Tetyana Antimirova

Comparison of the effectiveness of collaborative groups and peer instruction in a large introductory physics course for science majors

We report on an experiment comparing examinations of concepts using slightly modified peer instruction (MPI) interventions with a conceptual conflict strategy based on collaborative groups (CG). Four interventions were utilized in two sections of an introductory physics course for science students. Both instructors and strategies were alternated in the two classes so that instructor dependence could be factored out and so that each class could serve as both an experimental and a control group. The gain on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) used as a pre- and post-test is essentially the same in both classes. The instructors were experienced in use of MPI, but this was the first time that these instructors had used a collaborative group activity in their classes and only used it for the two interventions in each class described in this paper. CG appears to be more effective as a teaching method than PI. It also should be noted that the effectiveness of both teaching methods seems to be instructor independen...

The Effect of Classroom Diversity on Conceptual Learning in Physics

Hundreds of students are required to take introductory physics each year at our mid‐size Canadian university. These students enter the course with diverse educational histories and demographic characteristics that reflect the diversity of the large, metropolitan city that the university is located in. In this project, we investigate how students’ demographic and educational diversity is related to their conceptual learning in introductory university physics. Students’ learning outcomes in introductory sciences courses often impact their later learning in undergraduate science degree programs. As expected, we found that the completion of a senior high school physics course is positively related to students’ conceptual understanding of physics. The unexpected result was that gender remained a predictor of the students’ conceptual understanding, even when the completion of high school physics was accounted for. Interestingly, other demographic characteristics, such as students’ mother tongue and country of b...