NCSAAPT Fall 2019

How Learning Assistants Behave During Prep Sessions Marshall Adkins, Austin McCauley, Eleanor Close, Steven Wolf Session 2b, talk

In interactive learning environments, conversations are an important medium whereby ideas are shared, and understanding isconstructed. In this study, we describe the behaviors and conversation patterns of LAs engaged in small-group discussions during weekly preparation sessions. We coded LA behavior according to the following categories: socializing, separate work, group discussion, group discussion with instructor, and socializing with instructor. We coded video in these categories for each 15 second increment. After this initial coding pass, we created conversation maps which identify the speaker and all listeners in each of those 15 second segments, using nodes and edges to identify the speaker(s), listener(s), and amount of conversational time. All analyses have been carried out in the statistical programming language R, utilizing packages including igraph and sna to allow for characterization of the conversation maps.

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Scientific Practices in Introductory Physics Labs Steven Wolf, Mark W. Sprague, Joi P. Walker Session 2b, talk

This talk discusses the results of course transformation effortsin place at ECU to privilege scientific practices in our introduc-tory physics lab courses. Transformed curricula were piloted inspring 2018 in Physics 1, and fall 2018 in Physics 2. We willdiscuss our curricular framework, practical assessment, and implementation challenges. In particular we will discuss how wehave worked with faculty to forge a consensus around the transformed learning goals, as well as the administrative changesthat are required to sustain the new curricula.

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Modeling Student Collaboration Networks Aaron Bain, Steven F. Wolf Poster

In interactive classrooms, student learning is predicated onparticipation in the classroom community. The goal of thisresearch is to model these interactions and better describe andunderstand the individual interactions within the community.We collected data describing who students collaborated withthroughout a group exam. Using these data, we built socialnetworks of the classroom for each group exam.We thenconstructed a random model that we optimize to match theclassroom social networks. We describe how the properties ofthe model relate to student behavior.

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AAPT/PERC 2019

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X-Labs

Scientific Practices in Introductory Physics Labs Steven Wolf, Feng Li, Annalisa Smith-Joyner, Mark Sprague, Joi Walker AAPT Talk DE04

This talk discusses the results of course transformation efforts in place at ECU to privilege scientific practices in our introductory physics lab courses. Transformed curricula were piloted in spring 2018 in Physics 1, and fall 2018 in Physics 2. We will discuss our curricular framework, practical assessment, and implementation challenges. In particular we will discuss how we have worked with faculty to forge a consensus around the transformed learning goals, as well as the administrative changes that are required to sustain the new curricula.

Lab practical development

Introductory Physics I lab practical exam development: Investigation design, explanation, and argument Steven Wolf, Feng Li, Annalisa Smith-Joyner, Mark Sprage, and Joi Walker AAPT PST1D30, PERC C33

This study reports the development and validation of an instrument to assess science practices in an introductory physics laboratory. The instrument, called Inves-tigation Design, Explanation, and Argument about Core Ideas Assessment (IDEA), asks students to design and conduct an investigation, perform data analysis and write an argument. The physics IDEA instrument was validated with (1) advanced physics undergraduate students, (2) physics graduate students and faculty, and (3) undergraduate students in introductory physics laboratory courses. This study establishes construct validity in that the instrument measures targeted science prac-tices. Face validity was established by administering the practical in 20 laboratory sections in the course of one week. We discuss results from implementation over a 1 year period, and implications for our lab curricula. This is part of a NSF-funded study into how science practices transfer between the scientific disciplines.

GTA Teaching practices

Graduate Teaching Assistant Fidelity of Implementation in Introductory Physics Laboratories Annalisa Smith-Joyner, Heather Hundley, Mark Sprague, Steven Wolf and Joi Walker AAPT PST2B32, PERC A76.

This study reports the fidelity of implementation by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) of the Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) instructional model in introducto-ry physics laboratories. An ADI specific observation protocol was used to document the facilitation techniques of two GTAs during three investigations of a semester long course. This observation protocol considers each aspect of the ADI instructional model and therefore reveals fidelity of implementation. GTAs in general physics 1 and general physics 2 were observed during the first semester of course wide implementation. The results from the implementation of the observation protocol for two semesters of introductory physics will be discussed as well as implications for GTA facilitation for our facility.

Group Exams

Describing Collaborative Exams Using Random Graphs Aaron Bain, Timothy Sault, and Steven Wolf AAPT - PST2B08

Humans are social creatures who learn as a unit in their communities. The goal of this research is to model these interactions and better describe and understand the individual interactions within the community. Through a better understanding of how these interactions take place we can better understand the connection between the cognitive and social domains of learning. Interactions between students taking collaborative exams are quantified using the framework of Network Analysis. Network Analysis has many models that can be used to describe different types of networks. We compare student collaboration networks to these different random Network Analysis models.

  • Poster (Coming Soon)