Invited Paper
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, Active Learning and the ALOP Project Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan* School of Optometry and Departments of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada
ABSTRACT There is considerable evidence from the physics education literature that traditional approaches are ineffective in teaching physics concepts. A better teaching method is to use the active learning environment, which can be created using interactive lecture demonstrations. Based on the active learning methodology and within the framework of the UNESCO mandate in physics education and introductory physics, the ALOP project (active learning in optics and photonics) was started in 2003, to provide a focus on an experimental area that is adaptable and relevant to research and educational conditions in many developing countries. This project is discussed in this paper. KEYWORDS: active learning, interactive lecture demonstrations, physics education
1. INTRODUCTION There is considerable evidence that tradition approaches (i.e., lectures) are ineffective in teaching physics concepts1-4. A crucial question that can be asked is why should we care if students understand physics concepts? Understanding concepts is fundamental to a real understanding of the discipline. Students cannot hope to be able to do more than simple computations to physics problems without a real understanding of concepts. This has implications for future studies in the discipline. Alternative methods which eliminate formal lectures have been developed5-6. However, they have not been implemented widely because of structural and other constraints. Interactive real time PCbased laboratory tools have been developed7,8. These methods require computers, interfaces, etc. and can be quite expensive (especially for large classes) and in particular cannot be easily implemented for example in developing countries due to cost, infrastructure availability, etc. David Sokoloff (University of Oregon) and Ron Thornton (Tufts University), amongst others, have developed a teaching and learning strategy called interactive lecture demonstrations that overcome some of the limitations of these alternate approaches. 1.1. Interactive Lecture Demonstrations There some major differences between active learning environments and traditional methodologies such as lectures and laboratory exercises. These are summarized in Table 1. Unlike in active learning environments, the traditional method makes the student as a passive receiver of information. The Lecturer is the sole authority and the learning process is one of transmission of information from the lecturer to the student. Active learning is the fundamentally at odds with the traditional approach. *
[email protected]; tel: +1 519 888 4567 ext.38167; fax: +1 519 725 0784; VL is also affiliated with the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. 48109, USA.
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Table 1. Active versus Passive Learning Environments Passive Learning Methods
Active Learning Methods
1. Instructor and textbook are ultimate sources of knowledge.
1. Students construct knowledge from h ands-on observations. Observations of the real world phenomena are the authority
2. Student’s beliefs are never challenged
2. Students are challenged to compare predictions (based on their beliefs) to experimental observations. This constitutes a learning cycle
3.St udents may not recognize differences between what they believe and what they are told in class
3.C hanges students beliefs when they are confronted by di fferences between t heir predictions/hypothesis(based on their beliefs) and their experimental observations
4. Instructor is the authority
4. Instructor is a guide in the learning process
5. Collaborations with peers often not encouraged
5. Collaboration and shared learning is an integral part of the learning process
6. Facts are presented in lectures with little or no reference to experiments
6. Results from real experiments are observed.
7. Laboratory work if at all, is used to confirm/validate theories taught in lecture
7. Laboratory work is used to learn basic concepts and is an integral part of the learning process.
The Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) as developed by Sokoloff and his colleagues gives a methodology for transforming a usually passive lecture environment into an active one and fully engages the student. There are 8 distinct steps in the performance of each ILD. These steps are: a.
The instructor describes the demonstration and does it for the class (no measurements of parameters)
b.
The students are asked to record their individual predictions on a prediction sheet which is collected later and can be identified by each student’s name written at the top (note: predictions are not graded, though some course instructors credit students for attendance and participation at ILD sessions).
c.
Students engage in small group discussions with their nearest neighbors
d.
Instructor gets common student predictions from whole class.
e.
Students record their final predictions on the Prediction sheet.
f.
The Instructor carries out the demonstration with measurements
g.
A few students describe the results and discuss them in the context of the demonstration.
h.
The instructor (or students) discuss analogous physical situation(s).
