Other education

The Principles and Practice of Physics is a groundbreaking new calculus-based introductory physics textbook that uses a unique organization and pedagogy to allow students to develop a true conceptual understanding of physics alongside the quantitative skills needed in the course. The book organizes introductory physics around the conservation principles and provides a unified contemporary view of introductory physics. In this talk we will discuss the unique architecture of the book, the conservation-laws-first approach, and results obtained with this book.

Discussions of teaching -- even some publications -- abound with anecdotal evidence. Our intuition often supplants a systematic, scientific approach to finding out what works and what doesn't work. Yet, research is increasingly demonstrating that our gut feelings about teaching are often wrong. In this talk I will discuss some research my group has done on gender issues in science courses and on the effectiveness of classroom demonstrations.

Why is it that stellar students sometimes fail in the workplace while dropouts succeed? One reason is that most, if not all, of our current assessment practices are inauthentic. Just as the lecture focuses on the delivery of information to students, so does assessment often focus on having students regurgitate that same information back to the instructor. Consequently, assessment fails to focus on the skills that are relevant in life in the 21st century. Assessment has been called the "hidden curriculum" as it is an important driver of students' study habits. Unless we rethink our approach to... Read more about Assessment: The silent killer of learning

Why is it that stellar students sometimes fail in the workplace while dropouts succeed? One reason is that most, if not all, of our current assessment practices are inauthentic. Just as the lecture focuses on the delivery of information to students, so does assessment often focus on having students regurgitate that same information back to the instructor. Consequently, assessment fails to focus on the skills that are relevant in life in the 21st century. Assessment has been called the "hidden curriculum" as it is an important driver of students' study habits. Unless we rethink our approach to... Read more about Assessment: The silent killer of learning

Improving student success is one of the most pressing issues in higher education across the world. Too often, despite succeed in secondary classrooms, students are entering college underprepared to engage in the rigors of undergraduate study, which results in a number of consequences for institutions. High drop out, failure, and withdrawal rates limit students’ abilities to take full advantage of their college experience and reach their highest potential. Failing to intervene in the success problem has substantial cost implications for institutions, instructors, and societies within which... Read more about Institutional strategies for improving student retention in Latin American higher education

How can I help my students learn in ways that pique their interest and enrich their subject matter understanding? We will explore this perennial question by considering an innovative, research-based teaching method called Peer Instruction (PI). Originally developed by Dr. Eric Mazur to address major gaps in students' conceptual knowledge of physics at Harvard University, this interactive pedagogical method is now widely used by thousands of instructors across the world. PI leverages the power of social learning and the latest advances in cognitive science to confront students' misconceptions... Read more about Flipping your classroom using college readiness assignments: Research-Based Strategies for your Classroom

Discussions of teaching -- even some publications -- abound with anecdotal evidence. Our intuition often supplants a systematic, scientific approach to finding out what works and what doesn't work. Yet, research is increasingly demonstrating that our gut feelings about teaching are often wrong. In this talk I will discuss some research my group has done on gender issues in science courses and on the effectiveness of classroom demonstrations.

Discussions of teaching -- even some publications -- abound with anecdotal evidence. Our intuition often supplants a systematic, scientific approach to finding out what works and what doesn't work. Yet, research is increasingly demonstrating that our gut feelings about teaching are often wrong. In this talk I will discuss some research my group has done on gender issues in science courses and on the effectiveness of classroom demonstrations.

Open the doors to any classroom across the globe and you will observe an almost universal model for the evaluation of student learning. Instructors stand at the front of a lecture hall, teach content, students (at least we hope) attempt to learn that content, and then instructors evaluate that content learning through traditional assessments such as multiple-choice exams, quizzes, or research papers. Most of these conventional approaches to evaluation are one-dimensional and not aligned with overarching learning goals that relate to competencies students actually need to progress successfully... Read more about Assessment: The Secret to Great Teaching

Instructors all over the globe are turning their students' worlds around by flipping classrooms. In a flipped class, teachers move information coverage out of the lecture hall so that they can better leverage in-class time to address students’ difficulties and misconceptions. In this interactive webinar, Dr. Julie Schell will flip the session by asking participants to complete brief pre-webinar activities. She will use responses from these activities during the session to explore the why, what, and how of flipped classrooms—why flipped learning increases student achievement and engagement... Read more about Flipped Classrooms 101—An Introduction to Flipped Learning

A survey was designed to assess students' understanding of concepts and familiarity with biology terminology at the beginning of a new introductory genetics course. The class, which serves as the first college biology course for all students majoring in Biological Sciences or fulfilling premedical requirements, assumes no prior knowledge and enrolls mainly first-year students. The survey asked students to rate their familiarity with over 80 words in genetics and to define a selection of these terms. Students were also asked to answer a few conceptual questions as well as provide background... Read more about Assessing the initial state of knowledge of first-year genetics students

The Principles and Practice of Physics is a groundbreaking new calculus-based introductory physics textbook that uses a unique organization and pedagogy to allow students to develop a true conceptual understanding of physics alongside the quantitative skills needed in the course. The book organizes introductory physics around the conservation principles and provides a unified contemporary view of introductory physics. In this talk we will discuss the unique architecture of the book, the conservation-laws-first approach, and results obtained with this book.