E learning and novel methods of teaching in physics

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
• 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

0.8
Reflectance R

» PowerPoint has no running history

1

0.6
0.4

s-pol

0.2

p-pol

0
0

10

20

30
40
50
60
Angle of incidence θ

70

80

90


Innovation in lectures
•

Simulations can help understanding
• />• />• />_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 shortterm 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
B
C
D
E
F

Coloured dye
Light absorption
Interference
Diffraction
Refraction
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