37

Two stage test: a form of cooperative and reflective learning

Presenter

Mark Herbert is a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Science faculty, University of the Western Cape. He obtained a PhD in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Cape Town but have a passion for teaching and learning. He started his career at the University of the Western Cape as a lecturer on the Extended Degree Programme Physics in 2008. Within the teaching and learning; he has focus on student learning and curricula which promotes active student learning. Currently he is teaching one of the first year mainstream undergraduate physics module and have done work in this module to create a learning environment which promote active student engagement, learning and success in physics.

Abstract

This paper reports on research that has been conducted in a first-year mainstream undergraduate module of Mechanics in the Physics and Astronomy Department at University of the Western Cape (UWC). The primary focus of this module is on student success by providing them with epistemological access   to approach the discipline of Physics. Central to the module is the teaching philosophy and pedagogy associated with socio-cultural perspectives of learning in the sciences. This has guided the development of our intervention strategies to direct student learning towards gaining access to the ‘ways of knowing’ for the discipline. Such perspectives suggest that an exclusively individual or cognitivist approach need to be complemented by those that recognise the social contexts in which science learning takes place. The latter place greater emphases on learning as participation and identity development. 

This paper reports on a two-stage test: a form of cooperative and reflective learning used to support students’ learning of physics. The two-stage test is a way to encourage students to work cooperatively, participate and reflect on their learning by providing immediate formative and summative assessment of their learning. An overview of the mainstream mechanics physics first-year module teaching and learning approach as well as the results of a survey of students’ experiences of the two-stage test will be presented and discussed.              

Presentation & Resources