Research-based assessments (RBAs) measure how well a course achieves discipline-specific outcomes. Educators can use outcomes from RBAs to guide instructional choices and to request resources to implement and sustain instructional transformations. One challenge for using RBAs, however, is a lack of comparative data, particularly given the skew in the research literature toward calculus-based courses at highly selective institutions. In this article, we provide a large-scale dataset and several tools educators in introductory physics courses can use to inform how well their courses foster student conceptual understanding of Newtonian physics. The supplemental materials include this dataset and these tools. Educators and administrators will often target courses with high drop, withdrawal, and failure rates for transformations to student-centered instructional strategies. RBAs and the comparative tools presented herein allow educators to address critiques that the course transformations made the courses “easier” by showing that the transformed course supported physics learning compared to similar courses at other institutions. Educators can also use the tools to track course efficacy over time.
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March 2022
PAPERS|
March 01 2022
Providing Context for Identifying Effective Introductory Mechanics Courses
Ian Her Many Horses;
Ian Her Many Horses
2
University of Colorado Boulder
, Boulder, CO
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Ben Van Dusen
;
Ben Van Dusen
3
Iowa State University
, Ames, IA
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Manher Jariwala;
Manher Jariwala
4
Boston University
, Boston, MA
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Eleanor Close
Eleanor Close
5
Texas State University San Marcos
, San Marcos, TX
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Phys. Teach. 60, 179–182 (2022)
Citation
Jayson M. Nissen, Ian Her Many Horses, Ben Van Dusen, Manher Jariwala, Eleanor Close; Providing Context for Identifying Effective Introductory Mechanics Courses. Phys. Teach. 1 March 2022; 60 (3): 179–182. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0023763
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