Introductory Course Reform at
Oregon State: promoting
sustainable reform
Dedra Demaree, Oregon State University
Sissi Li, Oregon State University
And the OSUPER group
Presented at AAPT, July 2009
What we’re doing:
• Department-wide, team-based curricular reform at
lower-division level
• Starting with introductory calculus-based physics
(~1000 students per year take the sequence)
• Building on expertise and departmental culture
established by Paradigms in Physics |P><P| reform
• Re-visiting content and specifying course goals
• New structure, text, online homework…
• New classroom space and remodeled lecture hall
• Mixed-methods assessment
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Specific goals and influences:
• Goals:
– Conceptual understanding, Problem solving skills,
Scaffolding topics known to be difficult for our
students, Epistemological development and positive
attitudes, Appreciation and curiosity for physics
• Influences/resources:
– Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE),
Matter and Interactions (M&I), Peer Instruction,
Knight textbook and MasteringPhysics, SCALE-UP,
Innovations such as nano-lab extension to ISLE
resistance design-activity
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How we’re doing it: people
• Curriculum development teams including faculty
and instructors
– 3 teams, each taking on a few-week ‘bite’ of curriculum
– 2 members are on all three teams for coherence
– Members range from experienced to new faculty that
‘specialize’ in both upper and lower division instruction
• One ‘service course’ committee to bind it
– Surveying other departments, choosing baseline
assessments, choosing textbook change, studying what
other universities have accomplished…
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How we’re doing it: structure
• Original:
– 3 1-hour lectures per week, 1 3-hour lab, 1 1-hour optional
recitation
– One instructor/faculty responsible for all lectures and
supervising a TA team to do labs/recitation
• New structure:
– 2 1-hour lectures per week, 1 2-hour SCALE-UP, 1 2-hour lab
– Possible ‘7th’ hour for people with extra interest (computational
focus), or with extra need (remedial math)
– Head instructor (and coordinator) with rotating lecturers, Head
TA to help lead SCALE-UP sessions, other TAs and LAs
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• Department-wide
involvement in 'bitesized' chunks, head
committee with broad
membership
• Mixed-methods: FCI,
CLASS, Classroom
observations, instructor
feedback, surveys,
student interviews
• Site visits to learn from
successful models,
borrow materials and
ideas: ISLE, Peer
Instruction, M&I, Knight
Set explicit
content and
higherorder goals
Build in
Active
Engagement
Mixedmethods
Assessment
Structural
and course
Reform
• Structural Reform: new
SCALE-UP room, lecture
hall remodel and course
restructuring: less
lecture, more group
work
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Sustainability:
• Need faculty buy-in for the big picture
– Department hired PER-faculty to lead this
– Team-based, department-wide involvement
• Commitment to and understanding of choices
– Bite-size curricular committees for ‘all’ faculty
– Choices driven by concrete information (surveys,
research at other institutions…)
• Need intro courses more ‘approachable’ for faculty
– Can lecture a ‘bite-sized’ chunk without the
administrative hassle of 500+ students
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Model driving reform choices:
Scaffolding/
Math
Conceptual
Understanding
Contributes to
success in
Problem
Solving
Leads back to
More
productive
participation
Quality choices help improve
(new nanolab)
Appreciation/
Curiosity
Success
contributes to
productive
Epistemologies/
Attitudes
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Model driving assessment choices:
Conceptual
Understanding
FCI, CSEM…
Productive
attitudes
enable more
participation
and
engagement in
the community
of practice
Scaffolding/
Math Committee choices,
teacher implementation,
student engagement
Problem
Solving
ISLE
Rubrics
Student feedback,
engagement
Appreciation/
Curiosity
CLASS,
qualitative
Epistemologies/ studies
Attitudes
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Why a communities of practice
conceptual framework:
• Think about how students take ownership of
learning/knowledge (deeper than epistemology)
• Classroom norms and practices
– How they think about physics, deal with difficulties
– Also considers factors from outside the classroom
• Participation
– Engaging with the classroom activities, with fellow students,
and with instructor
– Productive participation produces meaningful experiences that
build competence (knowledge) and feeds back to enable more
productive participation and learning
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Accomplishments to date:
• Site visits conducted at model institutions
• Lecture hall remodeled to facilitate activeengagement
• Service course committee implemented baseline
assessment and new text Au08
• Some new activities/goals tested
• Survey given to determine content/goals
• FCI normalized gain of 0.4 achieved in 200+
person lecture course Au08
• Qualitative and quantitative research underway
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Future work:
• Committee meetings are ongoing
• SCALE-UP room under construction this summer
with internal grant funding and private donations
• Internal grant awarded to test curriculum with
subset of students in the fall
• CCLI phase 1 grant submitted, and hopefully will
have full support for taking data by winter 2010
• Development for other quarters of the sequence
will trail by one term
• Full implementation slated for spring 2010
• Grant (fingers crossed) will also support
collaboration with local Community Colleges
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