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What Does the FCI Tell Us?



Please excuse this cross-posting to discussion lists with archives at:

Phys-L <http://mailgate.nau.edu/archives/phys-l.html>,
PhysLrnR <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html>,
Physhare <http://lists.psu.edu/archives/physhare.html>.
AP Physics discussion list
<http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/listserv/tech.html>
(no easily searchable archives)

In a 1 May 2001 20:55:00 -0700 post "What Does the FCI Tell Us? (was
'Re: AP Physics Students')" I took issue with a 4/25/01 Physhare post
statement by Donald Siminak:

"As to the fci, I personally am not sure just what it tells us. It
seems to show that most students have trouble with these concepts,
and that their courses haven't done a good job giving students
functional understanding. But it doesn't clearly and specifically
show how to do it better, except marginally."

My previous post argued that Donald's presumption that FCI testing
doesn't show how to give students a better functional understanding
except MARGINALLY is doubtful.

In this post I shall argue that Donald's presumption that FCI testing
doesn't SPECIFICALLY show how to give students a better functional
understanding is also doubtful.

Paraphasing page 6 of ref. 4:

-----------------------------------------------------------
REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4

For the 48 interactive-engagement (IE) courses of refs. 1,2,3, the
ranking in terms of number of IE courses using each of the more
popular methods follows. [See the paragraph below the listing for an
explanation of the abbreviations within the "[[. . .]]" ].

(1) Collaborative Peer Instruction (Johnson et al. 1991; Heller et
al. 1992a,b): 48 (all courses) [[CA]].

(2) Microcomputer-Based Labs (Thornton and Sokoloff 1990, 1998): 35
courses [[DT]].

(3) Concept Tests (Mazur 1997, Crouch & Mazur 2001): 20 courses
[[DT]]; such tests for physics, biology, and chemistry are available
on the web along with a description of the Peer Instruction method at
the Galileo Project <http://galileo.harvard.edu/>.

(4) Modeling (Halloun & Hestenes 1987; Hestenes 1987, 1992; Wells et
al. 1995): 19 courses [[DT + CA]]; a description is on the web at
<http://modeling.la.asu.edu/>.

(5) Active Learning Problem Sets or Overview Case Studies (Van
Heuvelen 1991a,b; 1995):17 courses [[CA]]; information on these
materials is online at <http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~physedu/>.

(6) Physics-education-research based text (referenced in Hake 1998b
-same as ref. 2 below), Table II) or no text: 13 courses.

(7) Socratic Dialogue Inducing Labs (Hake 1987, 1991, 1992; Tobias &
Hake 1988): 9 courses [[DT + CA]]; a description and lab manuals are
on the web at the Galileo Project <http://galileo.harvard.edu/> and
at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>. See also Ben Crowell's
listing of open-source physics-education materials on the web at
"Some Free Physics Materials"
<http://www.lightandmatter.com/openphys/>.

The notations within the double square brackets "[[ . . .]]" follow
Heller (1999) - same as ref. 5 below - in loosely associating the
methods with "learning theories" from cognitive science. Here "DT"
stands for "Developmental Theory," originating with Piaget (Inhelder
& Piaget 1958, Gardner 1985); and "CA" stands for "Cognitive
Apprenticeship" (Collins et al. 1989, Brown et al. 1989). All the
methods (save #6) recognize the important role of social interactions
in learning (Vygotsky 1978, Lave & Wenger 1991, Dewey 1997).

It should be emphasized that the above rankings are by popularity
within the survey, and have no necessary connection with the
effectiveness of the methods relative to one another. In fact, it is
quite possible that some of the less popular methods used in some
survey courses, as listed by Hake (1998b -same as ref. 2 below -
could be more effective in terms of promoting student understanding
than any of the above popular strategies.

REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4
----------------------------------------------------------

In considering interactive engagement methods it is good to keep in
mind Lesson #2 of the physics education reform effort. Paraphrasing
pages 13 & 14 of ref. 4:


------------------------------------------------------------
REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4

L2. THE USE OF INTERACTIVE-ENGAGEMENT AND/OR HIGH-TECH METHODS, BY
THEMSELVES, DOES NOT INSURE SUPERIOR STUDENT LEARNING.

As previously indicated, the data of refs. 1,2,3 show that seven of
the IE courses (717 students) achieved <g>'s close to those of the T
courses. Five of those made extensive use of high-tech
microcomputer-based labs (Thornton and Sokoloff 1990, 1998). Case
histories of the seven low-<g> courses (Hake 1998b -same as ref. 2
below) suggest that implementation problems occurred.

