National Institutes of Health (NIH) Challenge grant #1RC1GM090897-01 An Assessment of Multimodal Physics Lab Intervention Efficacy in STEM Education
- Assessment of the laboratories by "off-the-shelf" conceptual inventories, including Force Concept Inventory (FCI), Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT), Brief Electricity and Magnetism Survey (BEMA) and Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM).
- Assessment of the laboratories and the courses by scientific attitude and scientific reasoning surveys, including the Colorado Learning Attitudes and Science Survey (CLASS) and the Lawson Test of Scientific Reasoning.
- Assessment of TA instructional methods by the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP).
- Assessment of a laboratory-based, inquiry-based, interactive engagement section of the algebra-based introductory course (PHYS 1403 and PHYS 1404).
- Assessment of conceptual, quantitative and laboratory skills by free-response pre- and post-testing in the laboratories.
- TA training of laboratory and recitation TAs.
- Two sets of free-response pre-tests and post-tests for the purpose of assessment (Thacker, West, Dulli).
- Development of PER-informed laboratories in the second semester (E&M and optics) algebra-based and calculus-based courses (Thacker, West).
- Assessment of both traditionally taught and nontraditionally taught lecture sections with and without PER-informed labs and recitation instruction.
- Lessons from a Large-Scale Assessment: Results from Conceptual Inventories
- The Effect of Problem Format on Students' Responses
- Lessons from a Large-Scale Assessment: Results from Free Response Pre- and Post-testing in Electricity and Magnetism
- Beth Thacker, Lessons from a Large-Scale Assessment at Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (December, 2011).
- Beth Thacker, Assessment: How do we know what works? Texas State University, San Marcos, (March, 2011).
- Beth Thacker, Lessons From a Large-Scale Assessment Project at Texas Tech, Texas Section of American Association of Teachers, Lubbock, TX (October, 2012).
- Beth Thacker, Why Conceptual Inventories Are Insufficient Assessment of Our Instructional Methods, American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, Omaha, NE, (July, 2011).
- Beth Thacker, Why there is a Need for Assessment in Undergraduate Physics, American Association of Physics Teachers, Jacksonville, Florida, (January, 2011).
- Beth Thacker, The Effect of Problem Format on Students' Answers, American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, July, 2012: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Beth Thacker, Mark Ellermann and Keith West, The Effect of Problem Format on Students' Answers, Texas Section of American Association of Teachers October, 2011, Commerce, TX.
- Keith West and Beth Thacker, Teaching Assistant Impact on Student Understanding of Electrostatic Concepts, American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, July, 2011, Omaha, NE.
- Mahmoud Yaqoub, Beth Thacker, Keith West, Mark Ellermann and Jake Schwierking, Comparison of an Inquiry-based Algebra-based Course to Traditional Teaching, American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, July, 2011, Omaha, NE.
- Mark Ellermann, Beth Thacker, Keith West, The Effect of Problem Format on Students' Answers, American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, July, 2011, Omaha, NE.
- Drew Baigrie, Beth Thacker, Keith West, Mark Ellermann, Mahmoud Yaqoub, Assessing Laboratories through Pre- and Post-testing: Optics,American Association of Teachers Summer Meeting, July, 2011, Omaha, NE.
- Beth Thacker, Insight to Student Reasoning Through Use of Question Format, Texas Section of American Association of Teachers, March, 2011, San Angelo, TX.
- Mark Ellermann, Beth Thacker, Keith West, Assessing Research-Based Labs through Pre- and Post-Testing, American Association of Physics Teachers, Jacksonville, Florida, (January, 2011).
- Keith West, Beth Thacker, Mark Ellermann, Incorporating traditional and non-traditional pedagogies in laboratories, American Association of Physics Teachers, Jacksonville, Florida, (January, 2011).
- Beth Thacker, Laboratory Pedagogy: Fusing traditional and research-based labs, Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (TSAAPT), San Antonio, TX, (October, 2010).
- Beth Thacker, Kwan Cheng, Amy Pietan, Hani Dulli, Keith West, Large Scale Assessment of the Introductory Courses: Electricity and Magnetism, American Association of Physics Teachers, Portland, OR, (July, 2010).
- Kelvin Cheng, Amy Pietan, Beth Thacker, Large Scale Assessment of the Introductory Courses: Mechanics, American Association of Physics Teachers, Portland, OR, (July, 2010).
- Kelvin Cheng, Amy Pietan, Beth Thacker, Large Scale Assessment of the Introductory Courses, American Association of Physics Teachers, Washington, D.C., (February, 2010).
- Beth Thacker, Analysis of a Large-scale Assessment Project Using Available Assessment Instruments, Beth Thacker and Keith West, Physics Education Research Conference, Omaha, NE, (August 2011).
- Beth Thacker, Exploring the structure and dynamics of students' reasoning, joint Arkansas-Oklahoma-Kansas and Nebraska American Association of Physics Teachers meeting and Big 12 Physics Education Research Conference, Kansas State University, (November, 2003).
Accomplishments
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Some of the accomplishments of NIH Challenge grant #1RC1GM090897-01 are:
The work has significant implications for the department, as it is a major large-scale assessment of our courses, laboratories and recitations, both traditionally taught and PER-informed, based on assessment by conceptual inventories and free-response pre- and post-testing. The results can be used to inform the department on the introduction of PER-informed laboratories and instructional methods, TA training, faculty instruction, areas that need work and how we compare to other universities.
The faculty should look seriously at the results of the work in the papers and presented to the faculty and recognize its value. It is important work that should continue in a consistent, systematic way. However, at this point in time, the faculty seem to have chosen to completely ignore the work and not continue a systematic development and assessment of the introductory courses that would increase students' understanding of physics concepts and their ability to calculate, solve problems and analyze results. We have been surprised by the TTU faculty response to a significant set of data, the research and the body of work that went into the systematic changes in materials and pedagogy and the training of the TAs in the laboratories and recitation sections. They have chosen to ignore the work, the data and the results, not acknowledging the significance of the work or the results, the implications for TTU physics and the systematic change that could be carried out to increase the conceptual and quantitative understanding and success in physics by TTU students.
People
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PIs
Beth Thacker
Kelvin Cheng
Postdoctoral researchers
Hani Dulli
Keith West
Seshini Pillay
Graduate students
Dave Pattillo
Vanalet Rusuriye
Mark Ellermann
Mahmoud Yaqoub
Undergraduate students
Ganesh Chapagai
Drew Bagrie