Grant recipient: Doreen Fraser, Department of Philosophy
Project team: Doreen Fraser and Dylon McChesney, Department of Philosophy
(Project timeline: September 2015 - August 2016)
Description
My project is to collaborate with a graduate student research assistant to identify high-quality digital and multimedia resources to use in PHIL 271 Quantum Mechanics for Everyone, a new philosophy course that I am developing for Winter 2016. The primary goal of the course is to promote scientific and technological literacy (STL) in the target audience of non-science students. While I have taught many courses in history and philosophy of physics, this is my first course which primarily aims to teach STL. Many multimedia resources (e.g., simulations of experiments, educational videos, videos of public lectures) have been developed to explain quantum physics to students and the general public. We will draw on pedagogical research to identify the resources that foster the deepest understanding of the concepts and support the deepest engagement with advanced popular science materials. Instruction of the course will be enhanced by inclusion of these high-quality multimedia resources.
Questions investigated
- Integration of high-quality digital and multimedia materials (e.g., simulations of experiments and physical models, educational videos, videos of public lectures) into class materials, the course outline, and assignments to support student learning outcomes pertaining to scientific and technological literacy. This will involve transdisciplinary pedagogical research to identify materials that have been successfully used in physics courses and in fostering public understanding of science.
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Assessment of the use of digital and multimedia resources in Winter 2016 to inform future offerings of the course.
- Sharing outcomes of the project with colleagues across campus (e.g., the Science and Society Teaching Group)
Findings
The outcome of the first part of the project was the selection of simulations and videos for PHIL 271. These materials are viewed in class and made available to the students on LEARN or posted on LEARN only or incorporated into assignments.The simulations were drawn from the PhET project at the University of Colorado Boulder. They were designed for university physics courses and their effectiveness for that purpose has been established. [1] It proved more difficult to track down videos of physicists explaining key concepts, public lectures, panel discussions, etc. at a suitable level for the class. Graduate Research Assistant Dylon McChesney devoted much of his time to assessing whether potential videos satisfied our pedagogical requirements. We identified as a main challenge that a learning outcome of the course is to apply concepts from quantum mechanics in simple cases, which is low-level outcome on the Bloom’s taxonomy, but difficult to attain due to the counterintuitive and complex nature of the concepts. One of the motivations for seeking out multi-media materials was that it is difficult to find readings that are neither too superficial nor too advanced. An important insight from this part of the project was that it can be just as difficult to find suitable videos because many either oversimplify the concepts or presuppose too much background knowledge. We were able to identify (1) for the beginnings of units, short videos that served as an invitation to the key concepts without oversimplifying them, and (2) for the ends of units and assignments, more substantial videos that defended points of view on issues and required only the concepts and issues taught in the units. Consultations with the Senior Manager of Scientific Outreach at IQC and the technician who oversees the Physics Department’s teaching equipment also led to borrowing equipment to demonstrate some central classical and quantum experiments in class.
The second part of the project was to study the effectiveness of the multi-media resources in the Winter 2016 offering of PHIL 271. Due to the class size and a typical response rate, this study turned into a pilot project; the results were interesting, but insufficient data was collected to support determinate conclusions. The study is being repeated in the Winter 2017 offering of the course to collect more data. The methods for assessing effectiveness were multiple choice and short answer questions accompanying simulations, 2-minute papers in class, quizzes, assignments, and a survey. The most interesting finding was the diversity in student feedback about which type of material they felt best supported their learning:while some students reported that the multi-media materials (simulations and videos) were most useful, other students reported that the readings were most useful, and other students preferred the hands on experiments demonstrated in class. There was also divided opinion about whether the multi-media materials presented in class were more or less useful than those which were only available online. Going in to the project, our focus had been on the ways in which multi-media materials can be used to support learning. After reviewing the data, the hypothesis that we have formulated is that supplying materials in a range of media (including readings) is valuable because different groups of students in the class find different types of materials most useful. Supplying material in a range of media also helps to address one of the primary challenges inherent in teaching this class, which is that the intended audience is students from a diverse range of academic backgrounds.
Dissemination and impact
- At the individual level: the Graduate Student Research Assistant has benefited from the opportunity to expand his knowledge of pedagogy and how to conduct pedagogical research.
- At the Department/School and/or Faculty/Unit levels: the grant project has had a direct impact on PHIL 271 and an indirect impact on the other courses that I teach.
- At the institutional (uWaterloo) provincial, national and/or international levels: The Quantum Mechanics for Everyone course has been covered by the University and picked up by the CBC as well as Imprint on campus. After I complete the study, I plan to present the final results of this research on campus (e.g., to the Science and Technology in Society Teaching Group) and within my discipline (e.g., poster at the Philosophy of Science Association biennial meeting).
Implications
- Teaching: In general, this project has changed my attitude towards using multi-media materials. Reflecting on the variety of purposes that these materials serve in PHIL 271 has prompted me to think about how to use multi-media materials in my other courses. In philosophy--especially upper-level courses--readings are still the most common type of material to assign to students.
- Connections with people from different departments, faculties, and disciplines about teaching and learning: I have discussed my grant project informally with members of the Science and Technology Studies Teaching Group on campus; when the project is completed, I intend to give a formal presentation to the group. The project has also led to fruitful discussions with local physicists about teaching quantum mechanics, including guest lecturers brought in to the course.
References
[1] S. B. McKagan, K. K. Perkins, M. Dubson, C. Malley, S. Reid, R. LeMaster, and C. E. Wieman, “Developing and researching PhET simulations for teaching quantum mechanics,” American Journal of Physics 76, 406.