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INTERACTION AND LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF TWO FRESHMAN PHYSICS COURSES

CLARK, DEXTER
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1132328837

Abstract Details

2005, EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education : Curriculum and Instruction.
The influence of digital technology has gradually increased through the years to the point where it impacts almost every part of our experience in some way. Educators are expected increasingly to supplement or even replace lecture and chalkboard practices with alternative strategies. Beyond integrating new technologies into the learning environments are the new forms of learning that some believe are implied by the nature of digitally mediated instruction itself. The use of multimedia technologies for learning in many cases is thought to facilitate a move away from teacher-centered practices of instruction toward learner-centered strategies of both delivery and assessment. This study was an investigation of effects that may be encountered when alternative forms of classroom delivery are introduced. It was a mixed–mode investigation of classroom culture and student performance in two sections of a physics course for undergraduate engineering students. The content for these two classes was identical as were the learning resources available to students. Both classes employed multiple methods of presentation combining face-to-face methods with classroom and online digital learning tools. The most distinctive differences between them were found in the classroom practice itself. One class received what may be called a traditional teacher-centered presentation focusing on solving math problems in physics. The other employed dense student to instructor and student-to-student interaction in the classroom with a learning approach characterized by inquiry methods of content delivery. The investigation asked three questions. First it sought to identify what expectations students brought to the classroom about what they would experience and how they would be taught. Second it examined how the tools and practices used to facilitate learning actually affected the classroom culture. Finally the study explored what affect if any the pedagogical practices students experienced had on their measured performance outcomes. These students were strongly influenced by their teacher-centered background and were not expecting any new learning strategies. They found significantly different classroom cultures between the two classes and achieved performance results that clearly were affected by the delivery techniques they experienced.
Dr. Janet Bohren (Advisor)
110 p.
Education, Technology
Inquiry; Interactive engagement; Learner-centered; RTOP; Teacher-centered; Traditional

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • CLARK, D. (2005). INTERACTION AND LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF TWO FRESHMAN PHYSICS COURSES [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1132328837

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • CLARK, DEXTER. INTERACTION AND LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF TWO FRESHMAN PHYSICS COURSES. 2005. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1132328837.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • CLARK, DEXTER. "INTERACTION AND LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF TWO FRESHMAN PHYSICS COURSES." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1132328837

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1132328837
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© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.