Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (spring semester 2014)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

"I Forgot My Phone"
Charlene deGuzman and Miles Crawford
http://youtu.be/OINa46HeWg8

After showing a short movie depicting the pervasiveness of smartphone use at the start of the semester, students in introductory astronomy students at Cuesta College were asked a subjective question regarding their attitudes towards texting and social networking smartphone use in class. This is part of a think-pair-share activity using flashcards to answer syllabus quiz questions.

Texting/social networking is acceptable behavior in class.
(A) Strongly disagree.
(B) Disagree.
(C) Neutral.
(D) Agree.
(E) Strongly agree.

Student responses (pre-discussion)
Astronomy 210
Section 30674 (SLO campus)
(A) : 1 student
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 29 students
(D) : 3 students
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy 210
Section 30676 (NC campus)
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 8 students
(C) : 13 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 0 students

Students were then asked to share their answers and discuss with each other the reasoning behind their choices, and to vote again.

Student responses (post-discussion)
Astronomy 210
Section 30674 (SLO campus)
(A) : 3 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 32 students
(D) : 3 students
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy 210
Section 30676 (NC campus)
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 8 students
(C) : 15 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 0 students

Students were asked to share their responses during the following whole-class discussion. Most responses were along the lines of texting/social networking being "distracting," "inappropriate," and "disrespectful," but some students remarked that emergency contact purposes (or similar circumstances) or looking up information pertinent to lecture might be considered acceptable uses of smartphones. While indiscriminate use of smartphones during instruction would be detrimental to learning, the social norm seems to be that they would be tolerated as long as smartphone use was not disruptive to other students.

These responses and student opinions were then used to set the policy, via consensus, regarding texting and social networking during class time.

Previous posts:

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (fall semester 2013).

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (fall semester 2011).

Haiku: think-pair-share (peer-instruction)

"Peer-Interaction" #haiku "I'm not arguing; /just explaining why I'm right," /said Think-Pair-Share Cat. // #edchat twitter.com/Patrick_M_Len/…

— Patrick M. Len (@Patrick_M_Len) September 5, 2012

Overheard: think-pair-share flashcard shaking

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

(Overheard at the end of a think-pair-share flashcard cycle, when students were apparently unanimously voting for the correct answer, but did not seem very confident in their responses.)

Instructor: (Looking at nearly unanimous student flashcard results.) "Wait: remember, even if you think you have the correct answer--if you're just guessing, or if you aren't comfortable being asked to explain your answer, choose '(E) I'm lost, and don't know how to answer this.'"

Students: (No one changes their flashcard answers.)

Instructor: "Okay. If you're really confident of your answers, then shake your flashcards... (Beat.) Like a Polaroid(TM) picture."

Students: (Only a third of the class shakes their flashcards.)

Overheard: think-pair-share fail

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

(Overheard at the end of a think-pair-share flashcard cycle, when students were not able to come to a consensus after explaining to each other in pairs why/how they thought their answers were correct.)

Instructor: (Looking at student flashcard results.) "You guys...suck!"

Students: "What?!?"

Instructor: "And you know who's to blame?"

(Beat.)

Instructor: "Your astronomy teacher."

Astronomy clicker question: reionization

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2008
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students were asked the following clicker question (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) at the end of their learning cycle:

__________ is/are evidence of reionization in the early universe.

(A) Galaxy redshifts are proportional to galaxy distances.
(B) The near zero curvature of space-time.
(C) The amounts of helium and lithium in extremely old stars.
(D) Extremely distant galaxies surrounded by neutral hydrogen gas.
(E) The cosmic microwave background.
(F) (None of the above choices.)
(G) (I'm lost, and don't know how to answer this.)

Section 70160
(A) : 4 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 3 students
(D) : 10 students
(E) : 8 students
(F) : 0 students
(G) : 0 students

Correct = 38%

Correct answer: (D)

Reionization occurred when the first generation of stars formed the first galaxies, at the end of the dark ages. The light from these stars ionized hydrogen around them, creating emission nebulae.

Astronomy clicker question: main sequence to neutron star evolution

Astronomy 210, Fall Semester 2008
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students were asked the following clicker question (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) at the end of their learning cycle:

A __________ main sequence star will eventually become a neutron star.
(A) massive.
(B) medium-mass.
(C) low-mass.
(D) (More than one of the above choices.)
(E) (None of the above choices.)
(F) (I'm lost, and don't know how to answer this.)

Section 70158
(A) : 33 students
(B) : 9 students
(C) : 1 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 0 students

Correct = 74%

Correct answer: (A)

Massive stars main sequence stars will become supergiants, undergo type II supernovae explosions, and then can either become black holes or neutron stars, depending on the mass of the remaining core.

Section 70160
(A) : 22 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 0 students

Correct = 85%

Physics clicker question: distance traveled vs. displacement magnitude

Physics 205A, Fall Semester 2008
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Cf. Giambattista/Richardson/Richardson, Physics, 1/e, Conceptual Question 2.1 (extended)

Students were asked the following clicker question (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) at the beginning of their learning cycle:

In general, which statement(s) is/are possible?
(A) Distance traveled > magnitude of displacement.
(B) Distance traveled < magnitude of displacement.
(C) Distance traveled = magnitude of displacement.
(D) (More than one of the above choices.)
(E) (I'm lost, and don't know how to answer this.)

Sections 70854, 70855
(A) : 11 students
(B) : 5 students
(C) : 9 students
(D) : 17 students
(E) : 0 students

This question was asked again after displaying the tallied results with the lack of consensus, with the following results. No comments were made by the instructor, in order to see if students were going to be able to discuss and determine the correct answer among themselves.

Sections 70854, 70855
(A) : 5 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 37 students
(E) : 0 students

Correct answer: (D)

If an object moves along one dimension such that it does not retrace its path, then the distance traveled from its initial location to its final location is exactly equal to the magnitude of the displacement (the straight-line vector that points from the initial to final location), so choice (C) is possible. However, if an object moves back-and-forth along one dimension, then the distance traveled will be longer than the magnitude of the displacement, so in this case choice (A) is possible. Under no circumstances would (B) be possible. Never. Never? Never-ever-ever!