It can be seen from the above that students are completely involved in understanding simple conceptual demonstrations. There are many variations of this procedure9,10, including for example, the use of clickers to answer questions, and in fact Mazur11 describes the use of this method wherein the students are led to conclusions based primarily on the reasoning process rather than on observations of physical phenomena. Another modification could be to eliminate step f (making measurements) but to do a “magic” trick at the beginning; this trick is based upon a particular physical property or phenomena that is under study12. A crucial point to note is that it is the instructor’s task to get students to give the answers – the instructor must guide the student toward the important points raised by the ILD. Most importantly, in this
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process, the instructor must avoid lecturing to the students. The experimental results must be the source of knowledge about the experiment. Sometimes the instructor might need to fill in gaps in the discussion. To summarize, the whole ILD procedure can be boiled down to the mnemonic: PODS; that is, Predict, Observe, Discuss and Synthesize. 2.0 The Active Learning in Optics and Photonics (ALOP) Project Based on the active learning methodology, and within the framework of the UNESCO mandate in promoting physics education, the ALOP project was begun in 2003 under the leadership of Dr. Minella Alarcon who was the science specialist at UNESCO for natural sciences at that time. In November of 2003, the original members of the ALOP team met at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy to discuss the project. The participants were, in addition to Dr. Alarcon, Drs. Eugene Arthurs, Zohra Ben Lakhdar, Alex Mazzolini ,Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, and Mr. Ivan Culaba and Joel Maquiling. The team was brought together by Prof. Galieno Denardo of ICTP. Following this meeting, the team met again for a week on the campus of Ataneo University in Quezon City, P in august 2005 (with a new member Professor Joseph Niemela, from ICTP) to finalize and “fine tune” the possible modules. Professor David Sokoloff joined the project for the first workshop. This original idea has been expanded considerably and is based on the physics education goals adopted at the 2005 World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development (Durban, South Africa, October 2005). This project has been described as a model for teacher training and professional development13. The ALOP workshops were designed by an international team that shares teaching experiences from different educational environments, cultures and needs. Why optics and photonics? This provides an experimental area that is relevant and adaptable to research and educational conditions in many developing countries. In addition optics demonstrations and labs can be fabricated at very low cost. If this is used as an introduction to physics, optics can be an inspirational and motivational tool to engage students and stimulate them in science. 2.1 ALOP Workshops The ALOP workshops introduce the active learning pedagogical method via six modules. These modules are covered during the course of an approximately 5 day period. The modules cover basic topics in geometrical optics, optics of the eye, interference and diffraction, atmospheric optics, and optical communications (optical data transmission and wavelength division multiplexing). The modules cover qualitatively many important concepts in a sequential manner from basic fundamentals to applications. The PODS learning cycle is heavily emphasized. The materials used are simple, inexpensive and available in most countries of the developing world. The modules are written by one of the members of the team. A complete manual14 (edited by David Sokolff) is currently in use; French and Spanish translations have also been developed; An Arabic manual is currently being completed. In addition, the Light and Optics Conceptual Evaluation (LOCE) tool has been developed as part of ALOP to quantitatively assess the learning gains of the participants. The manual includes inquiry materials, teacher guides, apparatus plans, etc. and is designed to be selfcontained. To date, there have been 14 workshops (Cape Coast, Ghana, November 2004, Monastir, Tunisia, March 2005, Marrakech, Morocco, April 2006, New Delhi, India, November 2005, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, July 2007, Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 2007, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, December 2007, Lusaka, Zambia, September 2008, Douala, Cameroon, December 2008, Bogota, Columbia, June 2009, Kathmandu, Nepal, July 2009, Santiago, Chile, January 2010, Constantine, Algeria, May 2010 and Quezon City, Philippines, November 2010). Each workshop has between 30-35 participants on average. More than 400 physics teachers have participated in these workshops. This year (2011) two additional workshops are planned in Rwanda and Nepal. In addition, there have been secondary workshops organized by ALOP trained trainers locally in Morocco, Tunisia, Argentina and Peru. These secondary workshops have further disseminated the ALOP active learning pedagogical methods.
