Ronald K. Thornton

Assessing student learning of Newton’s laws: The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and the Evaluation of Active Learning Laboratory and Lecture Curricula

In this paper, we describe the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation, a research-based, multiple-choice assessment of student conceptual understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion. We discuss a subset of the questions in detail, and give evidence for their validity. As examples of the application of this test, we first present data which examine student learning of dynamics concepts in traditional introductory physics courses. Then we present results in courses where research-based active learning strategies are supported by the use of microcomputer-based (MBL) tools. These include (1) Tools for Scientific Thinking Motion and Force and RealTime Physics Mechanics laboratory curricula, and (2) microcomputer-based Interactive Lecture Demonstrations. In both cases, there is strong evidence, based on the test, of significantly improved conceptual learning.

Learning motion concepts using real‐time microcomputer‐based laboratory tools

Microcomputer‐based laboratory (MBL) tools have been developed which interface to Apple II and Macintosh computers. Students use these tools to collect physical data that are graphed in real time and then can be manipulated and analyzed. The MBL tools have made possible discovery‐based laboratory curricula that embody results from educational research. These curricula allow students to take an active role in their learning and encourage them to construct physical knowledge from observation of the physical world. The curricula encourage collaborative learning by taking advantage of the fact that MBL tools present data in an immediately understandable graphical form. This article describes one of the tools—the motion detector (hardware and software)—and the kinematics curriculum. The effectiveness of this curriculum compared to traditional college and university methods for helping students learn basic kinematics concepts has been evaluated by pre‐ and post‐testing and by observation. There is strong eviden...

Evaluating innovation in studio physics

In 1993, Rensselaer introduced the first Studio Physics course. Two years later, the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to measure the conceptual learning gain 〈g〉 in the course. This was found to be a disappointing 0.22, indicating that Studio Physics was no more effective at teaching basic Newtonian concepts than a traditional course. Our study verified that result, 〈gFCI,98〉=0.18±0.12 (s.d.), and thereby provides a baseline measurement of conceptual learning gains in Studio Physics I for engineers. These low gains are especially disturbing because the studio classroom appears to be interactive and instructors strive to incorporate modern pedagogies. The goal of our investigation was to determine if incorporation of research-based activities into Studio Physics would have a significant effect on conceptual learning gains. To measure gains, we utilized the Force Concept Inventory and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). In the process of pursuing this goal, we verified the effectiveness...

Resource Letter ALIP–1: Active-Learning Instruction in Physics

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on research-based active-learning instruction in physics. These are instructional methods that are based on, assessed by, and validated through research on the teaching and learning of physics. They involve students in their own learning more deeply and more intensely than does traditional instruction, particularly during class time. The instructional methods and supporting body of research reviewed here offer potential for significantly improved learning in comparison to traditional lecture-based methods of college and university physics instruction. We begin with an introduction to the history of active learning in physics in the United States, and then discuss some methods for and outcomes of assessing pedagogical effectiveness. We enumerate and describe common characteristics of successful active-learning instructional strategies in physics. We then discuss a range of methods for introducing active-learning instruction in physics and provide references to those methods for which there is published documentation of student learning gains.

RealTime Physics: active learning labs transforming the introductory laboratory

Computer-based tools that enable students to collect, display and analyse data in real time have catalysed the design of a laboratory curriculum that allows students to master a coherent body of physics concepts while acquiring traditional laboratory skills. This paper describes RealTime Physics, a sequenced introductory laboratory curriculum that is based on the results of physics education research, and uses computer-based tools to facilitate student learning.

Conceptual dynamics: Following changing student views of force and motion

This paper develops the phenomenological framework and methodology of “conceptual dynamics” in order to identify student views of the physical world and to explore the dynamic process by which these views are transformed during instruction. Conceptual dynamics aids the determination of the multiple student views, even for large numbers of students in instructional settings, and provides a method for the ordering of student views into learning hierarchies. The methods of conceptual dynamics are then applied to student views in a specific area of physics—force and motion, the behavior of objects moving as a result of forces acting on them. Common student views of force and motion for the different cases that students distinguish are articulated and learning hierarchies are established that allow a statistical prediction of student progression through the various views. Newton’s First and Second Laws, for example, become the Four Student Laws of Force and Motion where different force and motion relationships...

