Center for Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Program
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Project Title: Integrated Studies: Interdisciplinary Science and Diversity
________________________________________________
Submitted by:
Name: Lynn M. Tashiro
_____________________________________
Department: Physics and Astronomy
_____________________________________
Award year: 2005/2006
________________________________________________
Abstract/Summary of Findings (will be posted on the CTL website):
(No more than 250 words)
This project developed an “integrated studies component” for Physics 107,
Conceptual Physics and Scientific Inquiry, that integrated physics with other
academic disciplines. Physics 107 is the capstone science course for Liberal
Studies majors and future elementary school teachers. In addition to instruction
that focuses on K-8 CA State Science Standards for physics, curriculum was
designed to engage students in opened ended investigations that applied physics
to chemistry, biology, and music.
The P107 course was resequenced so that open-ended investigations
would coincide with instruction on
waves, sound, and light since
these concepts connect readily to
biology and music.
Concept
maps were used to brainstorm
investigation
questions
and
facilitate the connection of
physics to other disciplines. A
sample student concept map
connecting physics and music is
shown to the right:
Although open-ended
investigations empower students to take control of their learning, they do not
allow the instructor to control the science content of the investigation. As a result
about half of the 12 group inquiry projects conducted over the 2005-06 AY were
interdisciplinary the other half were conducted within the discipline of physics. In
addition to the group projects each student was required to submit an individual
project summary at the end of the semester. Two excerpts from student projects
are shown below:
1. Interdisciplinary investigation of Sound and Music
Investigation question: Why do musical instruments sound different when they
play the same note?
2. Interdisciplinary investigation on Light and Biology:
Inquiry Question: Do plants/seeds grow faster in a specific color light?
Note: Please return this form and your final report to the CTL Office, mail zip (6084) or
email ctl@csus.edu by October 9th, 2006.
Center for Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Program
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Project Title:
Personalized-Feedback Learning and Testing Web-Based
Application for Different Subjects and Languages
Submitted by:
Name:
___Thian-Huat Ong_____________________
Department: ___College of Business Administration______
Award year:
__2005-2006_____________________________________
Abstract/Summary of Findings (will be posted on the CTL website):
(No more than 250 words)
Most of the traditional web-based learning and testing systems such as WebCT
are passive systems in which students are given online quizzes and then the
correct answers are shown to let students know their results. In this research, a
personalized-feedback learning and testing web-based system was developed to
let students get personalized feedback by asking them similar questions that
they did not answer correctly so that they have a better chance to practice on
their problem areas and thus improve their learning. A pilot study was conducted
to examine the effects of the proposed system on students’ learning. The study
showed that experiment group of students who use the proposed system
received higher scores than the control group who did not use the proposed
system. Although the results were from a small study, it was believed that the
results could be further supported by a larger experiment. On the other hand, the
experiment group generally expressed higher satisfaction in the process because
they were able to practice on the problems that they had difficulty in so that they
could improve on their own. The proposed system used open-sourced software
component, including database, web server and client, and multilingual Unicode
standards, so that it is able to be used in many versatile educational
environments, including different subjects such as mathematics and sciences
and different languages such as English and Chinese.
Note: Please return this form and your final report to the CTL Office, mail zip (6084) or
email ctl@csus.edu by October 9th, 2006.
Center for Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Program
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Project Title:
Submitted by:
Award year:
Pilot program for training and using learning assistants in an
inquiry-based physics course
Name:
____Frank Hicks
Department: ____Physics & Astronomy
2005-06
Abstract/Summary of Findings (will be posted on the CTL website):
(No more than 250 words)
This project was a pilot effort to establish a continuing program of placing
physics majors as learning assistants (LAs) in Physics 107, a physics course for
liberal studies majors. Two physics majors served as Learning Assistants in
Spring 2006: one expressed an interest in teaching at the community college level
as a career, and the other was already enrolled in a teacher credentialing
program. Here is a brief summary of the results of the project:
►
LA duties. The LAs met their obligations as explained in the original PEA
proposal. Each taught in one session per week, prepared for class, read
weekly assignments, and kept a weekly journal of their experiences. The LAs
planned and team-taught a lesson at the end of the semester, and each LA
wrote an essay describing strategies for how to interact with students and
groups in the Physics 107 classroom.
