Active Classroom improves girls physics outcomes

Schools working to improve learning outcomes for girls in science may want to stop lecturing and start using active learning models, according to preliminary findings of a research project of the Learning Innovation Institute at The Ellis School, an all-girls school in Pittsburgh. The Ellis School found that active learning methods improved learning outcomes in physics. These include a better understanding of physics concepts and seeing that physics is relevant to everyday life. The School also saw improvements in students’ collaboration and communication in science class, both of which are crucial to success in college-level physics.
About the Active Classroom project: Ellis transformed a traditional physics classroom space into “The Active Classroom for Girls,” a space that encourages girls to work in teams and use design thinking and technology to engage in hands-on learning. The School also renovated a classroom into a “CoLaboratory” space to encourage group work, “maker” education, and project-based learning.  In addition to renovating these physical spaces, the School revised its physics and Introduction to Engineering classes, and “flipped” its classroom and homework time. For example, at home girls watch instructional videos made with Google Glass, called “LabCasts” to preview labs so that, when they get to class, they focus entirely on problem-solving and hands-on experiments guided by teachers.

Funding for the Active Classroom for girls was provided by The Edward E. Ford Foundation ($50,000) with matching funds ($50,000) from the Ellis Board of Trustees. The funds support the development of classroom spaces and curriculum meant to increase girls’ confidence and perseverance in critical thinking and problem solving, leading to mastery of science content.

Specific outcomes/changes: The active learning approach resulted in significant increases in a few key areas that may keep students interested in studying science. Those include relevance and interest in concepts, and not just memorizing equations. The percent of students who believe that “learning physics will help me understand situations in my everyday life" increased from 58% to 75%. The percent of students who expect to understand science conceptually also increased. Prior to this class, 39% said that they disagreed with the statement that they “do not expect to understand equations in an intuitive sense; they just have to be taken as givens." After the class,that number who disagreed with this statement increased to 64%, a change of 25%. There were also significant increases in the value students place on understanding the “big ideas” behind physics. Prior to this class only 23% agreed that “big ideas” behind physics concept were more important than knowing equations. After this class, 41% of students agreed that big ideas were more important, a change of 18%.

Inspired by University Research: Dr. Lisa Abel-Palmieri, Director of Innovation and of the Learning Innovation Institute at Ellis, and Ellis physics teacher Sam Rauhala partnered with Dr. Adam Leibovich from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh and former graduate student, Melanie Good, MS (who is also an Ellis parent) to revise the Ellis physics curricula from a lecture-based approach to an active learning model. The Active Classroom For Girls at Ellis is modeled after active learning principles explored by Dr. Leibovich and others in the SCALE-UP study.  The SCALE-UP project found that collaboration on interesting tasks, coupled with rich social interactions in the classroom among students and teachers, created deeper understanding and improved learning outcomes for students, particularly women and minorities. The Ellis project is the first time that these university-level strategies have been deployed to improve science learning outcomes for high school- aged girls.

The School conducted pre- and post-assessments to evaluate student performance and attitude and also captured classes on video. Other assessment tools included:
  • Reform Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to measure student engagement and shifts in classroom atmosphere and style;
  • Maryland Physics Expectation Survey (MPEX-II) to evaluate attitudes toward a subject area and soft skills such as collaboration and risk taking; and
  • Force Concept Inventory (FCI) to measure student engagement and assess knowledge of science content.
The pre- and post-assessments showed positive shifts in all areas, but the most profound changes were improvement in girls’ attitude toward science, increased confidence in science content knowledge, and increased collaboration. Ellis students also reported that they saw value in studying physics and believed physics will help them understand situations in everyday life.

According to Ellis physics teacher Sam Rauhala, better results in attitude, engagement, and collaboration are especially important in keeping girls engaged in STEM classes and careers.

“The nature of learning physics is profoundly collaborative at the university level. The fact that these girls experienced physics in a more collaborative way and had positive attitude toward science content bodes well for increasing their interest and success in physics and other STEM-oriented academic experiences in the future,” said Ellis Upper School physics teacher Sam Rauhala.

