Bruce Sherwood, in his 09 Aug 2007 CTP-L (AAPT Committee on Teacher
Preparation) post titled "Re: Chronicle article: The Tough Road to
Better Science Teaching" [Brainard (2007)], wrote:
". . . . I am convinced that assessment data will rarely play a
significant role in educational decisions in universities."
Bruce may or may not be correct, depending on one's definitions of
"rarely" and "significant." Assessment data HAS played a significant
role in educational decisions in a few leading universities.
In "Should We Measure Change? Yes!"[Hake (2007a)] I wrote [bracketed
by lines "HHHH. . . ."; slightly edited]:
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
. . . . . my meta-analysis [Hake (1998a,b)] and subsequent
confirmatory pre/post studies [for a listing see Hake (2007b)] have
at least partially stimulated the reform of a tiny fraction of
introductory physics courses in the U.S., including large enrollment
courses at Harvard [Crouch & Mazur (2001)], North Carolina State
University [Beichner & Saul (2004)], MIT [Dori & Belcher (2004)],
University of Colorado at Boulder [Pollock (2004)], and California
Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo [Hoellwarth et al.
(2005)].
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research on innovation diffusion (or lack thereof) of the type
pioneered by Everett Rogers (2003) [see e.g.,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations>], and Clayton
Christensen (2006) ) [see e.g.,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Christensen>] might yield more
information on the factors responsible for the pathologically slow
diffusion of innovation in higher education.
Some physics education researchers are now pursuing such studies. For
example, Henderson & Dancy (2006a,b) are interviewing faculty to
determine their attitudes toward innovations in physics education and
the extent to which faculty have incorporated such innovations into
their own classroom practice.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
REFERENCES
Beichner, R.J & J.M. Saul. 2004. "Introduction to the SCALE-UP
(Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate
Programs) Project," in Proceedings of the International School of
Physics "Enrico Fermi" Course CLVI in Varenna, Italy, M. Vicentini
and E.F. Redish, eds. IOS Press; online at
<http://www.ncsu.edu/per/Articles/Varenna_SCALEUP_Paper.pdf> (1MB).
Brainard, J. 2007. "The Tough Road to Better Science Teaching:
Proponents of new methods encounter resistence (sic), especially at
research universities." Chronicle of Higher Education, 3 August;
online for a few days at <http://tinyurl.com/oavc2>.
Christensen, M. 2006. "The Innovator's Dilemma." Harper Collins -
information at
<http://tinyurl.com/yx9k9h>. First published in 1997 by the Harvard
Business School Press.
Crouch, C.H. & E. Mazur. 2001. "Peer Instruction: Ten years of
experience and results," Am. J. Phys. 69: 970-977; online at
<http://tinyurl.com/sbys4>.
Dori, Y.J. & J. Belcher. 2004. "How Does Technology-Enabled Active
Learning Affect Undergraduate Students' Understanding of
Electromagnetism Concepts?" The Journal of the Learning Sciences
14(2), online as a 1 MB pdf at <http://tinyurl.com/cqoqt>.
Hake, R.R. 1998a. "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A
six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory
physics courses," Am. J. Phys. 66(1): 64-74; online at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/ajpv3i.pdf> (84 kB).
Hake, R.R. 1998b. "Interactive-engagement methods in introductory
mechanics courses," online at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/IEM-2b.pdf> (108 kB) - a crucial
companion paper to Hake (1998a).
Henderson, C. & M. Dancy. 2007. "Barriers to the Use of
Research-Based Instructional Strategies: The Dual Role of Individual
and Situational Characteristics," to be published in Physical Review
Special Topics: Physics Education Research; online at
<http://homepages.wmich.edu/~chenders/Publications/HendersonPRST2007Barriers.pdf>
(152 KB).
Hoellwarth, C., M. J. Moelter, and R.D. Knight. 2005. "A direct
comparison of conceptual learning and problem solving ability in
traditional and studio style classrooms," Am. J. Phys. 73(5):
459-463; abstract online at <http://tinyurl.com/br88n>.
Pollock, S. 2004. "No Single Cause: Learning Gains, Student
Attitudes, and the Impacts of Multiple Effective Reforms," 2004
Physics Education Research Conference: AIP Conference Proceeding,
vol. 790; J. Marx, P. Heron, & S. Franklin, eds., pp. 137-140, online
as a 316 kB pdf at <http://tinyurl.com/9tfk4>.
Rogers, E.M. 2003. "Diffusion of Innovations." 5th edition. Free Press.