Developing the Next Generation of Physics Assessments

Science education at all levels is currently undergoing dramatic changes to its curricula and developing assessments for these new curricula is paramount. We have used the basis of many of these new changes (scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas) to develop sets of criteria that can be used to guide assessment development for this new curriculum. We present a case study that uses the criteria we have developed to revise a traditional physics assessment item into an assessment item that is much more aligned with the goals of current transformation efforts. Assessment items developed using this criteria can be used to assess student learning of both the concepts and process of science.Comment: Revised version for PERC 2015 Conference Proceeding

Improving problem solving with simple interventions

Although problem solving is a major goal for most science educators, many still rely on the demonstration method as an approach to teach it. This remains the case even though most are not happy with the results. Using a web-based problem delivery system to track students’ performance, we have investigated the effects of collaborative learning, and concept mapping on student problem solving ability. We find that student ability in general can be improved by about 10% after a group problem solving intervention. Furthermore we find differences in improvement depending upon the students’ level of logical thinking and gender

Evaluación y desarrollo de la metacognición en la enseñanza de la química

Metacognition may be defined as the knowledge and regulation of one’s own cognitive system, the capacity to reflect about one’s actions and thoughts. Current views on metacognition pose it as a fundamental factor in achieving autonomy in learning, and promoting deep understanding and problem-­solving skills. This relevance has in turn led to interest in creating learning experiences conducive to developing the use of metacognition, especially in science education. Despite this increasing interest, progress has been hindered by the inherent difficulties associated with developing assessment methods for metacognition. Consequently, evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of learning environments in promoting metacognition has been scarce. In this article we present some of the work that our research group has done to contribute in addressing this problem. We report the development and validation of an automated and rapid multi-­methods strategy to assess regulatory metacognition in chemistry problem solving from large numbers of participants. This strategy combines two separate instruments: one prospective, the Metacognitive Activities Inventory (MCAi) and one concurrent, the Interactive MultiMedia Exercises (IMMEX). Additionally, we describe two interventions that by using the multi-­ methods assessment strategy have been demonstrated to enhance metacognition use and problem solving ability. The first intervention is a cooperative problem-­based general chemistry laboratory; this study presents evidence that links participation in the laboratory with development of higher order skills. The second instantiation is a two-­week collaborative problem solving activity. Findings from a phenomenological approach nested within a mixed-­methods design suggest that meaningful, purposeful social interaction and reflective prompting act as promoters of metacognition development in both learning environments. These factors are not exclusive to the interventions and we maintain that they are transferable and may be embedded by practitioners in their instruction. This report presents the development and validation of metacognition assessment methods and studies of the efficacy of learning experiences in developing metacognition

Lunar In Situ Materials-Based Habitat Technology Development Efforts at NASA/MSFC

For long duration missions on other planetary bodies, the use of in situ materials will become increasingly critical. As man's presence on these bodies expands, so must the structures to accommodate them including habitats, laboratories, berms, garages, solar storm shelters, greenhouses, etc. The use of in situ materials will significantly offset required launch upmass and volume issues. Under the auspices of the In Situ Fabrication & Repair (ISFR) Program at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Habitat Structures project has been developing materials and construction technologies to support development of these in situ structures. This paper will report on the development of several of these technologies at MSFC's Prototype Development Laboratory (PDL). These technologies include, but are not limited to, development of extruded concrete and inflatable concrete dome technologies based on waterless and water-based concretes, development of regolith-based blocks with potential radiation shielding binders including polyurethane and polyethylene, pressure regulation systems for inflatable structures, production of glass fibers and rebar derived from molten lunar regolith simulant, development of regolithbag structures, and others, including automation design issues. Results to date and planned efforts for FY06 will also be presented

Peer volunteering; an innovative approach to striving towards achieving normal childbirth in asylum seeking and refugee women.

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Asylum seekers and refugees: A cross European perspective

yesIn this chapter we explore issues of psychosocial resilience and risk related to asylum seeking and refugee women during the perinatal period, drawing on experiences from three diverse European countries; the United Kingdom (UK), Malta and the Netherlands. First we define the terms asylum seekers and refugees to allow us to focus on the issues that pertain specifically to women experiencing this form of migration. We also note the prevalence of migration in contemporary society. We explore recent research on asylum seeking and refugee women in the perinatal period to identify; the barriers women face in accessing care in their reception countries and their experiences of perinatal care. Through this work, the challenges faced by healthcare professionals to provide culturally appropriate and high quality care to these women who face a range of psychosocial challenges are also highlighted. We suggest possible ways to address some of these challenges including how health professionals can actively build on the resilience of asylum seeking and refugee women to improve their perinatal experiences. We conclude by focusing on the implications of these findings; drawing on examples of good practice from the UK, Netherland and Malta to provide recommendations for practice and service development