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2.2 Light and Optics Conceptual Evaluation The LOCE test is administered prior to the ALOP workshop and immediately after. The test instrument consists of 50 multiple choice questions covering a variety of areas in introductory optics (4 question on reflection and mirrors, 5 on Snell’s law, 7 on lenses, 15 on imaging, 2 on visual optics, 8 on polarization and scattering, 8 on wave optics, interference and diffraction) and a ray tracing exercise. Statistical tests have shown a significant difference between preand post-test scores. Detailed discussion is given elsewhere15. 2.3 Financial Support The workshops have received generous funding from SPIE, OSA, The National Academies (USA), ICTP, the International Commission on Optics, European Optical Society, etc. as well as UNESCO. In addition, Essilor Inc. generously provided lenses needed for one of the modules (Module 2) for many of the workshops. The ALOP team volunteer their time and are not compensated by either UNESCO or their home institutions. In addition assistance is provided by the institution(s) in the host country which can be both financial and in-kind (e.g., housing) 3.0 Conclusions The ALOP project has been very successful as indicated by the number of workshops/particpants as well as the growing number of secondary workshops. Because of time, financial and other constraints, the original ALOP team can participate in only about 2 workshops per year. However, the follow-up (or second generation) workshops (by ALOP trained trainers) increases the number of teachers trained in active learning methodology. In particular, this has resulted in over a thousand physics teachers from secondary schools and universities trained in Morocco since 2006. In fact, there is a proposal to adopt part of the ALOP curriculum for the training of physics teachers in all Moroccan secondary schools. The ALOP workshops have been received with great enthusiasm in many countries. The workshop materials are mainly locally sourced and/or made and are low-cost. Innovation is the key. Participants in ALOP workshops have also reported successfully adopting and demonstrating some of the ALOP experiments using locally sourced simple materials in classes in electromagnetism, mechanics and even quantum mechanics! More details of the ALOP project can be found in various publications15-18. It is gratifying and humbling that the current President of SPIE, Professor Katarina Svanberg, in her letter notifying the ALOP team that they have been selected for the 2011 SPIE Educator Award, states that “ you and your team have literally “brought light” to hundreds of teachers with your hands-on workshops inspiring a new generation of scientists in these nations”. We are hopeful that ALOP will continue to expand and educate even more numbers of young people in the future. Optics and photonics are ideal topics for teaching and learning materials. With advances in technology, components are cheaper and more available e.g., LEDS, lasers, photodetectors, etc. Optcs, as noted by a National Research Council study19 is an enabling science and has applications in very many different areas. Hence a fundamental understanding of light and optics is necessary for not only the physicist, but other fields as well and hence of interest to science teachers (engineering, biology, etc.). Future directions of the active learning project might be to expand to other areas of physics and to more quantitative methods (e.g., simulations for example on mobile phones20 which are widely used in the developing world).
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[14]. Sokoloff, D., Active Learning in Optics and Photonics Manual, UNESCO, Paris, 2007 [15] Alarcon, M., Ben Lakhdar, Z., Culaba, I., Lahmar, S., Lakshminarayanan, V., Mazzolini, A., Maquiling, J., Niemela, J. “ Active learning in optics and photonics: a model for teacher training and professional development:, Proc SPIE, 778303, (2010); http://spie.org/x648.html?product_id=860708 [16]. Alarcon, M., Arthurs, E., Ben lakhdar, Z., Culaba, I., Lakshminarayanan, V., Maquiling, J., Mazzolini, A., , Niemela, J., and Sokoloff, D., “Active learning in optics and photonics: achievements and outcomes to date”, ETOP meeting, Ottawa, 2007. [17]. ibid, “Active learning in optics and photonics: experiences in Africa”, ETOP040, ETOP 2005 Proceedings (2005); http://spie.org/etop/etop2005_040.pdf [18]. Alarcon., M., “Active Learning in Optics and Photonics”, Optics and Photonics News, Pp.18-19, april issue, (2008); http://www.osa-opn.org/content/viewfile.aspx?id=10986 [19] Committee on Optical Science and Engineering, “Harnessing Light”, National Research Council, Washington DC (1998), http://www.ee.louisville.edu/~eri/papers_pres/harnesslight.pdf [20]. Curticapean , D., Christ, A., and Feist, M. “Perspectives of mobile learning in optics and photonics”, Proc. Spie, 7783, 77830R, (2010); http://spie.org/x648.html?product_id=862918.
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