Tools for Scientific Thinking: Learning Physical Concepts with Real-Time Laboratory Measurement Tools

Learner-controlled explorations in the physics laboratory with easy-to-use real-time measurement tools give students immediate feed-back by presenting data graphically in a manner that can be understood. Using Microcomputer-Based Laboratory (MBL) sensors and software students can simultaneously measure and graph such physical quantities as position, velocity, acceleration, force, temperature, light intensity, sound pressure, current and potential difference. Using these MBL tools provides a mechanism for more easily altering physics pedagogy to include methods found to be effective by educational research. The ease of data collection and presentation encourage even badly prepared students to become active participants in a scientific process which often leads them to ask and answer their own questions. The general nature of the tools enable exploration to begin with the students’ direct experience of the familiar physical world rather than with specialized laboratory equipment. The real-time graphical display of actual physical measurements of dynamic systems directly couples the symbolic representation with the actual physical phenomena. Such MBL tools and carefully designed curricula based on educational research have been used to teach physics concepts to a wide range of students in universities and high schools. Data show substantial and persistent learning of basic physical concepts, not often learned in lectures, by students who use MBL tools with carefully designed auricular materials.

Using Large-Scale Classroom Research to Study Student Conceptual Learning in Mechanics and to Develop New Approaches to Learning

Microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) tools and guided discovery curricula have been developed as an aid to all students, including the underprepared and underserved, in learning physical concepts. To guide this development, extensive work has been done to find useful measures of students’ conceptual understanding that can be used in widely varying contexts. This paper focuses primarily on the evaluation of student conceptual understanding of mechanics (kinematics and dynamics) with an emphasis on Newton’s 1st and 2nd laws in introductory courses in the university. Student understanding of mechanics is looked at before and after traditional instruction. It is examined before and after MBL curricula that are consciously designed to promote active and collaborative learning by students. The results show that the majority of students have difficulty learning essential physical concepts in the best of our traditional courses where students read textbooks, solve textbook problems, listen to well-prepared lectures, and do traditional laboratory activities. Students can, however, learn these fundamental concepts using MBL curricula and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations which have been based on extensive classroom research. Substantial evidence is given that student answers to the short answer questions in the Tools for Scientific Thinking Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation provide a useful statistical means of evaluating student beliefs and understandings about mechanics. Evidence for the hierarchical learning of velocity, acceleration, and force concepts is presented.

Enhancing and Evaluating Students’ Learning of Motion Concepts

Microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) tools have been developed as an aid to all students, including the underprepared and underserved, in learning physical concepts. To guide this development, extensive work has been done to find useful measures of students’ conceptual understanding that can be used in widely varying contexts. This article describes student learning of motion concepts by high school and college students in both traditional and MBL contexts. Students use MBL tools to collect physical data that are graphed in real time and then can be manipulated and analyzed. The MBL tools have made possible discovery-based laboratory curricula that embody results from educational research, allowing students to take an active role in their learning and encouraging them to construct physical knowledge from observation of the physical world. The curricula take advantage of the fact that MBL tools present data in an immediately understandable graphical form. They also encourage collaborative learning. The effectiveness of these methods compared to traditional high school and university methods for helping students learn basic motion concepts has been evaluated by pre- and post-testing and by observation. There is strong evidence for significantly improved learning and retention by students who used the MBL materials, compared to those taught in a traditional manner.

Constructing Student Knowledge in Science

A drift towards increased content expressed in texts and tests, driven by the growth of science and a demand for results and measurable progress, has trivialized science education. Three technologies are suggested to address this problem.