An assessment on the effect of collaborative groups on students’ problem-solving strategies and abilities

This paper reports the use of tools to probe the effectiveness of using small-group interaction to improve problem solving. We find that most students' problem-solving strategies and abilities can be improved by working in short-term, collaborative groups without any other intervention. This is true even for students who have stabilized on a problem-solving strategy and who have stabilized at a problem-solving ability level. Furthermore, we find that even though most students improve by a factor of about 10% in student ability, there are two exceptions: Female students who are classified as pre-formal on a test of logical thinking improve by almost 20% when paired with concrete students; however if two students at the concrete level are paired together no improvement is seen. It has been said that problem solving is the ultimate goal of education (1), and certainly this is true in any chemistry course (2). To be sure, most instructors value this skill and try to instill the ability to solve problems in their students. However, the term "problem solving" means different things to different audiences, from algorithmic problems to complex, open-ended problems that do not have one particular solution. A number of attempts have been made to define problem solving, including "any goal-directed sequence of cognitive operations" (3), and many now agree with the general definition: "what you do when you don't know what to do" (4). Problem solving can be closely allied to critical thinking (5), that other goal of most science courses, in that it involves the application of knowledge to unfamiliar situations. Problem solving also requires the solver to analyze the situation and make decisions about how to proceed, which critical thinking helps. A number of information processing models for problem solving have been developed (6-8) and attempts made to develop uniform theories of problem solving (9). However, many of these studies involve knowledge-lean, closed problems (2) that do not require any specific content knowledge to solve, and that have a specific path to the answer. The truth is that many types of problems exist and there is not one model that will be effective for all categories (10). For example, in teaching science we are ultimately concerned with knowledge-rich problems requiring scientific content knowledge. Studies on problem solving in chemistry have typically revolved around development of strategies derived from research on closed-ended problems, usually pinpointing areas of difficulty that students encounter in specific subject types, such as stoichiometry or equilibrium. A number of studies where students are given strategies or heuristics allowing them resolve word problems in order to produce a numerical answer by application of an algorithm Open-ended problem solving that requires students to use data to make inferences, or to use critical thinking skills, is much more difficult to incorporate into introductory (and even higher level) courses; it is even more difficult to assess, particularly when large numbers of students are involved. Traditional assessment methods, such as examinations and quizzes-including both short answer and multiple choice-give very little insight into the problem-solving process itself. If a student does not have a successful problem-solving strategy, these methods may not allow either the student or the instructor to see where the difficulty lies, or to find ways to improve. While other investigation methods such as think-aloud protocols and videotaped problem-solving sessions (14) give a more nuanced picture of the problem-solving process (15-17), these techniques are time consuming, expensive, and require specific expertise to analyze. These methods are certainly not applicable for the formative assessment of large numbers of students, and while they give a snapshot of a student's problem-solving ability at the time of observation, it is even more difficult to monitor students' development of problem-solving expertise over an extended period. The upshot of all this previous research is that while we know a great deal about the problem-solving process in an abstract environment, we do not in fact have much insight into how students solve many types of scientific problems. Since we lack this information about how students approach problems and how students achieve competence, it is not easy to address the difficulties that students encounter as they develop problemsolving abilities. Indeed, while instructors value problem-solving skills highly, it is often the case that the only explicit instruction that many students are exposed to is the modeling of the skill as the instructor solves problems for students. So we have a situation where a valued skill is often not fully developed in students, even though we implicitly expect that they will become competent problem solvers by the end of the course. The most common assessments give no real insight into student strategies for problem solving, and therefore there is little feedback the instructor can give in terms of how to improve. The traditional assessments also tend to measure and reward algorithmic problem-solving skills rather than critical thinking and application of knowledge to new situations. It seems clear that if we are serious about wanting to incorporate meaningful problem solving into our courses, then we must go beyond the traditional assessments and design systems that allow us t

Evaluating the extent of a large-scale transformation in gateway science courses

We evaluate the impact of an institutional effort to transform undergraduate science courses using an approach based on course assessments. The approach is guided by A Framework for K-12 Science Education and focuses on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas, together called three-dimensional learning. To evaluate the extent of change, we applied the Three-dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol to 4 years of chemistry, physics, and biology course exams. Changes in exams differed by discipline and even by course, apparently depending on an interplay between departmental culture, course organization, and perceived course ownership, demonstrating the complex nature of transformation in higher education. We conclude that while transformation must be supported at all organizational levels, ultimately, change is controlled by factors at the course and departmental levels