Craig Ogilvie |
Learning Research |
My research into student learning has focussed on three areas Problem-solving Most science and engineering students struggle when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems because they usually approach problem-solving tasks with a relatively limited strategy of searching for ready-made formulae to apply to the problem. To improve student skills we use complex, open-ended problems that can’t be solved using weaker plug-and-chug strategies. This approach has been developed by the Physics Department of University of Minnesota, where students work on multifaceted problems in highly interactive, small groups with continual guidance and feedback from an instructor. More details and results Feedback in Online Assignments For students to learn they must receive ample feedback on their work. In our large classses, students complete online weekly assignments that are graded automatically and provide detailed feedback to students on what they did right/wrong and how they can avoid those mistakes in the future. More details and results. Clickers To increase the engagement in large lectures, students are asked to answer conceptual questions every 10 minutes or so of lecture. They enter their answer use infrared personal-response-units (“clickers”) in class to First they work on the question themselves, then in small groups. The percentage of correct answers dramatically increases after discussion. The clickers force students to commit to an answer, so that their feedback occurs when they are actively engaged in the conceptual challenge. More details and results |