Today Mike Sloothaak said, "I was hoping that someone could point me to
two or three long articles or books that served to define the currently
accepted view on how the computer should be applied to the lab."
Mike, here's how we use the computer, both in high school and university
physics courses. Student gains in understanding, as measured by the Force
Concept Inventory, are typically DOUBLE those under traditional lecture -
recipe lab - demo instruction. You can find more information at our web
site: modeling.la.asu.edu
cheers,
Jane
******************************
HOW THE COMPUTER IS USED IN MODELING INSTRUCTION
Educational research has established that computers do little to enhance
student learning without carefully designed adjustments to the curriculum
implemented by a well-trained teacher. This is particularly true in science
courses, where students need to learn how to use the computer as a
scientific tool for data acquisition, analysis and problem solving. In
other words, the pedagogy is responsible for the learning. The computer can
enhance pedagogy, but not replace it. Therefore infusion of computers into
science classrooms must be coupled to reform in science pedagogy.
The NSF-funded Modeling Instruction in High School Physics program
cultivates physics teachers as local experts on the use of technology in
science teaching for the nation's schools. Infusion of technology into the
classroom is a key component of this project, but it is secondary to
pedagogical reform. Implementation of the Modeling Method in the classroom
is best done with computers with laboratory interface (ULI) and at least
three MBL probes: motion detector, a pair of photogates, and force probe.
The typical cost of one workstation is $2000 - $2500. We recommend one
computer for every 3 students. This number results in good peer learning,
yet does not exclude students as a group approaches a given task.
Typically, one student controls the computer, another manipulates
associated apparatus, and the third directs the work. If students rotate
through these tasks, everyone has an active learning experience.
The Modeling Method corrects many weaknesses of the traditional
lecture-demonstration method, including fragmentation of knowledge, student
passivity, and persistence of naive beliefs about the physical world. It
makes the coherence of scientific knowledge more evident to students by
making it more explicit.
Unlike the traditional approach, in which students wade through an endless
stream of seemingly unrelated topics, the Modeling Method has a coherent
focus. Instruction is organized into modeling cycles which engage students
in all phases of model development, evaluation and application in concrete
situations -- thus promoting an integrated understanding of modeling
processes and acquisition of coordinated modeling skills.
The teacher sets the stage for student activities, typically with a
demonstration and class discussion to establish common understanding of a
question to be asked of nature. Then, in small groups, students collaborate
in planning and conducting experiments to answer or clarify the question.
Groups present and justify their conclusions orally, including a
formulation of models for the phenomena in question and evaluation of the
models by comparison with data.
The teacher is prepared with a definite agenda for student progress and
guides student inquiry and discussion in that direction with "Socratic"
questioning and remarks. The teacher is equipped with a taxonomy of typical
student misconceptions to be addressed as students are induced to
articulate, analyze and justify their personal beliefs.
For example, in one experiment students are asked to develop principles of
the motion of a pendulum. With the teacher as recorder, students brainstorm
about properties of the pendulum which might affect its period. After
compiling the list, teacher and students decide which properties should be
investigated. In this example they determine to investigate how changes in
mass of bob, length of string and amplitude of motion affect the period.
Students then work in teams and determine their own procedure for
collecting data. After collecting data, they plot variables appropriately
and then elicit the equations of motion and relationships among the
variables. Then, in a technique called "whiteboarding", groups present
results of their experiment to the class. At the end of this process, the
class can agree on an appropriate model to describe the behavior of the
pendulum. They do this without being given the answer from a text or a
teacher.
The quality of student understanding depends on the tools, both conceptual
(e.g., modeling tools) and technological (e.g., computers), at their
disposal. Computers are tools for model development; they are used for
modeling activities from data collection and analysis to mathematical
modeling and simulation. For example, MBL software provides realtime
graphical representations of physical data. This greatly facilitates
students' learning how to interpret and evaluate graphical models.
Simulation/interactive software helps learners to visualize key features of
models and affords them opportunities to test their understanding by
exploring "experiments" not readily performed in the lab. We anticipate
that in the future classrom networking and internet access will become
increasingly important for student modeling.
The greatest promise of computers is to augment and extend human powers to
think. In Modeling Instruction, students learn to optimize the use of new
tools, especially technological tools, since the modeling method induces
students to discuss, analyze, and criticize computer representations such
as graphs. Students thereby learn to evaluate computer models. Such skills
help students become proficient and critical consumers of educational
technology and prepare for entering a technology-infused work place.
****************************
Jane Jackson, Director, Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu
"The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after
time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully,
have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth." - Einstein (1931)