20110726

Education research: post-instruct. feedback on flashcards, reading assignments, homework reports (Cuesta College, Physics 205B, spring semester 2011)

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, online reading assignments, and online homework reports (Matthew L. Trawick, The Physics Teacher, vol. 48, no. 2, p. 118) 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 2011 section 30882
(N = 7)

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 0 :
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.6 +/- 0.4]

II.2 Doing unassigned flashcard questions.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 4 : **** [3.9 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

II.3 Using flashcards to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 5 : ***** [4.7 +/- 0.5]

II.4 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 5 : ***** [4.0 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

II.5 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 5 : ***** [4.6 +/- 0.7]

II.6 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.6 +/- 0.5]

II.7 Instructor follow-up on difficult online homework report problems.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.4 +/- 0.7]

II.8 Online reading assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 4 : **** [4.1 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

II.9 Online homework reports.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 4 : **** [3.6 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

II.10 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 3 : *** [4.0 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

II.11 Group problem solving sessions (on whiteboards).
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.6 +/- 0.5]

II.12 Group concept mapping (on whiteboards).
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.6 +/- 0.5]

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 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 4 : **** [4.4 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

III.2 Flashcards helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 5 : ***** [4.3 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.3 I would recommend using flashcards in future semesters of Physics 205B.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 3 : *** [4.5 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

III.4 I will avoid other classes using flashcards in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [1.7 +/- 0.7]
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.5 Flashcards were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 3 : *** [4.3 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using flashcards.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [2.0 +/- 0.5]
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.7 Too many flashcard questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [2.0 +/- 0.5]
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.8 Using flashcards was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : *** [2.1 +/- 1.1]
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of flashcards in Physics 205B.
"Although the students' understanding of the material is important, time management seems paramount when it comes to available class time."

"In general I felt that the flash cards helped me to better understand the concepts from lecture. Even though I don't always understand them, it really helps to go through them and discuss our answers and why we came to the conclusions we did. Helps to work on how to approach certain problems."

"I liked the fact that we could get our initial thoughts out with the flashcards during class and fix any misconceptions relatively quickly following the questions. I just wish there was an answer key to the questions online just in case we wanted to look over them again and just forgot to write the answers to some down in class."

"I felt flashcards were very helpful. Sometimes when I was confused on a subject, they helped clarify it. Flashcards also helped solidify if you really knew a subject or not. I like the interactive nature of flashcards. It makes you think instead of just copying notes down the entire class period."
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 2 : **
4. Agree 5 : ***** [3.7 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.2 I like working on the online reading assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 4 : **** [3.6 +/- 0.7]
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

V.3 Too much time outside of class was spent working on online reading
assignments.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : *** [2.0 +/- 0.9]
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 2 : **
2. Disagree 5 : ***** [1.7 +/- 0.7]
3. Neutral 0 :
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 2 : **
4. Agree 5 : ***** [3.7 +/- 0.5]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.6 Too many online reading assignment questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 3 : *** [2.1 +/- 1.0]
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 6 : ****** [3.9 +/- 0.3]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

V.8 Completing the online reading assignments was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 4 : **** [2.4 +/- 0.7]
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VI. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of online reading assignments in Physics 205B.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"The reason I am neutral towards 'completing the online reading assignments was difficult' is because there we some reading assignments that we difficult, but overall they were good."

"Neutral."

"Online reading assignments were ok. I felt they helped to expose me to a topic which even sometimes confused me even more, and sometimes aided in my understanding! Other times they were just frustrating. It depended on the material and how the book covered it."

"I think interacting in class helped me understand the material better. The reading helped, but most of my concerns were resolved in class."

"Sometimes I felt that the reading assignment was helpful and sometimes it was not. I think it would be interesting to do a post-lecture assignment, where you have to answer questions on what you learned. This way you do not feel so 'blind' going into the subject and you can practice what you learned."
VII. Answer the following statements which may or may not describe 
your beliefs about working on the online homework reports
in this class.

VII.1 Online homework reports were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 4 : **** [3.4 +/- 0.5]
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VII.2 Instructor follow-up on difficult online homework report questions was
valuable.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 4 : **** [4.6 +/- 0.5]

VII.3 Online homework reports motivated me to complete (or try to complete)
problems on my own before coming to class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 4 : **** [3.4 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VII.4 Too many online homework report questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 3 : *** [2.3 +/- 0.7]
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VII.5 I would recommend using online homework reports in future semesters of
this class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 4 : **** [3.4 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 0 :

VIII. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of online homework reports in Physics 205B.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"I like how you did a survey on the homework and then attempted to help us better understand the tricky problems in lecture. Also I appreciate you assigning odd problems so we can see and look up the answers so we know if we are on the right track rather than assigning evens, which in my opinion can sometimes cause more harm than good. Ultimately it's up to the individual student to learn the material."

"I'm not sure how my classmates feel about this, but I feel like if the online homework report were multiple choice answers to the questions, and of course saying if we understood the problem or not, students would try harder when doing the problems. I'll admit that sometimes I'd only scan the problem quickly instead of thoroughly doing it. I know it's not right and it doesn't help me if I do that, but when I was extremely busy I would. Sorry."

I think turning in homework assignments would be much more helpful for me. I need that accountability. It is too easy to skim over the problem or think you understand it when you really don't."
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