Another example of the apparent failure of IE/high-tech methods has
been described by Cummings et al. (1999). They considered a standard
physics Studio Course at Rensselaer in which group work and computer
use had been introduced as components of in-class instruction, the
classrooms appeared to be interactive, and students seemed to be
engaged in their own learning. Their measurement of <g>'s using the
FCI and the Force Motion Concept Evaluation (Thornton & Sokoloff
1998) yielded values close to those characteristic of T courses (Hake
1998a,b,c - same as refs. 1,2,3 below). Cummings et al. suggest that
the low <g> of the standard Rensselaer studio course may have been
due to the fact that "the activities used in the studio classroom are
predominately 'traditional' activities adapted to fit the studio
environment and incorporate the use of computers." Thus the apparent
"interactivity" was a product of traditional methods (supported by
high technology), not published IE methods developed by
physics-education researchers or outstanding teachers, as for the
survey courses (1,2,3). This explanation is consistent with the fact
that Cummings et al. measured <g>'s in the 0.35 - 0.45 range for
Rensselaer Studio courses using physics-education research methods:
(a) Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (Thornton & Sokoloff (1998),
and (b) Cooperative Group Problem Solving (Heller et al. 1992a,b).

It should be emphasized that while high technology, by itself, is no
panacea, it can be very advantageous when it promotes interactive
engagement, as in computerized classroom communication systems (see,
e.g., Mazur, 1997 and refs. 6.7), properly implemented
microcomputer-based labs (Thornton and Sokoloff 1990), and
Just-In-Time Teaching (Novak et al. 1998, 1999).

REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4-REF.4
-----------------------------------------------------------

Of further possible interest to to K-12 teachers:

a. For a listing of in-service programs see the hot-linked listing on
page 36 if ref. 8.

b. For a cogent argument for a drastic increase in K-12 teacher
salaries see ref. 9. Do you support Heller's proposal?



REFERENCES
1. R.R. Hake, "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A
six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory
physics courses," Am. J. Phys. 66, 64-74 (1998); on the Web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>.

2. R.R. Hake, "Interactive-engagement methods in introductory
mechanics courses," on the Web at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/> and
submitted on 6/19/98 to the "Physics Education Research Supplement to
AJP"(PERS).

3. R.R. Hake, "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods in
mechanics instruction. APS Forum on Education Newsletter, Summer:
5-7, 1998; online at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi/>.

4. R.R. Hake, "Lessons from the Physics Education Reform Effort,"
submitted on 3/28/01 to "Conservation Ecology"
<http://www.consecol.org/Journal/>, a "peer-reviewed journal of
integrative science and fundamental policy research." On the web as
ref. 10 at <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
[ConEc-Hake-O32601a.pdf, 3/26/01, 172K) (179 references, 98
hot-linked URL's).

5. K.J. Heller, 1999. Introductory physics reform in the traditional
format: an intellectual framework, AIP Forum on Education Newsletter,
Summer: pp. 7-9, 1999; online at
<http://www.aps.org/units/fed/index.html>/"Forum Newsletters".

6. (a) R.J. Dufresne, W.J. Gerace, W.J. Leonard, J.P. Mestre, and L.
Wenk, "Classtalk: A classroom communication system for active
learning," J. Computing in Higher Ed. 7(2), 3-47 (1996); online at
<http://umperg.physics.umass.edu/projects/ASKIT/classtalkPaper>;
(b) R.J. Dufresne and W.J. Gerace "Using 'Extended Scenario' to
Enhance Learning During Interactive Lectures," at
<http://umperg.physics.umass.edu/projects/ASKIT/extendedScenario>.

7. Better Education Inc. <http://www.bedu.com/>; suppliers of
"Classtalk" - The Classroom Communication System and "PRS" - The
Personal Response System. Click on "Research and Publications" for
online articles relevant to classroom communication systems.

8. R.R. Hake, "Is it Finally Time to Implement Curriculum S?" AAPT
Announcer 30(4), 103 (2000); on the web as ref. 13 at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> [CurriculumS.pdf., 3/15/01,
1200K] (400 references & footnotes, 390 hot-linked URL's).

9. K. J. Heller, "The Time Has Come to Make Teaching a Real
Profession," APS Forum on Education Newsletter, Spring 2001; online
at <http://www.aps.org/units/fed/index.html>: "Assuming a linear
increase in national teacher salary expenditure for 10 years gives
$0.45 trillion . . . (450 billion) . . . or about 28% of the $1.6
trillion tax reduction being proposed. Less than 1/3 of the proposed
tax cut would fix the fundamental problem of our education system."