1. They address specific problems (e.g., high attrition rate; weak student engagement; and poor student performance).

2. They articulate an overall set of goals (see Goals), and settle on a set of elements for designing an effective learning environment (e.g., integration of math, physics and engineering; technology that supports conceptual and skill-based learning; application of principles to novel situations; and collaborative learning).

3. They evaluate, adapt and integrate a variety of teaching and learning activities (computer-enhanced and otherwise).

As with all the case studies appearing in the LT² site, the IMPULSE activities are organized into three categories:

1. Computer-dependent activities that faculty believe simply would not be possible, or at least not feasible, without computers.

2. Computer-improved activities that faculty believe work incrementally better with technology but can still be implemented without it. (The UMD faculty did not give us examples of this type of activity.)

3. Computer-independent activities that can be done without technology.

In this section, we devote relatively little space to "computer-independent" teaching strategies. This is because the key computer-independent teaching strategies used in IMPULSE--the use of student teams, the very limited use of lecturing--are difficult to present independent of the computer-dependent methods. Student teams and the "instructor as guide on the side" approach to teaching are critical to the effective implementation of the computer-intensive methods that characterize a studio classroom-based program like IMPULSE.

The IMPULSE instructors (faculty, undergraduate student assistants and technical staff) believed that it was critical for them to work together as a cohesive team in order to sustain the success of their program. They focused on a common goal, and continuously refined the strategies they used to achieve these goals. Their weekly meetings provided opportunities to consider the different types of information each instructor had about the successes and problems the students were experiencing, and to make necessary adjustments. At these meetings they also planned how to continue to integrate topics across the three courses, and how to integrate their computer-based and other teaching methods to produce as effective a learning environment as possible.

A. Computer-dependent Activities

Computer-depended learning activities are those that are significantly enhanced through the use of technology. In the IMPULSE program, these activities involve the following key scientific processes: real-world and real-time acquisition of data, modeling, locating information, and communicating. At UMD, the use of these activities is greatly facilitated by the fact that computers are readily accessible in the classroom. However, the critical factor is that these computers make it possible to undertake these activities rapidly, right in the classroom. It is the combination of the convenience and speed of the computer technology utilized in IMPULSE that allows students to engage in these important scientific activities.

1. From the Instructors' Point of View

The IMPUSLE faculty observed that one reason why using computers to investigate scientific problems in class works is because it captures students' interest. As Renate Crawford put it, "Having them work in teams, using a lot of the new technology works because the students are impressed by it." As important as this factor may be, however, the IMPULSE faculty were more inclined to stress that their use of computers enables students to learn by using the following scientific processes.

Real-time acquisition and analysis of data
At the center of the IMPULSE reform at UMD is the opportunity for students to do science in the classroom. In the studio classroom, students are able to generate and capture data, and to analyze, calculate and explain the relevance of parameters like velocity, acceleration. John Dowd (physics) explained:

Click here to see a larger version of this graphic.

We use software that Priscilla Laws developed. We throw a ball through the air, videotape it and then digitize the video. Laws has software that lets you put little cross hairs on each frame. Frame by frame you advance the video and put a little cross hair on the ball. You analyze the path of the ball and find the trajectory; you can find the acceleration, the velocity, the initial velocity; you can fit curves to the trajectory, do all kinds of things. The idea is to not do that with a canned presentation, but to have the students do it. One student throws a ball and another student drops a ball, or shoots a rocket up in the air. In fact, Ray [Laoulache] had the students in his engineering class design these little soda bottle rockets. Well, they videotaped their rockets. They figured out the height of the rocket and its trajectory, and curve fit parabolas across the trajectory.

They found the use of graphing is particularly important. It helps students see the relevance of concepts that they so often think are purely abstract. Instead of just plugging numbers in formulas and obtaining values that are meaningless to them, students can provide scientifically sound explanations for these values. Renate Crawford (physics) commented on how using computers and real data enables this more meaningful kind of learning:

They have to write reports. They are required to use Excel spreadsheets to analyze the data and then put those results into a Word document. We're doing a lot with graphing. Before I started teaching IMPULSE, I did very little graphics. It's become plainly evident to me, and you probably noticed it today too from their confusion, that they have absolutely no problem with word problems: "The initial velocity is this, the angle is that, where does the ball land?" They plug in all the right values, and get values that are just numbers. But having them analyze the data today makes them realize that they don't really understand what those values mean. Now that we're having them analyze that data, they realize that they are so confused, which is good because they work through their confusion. When everybody left today, I think 11 out of the 12 groups felt confident that they now understood the relationship between the three graphs.

