Image Formation Interactive Lecture Demonstrations Using Personal Response Systems

The results of physics education research and the availability of microcomputer‐based tools have led to the development over a number of years of the activity‐based Physics Suite. Most of the Suite materials are designed for hands‐on learning, for example student‐oriented laboratory curricula like Real Time Physics. One reason for the success of these materials is that they encourage students to take an active role in their learning. More recently, personal response systems (clickers) have become available at many schools and universities around the world, and are used by many educators. This paper describes Suite materials designed to promote active learning in lecture—Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs)—that have been adapted for implementation with clickers. Image formation ILDs will be presented. Results of studies on the effectiveness of this approach will also be presented.