Physics Education Research (PER):
The PER-Friendly Classroom and
The Importance of Reasoning
Brian A. Pyper Ph.D.
Director of Physics Education
BYU-Idaho Department of Physics
Introduction
PER and Teaching&Learning
A short History of PER
Key findings for Physics teachers
Lectures, Listening and Cognition
Active Learning
Demos
Action Research
Reasoning
A short history of PER
AAPT founded 1930
The Manhattan Project
Sputnik
Halliday and Resnick 1st ed 1960
Homer Dodge
Paul Klopsteg
Floyd Richtmeyer
The 1970s: A Subtle Shift – How do we teach vs
How do they learn?
Arons (To Teachers): “You have two ears
and one mouth, and should use them in that
proportion.”
Karplus: “I believe that students
become vitally interested in their
studies and learn best when direction
and guidance from a source of
authority are combined with ample
opportunity for students to direct
and control their own learning.”
The 1980s: Converts
Lillian McDermott
Fred Reif
Joe Redish
Prescilla Laws
Alan Van Heuvelen
Dean Zollman
Jose Mestre
Sheila Tobias
The Force Concept Inventory
David Hestenes
Eric Mazur
Richard Hake
The US PER Map
PER Now
Misconceptions
Expert-Novice studies
Curriculum
Technology
Gender and Ethnicity
Problem Solving
Cognition
Teacher Preparation
Attitudes and Epistemology
Reasoning
The Physics Teacher, AJP, Physics Education, PhysRevST - PER
Lectures and Cognition
How people learn: changing the brain
Prior knowledge is crucial - misconceptions
Pedagogy is important – epistemology,
metacognition, emotion/motivation
Listen at least as much as you talk
How you learn is not always (i.e.: hardly ever)
how they learn
Active Learning
•
Learning is a verb – you have to DO it
•
You can't do it to them or for them
•
The more senses involved the better
Demonstrations
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•
•
•
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Can be but should not only be
Entertaining
5 E's: Engage Explore Explain Evaluate
Elaborate/Extend (for physics you may
add Explode, Explain, Excuse and Escape)
Make the students commit to a prediction
Do the demo
Review and extend
Action Research
•
•
•
Think about what you're doing so you're doing it
deliberately, and measure outcomes.
PER methodologies (surveys, pre-post testing, case studies,
interviews, etc) are both sophisticated and effective.
Why reinvent the wheel? – especially not the flat tire!
Compadre, PER-central, PER user’s guide
Reasoning
Piaget
The Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning
Pre-post, thousands of students
Changing Reasoning
Measured by the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning
1
0.9
0.8
F08 PHS100
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
pre
post
No significant changes:
using peer instruction and some home-made tutorial-like
activities.
+ tutorials
Adding one day a week with
Tutorials in Introductory Physics (Ph105)
Knight textbook workbook assignments
But does it help with the concepts?
Conclusion
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•
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If we care about learning and teaching,
let's do it right.
What matters in learning Physics?:
interactivity. (engage agency)
Pay more than lip-service to how they
think. Reasoning Matters
My sincere thanks to those in this room
who've had such a big impact on my life
and career.