Modeling
Computer technology use in IMPULSE is linked to use of models to provide real-world relevance to content taught in physics, mathematics and engineering. An example of modeling that Bob Kowalczyk uses in his calculus class is taking data to produce the temperature profile of a hot coffee cup: "I'll bring a cup of hot coffee to class, we'll put a temperature sensor in it, we'll watch the temperature data being plotted and then we'll try to model the data mathematically." In the calculus sections, "Maple" is the software of choice. However, as Bob Kowalczyk explained, because Maple is not user-friendly and has excessively complex syntax, it hinders students' easy visualization of concepts and interpretation of results. To overcome these problems, IMPULSE students frequently use their calculators in combination with Maple for graphing functions^c In engineering, modeling is used in the design, construction, testing and analysis of a makeshift water rocket. Raymond Laoulache (mechanical engineering) explained:

Take the water rocket project: both the concept of momentum and numerical schemes were covered. The students have to design fins for a rocket for stability purposes. They were given access to NASA data on what would be a good length for the rocket, what would be the fin design. They used Mechanical Desktop for all those things. So what happened? To make it work, you have to teach the students numerical methods at the freshman level for a period of time.

In physics, videos are used to provide models of two- and three-dimensional motion. In response to our questions about how she uses technology in IMPULSE, Renate Crawford (physics) said:

I use technology in almost everything we do. Like today, students were modeling data. They were using Video Point, because two-dimensional motion is something very difficult to study if you use the regular traditional equipment, whether it's Airtrack or this other low-friction track. Two or three dimensions are almost impossible to analyze unless you videotape the experiment. For saving time, we used a preexisting video projectile motion and let them analyze it.

The IMPULSE faculty found that the combination of readily available computer resources and the team approach is effective. Bob Kowalczyk explained,

I relied on technology a lot before IMPULSE to include using real data and modeling that data. So I sort of brought those ideas with me. Now in the IMPULSE environment, it's a lot easier to implement these activities because you have the students working in teams of four and you have the computers in the classroom. The necessary equipment is readily available.

Locating Information and Communicating
At UMD, the use of computers in the IMPULSE program provides instructors and students the means to share information conveniently, whether in the classroom or outside. Raymond Laoulache (mechanical engineering) explained:

The computers are essential. Absolutely essential, because in the past if I wanted to provide the information to the students I would have to print on paper. Now it is on the Internet. If I'm working on a design problem in the classroom, I ask them to turn on their monitors and start doing the work. Today with technology we are able to do graphics and accomplish much more in a semester.

Students also pointed out that they commonly used web-based communication tools like ICQ and Netscape AOL messenger to communicate among themselves. Students also used email frequently to communicate with their instructors.

Summary
Overall, the IMPULSE computer-enhanced classrooms allow students to experience modeling, data collection, analysis and interpretation in real time. It gives them a first-hand appreciation of the importance of laboratory devices involved in the inquiry processes central to science, and helped them learn how to interact with and rely upon each other. Renate Crawford (physics) explained:

The thing I like about the computer-interfaced labs (the students still don't realize this all the time) is that the data is showing up for them in real time. As they are taking the data, each point is appearing. So a lot of times I can tell them while they are taking data, "Hey, look what is happening to your graph." And they look at their cart, or their graph, and they realize there's a little discrepancy--"My motion sensor sees me but not the cart"--this kind of thing. If you don't have computers, how are you going to bring that across to them? Can you do this in a lecture type of mode? No. I've tried.

At the same time, the IMPULSE instructors are mindful of the risks of over-reliance on computers. They bear in mind, for example, that when they bypass steps to make time for students to have time to focus on more important parts of the experiment (analysis of data and interpretation of results), important details in analysis may escape students who have only been exposed to computer-based methods. In this regard, Raymond Laoulache (mechanical engineering) commented:

I could show you how we took the equation of the rocket, which turned out to be a non-linear equation. Unfortunately, to solve the problem you have to do a numerical analysis. So I showed the students how painstaking it is to do it by hand in a single trial. And they were given an assignment to do it by hand for the next time period, you know, when you step things in time. Now they solve the details of the process. Then they take those equations and put them in an excel spreadsheet and make the process faster. But I refuse to let them rely on technology 100%. That's my style.

