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CSMT: Teaching Physics Concepts with Activity-based Learning
Ronald K. Thornton
Director, Center for Science and Mathematics Teaching (CSMT)
Research Professor, Department of Physics and Department of Education
Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts
csmt@tufts.edu
Even at the good universities, most physics students don't understand the concepts - rather they are very skilled at memorizing and using formulas.... In most physics courses, students listen to lectures about already proven theories - they don't "do" real science. In contrast, physicists are actively engaged in predicting and testing models that explain the real world.... I left a career as a research physicist to become an educator, developing learning technology and directing the Center for Science & Mathematics Teaching, which I founded in 1986, because I believed then and even more so now that students learn best when they can ask and answer the questions that interest them.
My colleagues and I developed the first Microcomputer-Based Laboratory (MBL) tools - and we continue to develop them - because we know through research that activity-based materials improve students' learning. This means that students learn science by doing science - they conduct experiments and take measurements using sensors interfaced with computers... The reactions from the students are generally fantastic - they're usually very happy with this... Before using our materials, 30 percent of physics students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute had a reasonable understanding of the concepts. After using our Interactive Lecture Demos, 60 percent of the students understood the concepts. We have other cases that show as high as an 80-90 percent success rate after using the Interactive Lecture Demos....
If you have any questions about our work or materials, you can contact me at:
csmt@tufts.edu
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