Tale of two curricula: The performance of 2000 students in introductory electromagnetism

The performance of over 2000 students in introductory calculus-based electromagnetism (E&M) courses at four large research universities was measured using the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA). Two different curricula were used at these universities: a traditional E&M curriculum and the Matter & Interactions (M&I) curriculum. At each university, postinstruction BEMA test averages were significantly higher for the M&I curriculum than for the traditional curriculum. The differences in post-test averages cannot be explained by differences in variables such as preinstruction BEMA scores, grade point average, or SAT Reasoning Test (SAT) scores. BEMA performance on categories of items organized by subtopic was also compared at one of the universities; M&I averages were significantly higher in each topic. The results suggest that the M&I curriculum is more effective than the traditional curriculum at teaching E&M concepts to students, possibly because the learning progression in M&I reorganizes and augments the traditional sequence of topics, for example, by increasing early emphasis on the vector field concept and by emphasizing the effects of fields on matter at the microscopic level

The Design and Evaluation of Computer-Based Chemistry Lessons

202 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1975.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Restructuring the introductory electricity and magnetism course

In the electricity and magnetism ͑E&M͒ segment of the traditional introductory calculus-based physics course, many new and increasingly abstract concepts, embodied in complex formal relations, are introduced at a rapid pace. As a result, many students find E&M significantly more difficult than classical mechanics. We describe a different intellectual structure for the E&M course that stresses conceptual coherence, connects the abstract field concept to concrete microscopic models of matter, and follows a clear story line, culminating in the classical model of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation and matter. This sequence has proven to be effective in teaching the basic concepts of E&M

Matter & Interactions: Textbook Web Site

This two-volume modern textbook for introductory calculus-based college physics courses emphasizes qualitative as well as quantitative reasoning, and puts heavy emphasis on atomic-level description and analysis. Its goals are to stress the basic principles of physics, engage students in modeling, and include 20th century applications. The web site provides extensive resources for instructors using the texts, including software, discussion forums, instructional activities, and lecture notes

Evaluating an electricity and magnetism assessment tool: Brief electricity and magnetism assessment

The Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA), developed by Chabay and Sherwood, was designed to assess student understanding of basic electricity and magnetism concepts covered in college-level calculus-based introductory physics courses. To evaluate the reliability and discriminatory power of this assessment tool, we performed statistical tests focusing both on item analyses (item difficulty index, item discrimination index, and item point biserial coefficient) and on the entire test (test reliability and Ferguson’s delta). The results indicate that BEMA is a reliable assessment tool