2. From the Students' Point of View

From the students' point of view, the use of computers facilitates learning. It permits the virtual simulation of experiments that in real life would be difficult to carry out in a classroom setting and time. As one student told us, "A lot of stuff was perhaps easier to learn. Like they had a program, such as Chemlab or whatever it was. If the professor wasn't able to show something in person because it had, like, deadly gases or something, you could actually see the whole experiment simulated on the computer." Students also appreciated the ability to design engineering systems right there in class. And, students were aware that being in the IMPULSE program gave them training and skills that seem to appeal to industry:

Student #1: Also things like AutoCAD are pretty huge. Learning all that right there and being able to design things right in front of you, that was neat. We did a project making bottle rockets, and we had to design the fins for it and everything, and we just used AutoCAD.
Student #2: And everybody was responsible for that.
Student #3: Ice scraper, assemble handles, screws - It was actually a good job-related skill. We used AutoCAD Version 14, which was the most powerful at the time.

The students we interviewed also made clear that computers add to the quality of their experience by providing convenience and speed, as well as helping them with conceptual understanding. A group of students reflected on the benefits of using computer technology in the classroom:

Student #1: Yeah, if you're sitting there with little spring scales trying to figure out the force in Newtons, I mean, we tried that for a little while and we realized that everybody hated it and moved on. It took me so much paperwork trying to catch up. I know we learned a lot more in physics with the computers because it sped things up a thousand times.
Student #2: All of the sudden everybody got the concepts like really quickly.
Student #3: It's more like a convenience. It speeds up calculations, except for calculus where it slowed them down. Because we used Excel for a lot of physics stuff, it would just do everything quickly. It just gets it done instead of having to draw it out.

B. Computer-independent Activities

In this section, we consider teaching and learning strategies recognized nationally as catalysts of student learning that do not necessarily depend on computer use. According to the IMPULSE instructors, two strategies--using student teams, and shifting the faculty role from that of a lecturer to that of a coach--are critical to the success of the program. We present their views on "teaming" here. For a discussion of the shift to a faculty "coach" role, see Discussion 6, Changes in the instructor role. The use of teaming helps the program became a real learning community, according to Nick Pendergrass (electrical engineering):

I believe what's going on is that the students are getting connected with each other. They develop relationships that they don't want to break and those relationships are built around performance in a classroom. They learn from each other. I believe that the single most important thing that happened is that a learning community occurred. We watched 48 students and five faculty members teaching those five courses weld together. They became responsible for each other. And once that got going, then that's what made it work.

Setting up and facilitating these teams takes effort and skill, however. Renate said:

Change the teams, if they need to be changed, because some people just do not get along and maybe they'd do better a second time around. Keep an open dialogue with the students as much as possible, which is, you know, sometimes hard; you get a great connection with some students, and some don't want to participate.

In IMPULSE, individual student accountability does not disappear because of the teamwork approach. IMPULSE instructors work hard to keep all members of the group involved, keeping up the expectation that any student may be called in at any given time to give a report. Nick explained:

It's most important that you understand that there is individual accountability - that students must know it themselves. If somebody does the work and the rest of the group doesn't figure it out, they're going to lose. Individual accountability is enforced by not accepting reports from the whole group (so that the one student who always knows the answer is doing everything), but by selecting somebody in the group to report for the rest of them. The team has to make sure that everyone has the story right.

The IMPULSE instructors acknowledged that there is some distribution of tasks among students in their teams: students tend to perform tasks that they are best at and more comfortable doing. And while some instructors expressed concern about uneven individual contributions, it seems that performance of students at all levels has gone up^d. The students with whom we talked also found teamwork valuable. But they also expressed more concern than the faculty about unequal contributions by group members--an understandable concern, given that rewards are allocated on an individual basis in academic culture.

Summary
According to the IMPULSE faculty, the speed and other capacities of computer-based technology are critical to their program. It allows students to carry out experiments and perform data analysis within a reasonable amount of class time, and enables instructors to perform demonstrations sufficiently rapidly that they have time to draw students into thoughtful discussion of concepts and interpretation of results. While the IMPULSE instructors were quick to emphasize the value of these computer-based features of their learning environment, they were equally emphatic that the technology must be combined with other key features in order to achieve the kinds of student learning outcomes they were observing. These other features are:

• an integrated curriculum that is informed by research about how students learn physics and mathematics, and that integrates calculus, physics and engineering;

• a student team-based approach to learning;

• properly designed physical spaces in which a workable number of students can use the right kind of equipment in a collaborative way;

• instructors trained to use a student team-based and largely "lectureless" approach to teaching.

In the next section (Outcomes), we consider in some detail what these UMD instructors learned about how well their IMPULSE learning environment achieved the their goals for student learning. In the subsequent section, "Implementation," we present their accounts of activities and factors that were critical to their process of creating this apparently very successful learning environment. The instructors includes, among the many factors we present under "Implementation," information about how they learned to work across disciplines and use a new approach to teaching, and how their efforts were received by colleagues locally and nationally.