In a 3/21/98 Phys-L posting of the above title, Brian Whatcott raises
three significant issues:
ISSUE #1. =93At 08:31 3/21/98 -0700, Richard Hake wrote:
=91...ATTACHMENT [abstract of AJP 66, 64 (1998)].... Results for 30 (N =3D
3259) of the above 62 courses on the problem-solving Mechanics Baseline
test of Hestenes-Wells imply that IE strategies enhance problem-solving
ability.....=92
Hmmmm: and I suppose results for 32 of 62 courses on the p-s MB test
of H-W imply that IE strategies do not enhance problem-solving ability?=94
RESPONSE TO ISSUE #1
Brian points up a deficiency in my abstract. It would have been better
to have written:=20
=93For 30 (N =3D 3259) of the above 62 courses, data on the problem-solvi=
ng
Mechanics Baseline test of Hestenes-Wells are available. These data
imply that IE strategies enhance problem-solving ability.....=94
ISSUE #2
=93 (This is an example of the interactive science dialog mode. It is=20
rather difficult to carry off successfully - less capable exponents=20
[like me,] can raise one's blood-pressure unpleasantly, elicit epithets
like 'smart-ass' and so on.)=94
RESPONSE TO ISSUE #1:
Your terse and arresting response is in the best tradition of smart-ass
Socrates. I agree that the interactive science dialog mode is difficult
to carry on successfully (1), but you (in my opinion) have done so.
ISSUE #3
=93Serious mode ON: Any hints on interactivity strategies that
instructors can deal with equably?=94
RESPONSE TO ISSUE #3:
The attached excerpt from ref. 2 indicates the more popular interactive
strategies used in the survey courses. Suggestions for the mitigation
of various implementation problems are given in ref. 3.
REFERENCES
1. R.R. Hake, =93Socratic Pedagogy in the Introductory Physics Lab," Phys.
Teach. 30, 546 (1992). [A slightly updated (3/19/98) version is
available as a portable document file (downloadable with the free Acobe
Acrobat Reader) on request.=20
2. R.R. Hake, =93Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A
six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory
physics courses,=94 Am. J. Phys. 66, 64 (1998) and on the Web at
<http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/>.
3. R.R. Hake, Interactive-engagement methods in introductory mechanics
courses, submitted to the potential new =93Journal of Physics Education
Research=94 and on the Web at the above address.=20
Richard Hake
Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<hake@ix.netcom.com>
<http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/>
ATTACHMENT [excerpt from ref. 2, p.70 - sans references]
For the 48 interactive-engagement courses of Fig. 1, the ranking in
terms of number of courses using each of the more popular methods is =96
Collaborative Peer Instruction (CPI): 48 (all courses);
Microcomputer-Based Labs (MBL): 35; Concept Tests: 20; Modeling: 19;
Active Learning Problem Sets (ALPS) or Overview Case Studies (OCS): 17;
physics-education-research based text or no text: 13; and Socratic
Dialogue Inducing (SDI) Labs: 9. ....The ranking in terms of number of
students using each method is=96 CPI: 4458 (all students); MBL: 2704;
Concept Tests: 2479; SDI: 1705; OCS/ALPS: 1101; Modeling: 885;
research-based text or no text: 660. =20
A detailed breakdown of the instructional strategies as well as
materials and their sources for each of the 48 IE courses of this survey
is presented in a companion article... (=93Interactive-engagement methods
in introductory mechanics courses,=94 submitted to the potential new
=93Journal of Physics Education Research=94 and on the Web at
<http://carini.physics.indiana.edu/SDI/>)