This blog will chronicle my experiences during the Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Program. I'll use it to keep folks informed about my activities and progress along the way.
Today I got the chance to see some rocket launches when I visited a school called Normal Mixta. It was really fun to hang out with the students in a more informal setting.
Mounting the rocket onto the launcher
Close-up of the rocket
Troubleshooting a broken pump
All set for launch
I shot some video. Nothing spectacular, but it gives you an idea of what was going on. By the way, I shot one of the videos using the high-speed setting on my camera. Pretty neat.
Normal speed
High Speed
Headed back inside. Notice the unicorn mural- JC that's for you!
Some of the students from Normal Mixta
This afternoon I went to visit a nearby public school. It was my first visit to a true public school, and it was really interesting. I found the students to be very engaging and interested in what I was doing.
Group Photo
Quote of the day: A student in a class I visited today spoke excellent English. After completing my questionnaire, she told me that she wrote in English so it would be easier for me. I was just looking through the results, and two things caught my eye.
First of all, one of my questions is whether or not males anturally tend to be better at physics than females. I was not suggesting that there is a difference, rather I was looking to see what students' impressions were. Next to the question this student wrote "What's wrong with you? Not cool!" I was thrilled to read this, and can't wait until next week when I can explain my intentions in person.
Also, at the end in the comments section she wrote: "...your Spanish sounds funny but we like you anyway." I'll take it so long as they can understand me and vice versa!
Other notable heartwarming quotes:
"I think that making these tests is a great idea, since nobody thinks about their values anymore (that sucks) and I hope we have another of these tests soon."
"I really like the idea of trying to improve physics education here, because some of my classmates and I find it to be a difficult and tedious subject."
"Welcome to Argentina, I hope that it treats you well and that my questionnaire helps with your project- I am happy to help. Good luck! Take care!"
This afternoon I was invited to visit a physics class in mechanics here at the Universidad Nacional de San Luis. The class was working on solving problems using a technique called IDEA, which was adapted from the original methodology which was referred to as GOAL in English.
No matter what you call it, the technique is the same: provide a framework that students can use to solve problems. The relevant steps are:
I Información G Gather Information about the problem
D Desarrollar un plan O Organize an approach to solve the problem
E Ejecutar el plan A Analyze the problem
A Aprender del esfuerzo L Learn from your efforts
[pulled from manuscript in development (Benegas & Alarcón) and GOAL]
This was actually the second time that I have seen this methodology in action- I also observed its use as part of the SCALE-UP program when I was in Chile last month. The structure of this class varied a little bit from what I saw in Chile, but the general theme is the same.
The students all work together in small groups. They use whiteboards or paper to show their work, which they share with their classmates at the end of the period. In SCALE-UP, the group members have rotating responsibilities, which were not present in today's class. Rather, the instructor told me that what usually happens is that each group member has a different colored marker so the contribution of each is readily visible. We didn't have enough markers today for that to happen, but I think it's a great idea.
Another thing that is worth mentioning is the layout of the boards. When I observed Dr. Alcarón in Chile he had taught his students to divide their workspace into 4 equal parts, one for each step of the problem-solving process. I have never gone to this extent with my students before- they just need to separate the sections. The board below from today's session is more what I am used to- the work is shown in an orderly fashion, but without being formally divided into sections. The color-coding helps the different parts stand out. I really liked the boxing of the answers, but then again that's my M.O.
Now, while this ad hoc approach allows for more space to be used to actually solve the problem, there is one serious drawback... it gives short shrift to the final step because students almost always run out of space and don't have enough room left to write down their reflections about the process. I would also like to see a more formal description of where a diagram or sketch goes, but maybe I just feel like this is lacking because I wasn't present for the original discussion that introduced the problem solving process. As my students can attest, I love my diagrams, no matter how poorly drawn they may be!
I also took some videos of the students as they presented. Don't expect any sort of high quality- I have the hands of a sturgeon when it comes to this type of thing! Nonetheless, it should give you an idea of how the discussion process runs in the classroom.
