E-learning and novel methods of teaching in Physics

Richard Thompson (Dept of Physics)

Background to the Physics department

• We have 255 students in year 1• All core lectures in one lecture theatre (seating 240)• Approximately 10 hours of lectures per week• Most material is highly mathematical• Students need to learn methods, principles, concepts

• Not just facts and formulae

Physics departments and innovation?

• Physicists have a reputation for resisting innovation• “Chalk and Talk” is well suited to mathematical material

• Need to see a mathematical proof evolving step by step

• This is clumsy with PowerPoint or OHPs

• Blackboards allow students to see in real time where each piece of an equation comes from

• Blackboards give a running history that can be referred back to

• Blackboards allow a lecture to become theatre

• The students themselves prefer “Chalk and Talk”

Students’ appreciation of “chalk and talk”

The effect of using coloured chalk

E-learning in Physics

• With 255 students in a 240-seat lecture theatre we had to adopt new technology!• Video-conferencing to an overflow room

• Students see a high-resolution image of the lecturer and blackboard

• Electronic media on a separate screen

• Number using the overflow steady at ~15

• Blackboard is used for all lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, problem sheets…• Though students preferred our previous intranet

• Slow to adopt quizzes & discussion boards

• Metric for summer revision• PowerPoint has been tried by many

lecturers with a mixed reception...

Some SOLE comments about Powerpoint

Powerpoint is a TERRIBLE way to teach maths and physics!

It would be a lot easier if the lecturer wrote on the board, instead of doing all the lectures on PowerPoint.

I always feel myself dropping off to sleep when the lights dim and powerpoint starts up.

Chalk and talk please I find it impossible to follow powerpoint presentations for some reason.

Powerpoints are very hard to take notes from

It is hard to follow complex mathematical concepts on powerpoint slides.

Some more SOLE comments

Material done on the boards is supported well by powerpoint material

Use of powerpoint slides worked very well

The sections by XXX were excellent, and were examples of how powerpoint should be used as a learning aid.

The powerpoints made the lectures very well structured

I liked the powerpoint with diagrams.

So what do we conclude?

• PowerPoint can be effective but not generally for very mathematical material• Need to present maths step by step

• Need to refer back to earlier steps » PowerPoint has no running history

• Need to avoid going too fast!

• PowerPoint is excellent for complex diagrams, images etc

• Students like a mix of different media• Depends on the individual lecturer

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Innovation in lectures

• Simulations can help understanding• http://www.falstad.com/ripple/

• https://ptweb.op.ph.ic.ac.uk/~torokp/teaching/vectormaths/index.html

• http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Quantum_Tunneling_and_Wave_Packets

• Help to visualise mathematical concepts and physical phenomena• Not necessarily a replacement for “real” demonstrations

Physics Education Research

Physics education research has demonstrated interesting facts about student learning in Physics:• Retention:

• Students retain very little from traditional lectures

• Most learning takes place outside the classroom

• Conceptual understanding:• “Force Concepts Inventory” to assess understanding

Example of FCI Question

Physics Education Research

Physics education research has demonstrated surprising facts about student learning in Physics:• Retention:

• Students retain very little from traditional lectures

• Most learning takes place outside the classroom

• Conceptual understanding:• “Force Concepts Inventory” to assess understanding

• Traditional lectures typically do not improve scores

• Beliefs about science:• Distinguish between “Novice” and “Expert”

• Nearly all Physics courses result in a move towards Novice!

How to achieve effective learning in Physics

• Cognitive load• We all include too much material

• Maximum of 7 items retained in short-term memory

• Need to address student beliefs.• Why is this worth learning?

• How does it connect to the real world?

• Acquiring expert competence• Help students establish an

organisational structure

• Efficient retrieval of facts

• Develop systematic problem-solving strategies

An experiment in teaching of optics

• 12-lecture 2nd-year core course in optics• Rewritten for 2008:

• Lecture notes distributed in advance

• Students told to read the notes: • This material will not be covered in the lecture

• Lectures used for other activities• Summary of the main points• Clicker questions and discussion • Specific mathematical derivations• Demonstrations and simulations• Questions and answers• Worked examples

• After 6 lectures students were asked if they wanted to continue with the experiment

Personal Response Systems (PRS or Clickers)

“Clickers” are boxes like TV remote controls that allow students to select one answer from a selection and transmit that to a central PC: the results displayed as a histogram.

We bought clickers which use infra-red to communicate with two receivers installed in our main lecture theatre. The receivers link via USB to a PC.

We bought 250 clickers and 4 receivers for around £5500 (part funded by College).

Why use clickers?

• Helps students to engage with the lecture• Forces them to think about a question

• and decide on an answer independently

• Well-designed questions can help reinforce key concepts• And it’s fun

• How does it work?• Question is included in a PowerPoint slide

• Students are given (say) 5 choices

• Select one and press the appropriate button

• Afterwards bar chart of responses is given

Example of a clicker question

What gives the colour to butterfly wings?

A Coloured dye

B Light absorption

C Interference

D Diffraction

E Refraction

F Fluorescence

The idea is not to test recall but to ask questions that require students to think about the issues involved to find the solution

Results of the experiment

Some questionnaire results (including SOLE )

More clickers please, for every course!

Like the new approach. Lectures are more interesting and engaging.

The lecture time is far more efficiently spent, with the run through of concepts visually much more useful that droning out a set of lecture notes.

New approach to teaching, which is much more useful, as it gets us to think about the material introduced to us

Clicker questions are fun and promote discussion in class.

Great lecturer, great course, shit clickers.

Less time devoted to clickers, as they waste valuable lecture time

The clickers are a waste of time, money and no-one takes them seriously. I like the new lecture format but the polls are just silly.

Lessons learnt . . .

• Most students responded well to a more interactive lecture style• There was a good “buzz” in the lecture theatre• Exam performance was at least as good as previously• The clickers generally worked well

• Instant feedback for students and lecturer

• HOWEVER:• Amount of time needed for preparation is very large

• There are issues with the large numbers of clickers

• Heavily reliant on the technology: need good technical support

• In conclusion:• Even in physics, innovation can be adopted successfully

• E-learning gives us tools that can enhance teaching and learning

• Need to evaluate carefully where innovations are appropriate