►
Useful "products" and dissemination. One of the teaching strategy essays has
already been used by a new Physics 107 instructor as a training resource. The
project was also described at the 2006 Conference of the Physics Teacher
Education Coalition in Fayetteville, AR.
►
Student and LA benefits. Physics 107 students responded well to having an
extra instructor in the classroom and supported the LAs, even when it was
clear that the LA was sometimes "learning on the job." While both students
and LAs benefited from the project, it was clear that LA teaching skills and
attitudes benefited more than student learning. As such, using LAs should be
viewed primarily as a recruitment tool for majors and future high school
teachers.
Center for Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Program
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Project Title:
_______Computer mapping for Geolgy Majors_________
Submitted by:
Name:
__Dr. Kevin Cornwell_________________
Department: __Geology____________________________
Award year:
____2005-2006___________________________________
Abstract/Summary of Findings (will be posted on the CTL website):
(No more than 250 words)
This abstract and following report outlines the progress made in building a 3 unit
elective course in the Department of Geology titled “Computer mapping for
Geology majors”. The need for a course of this nature had become apparent as
map making software (ESRI – ARCGIS) have become so available in the market
place and so in demand in the professional community. Many of the career
paths that our graduates take utilize these computer-driven tools and are asking
potential employees for these skills.
This work effort consists of three tasks:
 Task 1. - identify the skill set that we wanted undergraduate geology
majors to be able to competently grasp
 Task 2. - evaluate potential materials and develop content material that
addresses Task 1, and
 Task 3. - constructed a syllabus for the course.
Task 1 focused on developing a course that would offer practical instruction
using components of the ARCGIS software (industry standard) that would have
high value for geology. The course is developed around this software.
Task 2 did not find a text that adequately function as a tutorial with geological
aplications but the help menu’s in the software were full of “how to” sections.
Those sections and the instructor’s experience became the gist of the course
materials. Course content has been constructed as a series of modules that
address the different tasks necessary to build maps and extract data from them.
Task 3 incorporates the philosphy of Task 1 with the structure of Task 2.
Center for Teaching and Learning
Pedagogy Enhancement Awards Program
ABSTRACT/SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Project Title:
INTEGRATION OF CLINICAL ANATOMY INTO THE
PHYSICAL THERAPY CURRICULUM
Submitted by:
Name:
B. STOCKERT1 AND W. LANCASTER2
Departments: 1PHYSICAL THERAPY and 2BIOLOGY
Award year:
2005-2006 academic year
Abstract/Summary of Findings (will be posted on the CTL website):
(No more than 250 words)
PURPOSE: The Department of Physical Therapy eliminated the requirement for a
second anatomy course for admission into the Physical Therapist Professional Program.
Students in the professional program are required to take Gross Human Anatomy. In
previous years Gross Human Anatomy was treated as a review course based on
completion of two prerequisite anatomy courses. The purpose of this study was to
determine if a more active learning style would counteract the impact of reducing the
number of prerequisite anatomy courses. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The unit
value and lecture portion of the course were unchanged. We redesigned the labs for
Gross Human Anatomy to include clay modeling, drawing and/or writing in addition to
the lab activities that occurred in previous years. We compared scores in Gross Human
Anatomy to the previous two years. We compared scores of students in the active learning
group who had 2+ anatomy courses to students with one anatomy course. ANALYSES:
We compared scores in Gross Human Anatomy using a one-way ANOVA. Students in the
active learning group with 2+ vs. 1 anatomy course were compared using a t-test.
RESULTS: Students in the active learning group did as well or better in Gross Human
Anatomy than students from the previous two years. Mean scores in Gross Human
Anatomy were 83.4 & 85.4 for the control period vs. 87.2 for the active learning group.
Students in the active learning group with 2+ anatomy courses did not score significantly
better than students with one anatomy course. CONCLUSIONS: We reduced the
number of prerequisite courses in anatomy without having a negative impact on scores in
Gross Human Anatomy. Student feedback regarding the use of active learning activities
to enhance learning was strongly favorable.
Note: Please return this form and your final report to the CTL Office, mail zip (6084) or
email ctl@csus.edu by October 9th, 2006.