a design memo. A design memo is a short, structured reflection on the implementation of a particular teaching strategy. In the context of the SIMPLE Project, design memos pursue two goals: prompting instructors to engage in reflection about their teaching, and serving as sharable artifacts for other instructors interested in adopting similar strategies. More information about the project and about design memos can be found on the project website: simple.onmason.com.Each poster at the session will provide a birds-eye view of the participant’s design memo; thus, it will include (but will not be limited to) a description of a strategy with examples, the instructor’s reasons to implement it, information on preparation needed for its use, discussion of potential pitfalls to avoid, and reflection on how the instructor would refine the technique for future implementations. Posters will be complemented by printed copies of design memos as handouts for attendees. By the end of the session, attendees will learn about various interactive teaching strategies and how they can be enacted in practice.
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