Students' understanding of what science is about and how it is done and their expectations as to what goes on in a science course play a powerful role in what they can get out of introductory college physics. This is particularly true when there is a large gap between what the students expect to do and what the instructor expects them to do. This paper describes the Maryland Physics Expectations (MPEX) Survey, a 34-item Likert-scale survey that probes student attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about physics. The results of pre-and post-instruction delivery of this survey to 1500 students in introductory calculus-based physics at 6 colleges and universities are presented. Findings indicate a large gap between the expectations of experts and novices and a tendency for student expectations to deteriorate rather than improve as a result of a semester of introductory physics. (Contains 36 references.) (Author/WRM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.Students' understanding of what science is about and how it is done and their expectations as to what goes on in a science course play a powerful role in what they can get out of introductory college physics. This is particularly true when there is a large gap between what the students expect to do and what the instructor expects them to do. In this paper, we describe the Maryland Physics Expectations (MPEX) Survey; a 34item Liken-scale (agree-disagree) survey that probes student attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about physics. We report on the results of pre-and post-instruction delivery of this survey to 1500 students in introductory calculus-based physics at six colleges and universities. We note a large gap between the expectations of experts and novices and observe a tendency for student expectations to deteriorate rather than improve as a result of a semester of introductory physics.

One hour active-engagement tutorials using microcomputer based laboratory (MBL) equipment were substituted for traditional problem-solving recitations in introductory calculus-based mechanics classes for engineering students at the University of Maryland. The results of two specific tutorials, one on the concept of instantaneous velocity and one on Newton's third law were probed by using standard multiplechoice questions and a free-response final exam question. A comparison of the results of eleven lecture classes taught by six different teachers with and without tutorials shows that the MBL tutorials resulted in a significant improvement compared to the traditional recitations when measured by carefuly designed multiple choice problems. The free-response question showed that, although the tutorial students did somewhat better in recognizing and applying the concepts, there is still room for improvement..

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The Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment University Physics (SCALE-UP) project at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is developing a curriculum to promote learning through in-class group activities in introductory physics classes up to 100 students. We are currently in Phase II of the project using a specially designed multimedia classroom for 54 students to teach the introductory physics course for engineering majors. This is an intermediate step to the full SCALE-UP classes (99 students) that will be taught in Fall 2000 when the larger classroom is completed. Both classrooms are designed to encourage students to work in groups of three, provide each group with to a laptop computer that has access to the Internet, and allow instructors to interact with each student group. Traditional lecture and laboratory are replaced with an integrated approach using active-learning cooperative group activities. The project is investigating several aspects of instruction including classroom design, classroom management, and curriculum materials. The curriculum materials include adaptation of researchbased/informed activities from the literature to the SCALE-UP classroom and development of new activities. This talk will focus on the evaluation of the project, in particular, evaluating whether students are achieving the learning objectives for the curriculum. Several of the course learning objectives overlap the ABET 2000 criteria including: learning to work well in groups (teamwork), communicating effectively, being able to apply knowledge of mathematics and physics to new situations, and conducting, analyzing and interpreting experiments in addition to building a functional understanding of the course content. Evaluation methods of the SCALE-UP classes taught during the 1998-2000 school years include concept tests, individual and group exams, peer evaluation, and focus group interviews. The results show that students are building a better understanding of the main physics concepts, are more successful at solving problems, and are generally on-task and communicating well during group activities.

SCALE-UP is an extension of the highly successful IMPEC project (Integrated Math, Physics, Engineering, and Chemistry), one of NC State's curricular reform efforts undertaken as part of the SUCCEED coalition. Basically, we are utilizing the interactive, collaboratively based instruction that worked so well in smaller class settings and finding ways to economically accommodate classes of up to 100 students. Relative to students taught in traditional classes, SCALE-UP students are better problem solvers, achieve nearly four times the gain on some conceptual tests, have better attitudes toward science, and report greater satisfaction with their instruction. Failure rates for females are half those in regular classes. For minorities, the failure rate drops by a factor of four. Technology is used to provide a phenomenological focus for students, allowing data collection, analysis, mathematical modeling, and advanced simulations. As student attention is drawn into analyzing different physical situations, teachers circulate around the room and engage students in Socratic dialogs. Lecturing is minimal, primarily for motivation and to provide an overview of topics. The main objectives of the course will be presented, along with a discussion of some of the instructional techniques we employ.Project evaluation continues as a vital, on-going series of tasks. We have had a