Dickinson Summer Seminars on Teaching Physics
Using Interactive Teaching Methods on Computers
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VII. Conclusions Regarding the ITMC Seminar
Although the last two questions on the survey were designed
to elicit critiques of the seminar itself, most respondents
cited issues related to problems at their home institutions
covered previously, including (1) lack of time, (2) lack of
student (and colleague) interest, (3) lack of administrative
support, and (4) funding and equipment shortages. Responses
broke down as follows (see Table 7 and
Chart 29):
|
Table 7:
Problems Implementing ITMC
|
HS
n=14
|
AS
n=14
|
BS
n=39
|
MA
n=9
|
PhD
n=15
|
Total
n=91
|
|
Time and energy needed to pull off the ITMC approach
(and worries about what has to be left out as a result)
|
5 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
20 |
| Student recalcitrance and frustration |
1 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
|
Administrative support for staff increases and/or
student assistants
|
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
3 |
10 |
|
Funding, equipment and facility inadequacies
|
3 |
|
1 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
| No disappointments |
3 |
1 |
2 |
|
1 |
7 |
| Colleague recalcitrance |
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
|
Software problems, accessibility, flexibility
|
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
Unsure about student performance improvements, given
the investment
|
|
|
2 |
|
1 |
3 |
|
Hardware/software learning curves too steep
|
|
1 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
The strong support for ITMC reflected earlier in the
quantitative and qualitative data was borne out in the qualitative
responses to the final question of the survey, having to do
with suggested improvements for the seminar. Thirty-seven
of the 92 respondents made no suggestions about improving
the seminar. Of the 55 respondents who did make suggestions,
nearly half (24) said "change nothing." This was,
by far, the most common response. Still, some expressed lingering
concerns having to do with student recalcitrance, student
performance, adaptability of materials, and the lack of funding
for equipment and release time (see
Table 8 and
Chart 30).
These suggestions form the basis of recommendations that follow
in Section VIII.
|
Table 8:
Suggested Seminar Remedies
|
HS
n=14
|
AS
n=14
|
BS
n=39
|
MA
n=9
|
PhD
n=15
|
Total
n=91
|
|
How to work with and sell administrators on ITMC
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
Need better materials (pace often too slow; materials,
often in revision, can be confusing)
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
| Need more funding |
2 |
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
Need to put more emphasis on assessing student
performance
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Need more flexible materials, advise on how to adapt
to ITMC with limited resources
|
1 |
|
3 |
|
|
4 |
|
Need for reunions, refresher courses, ongoing support
networks
|
1 |
|
2 |
1 |
|
4 |
|
More help on how to motivate students to accept and
work with ITMC (perhaps some "mock classroom"
sessions during seminar)
|
|
|
3 |
|
2 |
5 |
|
More time and activity with apparatus (perhaps less
with 2nd week project)
|
|
2 |
5 |
1 |
|
8 |
|
No disappointments, do more of the same
|
2 |
7 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
24 |
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