A survey of pre/post-test data using the Halloun–Hestenes Mechanics Diagnostic test or more recent Force Concept Inventory is reported for 62 introductory physics courses enrolling a total number of students A consistent analysis over diverse student populations in high schools, colleges, and universities is obtained if a rough measure of the average effectiveness of a course in promoting conceptual understanding is taken to be the average normalized gain The latter is defined as the ratio of the actual average gain to the maximum possible average gain Fourteen “traditional” courses which made little or no use of interactive-engagement (IE) methods achieved an average gain In sharp contrast, 48 courses which made substantial use of IE methods achieved an average gain almost two standard deviations of above that of the traditional courses. Results for 30 of the above 62 courses on the problem-solving Mechanics Baseline test of Hestenes–Wells imply that IE strategies enhance problem-solving ability. The conceptual and problem-solving test results strongly suggest that the classroom use of IE methods can increase mechanics-course effectiveness well beyond that obtained in traditional practice.
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January 1998
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January 01 1998
Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses
Richard R. Hake
Richard R. Hake
Department of Physics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
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Am. J. Phys. 66, 64–74 (1998)
Article history
Received:
May 06 1996
Accepted:
May 04 1997
Citation
Richard R. Hake; Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. Am. J. Phys. 1 January 1998; 66 (1): 64–74. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.18809
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