For the second time in 5 months, our Modeling Instruction Program
in high school physics has received a top award from the U.S. Department of
Education.
Our joy is tempered by the fact that, in order for effective
programs like this one to thrive long-term, they must become
regularly-offered college courses that universities support financially.
And schools must provide incentives for teachers to achieve mastery by
taking such courses. (Past reforms like PSSC and Harvard Project Physics
died because no infrastructure was in place to sustain them.)
A Modeling Workshop will be held at Arizona State University from
June 11 - 29. Tuition is only $119 per semester hour. Reply to me for
details.
Most teachers who use the Modeling Method love it!
cheers,
Jane Jackson
Danika Painter
February 1, 2001
Contact: Jim Hathaway, 480-965-6375
Hathaway@asu.edu
Sources: David Hestenes, 480-965-6277
Jane Jackson, 480-965-8438
Physics Instruction Program Wins Recognition from U. S. Department of Education
For many high school students, getting through physics class is a test of
their ability to memorize facts, plug numbers into equations, and resist
the temptation to snooze. But a teaching program developed in ASU's
Department of Physics is awakening student interest and achievement by
making physics a more dynamic subject. The program, called Modeling
Instruction in High School Physics, recently earned the U. S. Department of
Education's highest honor for its success in reforming the way high school
physics is taught.
The Department of Education designated the Modeling Program as one of two
exemplary science education programs, out of 27 programs submitted to the
agency. Last year, the Modeling Program was also recognized for its
outstanding integration of technology into the classroom. This year's list
of exemplary and promising programs can be viewed on the Department's web
site at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ORAD/KAD/expert_panel/newscience_progs.html
Modeling instruction engages students with simple scenarios, such as the
movement of a falling object, to learn to model the physical world. Instead
of relying on lectures and textbooks, the Modeling Program emphasizes
active student exploration of these models in an interactive "learning
community," says the program's developer, David Hestenes, now Professor
Emeritus of physics at ASU. Hestenes has based the program on more than 20
years of research, implementation, and testing.
Classroom activities start with a demonstration by the teacher - of the
swinging of a pendulum, for example - followed by a group brainstorming
session in which the students identify factors that might influence the
pendulum's motion. The students then work in small groups to develop models
describing the motion and conduct self-designed experiments to test their
ideas. A comparison of the experimental data with the model provides a
focus for continued discussions, in which the students present their
conclusions to the rest of the class.
Hestenes stresses that instruction centered around models provides "a
conceptual structure with models as units of coherently organized
knowledge. It is a framework that students can use to organize information
about the physical world in many different situations." In this respect,
the Modeling Method differs substantially from more typical "fact
collecting" approaches to science teaching.
Hands-on student exploration of phenomena is also an integral feature of
modeling because it makes what they've learned in the classroom more
meaningful. "Instead of just presenting lectures, we involve students in
activities that stimulate them to build the structure themselves, so that
this becomes incorporated in the structure of their own thinking," says
Hestenes.
Hestenes particularly emphasizes the value of the student presentations,
not only in understanding physics but also in lifelong learning. "We teach
students to articulate what they've learned in a coherent way. ...The aim
of the program is to enable people to articulate their own views clearly
and defend them with argument and evidence. That goes along with being able
to interpret other people's claims and evaluate those claims."
The Modeling Method has a proven track record of improving student
learning. Data on some 20,000 students show that those who have been
through the Modeling program typically learn twice as much as other
students. Hestenes attributes much of the program's success to the fact
that it explicitly addresses common student misconceptions about physical
processes.
Most students come into physics class with naive beliefs that they must
overcome before they can truly understand the principles of physics.
"Standard physics instruction does not deal with students' views, so the
students systematically misunderstand what is going on in class. Modeling
instruction addresses this problem expressly with the change in perspective
that is necessary for understanding," Hestenes explains.
The Modeling program is implemented by training physics teachers during
intensive summer workshops. Teachers complete two four-week workshops,
which equip them to train other teachers in the Modeling Method. Modeling
instruction has been widely adopted nationwide, and is used by more than
half of the physics teachers in Arizona.
ASU
Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.asu.edu>