Collaborative Research: Further Characterizing Active Learning Environments in Physics

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving teaching and learning in college and university physics courses. This collaborative project involves investigators at Drexel University (Award DUE-2111128) and Wright State University (Award DUE-2111275). Education research has shown that using an "active learning" approach is central to improving students' learning in STEM classes.

In physics, many different teaching methods fall under the umbrella of "active learning," but the specifics of how the methods differ from one another are not clear. One way in which all active learning classes are the same is that the students interact more with each other than they do in standard lectures. In this project, the investigators will attempt to identify the important features of active learning in physics by collecting data on what students and instructors are doing during class and how students are interacting with each other.

Then they will attempt to relate these data to improved student learning. This research will help instructors make decisions about which teaching methods are best for their population of students.

This project will build on exploratory research that the investigators conducted during a previous project that was funded by NSF Awards DUE-1711017 and DUE-1712341, "Collaborative Research: Characterizing Active Learning Environments in Physics." That research analyzed differences among active learning environments using network analysis and the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS). The focus was on a small number of sites that represented high-fidelity, high-quality implementations of six active learning pedagogies.

The investigators discovered recurring mid-scale network structures across pedagogies, with fine-grained models beginning to identify smaller-scale features. In addition, by using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) on COPUS observations, the investigators found that the COPUS presents distinct profiles for the different pedagogies that were examined. In the new project, the investigators will extend the baseline data from the pilot project, exploring whether the patterns are broadly repeated at other implementation sites of the same pedagogies and how they relate to student outcomes.

In particular, the investigators will extend their previous work by collecting and analyzing data from 32 different sites and by coordinating the existing network and COPUS measures with student outcome data. Key aims of the research will be (1) to characterize implementations of active learning curricula in physics in terms of student-student interactions and instructor and student activity within each learning environment, (2) to survey common features of student-student network development across active learning environments, and (3) to integrate data on student networks and COPUS profiles in relation to student outcomes.

The additional data and analyses should enable researchers to identify the specific features of active learning environments that contribute to specific student outcomes. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.