Some subscribers to Phys-L and Physoc might be interested in a
discussion-list post "Educational Research: Fresh Air or Phlogiston?
#2" [Hake (2010)]. The abstract reads:
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ABSTRACT: In "Coming Up for Air: But Is It Oxygen or Phlogiston? A
Response to Taber's Review of 'Constructivist Instruction: Success Or
Failure?' "<http://bit.ly/cYnNrg>, David Klahr extols the lucidity of
Keith Taber's review "Constructivism and Direct Instruction as
Competing Instructional Paradigms: An Essay Review of Tobias & Duffy
(2009)" <http://bit.ly/9NlULx>, but then makes four claims that
diverge from the tenor of Taber's review, the first three of which
are:
(1) "When Theories Compete, There Is Ultimately A Winner,"
(2) "Operational Definitions Are Crucial," and
(3) "Multi-Attribute Comparisons Are Possible."
In my view, taking the above claims in order:
(1') In areas that are conceptually difficult (e.g., Newtonian
mechanics) the winner is "Interactive Engagement" ("IE" -
"constructivist"-like) over "Traditional" ("T" -
"instructionist"-like) pedagogy - both "IE" and "T" as *operationally
defined* in Hake (1998, <http://bit.ly/d16ne6>),
(2')"Education Research Employing Operational Definitions Can Enhance
The Teaching Art" [Hake (2010), <http://bit.ly/aGlkjm>], and
(3') Convincing multi-attribute comparisons <http://bit.ly/9kORMZ>
have shown an approximately two-standard deviation superiority in
average normalized gains <g> for "IE" over "T" courses.
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"Physics educators have led the way in developing and using objective
tests to compare student learning gains in different types of
courses, and chemists, biologists, and others are now developing
similar instruments. These tests provide convincing evidence that
students assimilate new knowledge more effectively in courses
including active, inquiry-based, and collaborative learning, assisted
by information technology, than in traditional courses."
Wood & Gentile (2003)
REFERENCES [All URL's accessed on 24 October 2010; URL's shortened by
<http://bit.ly/>.]
Hake, R.R. 2010. "Educational Research: Fresh Air or Phlogiston? #2"
online on the OPEN! Net-Gold archives at <http://yhoo.it/aFX18M>.
Post of 24 October 2010 15:22:00-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The
AERA-L server appears to have been down since 21 Oct 2010 but will
probably recover. The abstract and link to the complete post are
being transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on line on
my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/araHaL> with a provision
for comments.
Wood, W.B. & J.M. Gentile. 2003. "Teaching in a research context,"
Science 302: 1510; 28 November; online to subscribers at
<http://bit.ly/9izfFz>. A summary is online to all at
<http://bit.ly/9qGR6m>.