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Re: [Phys-l] Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #2



Hi all-
As physicists, looking at the results of measurement (fci scores) we should start by looking at the measurement tools. The tools are self-reported "gains" on repeditive admininistrations of the fci. For starters, lets ask, what fraction of the tests given reviewed the answers, giving the "forrect" answers, after an fci test? The first test? which subsequent test?
I note that in real life pysics experimatents, data are often encoded to eliminate the possibility of conscious or "unconsciaus" bias. To what extent are such precautions taken in "PWE" testing?
My take is that "PWR results" constitute the great Hornswoggle of the American Phyics Education community.

Regards,
Jack

"Trust me. I have a lot of experience at this."
General Custer's unremembered message to his men,
just before leading them into the Little Big Horn Valley




On Sat, 6 Aug 2011, carmelo@pacific.net.sg wrote:


In Lei Bao et al.?s (2009) study, comparisons of Chinese and U.S.
students show that content knowledge and reasoning skills diverge.
This research examined if content knowledge concerned with science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) impacts the development
of scientific-reasoning ability. (Source: Science; 1/30/2009, Vol.
323, Issue 5914, 586-587.) Hence, the effectiveness of lecture may
vary depending on whether students come from Brazil, China, India,
U.S. and so on.

Physics Education Research may still be ?Physics Exaggeration
Research? when they generalize their claims, for example, on the
ineffectiveness of lectures without carrying more extensive studies on
students worldwide. How rigorous are these research studies? Can
education research studies deduce the effect of gender? What if there
are 90% female students and 10 male students attending the physics
lectures? Can education research studies calculate the effect of 50%
American students, 50% chinese students?

The Mozart effect (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993) is the purported
increase in spatial-reasoning performance immediately after exposure
to a Mozart piano sonata. The experiment found a modest and temporary
IQ increase in college students performing a specific kind of task
while listening to a Mozart sonata, but there was no research studies
carried out on babies. (The Governor of Georgia, Zell Miller, proposed
a budget to provide every child born in Georgia with a CD of classical
music.) The finding was proved to be a mystery after a 1999 review
showed that over a dozen studies failed to verify the 1993 experiment.
Is the ineffectiveness of lectures replicated worldwide? To what
extent? If lectures are indeed ineffective, can physics education
researchers calculate the cultural effects on the ineffectiveness of
lectures?

Lastly, what is the ineffectiveness of lectures when simulations,
videos, live demos are incorporated? Because traditional lectures have
been found to be ineffective, interactive lectures should be abolished
as well? Are there studies conducted to confirm that Redish?s proposal
on interactive lecture demonstrations are equally ineffective?

The greater concern is not the effectiveness of lectures, but the
rigor of physics education research and its claim.


Best regards,
Alphonsus


Quoting Joseph Bellina <inquirybellina@comcast.net>:

I agree completely that when an 82 year old man marries a 28 year
old woman, there is motivation involved. I will agree that
motivation is a necessary component, but you have provided not
evidence that it is sufficient.
Again, are you claiming that the chinese mind is evolutionarily
different and that is why they appear to learn well by lecture?


joe

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Physics
Co-Director
Northern Indiana Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Collaborative
574-276-8294
inquirybellina@comcast.net


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