Using an active learning approach, Ellis taught 9th graders a curriculum comparable to new AP Physics I class, which is typically offered to 11th graders. The intent was to see if this approach would prepare 9th graders for college-level physics work, where success isn’t solely based on memorizing equations but rather knowing how to approach a problem, a skill that teachers refer to as “science intuition.”

According to Rauhala, “We saw our 9th graders go from very basic physics knowledge to having the skills, knowledge, and early stage science intuition they would need to enter a college-level physics course.”

The research also indicated that students were able to avoid picking “trap answers” on tests.

About Active Learning: In addition to improving science knowledge, the Active Classroom study at Ellis was an exploration of how active learning methods compare to lecture-based methods of science instruction for girls. Active learning utilizes special desks that are arranged in circles (rather than in single rows) so girls may easily work in teams of three or four to solve problems. The Active Classroom also uses touch screen computers networked to a pair of projectors so that every girl in the class can present her work to the entire class. Prototyping tools such as a 3D printer, saws, work tables, wood, cardboard, sand, and other materials necessary for hands-on, project-based learning are also readily available. A few doors down the hallway the CoLaboratory offers students a space in which to brainstorm, create, draw, and prototype. Ellis views encouraging collaboration, creativity, and communication as crucial to student success.

“We see that active learning improves girls’ attitudes toward and knowledge of science content and increases girls’ confidence, perseverance, and risk-taking. The girls became more successful problem solvers and better collaborators,” said Dr. Lisa Abel-Palmieri, who leads the Learning Innovation Institute at Ellis. “This is very encouraging as we work to increase girls’ engagement with STEM subjects and careers,” she continued.

Ellis also applied these concepts to the School’s new Introduction to Engineering Design course, co-taught by Rauhala, Dr. Abel-Palmieri, Ellis Math Department Chair Cara LaRoche, and robotics instructor Dr. Bambi Brewer (Dr. Brewer has since left Ellis). Though the School has not formally evaluated results of active learning in engineering courses, teachers believe that active learning also has potential to improve engineering outcomes.

As part of its Intro to Engineering class, Ellis worked with community partners such as the Pittsburgh Zoo and the Animal Rescue League so that girls could engineer solutions to actual problems. Projects included making an attractive flamingo feeder that also keeps ducks out of the food, and offering habitat enrichment to animals at the Rescue League. In both cases, Ellis student projects were not only prototyped but actually installed and now in use at these real-world locations. The School also has a membership at Tech Shop to provide girls access to an extraordinary range of high-tech prototyping tools.

“The active learning model, coupled with community partnerships, creates a much more authentic and engaging learning experience for engineering design students,” said Rauhala. ”Instead of looking at case studies they carried out large-scale engineering projects. We had difficulty getting them to leave when class was done.”

Assessing student performance: The engineering and physics teachers also found that working in groups of three seemed to produce the best outcomes. Other crucial elements included direct access to resources including computers and the internet, and equipment for performing experiments. The School also looked at client assessment and feedback on projects the girls completed in the community such as the Zoo and the Animal Rescue League. Participation in class discussions and opportunities to display and present work to peers also contributed to improved outcomes.  These outcomes were assessed through daily homework, labs, projects, group assessments, quizzes and tests, as well as participation. In engineering design classes, the School used weekly reflections. These assessments were supplemented by design thinking methods such as those devised by the Luma Institute www.luma-institute.org. The Ellis School was recently recognized by Stanford University’s Design School as one of the leading K-12 design thinking programs in the country.

“The four Cs—confidence, collaboration, communication, and creativity—are essential skills for success in college and careers particularly in STEM fields. This evidence of improved outcomes in science gives us the confidence to begin applying these active learning concepts to other disciplines and STEM subjects including Middle School science,” said Dr. Lisa Abel-Palmieri.

The School plans to further evaluate the effectiveness of active learning in other STEM and in humanities classes. Ellis is also involved with a new multi-year, multi-school project with the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education, which is evaluating the factors that motivate STEM engagement, involvement and performance and is the only all-girls school participation in that study.
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