Peer Review

Assessing-to-Learn Physics

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Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This web site hosts a database of in-class assessment ("clicker") questions designed to reveal the ways students think about topics being studied. The multiple choice questions enable the instructor to measure the conceptual or qualitative knowledge of a specific physics topic and promote discussion and learning. Users can search for questions on a particular topic through an online database. The library contains questions from many, if not all, parts of the general physics curriculum. The correct answers are provided.
Type of Material:: Database of questions
Recommended Uses:: Peer instruction and in-class checks of learning.
Technical Requirements:: A webbrowser with an internet connection.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: To be able to measure the effectiveness of collaborative learning approaches and peer instruction; to perform formative assessments to determine what students do NOT understand about a particular topic.
Target Student Population:: Introductory undergraduate and high school physics.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None

Rating:
Strengths:: The questions in this database are very high quality and are based on how students learn, and don't learn, physics. The database includes important information about each of the questions: a brief statement of the problem being posed, the goal for the question, the level of the question, and the answer. Many of the questions include background information about the concepts and learning issues being addressed and give possible discussion questions and activities to enhance student learning.
Concerns:: The coverage of subjects and levels is not uniform, with some topics having few questions available. This is to be expected because of the high quality of the questions and the amount of work behind each one.

Rating:
Strengths:: These materials are based on research that has created proven methods for improving student learning.
The questions in the digital library are multiple choice and work very well with a classroom response system. They test the conceptual knowledge as well as the reasoning behind each answer. They enable the instructor to determine misconceptions and thereby tailor their instruction to meet the students needs.
Concerns:: The most effective use of these questions requires an interactive class which may be a significant change for some instructors.
There are topics that have no questions for a particular level, so that questions may not be available for all topics in some classes.

Rating:
Strengths:: The database is seamless to use. The user can search by level such as middle school, high school, undergraduate, etc. and key words such as acceleration, circuits, dielectric, flux, etc.
There is a help page meant to orient instructors in the use of these questions and a short reference list to explain the pedagogical approach. There is a forum for users to ask and receive feedback on questions, comments, or other experiences they may have.
Concerns:: None.

Other Issues and Comments:: This website summarizes many of the pertinent ideas in physics education research such as the differences between formative and summative assessments, collaborative leaning, peer instruction, and classroom response systems.
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