A few caveats: this class wasn't at full strength, apparently there was a concert going on that took its toll on attendance! So the participants may have been the more motivated end of the spectrum. This also isn't what happens in class every day, there seems to be a rotating cycle of class types for each unit. Also, it is college level physics with college students, so it looks a little bit different than a typical high school classroom. That being said, today's material wasn't that much harder than Regents physics, and it was easier than the course I've previously taught in advanced physics. Basically, the conclusions that can be drawn from this class can be applied to high school classes.
I had a god time this afternoon. I learned some new slang and got to interact with students, which has been frustratingly absent from my life here for the past week because of exams and some poor communication. I was also psyched to visit a class that was embracing reformed teaching methods wholeheartedly. I would love to go back and see what their other sessions and labs are like.
This past week I traveled to Chile using professional development funds from my Fulbright Grant. First I went to to Mendoza, and then caught another bus to Viña del Mar.
Students writing down guiding questions for the unit.
On my first day here we went to visit a school in a remote area called Quillota. I was a little bit apprehensive about visiting this school- I had been told that all of the students had been expelled from other schools and that this was a safety net of sorts. I later learned that they were expelled because of academic problems, no behavior issues. In fact, I found the students to be incredibly nice and open to my presence in the classroom.
Working hard
At the end we took some pictures together, and the president of the student body (who happened to be in the class I visited), politely asked me if I could send him some pictures to remember my visit. Another thing: this school was basically empty save for desks, a blackboard, and a whiteboard that had seen better days. The room was very cold, way colder than my classroom ever is. Some students wore gloves and hats, and they all had sweatshirts or coats on. Despite these obstacles, the kids worked HARD at what they were doing and seemed really interested in the material. Speaking of which, the instruction was very traditional. I think that the teacher would be open to using different methods, but her lessons and methods seem to be dictated by the school. This seems to be a pattern here, and much of the difficulty in implementing reformed teaching methods lies not in convincing teachers, but in winning over the administration.
Class sizes are small so that the students can receive individualized attention
The entire class with their teacher
I actually came to visit the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, which is in Valparaiso, practically next door. Though its name suggests differently, the university is not religiously affiliated. It's one of the top technical schools in Chile, and Hugo Alcarón is leading the charge as the university implements some fantastic reformed teaching methods.
USM is right next to the ocean in picturesque Valparaiso
The first step has been to renovate the classroom environments. Pretty much the only thing they use typical lecture halls for now is to give exams, though these will be utilized for some reformed methods such as Peer Instruction and Interactive Lecture Demonstrations down the road. The new classrooms are beautiful and nearly complete- a few details have yet to be finished, but the system as a whole is impressive.
A SCALE-UP classroom at Penn State. The facilities at USM are similar.
The rooms are designed around the SCALE-UP methodology developed at NCSU, which has also been implemented at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, where Hugo worked previously. The rooms are filled with massive tables that seat nine students (3 groups of 3). The tables are slightly out of round to encourage better collaboration. The tables are to be outfitted with netbooks in the very near future, and students can easily see the output from multiple projectors, which will soon be permanently mounted to the ceilings. The rooms are bright and airy and have terrific views. When we arrived before class started, Hugo had to ask other students who weren't part of the class to leave. More students came to the door during class and turned away, disappointed that the room was being used. Everyone wants to work in these rooms- they're very inviting and have whiteboards and other amenities that go a long way to encourage collaboration. There are multiple classrooms like this, which is a good thing, because ALL of the introductory physics courses are being taught in this manner. Other introductory courses in math, chemistry, and computer science are also being reworked to incorporate reformed teaching methods. Upper division courses are being overhauled as well so that students may eventually graduate without having experienced a single lecture.
Students at USM working in a SCALE-UP classroom
This is an immensely powerful idea, and I am blown away that the university has taken such ambitious steps to improve its students' learning. In fact, a push is beginning to extend these methods to all of the different USM campuses. The commitment that this takes is astounding, but I think it means a lot that the powers that be have recognized that traditional instructional methods simply do not work.
