Measuring and Improving Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Student Assistants in Introductory Physics Classes

Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest by developing a validated assessment to improve the effectiveness of Student Assistants in introductory physics courses. Reforms in college-level introductory physics courses have promoted a shift from lecturing and factual recitation to interactive learning and conceptual understanding, which requires timely in-class guidance from an expanded teaching team. Many institutions use graduate or undergraduate Student Assistants (SAs) to assist the primary instructor. It is assumed that SAs contribute to improving student thinking and conceptual understanding, but there is limited evidence to support this assumption. In addition, if improvements do result, information about how the SA contributes to the improvement is also limited. One possibility is that asking good questions is important, since questioning is an effective instructional strategy used by instructors in an inquiry-based environment. This project will test the hypothesis that improving SAs' knowledge about questioning will improve their abilities to prompt student thinking and scaffold group interaction in inquiry-based classrooms. In this project, the researchers will develop both open-ended and multiple-choice versions of an instrument to assess SAs' knowledge of questioning. This important research is designed to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the role that SAs' knowledge of questioning plays in college students' introductory physics learning. The products from this research will be made available to physics instructors across the country, and the instrument may be modified for use in other STEM disciplines. By monitoring the quality of SAs through the instrument, SAs can be better prepared to act as instructional leads in inquiry-based classrooms. As a result, the project has the potential to enhance college-level physics and other STEM education throughout the United States. The researchers hypothesize that SAs' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Questioning (PCK-Q) is at the heart of SA effectiveness. This project will measure this effectiveness in three phases. In the first phase, the researchers will capture videos of SAs interacting with students during introductory physics classes. From the studying these videos, the researchers will create open-ended questions as the first version of the PCK-Q test. In the second phase, the researchers will use the responses from the first version of the PCK-Q test to develop and validate a multiple-choice version of the test. The process of developing and validating both versions of the PCK-Q test will yield qualitative data that contribute to the assessment and adjustment of SA training strategies. In the third phase of this project, the researchers will combine the data from the PCK-Q assessments and conceptual inventories of the students in their classes to build hierarchal linear models relating SAs' PCK-Q scores to improvements in their students' conceptual understanding. There will be two hierarchal linear models, one for students' conceptual understanding of physic concepts and one for student's conceptual thinking skills. The hierarchies of each level are at the student level (Level 1) and then at the class level (Level 2). This research project will benefit the field of undergraduate physics instruction by adding new insights into how SAs may best promote student learning in introductory physics classrooms. Potential long-term benefits include increased efficiency and lower costs of physics education, and adaptions for use in other STEM fields. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This is an Engaged Student Learning proposal on the Exploration and Design Track. 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.