Ini$al  Development  and  Pilot  Study  Design  of    Interac$ve  Lecture  Demonstra$ons  for  ASTRO  101  

Schwortz,  Andria  C.;  French,  Debbie  A.;  Gu$errez,  Joseph;  Sanchez,  Richard  A.;  Slater,  Timothy  F.;  Tatge,  Coty  

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) Pilot Study Design

•  Quasi-experimental •  Single group pre-/post-test

Instructional Sequence: 1.  Set Up 2.  Think 3.  Pair 4.  Share 5.  Commit 6.  See It 7.  Agree 8.  Transfer (adapted from Sokoloff & Thornton 1997, 2004)

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/light/bbexplorer.html, NSF grant #2031270, Lee & Slater (2006).

We have developed six interactive lecture demonstrations (ILDs) for ASTRO 101 as per the method successfully implemented in the context of physics teaching (Sokoloff & Thornton, 1997; Sokoloff & Thornton, 2004). These ILDs make extensive use of educational computer simulations. For each ILD, both a preliminary classroom-ready student worksheet, and an instructor’s guide have been developed.

Materials

More information and references available at http://physics.uwyo.edu/~aschwortz/

•  Student workbook with response sheets •  Instructor guide with links, tips, etc. •  All materials available free on request

Final goal

Example: Blackbody Spectra We are implementing a pilot study to explore their effectiveness in communicating scientific content, and the extent to which they might enhance students’ knowledge of and perception about astronomy and science in general. The study design uses a pre-/post-test quasi-experimental study design measuring students’ normalized gain scores, calculated as per Hake (1998) and Prather (2009), using a slightly modified version of S. Slater’s (2011) Test Of Astronomy STandards TOAST combined with other instruments.

Study

Sample

•  N=20 students at an urban junior college on the east coast, in an online ASTRO 101 course

•  N=30 students at a large research university in the midwest, in a on-ground ASTRO 101 course

Method

•  Mixed Methods •  Pre-/post-test: TOAST (S. Slater 2009) •  Qualitative: student worksheets, student post-

interviews, instructor pre-/post-interviews

Analysis

•  Gains on pre-/post-test •  Code for themes

Follow-Up Study

•  Revised materials •  Quasi-experimental •  Solomon 4-Group •  N=200 per group (N=800 total) •  Minimize other variables

Group  Pre-­‐test?  Educa1onal  Interven1on?  

Post-­‐test?  

1   ✓   ✓   ✓  

2   ✗   ✓   ✓  

3   ✓   ✗   ✓  

4   ✗   ✗   ✓  

•  Students do not learn as well from lecture (e.g., Hake 1998)

•  Many K-12 teachers adopting active learning •  ASTRO 101 still predominantly taught via lecture •  Many ASTRO 101 instructors willing to try active

pedagogy, but don’t know how. •  Physics instructors can use tangible demos in the

classroom to “spice things up”, but this is more difficult in astronomy.

Motivation

Funding provided by Wyoming NSF EPSCoR WWISE program and NSF Grant EPS # 1208909.

Leave of absence support by Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester MA.

•  Students shown a blackbody spectrum at one temperature

•  Students predict at a new temperature

•  Materials for students and instructor guide both through the content and ILD steps