Using Inquiry Based Learning Activities to Promote Conceptual Understanding in a STEM Course Kathryn Bohn Brian P. Self Jim Widmann Jeffery Georgette California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

IBLA Outline Background Timeline process, evaluating progress Activity spotlight Highlight change through process Conclusions Methods of future improvement 2

Background Importance of Conceptual Understanding Organized Structured knowledge Allows adapting to new contexts Pre-requisites “NRC How People Learn” “Hake Interactive-Engagement vs. Traditional Methods” 3

Background Difficult to teach conceptual solving, usually what’s done is context specific skills Hard to fully gauge students classroom knowledge Professor not on same page as students about class understanding and aptitude What do students retain after class? 4

Background Strengthening conceptual understanding through hands on activities Active Learning, Cal Poly learn by doing, teams Hands on (personal experience) vs. professor lecture (traditional/passive learning) Evidence – Laws and Prince 5

Elements of Inquiry-Based Activity Modules Use peer instruction and collaborative work Use activity-based guided-inquiry curricular materials Use a learning cycle beginning with predictions 6 Emphasize conceptual understanding

Elements of Inquiry-Based Activity Modules Let the physical world be the authority Evaluate student understanding Make appropriate use of technology Begin with the specific and move to the general 7

Timeline DCI question –conceptual Pre quiz Activity Homework Final question (conceptual) Survey 8

Activity: Spools 9

10 If you pull gently on the string of the spool as shown, in which direction will the spool linearly accelerate? a)To the left b)To the right c)It will not accelerate d)Not enough information to tell

Activity: Spools 11 In which direction will the friction force act? a)To the left b)To the right c)The friction force will be zero d)Impossible to tell

Discussion 12

Activity: Spools 13 If you pull gently on the string of the spool as shown, in which direction will the spool linearly accelerate? a)To the left b)To the right c)It will not accelerate d)Not enough information to tell

Activity: Spools 14 In which direction will the friction force act? a)To the left b)To the right c)The friction force will be zero d)Impossible to tell

Post Activity Quiz Question 15 Asked to determine the acceleration (magnitude and direction) of the center of the disk Determine the friction force and compare it to the tension force

Student Worksheet Responses 16 When did the behavior of the spool finally make sense to you?

Activity: Cylinder vs. Pipe 17

18 Pre Activity Quiz Question

Big metal solid cylinder (A) vs. black metal pipe (B) (Same radius, length, and mass, but different shape) Black metal pipe (B) vs. wooden solid cylinder (C) (Same length, but different shape, radius, and mass) 19 Activity: Cylinder vs. Pipe (A) (B) (C) (B)

Big metal solid cylinder (A) vs. wooden solid cylinder (C) (Same length and shape, but different mass and radius) State your prediction. State the post-race result. How do you explain the race result using principles of Dynamics? 20 Activity: Cylinder vs. Pipe (A) (C)

21 Use the Work-Energy Equation to show that a cylinder will always reach the bottom of the ramp faster than a pipe with a small thickness, independent of mass or radius. Homework Question

22 Activity: Cylinder vs. Pipe

IBLA Cylinder vs. Pipe Results 23 Assessment of students who took the DCI after either participating in active learning or watching the professor demonstrate the activity.

Aha Moment! 24 During Activity 31% After Homework 13% In Class Discussion 11% Talking with Team 22% Responses from student survey on when they understood the concepts in the IBLA

Future Improvements Starting gate for activity Worksheet revision Modify activities for better guidance in reaching correct conclusions, have them discuss between rolls. 25

Conclusions Strengthen conceptual understanding Enable students to learn on their own Benefits of IBLA’s Learn by doing at its finest* We want students to reach conceptual conclusions through prediction-observation- hands on activity, and be confident in conclusions 26

Promote Conceptual Understanding in STEM using Inquiry Based Learning Activities This research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation, NSF , Using Inquiry- Based Activities to Repair Student Misconceptions in Engineering Dynamics. 27

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Active Learning vs. Traditional Instruction The improvement of students’ conceptual understanding of basic physics concepts (taken from Laws et al.). 29

30 DCI Quiz Question

Equipment Used in Cylinder Activity 31

Student Worksheet Responses 32 When did the Moment of Inertia concept finally make sense to you?

33 Assessment of Cylinder IBLA and the Rolling Objects Demonstration; percentage of students answering the question correctly.