A Closer Look at a Highly Effective Undergraduate Physics Education Innovation: A Case Study of Workshop/Studio Physics

• In Event: Poster Session 18
  In Poster Session: College Student Learning and Outcomes Poster Session 1

Abstract

As a result of dissatisfaction with the traditional lecture-based model of undergraduate physics education, a large number of reform-oriented instructional innovations have been developed, enacted, and studied. Previous work has shown that the impact of instructional innovations on student learning has been overwhelmingly positive. For example, in a recent meta-analysis, the overall effect size for undergraduate physics course innovations was found to be a staggering 0.59. However, a subsequent analysis illustrated that one specific innovation, Workshop/Studio Physics, had particularly high average effect sizes within the observed sample of studies (mean effect size = 1.02). The purpose of this study was to further analyze the Workshop/Studio Physics innovation in order to identify the critical features that may account for its effectiveness.

Author

• Heidi Iverson, Colorado State University