20100622

Education research: post-instruction feedback on flashcards and online reading assignments (Cuesta College, Physics 205B, Spring Semester 2010)

Cuesta College students taking Physics 205B (college physics, algebra-based, mandatory adjunct laboratory) at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA use flashcards to engage in peer-interaction ("think-(pair)-share") discussion questions during lecture, and complete weekly online reading assignments (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments.

During the last week of instruction, students were given the opportunity to evaluate the instructional components of the course, and the use of flashcards and online reading assignments in an online "Learning Resource Survey" hosted by SurveyMonkey.com. Questions from section II are adapted from the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey (developed by Elaine Seymour, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and questions from section III (III.1, III.3, III.5, and III.7) were adapted from a "Clicker Attitude Survey" (N. W. Reay, Lei Bao, and Pengfei Li, Physics Education Research Group, Ohio State University).

These are the complete survey results. Analysis will be forthcoming after more data has been compiled from future semesters. Values for the mean and standard deviations are given next to the modal response category for each question. Note that the order of questions within sections II, III and V were randomly scrambled for each student.
Learning Resource Survey
Cuesta College
Physics 205B Spring Semester 2010 section 31988
(N = 11)

I. In order to receive credit for completing this survey,
first enter your first and last name below:
____


II. How much did each of the following aspects of the class help
your learning?

II.1 Lecture by instructor.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 7 : ******* [4.2 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

II.2 Doing unassigned textbook problems/clicker questions/practice quizzes.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 4 : **** [3.4 +/- 1.1]
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

II.3 Using flashcards to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 7 : ******* [4.0 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

II.4 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 4 : ****
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 3 : **** [2.7 +/- 1.4]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

II.5 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 6 : ****** [3.8 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

II.6 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 6 : ****** [4.1 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

II.7 Online reading assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 5 : ***** [3.7 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

II.8 Online homework assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 6 : ****** [3.7 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

II.9 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 4 : ***** [3.2 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III. Answer the following statements which may or may not describe
your beliefs about the use of flashcards in this class.

III.1 I like using flashcards.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 6 : ****** [3.5 +/- 1.4]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.2 Flashcards helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 4 : **** [3.7 +/- 1.5]
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

III.3 I would recommend using flashcards in future semesters of Physics 205B.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 5 : ***** [3.6 +/- 1.4]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

III.4 I will avoid other classes using flashcards in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 3 : *** [2.5 +/- 1.4]
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.5 Flashcards were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 8 : ******** [3.9 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using flashcards.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 4 : **** [2.5 +/- 1.2]
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.7 Too many flashcard questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 4 : **** [2.4 +/- 1.2]
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.8 Using flashcards was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 5 : ***** [1.9 +/- 1.7]
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 0 :

IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of flashcards in Physics 205B.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"The flash cards are great! If the class was not understanding the topic you were able to elaborate on it. I wish more classes used flash cards."

"None."

"By doing example problems and making us become involved in the problem really helped. If it wasn't for the flashcards I probably wouldn't have tried and would have just waited for the answer to be revealed. The flashcards forced me to participate and that was to my own benefit."

"Didnt really help me at all. I think that setting up a problem on the board, walking the students through, then setting up a second and letting the students do it, then solving it for them step by step is much more helpful."

"i enjoyed your class and your teaching style i am dissapointed you did not not teach a morning class in slo"

"The clicker was much better I enjoyed using the clicker during class."

"Flash cards help to cement the learning experience. By dicussing the topic with peers, you see different methods to explain it, which could appeal to the student differently than just the way the instructor explains it. We should use flash cards more often to make the class more lively and interactive."
V. Answer the following statements which may or may not describe 
your beliefs about working on the online reading assignments
in this class.

V.1 Online reading assignments were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 8 : ******** [4.1 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

V.2 I like working on the online reading assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 7 : ******* [3.7 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

V.3 Too much time outside of class was spent working on online reading assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 4 : ****
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [1.8 +/- 1.3]
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.4 I will avoid other classes using online reading assignments in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 6 : ****** [1.9 +/- 1.0]
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.5 Online reading assignments helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 7 : ******* [3.8 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

V.6 Too many online reading assignment questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [2.2 +/- 0.8]
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.7 I would recommend using online reading assignments in future semesters of this class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 8 : ******** [4.1 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

V.8 Completing the online reading assignments was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 6 : ****** [2.0 +/- 1.1]
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VI. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of online home assignments in Physics 205B.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"I thought they were very helpful. However, I did not find the book easy to work with at all. I would get more confused when I referred to it. Maybe consider a new text book?"

"Maybe spend a little time in class going over the material and correcting incorrect answers. Sometimes I wasn't quite sure on if I was correct and a little clarification would have been nice. But overall, helpful and got me thinking."

"I feel that about 1 or 2 every assignment wasn't very relevant to the flashcard questions, quizzes, or tests. I think it would be better if all the questions related directly to what we are expecting to see on flashcards, quizzes, and/or tests."

"They really helped."

"I liked them because they encouraged us to read ahead."

"i will miss ya p-dog"

"The online reading assignments could of been explained better some of the assignments werent explained too well in the text sometimes it was somewhat confusing"

"The reading assignments were a way to get ideas flowing before the class. I liked that they were graded for completiong instead of correctness - making them not so 'scary' like an exam, and more thought provoking. Rather than being asked to solve an equation, reading assignments encourage understanding of the concepts."

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