We compare student performance in two sessions of a large first-year university physics course, one with a normal 12-week term and the other with a compressed 6-week term. Student performance is measured by the normalized gain on the Force Concept Inventory. We find that the gains for the regular-format course are better than the gains for the compressed-format course, and while the differences in gains are small they are statistically significant. Not accounted for are the differences in effectiveness of the different instructors in the two versions of the course.

Topics
Classical mechanics, Engineering science, Educational aids, Educational assessment, Teaching, Lectures, Statistical analysis
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