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Engaging the Unengaged: Bio-contextualized Physics Lab

Engaging the Unengaged: Bio-contextualized Physics Lab. By Matthew Fleenor, Matthew Rearick, and DorothyBelle Poli Roanoke College. What motivated your project?. “Why do I have to take physics?”. Motivation: Why did we work together?. New integrative general education curriculum

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Engaging the Unengaged: Bio-contextualized Physics Lab

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  1. Engaging the Unengaged: Bio-contextualized Physics Lab By Matthew Fleenor, Matthew Rearick, and DorothyBelle Poli Roanoke College

  2. What motivated your project? “Why do I have to take physics?”

  3. Motivation: Why did we work together? • New integrative general education curriculum • FIPSE grant to provide sustainable faculty development for integrative teaching and learning

  4. What we wanted to achieve! “Why do I have to take physics?” • Objective: To renovate the required 100-level laboratories so students would observe and experience the deep connections between physics and biology

  5. Goals • Demonstrate an increased level of understanding (physics, integration of fields, writing skills). • Technical Laboratory Skills • Student engagement

  6. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  7. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  8. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  9. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  10. Course Structure

  11. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  12. Course Structure • Traditional physics lab exercises with: • Bio-application lecture/conversations • Complete biophysics lab exercise • Weekly follow-up wiki • Integrative Activities • Quantitative problems

  13. Questions?

  14. To what extent did we achieve our goals? • Demonstrate an increased level of understanding (physics, integration of fields, writing skills). - understanding of physics and writing take long amounts of time to alter (NO)‏ - biology/physics integration occurs on a faster time-scale (YES)‏ • Technical Laboratory Skills - difficult to assess across all sections (NO)‏ - showed marked increase throughout semester, but true of all sections? (YES)‏ • Student engagement - interests were heightened (YES)‏

  15. How do we know? What measures were used? • Demonstrate an increased level of understanding (physics, integration of fields, writing skills). - Final grades did not show noticeable elevation - pre-/post-test for mechanics concepts was also flat - poor response rate on college-wide evaluations - post-essay did show better integration, but not skills • Technical Laboratory Skills - difficult to assess (+ within other sections)‏ - showed marked increase throughout semester based on grades (due to small class; norm for labs)‏ • Student engagement - personalized evaluative data (compared to what?)‏

  16. What will we offer in the future? • Permanent materials - pre-lab questions - post-lab extension questions - portable exercises already developed • Emphasis on writing and integrative activities - importance of writing (across all sections)‏ - formal individual and group integrative projects • Student engagement - how much will be lost when collaborators are not in the classroom - expertise will not be readily available

  17. Questions?

  18. What institutional support was most helpful? • Overarching theme & purpose of the Grant • Grant personnel • Excuse to experiment • Very open to ideas (freedom to fail) • Ahhh …. Lunch! (with minimal agenda) • Different pedagogies … any and all things teaching (vent, yes; support, yes; problem-solving, yes …) • Impacted not just this course sequence but other classes as well (at least mine) • Dean & Chairs (3 departments)

  19. Advice for Similar Faculty Projects • Model • … our setup/model (1 + support grp), our disciplinary diversity and our academic “age” • Challenges – • Support • Dean & Chair (everybody happy until …) • TCU’s … justifying time, etc. • Qualifying thought: Feasibility of our model • Immediate and long term rewards/compensation? • Making this work for …. • professional dev./tenure interests • student evals? – remember, it’s a group effort

  20. Advice for Similar Faculty Projects • Reminders • a priori discussion on … • Classroom responsibility and work/effort accountability • Growth as Teachers • Willingness to grow, be wrong and, most likely, you are better (or worse) than you think • Realistic Expectations • It will not be perfect to start … IMPROVE the educational experience for students, no more, no less • Be Transparent • Openness with Chairs

  21. Thank You! • Questions? Matt Fleenor (Physics) fleenor@roanoke.edu Matt Rearick (HHP) rearick@roanoke.edu DB Poli (Biology) poli@roanoke.edu

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