Chris Meyer, York Mills C.I.

Richard Feynmann, from the introduction to his set of lectures for the first year physics survey course (180 students) at Caltech. The Feynmann Lectures in Physics (pg. 5) “The question, of course, is how well this experiment [his introductory course] has succeeded. My own point of view – which, however, does not seem to be shared by most of the people who worked with the students – is pessimistic. I don’t think I did very well by the students. When I look at the way the majority of the students handled the problems on the examinations, I think that the system is a failure. Of course, my friends point out to me that there were one or two dozen students who – very surprisingly – understood almost everything in all of the lectures, and who were quite active in working with the material and worrying about the main points in an excited and interested way. These people have now, I believe, a first-rate background in physics – and they are, after all, the ones I was trying to get at. But then, “The power of instruction is seldom of much efficacy except in those happy dispositions where it is almost superfluous.” (Gibbons)”

Why change? In a traditional lecture, how many students do we engage? What proportion of class time do students spend wrestling with physics ideas? How much writing or talking do they do about physics in their own words? How much feedback do students get to guide their understanding of physics concepts? What have they learned to help them solve more than a plug’n’chug type problem?

Universities noticed poor results from traditional teaching practices Student understanding explored and quantitatively measured, and practices refined Variety of techniques developed (Redish, Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite) Physics Education Research

Quantified Success From: Redish, Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite

The Social Learning Principle For most individuals, learning is most effectively carried out via social interactions

MIT – Introductory Physics Implementations

U of T Practicals Implementations

Show me the goods! Sounds great - how to pull this off?

Teacher lecture  Student group learning Cookbook activities / labs  Guided-inquiry activities Content: broad and shallow  Deep and focused Plug’n’chug problems  Context-rich problem solving Furious note-taking  Careful textbook reading Describing  Explaining Change! The good news: I have done most of this for you.

Less is More Less content is covered, but in more depth Each idea explored from many angles Research shows having fewer, but solid, pillars of understanding in no way harms their education Question yourself - What is the purpose of racing through what they don’t understand?

Target the Whole Class Traditional Teaching = Sputnik Model Find the best of the best fast and educate them as quickly as possible Reformed Teaching = Life Sciences Model An increasing number of disciplines need core physics knowledge and skills to prosper in 21 st century

From the Toronto Star

“The trouble with biologists in the academic world is they are trained to work on their own,” says Edwards. “Ray, by contrast, was trained as an engineer to work in teams, to problem solve.”

Group Work Structure the course around groups Provide explicit training in the good function and management of groups Provide opportunities for critical reflection of group work skills Devote energy to daily coaching of groups Get whiteboards

Group Structure Size: 3 people, rarely 4 or 2 Gender: MMM, FFF, FFM, rarely MMF Group Roles: Manager, Recorder, Speaker Composition: a strong, medium and weak student Rotation: Groups change every major unit (3-4 weeks) Seating: Always face-to-face Table human

Change Your Role Moderator and socratic “inquisitor” of group activities Facilitate class discussions Provide summaries, clarifications and tips

Transform the Lessons Lectures are largely gone or are at most 10 minute intros Guided-inquiry activities - introduce and explore new ideas Problem solving challenges - reinforce and apply concepts

The Physics Challenge

Redesign Homework Homework consists of: Textbook note-taking: extend or formalize understanding from the day’s activities Problems: a few well-chosen problems that further the understanding of concepts – limit the plug’n’chug A thing not worth doing is not worth doing well.

Reassess the Evaluation Evaluation must reflect the goals of the new course. Evaluate: basic skills quality of physics writing and explanations understanding of concepts genuine problem solving

The Measure of Success Much greater student engagement across all mark ranges 60 minutes of hard work per class Emphasis on writing Direct, face-to-face probing of student understanding

How to Start? For the full set of Gr. 12 activities and teacher resources, go to:

Resources The Physics Suite Cooperative Group Problem Solving nBook.html Workshop Physics Tutorials in Physics Sense-Making U of T Practicals Tutorials in Introductory Physics

How to Start? For the full set of class activities and teacher resources, go to: Try out individual activities Try one whole unit Go all the way! Arrange a visit Need help?