Thinking to try something new, for the Spring semester (general introductory physics), I gave the class a reading assignment with some conceptual questions and some simple problems to be due the next class period. During the next class, we would discuss the assigned topic and the questions or problems they had while doing the homework, and walk through additional examples. More complex problems on the same material would follow for the next class. A number of students complained in their evaluations, to whit:
41% of the students who responded to the evaluation questions mentioned the homework policy specifically. A similar percent complained that there was too much homework. Overall, they did not do better than their predecessors, a fact which I do not attribute to the approach.
I have heard of this approach to teaching as one of my children was ‘taught’ geometry this way, and another physics. This was not at the college level, but in secondary school.
It does sound different than what may be the more familiar teaching styles, and likely to induce sweat beads on the foreheads of students who do not feel they are able to glean information enough on their own to make a constructive move forward without direct lecture and note-taking.
I would think, OP, that students with a solid foundation and with an aptitude for the sciences may be the best group of students for whom this approach is most likely to work and be well-received. This based on the differences in response (by both students and their parents) to this type of approach that I saw when my kids were introduced to this style of teaching.
Therefore, I would say that if your students are, across the board, not the students who have entered the college with any advanced standing in any of their courses, and are taking introductory courses in every subject, that this approach is bound to have you encountering both resistance and a plea for something more likely to see the students succeed, and sure they are succeeding at each turn.
Perhaps the students are complaining because in the flipped classroom, they do the homework in class. You seem to want them to do the homework before they come to class. So at home they read the lecture material (of watch a video of the professor) and then they come to class ready to do the work. I just think there could be more clarity of what is being done in class and what is being done at home. Also explain to them that this is a flipped classroom and tell them what their expectations are of the students and the prof.
^I don’t consider it flipped, in that they are not watching videos of lectures before coming to class. I do spend time lecturing in class as well. Waiting2exhale, the students are mostly inner city, low income, largely minorities, with poor academic backgrounds and skills.
Neither do I. I consider it asking the students to do HW on material that has never been presented, unless I’m missing something. I’m with the students on this one.
It sounds like you’re trying to build agency in your students. Important to do that. Keep working on it. Perhaps there is a proven model out there. Or, a way to retrain the kids to feel confident in this model.
Does not sound good to me. General physics- not Honors/majors… Students don’t need to be spoon fed but probably lack the extra time to try to figure things out before the lecture. For advanced students it may be fun for them to see what they can do by themselves but for those needing the class for other purposes it means too much time spent before being able to do the problems. I was a chemistry major who took Honors versions and disliked physics- would not have enjoyed needing to figure things out before the lecture (sounds like it would make the lectures boring for those who figured things out as well).
@sylvan8798: Yes, then I do understand the source of the student discomfort and unease.
All of what you have said about the student demographic tells me that where the students are expecting to encounter a familiar framework, and where they may have emotionally committed to doing the work at this stage in their lives where there may not be a track record of great success in an academic setting prior to now, the unfamiliar seems scary. Scary seems likely to have them predict they cannot engage with confidence, and may be a low-alarm for ‘Danger - disengage!’
So your work is greater than an academic approach alone, and your teaching style will need to find a way to plug in little ‘steps to success,’ or something like that.
Honestly, the response rate to your survey shows that you had students engaged enough to want to communicate with you. Somewhere in there I see a positive.
Of course, this is college, and anyone who brings themselves to you in such a setting needs to ‘grow it up,’ so to speak.
This sounds similar to the way D’s HS does things some of the time in the STEM classes. Many of the students are minority and low-income. But many come into HS from the school’s middle school, so they are somewhat used to it. The school is also project-based. From what I saw, sometimes the kids were ok with it, sometimes not. The really tough concepts were difficult when taught this way, sometimes resulting in extra time spent on them than originally budgeted. But with in-class work going over the problems and concepts and yes, frequent quizzes, it seemed like most of the kids ended up mastering the material. Many of the grads go into STEM majors and most are doing well.
You rock! When they get to higher level classes in whatever their major turns out to be, they will appreciate having had this learning experience. Ultimately, they need to be able to teach themselves.
Maybe next time ease them into it by making the first questions and problems very easy to find solutions to, and then ramp it up gradually. And, provide a bit more support/encouragement with the first assignments. They need to feel that you are backing them up. The newness of the method is what upset them. They’d never done things this way before.
As a student, I would dislike this approach. I would feel like it is like asking a student to teach themselves the material. I would also dislike having HW due that often- especially if it is assigned only a few days in advance (although that would depend on how often the class meets). JMO
Was this general introductory physics course a course for non-physics majors? If so, wouldn’t it have a student population of those who may not be especially enthusiastic about physics, but are just checking a box for biology major or pre-med requirements?
Absolutely. However, the students seem to feel that they are being asked to do their HW with no advanced presentations. You may think that you are giving the students the tools they need, but if the students disagree, then there’s a breakdown somewhere.
65% of them were Engineering Tech students. This course is absolutely foundational for them. And do you really want your doctor to have just checked their physics boxes?
Students have complained in the past (when I lectured first, then assigned problems) that they basically had to teach themselves the material. They want to be able to come to class and learn everything they need to know without actually working on it themselves. The smartest of them may be able to do that, but there may only be one or two of those in any semester, if that. So yes, the students are being asked to teach themselves the material. Or at least to take an active part in that process.
If you were taking a literature course, and the professor asked you to read chapters 1-3 and answer a few questions prior to coming to class to discuss the readings, would feel that this was unreasonable? Because having to read things is more than you have time for? Just give me the Cliff note synopsis in class and let me get back to the party?